Throughout
this essay I will be identifying what I believe would be the best method for
teaching English as a second language (ESL). I will be looking at why and how students
learn, if age is a factor in this and how
difficulties, such as second language acquisition etc, may hinder their
learning. I will discuss how I feel a syllabus should be set out as well as the
role and attitude of the teacher and what mediums can best assist learning.
When
approaching EFL it is important to first consider who it is we are teaching and
how we may need to tailor our approach to suit the needs of the learner. Children
and adults learn in different ways in that children still have a natural
curiosity for everything the world has to offer whereas adults may need more
practical subject matter such as business English or consumer reviews to keep
them motivated. It is important to identify adults learning styles as they are
usually ingrained through years of learning although as they are not
necessarily innate do not influence younger learners as much. We need to also
consider that many adults have busy lives with both professional and personal
obligations that take up most, if not all of their time.
Second
language acquisition is a process by which people learn a second language in
addition to their first language. Learning a second language as an adult in
most cases means that the learner will never reach the same level of proficiency
as a native speaker. Second language learners will often take the lead on
grammar and pronunciation from their native language leading to common errors;
these are known as language transfer.
Interlanguage is the type of language used by second language learners who are in the process of learning a target language, and can also refer to a second or third language and not just necessarily the native language. This can create interference from the first language in the form of ‘false friends’, or words that sound similar in the two languages but have very different meanings e.g. embarrassed in English and embarazada in Spanish. Also there can be grammar issues as their native language verb form may have for instance little or no need for pronouns, for these reasons it is useful for the teacher to have some knowledge of the native language of their learners. Being able to anticipate potential problems in this way is known as Contrastive Analysis.
A syllabus
is an outline and summary of the topics to be covered by a specific course and
sets out objectives to be met by the conclusion of the course. When attempting
to set out an EFL syllabus there are several factors to take into consideration
and this may be influenced by the students it is intended for. When a teacher
is working for a language school they will have little or no input of what is
contained on the syllabus or how it is set out; when working with a private
student however it is important for the teacher to ascertain what the students
goals to ensure that the syllabus is effectively meeting their needs. A
syllabus can be based on more on grammar, vocabulary or topic or may have a
specific purpose such as business, law or medical English. In addition to this,
one must consider the balance between productive (speaking and writing) and
receptive skills (listening and reading) and what the students specific
learning needs are.
The syllabus
also ensures consistent delivery of classes and ensures that lessons are not repeated,
this may be especially relevant in a company that employees numerous teachers
who may be on a rotation system. It must consider the level of the learner as a
total beginner’s syllabus would look different to syllabus aimed at more
advanced learners. A typical absolute beginner’s syllabus would mainly focus on
grammar and how the language is structured as well as introducing commonly used
vocabulary, it would be virtually impossible to have a topical discussion at
this level. As the learners competence level begins to increase there is more
of a balance between structure, vocabulary and topic and as competence reaches
a higher level, the syllabus should focus more on topic discussion and have
students expressing more complex issues and ideas.
The most
important factor when teaching English is the teacher themselves. It does not
matter what methodology is being used, how carefully a syllabus has been
planned out or how detailed a lesson plan is, if the teacher cannot impart the
information to the student in a manner they understand and enjoy, then learning
outcomes will be reduced. A teacher needs to be enthusiastic, resourceful,
engaging, humorous, and tactful, cool under pressure, knowledgeable, responsible
and be able to build a positive rapport with students. A teacher must be able
to play many roles for their students such assessor advising and clearing
doubts, a psychologist interpreting responses and reactions to stimuli and an
agony aunt sensitively listening to students problems and concerns, to name but
a few.
Interaction
with students is an essential part in assisting them to learn, so classes need
to be involving and fun. A teacher should make an effort to ensure that they
learn their student’s names and use them in class as will help engage the
student and build rapport. The teacher must be aware of their body language and
tone of voice, when managing a classroom it is much more effective to lower the
tone of gain attention as nobody likes being shouted at, least of all adult
learners.
Correcting
errors is necessary part of teaching EFL and your students will expect it of
you and the teacher must carefully consider how this is done. In the early
stages of learning it is important that mistakes are corrected immediately almost
all of the time, especially during structure and vocabulary exercises. As their
language develops they should be corrected immediately on structure and
vocabulary but less on topic activities as we are trying to encourage fluency
in the student; it is more prudent at this time to make notes and go over
corrections when the student has finished speaking.
There are
several ways and techniques of correcting a student. The first and most basic
is to repeat their answer back to them putting emphasis on the incorrect structure
or vocabulary. If they cannot come up with the correct answer themselves the
teacher should then look to other students as this will help consolidate their
learning and give a more favorable balance towards student talking time. Possibly
most important of all is that correcting should be done with respect and never condescension
whether teaching children or adults, students should be reassured that making
mistakes is a natural and normal part of learning.
It is also
of vital importance for a teacher to consider the mediums and materials they
use to complement the students learning. Ideally activities should be printed
out with consideration given to things such as the font size and use of capital
letters for target language and any pictures or photographs used should be clear
and should easily be recognized against the issue or target language. Text
books can be useful when teaching private students as they can act as a
syllabus, however they quickly become outdated and not all the activities may
fit in your preferred methodology. In cases such as this activities can be
altered slightly, changed completely for more up to date or appropriate
material or dropped altogether.
Black/white
boards may be used but may be detrimental to the teacher being able to take the
temperature of or read the class. They will spend a large part of the class
with their backs to the students will cut down on teachers ability to read the students
and so ascertain whether or not by their facial expressions if they are
grasping the concept or not. Reading of facial expressions and body language is
an essential tool in teaching and teachers must be aware of when there is a
need to engage a student who is sitting side on with arms folded or that their
frown is telling you that they do not understand. It is of equal importance
that a teacher is aware of what their body posture or facial expression may be
saying to their students.
For many
years teachers often used the PPP model of Presentation, Practice and
Production although this has been criticized as does not work well when
teaching more complex language structure beyond sentence level or when teaching
communicative skills. Jeremy Harmer came up with an alternative to this called
ESA or Engage, Study, Activate. In the Engage stage the teacher attempts to stimulate
the students interest and engage their emotions and interest by using a story,
pictures, video sound recording etc to motivate them. PPP assumed that students
are already motivated to learn however students who are forced to learn by
employers or parents may disagree with this notion.
The study
phase focuses on language and how it is constructed from pronunciation of a
particular sound, to techniques an author may use to create excitement in a
particular text. It could be examination of a text for new vocabulary to a
transcript of an informal conversation and is language acquisition mainly
through listening and reading. In the Activate stage the activities and
exercises are to get the students to use the language as communicably as
they can and emphasis is not on language structure or patterns but on them
using their full language knowledge to express their issue or idea as fluently
as they can.
I feel that my own preferred methodology would be largely based on the Communicative Approach with productive and receptive skills more geared towards speaking and listening. For most people, their aim when learning a second language is to be able to communicate effectively and this is much easier if they can have the language to ask or answer questions and understand what is being said back.
Parts of
other methodologies would be borrowed such as students observing and performing
actions with an ethos of ‘learning should be fun’ as in Total Physical Response
or ensuring that learning takes place in a cheerful environment where students
are relaxed and confident as in Suggestopedia.
I feel that
use of first language translation would useful in the absolute beginner stage
of learning and may alleviate some of the stress the student may feel at the
start. Mistakes would most definitely be accepted and managed in a way that
empowers and enhances the students learning.