Skip to main content

TESL 0100: Unit 3 English Language in a Diverse Intensity

  
TESL 0100: Unit 3
English Language in a Diverse Intensity
Reviewing my English language knowledge using the Common areas of difficulty of Bolitho Tomlinson made me realize that speaking the language and knowing how to teach is just a step from what should go further to what must be offered to language learners.  From identifying the difficulty of producing the correct sound through the proper tongue and mouth positions, dissecting the word formation, context and meaning then understanding language varieties really was a mind blowing fact to be familiar with.  This realization makes me go back to my language foundation to review and relearn the basics to complex need of language facts. Knowing is definitely far from explaining and making learners to be skilled in speaking and writing in proper context makes it challenging. Analysing which ones they need and who needs what is also part of the challenge as per handling a class is concern. 
I would imagine myself discussing that the verb in a sentence should agree with its subject up to amalgamated sentences into a multi-clause. Then to blow my mind, the thought of explaining the “context” of a word in a conversation to its “language function” is totally a different level that would definitely explain a “discourse” understanding it. “I’m actually being silly here, just to make things light.” Seriously, this can be simplified using the “one form, many meaning” and “one meaning, many forms” to start with. I’m actually excited to dissect and simplify a step by step learning and find out how creative I could be in preparing lesson plans in different levels. It does help to know profiles of ability across learners’ stages using the CLB especially in writing when it comes to teaching grammar. Presenting basic parts of speech to complex structures would depend on the learners’ abilities as lessons should also be adequately simplified.
It was enlightening to know that collocations, lexical chunks to phrases and idiomatic expressions are part of what is needed in language training. I remember a student explaining how she didn’t understand the idiomatic expression “Get out of here!” when it was expressed to her.  She was surprised she said and asked, “Excuse me, what do you mean?” Not knowing that it means, “Are you kidding me?” or “You’re making that up!” as an expression of surprise or disbelief made her react as how she understood it as literally getting out or leaving the place. Knowing this kind of problem made me realize how important idiomatic expressions are as part of lesson planning.  It will not hurt to add one or two idioms per day with all kinds of idiom students might encounter in daily conversation.  
Recognizing that there is an absolute relation between language and culture makes it easier to understand learners’ origin. How perfect it would be if each culture would have their own teacher to make it easier for learners to absorb the lesson. As stated in one study that an L2 teacher is sometimes more effective than native speakers as they can connect and understand where learners are coming from. Understanding socio-linguistics studies will definitely make it easier for me to understand my students. But the reality is, we must look at language not only from within its linguistic components but also from without, we should be aiming to present language from points of view of both approaches.     

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reading for Second Language Learners

It is a basic understanding that someone who can read has already mastered its awareness of phonemes. To be able to read a word, the reader must be able to identify the sound of each phoneme and understand the phonology that makes up a word. The word then must be comprehensible for the reader to make sense and interpret its meaning. Knowing the word will eventually make meaning according to how the reader understands or interprets its syntax. Depending on the reader's background, experience, vocabulary knowledge, and educational attainment, the reader decides on its explication.   It is noted that a significant number of immigrants arriving in various nonnative countries and cultures are non literate in their native languages. (Brown, pp. 395) This is a major challenge in teaching L2 learners. Imagine all the issues that affect teaching when a teacher tries to do a Bottom-Up Processing approach with a Top-Down Processing Learning approach. The teacher will try to offer the most bas...
Post a Comment
Read more

TESL 110: Unit 4 Lesson Planning

  Unit 4: Lesson Planning Learning these lesson types enlightened me on which I am most comfortable in practice. Present-Practice-Produce (PPP) type of lesson plan is where I see myself practicing the most. I now see the importance of a Task-Based lesson plan which I would want to try and incorporate in my class. I see it as beneficial because it focuses on fluency, and it is learner-centered whereas I currently practice the teacher-centered (PPP) lesson type. It can be challenging as it is difficult to monitor and unpredictable to teach in sequence for learning but because it is based on the learner's needs, it is quite promising to produce results. In my current practice, I assess my student’s needs based on their writing skills and then prepare the PPP practice. I look forward to trying out both skill-based and task-based approaches for my ELA lessons moving forward. I also had an idea to group my learners into each type of lesson plan. Task-based and skill-based lessons can...
Post a Comment
Read more

Why Teach Grammar?

It is a surprise that Joseph Webbe’s attitude to grammar as early as 1622 mentioned the holistic approach to learning language as he quoted, “No man can run speedily to the mark of language that is shackled… with grammar precepts. By exercise of reading, writing, and speaking… all things belonging to Grammar, will without labour, and whether we will or no, thrust themselves upon us.” Surprisingly, English grammar is still taught in other countries using the “Rule of Law” transmission view as I experienced. Though I believe it is essential but lacks the speaking part to complete the holistic process of learning. ( Thornbury: How to Teach Grammar ; Chapter 2, pg. 17) Learning a second-language must be experiential (the knowledge-how argument). Speaking and writing practices are essential to express grammar learning. It is saddening that learners of a second-language are limiting themselves in speaking outside the classroom and practise the use of language at home. Learning must not b...
Post a Comment
Read more