Live. Grow. Learn.

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...

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...

  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...

  Grammar is the basic foundation of proper communication.  It becomes a major challenge to converse or write without this foundation. Grammar helps learners to be more proficient and confident in using their language in all aspects of communication, speaking, and writing and more so to enjoy listening and reading.                   Teachers do struggle too, “And that’s because, as I and other language experts have pointed out, they themselves were never taught much, if any, grammar. And appropriate teaching support and materials are lacking.” quoted from the 'grammar-still-matters'.                Though it is my professional responsibility to learn grammar for teaching purposes, it is beyond my present skill to be called an expert. It takes years to master grammar and knowing it all at the top of your head will require years of being in an environment where grammar is t...

Grammar is the organization of words set to follow a structure to properly communicate. I read once that without reading, learners won’t know words, and without words, learners won’t be able to write. This is true enough why grammar and writing should be taught together. Students must be able to write what they learned using proper grammar. How about those whose first language writing is not the alphabet? That makes it a totally different challenge.    Communicating through speaking and writing differs in a lot of aspects. Speaking requires spontaneity while writing on the other hand can be thought of at a given time. (S7-Crystal) Bright and Crystal’s lists magnify all required considerations when planning classroom instructions. It interests me that acquisitional ability is inborn rather than learned. (Bright) I would agree. Everyone is not gifted to adapt to a language or learn to speak and write proficiently.   Listening and speaking are the first senses that...

Classroom Management             Classroom management for me is defined as strategies done in class depending on the class need.   Sensitivity to certain situation is classroom management.   To identify a group of people that can work together is classroom management.   Bottom line is, to be able to succeed in teaching that would provide a nurturing learning environment, classroom management must take place.               It takes years to learn classroom management because every class is different.   You may be successful in handling a class at some point and then find yourself frustrated at some other class.   It is a process of learning behaviour and knowing how to deal with it.               Setting an expectation at the beginning of every class is a must. I have this p...

My Classroom Designing a classroom takes a lot of consideration with how we also create our lesson plans.   Considering all students English level is just one factor as to how the classroom will effectively function to cater all learning needs and abilities.   Being able to assess students’ needs and knowing their learning levels and techniques will help us identify a group that will work effectively together and those who are individual learners.                 Audiovisual Learners need an Independent Listening Lab. A Listening Lab is a computer space with headphones, laptop or even CD player where they can learn independently and improve their listening skills. They should be given a set of listening list and exercises that they can complete on their own pace based on their comprehension level. Student may be given activities from ESL Cyber Listening Lab [1] or ESL Lounge [2] .      ...

Language Acquisition             “We all acquire language in exactly the same way.” This is an outrageous claim by Stephen Krashen [1] on his Language Acquisition interview.   Indeed it is but I agree that it is true. As a child, we learn by listening and mimicking, based on our daily conversation.   We acquire language by watching and listening to someone speaks and subconsciously collecting words and understanding what is being said. When you watch children play using little people toys, what do they do?   They role play based on what happens around them.   They play going to the doctor, church, shopping, eating, cooking and everything that they can act based on daily activities. That’s when you can see language acquisition happen.               “Immigrant children don’t speak right away when they arrive.   It takes several months of...

Unit 2: Classrooms Around the World             English is a universal language.   You may go to any country in the world and you will eventually find someone who can speak English and be able to communicate. It has become one of the essential languages for global trade. Sadly, not all countries offer English language as part of their learning curriculum. In the Philippines, we learn English from the moment we start school.   Most of our subjects are taught in English and almost all modes of instructions are done in English.               Japanese value their language and use it very effectively.   They learn English only when they wish to. The Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme [1] (JET) aims to enhance foreign language education, and promote international exchange concerning the promotion of mutual understanding between nations. JET is ...

It is evident that anyone’s first language is acquired from birth. Some studies show that language is heard from the time a fetus can hear from the womb. Based on the study of US National Library of Medicine National Institute of Health about Development of fetal hearing elaborates, “The development of fetal behavioural responsiveness to pure tone auditory stimuli was examined from 19 to 35 weeks of gestational age. Stimuli were presented by a loudspeaker placed on the maternal abdomen and the fetus’s response, a movement, recorded by ultrasound.   The sensitivity of the fetus to sounds in the low frequency range may promote language acquisition.” Since the first language is what we call our “mother tongue”, it is not consciously learned compared to second language.   We acquire our first language through hearing, mimicking and collecting vocabulary words as we grow up until we learn how to speak on our own. We know our language by heart because it is part of our da...

How Language are Learned 1.       Languages are learned mainly through imitation. §   Indeed, languages are learned mainly through imitation.   The Principle of Automaticity explains how children learn foreign languages when they are living in the cultural and linguistic environment of the language.    It is also a fact that we all learned our first language through imitation.   Our parents thought us how to speak by asking us to imitate them. We all started as imitators before we subconsciously learned all words by listening and being in the environment of that language. Second language learners are also the same.   In my country, most kids learn English by watching English cartoons; mimic them through singing and understanding the conversation by answering questions through the audio-video activities. Imitation I should say is the first step and the best way to learn a language.       2. ...