Practice for Teaching English as a Second Language to Students in Hong Kong: Analyzing my Own Classroom Interaction

One-point teachers should be aware of language acquisition is that the child ability to participate in a classroom may be affect because of the lack of communication, must of the time students that are second language learners tend to stay quite and demonstrate lack of understanding. It is important to identify these students to be able to approach and teach them adequately.

Oral communication for English language learners can be easier than learning how to read and write. English language learner’s students might have a fear of speaking however it is the teacher’s responsibility to make the student’s feel comfortable in speaking the English language. When English language learners learn the English language then they will be able to communicate with people and in the classroom. In the article An Urgent Challenge: Enhancing Academic Speaking Opportunities for English Learners, it was mentioned that in order to engage English language learner students in a conversation, a teacher must have to model and clearly teach them how to engage in a conversation (Wilson, Fang, Rollins, & Valadez, 2016, P. 53). This is what

I explained, with detail, how a specific event, individual, group, and/or idea correlates to the lesson.

Meaningful talk is important for ELLs for a variety of reasons. Affectively, classroom conversations give children a chance to participate and allows them to feel that they are heard, giving validation to their feelings. Academically, it provides opportunities for practice, which is the only completely effective method to improve language skills. As teachers, we can help ELLs learn to meaningfully talk with one another through guided instruction and modeling of various conversational events. During this time, students will need to learn the art of conversation, such as respectful speech, taking turns, and listening. In order to keep conversations going the teacher may provide talking points or a list of questions to ask and demonstrate

During the last year I have studied English language at an intensive English program (IEP) at the University of Southern Indiana (USI). The program was organized for the international students where the teachers collaborated with the students; by doing this, it made learning the English language very easy to us and helped us to absorb it. However, I have always wondered about how a teacher would teach or deal with children who study the English language as a second language. I used to believe that being English as Second Language (ESL) teacher was going to be seven hours of teaching children the alphabets and memorizing the English words. I had never thought I would have an opportunity to go and observe class of children who study English as second language and see how the teacher works. When I took the Language, literacy, and culture course, I had the chance to do that and I was very excited. I had the chance to be in class with other ESL teachers and observe the way they teach the class. After this observation of watching the students of all ages, of different countries, and how the teacher taught themes, I have changed my opinion of teaching the English as second language Observing Stockwell Elementary School has made me realize that teaching English as a second language is more than memorizing, but also interacting and understanding every student’s needs in learning the language.

In a scenario where there is diversity hands on language lesson are helpful for their immediate needs. Teaching cultural norms and how to get along with the society will provide for an invaluable step towards development of proper communication skills. Teachers should also provide concrete ways to address their daily problems in their local community.

In the long history of language learning, especially in the case of learning English as L2, educationalists have been tirelessly trying to explore more and more practical approaches that ranged from conventional methods like Grammar translation method, Direct method, Situational Language Teaching etc., to the latest mode of communicative approach. The conventional teaching methods - the unsuccessful result of the earlier language theories, were proved to be ineffective, because it was felt in all the methods, that the learners were passive and the teaching-learning process was mechanical. Hence during the 1960s, a new trend of language teaching called Communicative Language Teaching paved its way into classrooms in the early 1960’s and has

Therefore the lesson may focus on a variety of linguistic forms to teach how to carry out a function. The culture is daily life of the native speakers. Non verbal behavior the body language has a significant role in teaching culture since it may change from culture to culture. Meaning is central to learning the language. It should be conveyed through visual aids realia model sentences and context. The students first language is very rarely used since the medium of instruction is in the target language. The students need as much exposure to the target language as they can get in order to become successful learners of that language. This is supported by considerable evidence both the quantity and quality of target language input are crucial factors in foreign second language learning.( Richards, Jack. 2002) Communicative language teaching can be said to have several benefits and strong aspects for language teaching and learning. For one thing it established real life social situations where the students have the chance to interact in the target language practicing the meaning function relationship therefore the students can learn to speak the target language fluently expressing their own thoughts and ideas more easily

One way of encouraging these students to participate in the classroom is to keep in mind that high-level language acquisition occurs, when the student is taking part in the regular curriculum. Therefore, the teacher needs to avoid using separate language courses for the children at this stage and, instead, support language learning embedded in the normal school and classroom curriculum (Ana, 2010). By modeling good English usage in the classroom, the students will learn a great deal. All students, not only the ones that are multi-lingual, learn concepts much faster if the teacher provides a visual aid in accompaniment of their lesson plans (Ana, 2010). This could be in books, projections on the wall, maps, lists of words, and overheads. The teacher does not need to feel obligated to reproduce all the words they use, but they should give the students an outline of the lesson’s key words and their definitions. As the teacher is speaking, he or she could also draw visual representations on the black or white board. While it may seem that using these aids is a burden to the teacher and adds to teaching time, the preparation prevents the occurrence of misunderstandings that the teacher could take more time explaining. The first matter that the teacher should deal with when confronted by a non-English student is his or her survival in school. The teacher should ensure that the student could give his or her name, home phone number and address. The teacher also requires finding

“…there is, as Gebhard et al.(1990:16) argue, no convincing evidence from pedagogic research, including research into second language instruction, that there is any universally or ‘best’ way to teach. Although, clearly, particular approaches are likely to prove more effective in certain situations, blanket prescription is difficult to support theoretically. The art of teaching does not lie in accessing a checklist of skills but rather in knowing which approach to adopt with different students, in different curricular circumstances or in different cultural settings (Klapper 2001:17).

Secondly, language communicates control; classrooms are "crowded human environments" in which one person -- namely the teacher -- is responsible for preventing and coping with disruptions, as well as and encouraging and enhancing learning processes (Cazden 2-3). While naturally occurring crowded environments are characterized by numerous "simultaneous autonomous conversations" (Cazden 2), the classroom situation relies on language rights and mores -- usually created by the institution and enforced by the teacher -- to establish and maintain social relationships.

As we all know that English is a global language, there is a need to learn the language to meet the future challenges especially to the students of non-native speakers of English. Language is used as a tool for communication. To learn a foreign language like English, students need mental involvement. Modern classrooms require the learner centered approaches. One such approach is Communicative Language Teaching. This type of teaching facilitates learning through modern techniques. Many researchers suggest that students who are actively involved in learning process will get success. Once they are actively involved in learning process they get self confidence and motivation. The instructional materials and techniques used by teachers have a direct effect on many students. If the approach fits the preferred learning mode, the

Being respectful and suggest new and creative ideas and strategies to present language has had a positive effect on learners rapport among them and with me, generating a change in their attitudes towards learning, supporting the confidence building and collaboration with peers. Nevertheless, Classroom Management has to be improved since the groups’ size might interfere with the learning process. In addition, Time Management need to be enhanced since it affects foreign language classroom dynamics (Ammar, 1996) in order to accomplish the objectives stated for each

question, can education make a difference? This paper will examine in detail cross-cultural communication, a cultural issue that educators must seek to address in the delivery of teaching to English Language Learners (ELL) classroom. Moreover, the ensuing paper will analyze the problems of cross-cultural communication in the classroom of ELL; this will be followed by its relation to the theories and application of those methods. On the other hand, the writer will outline the effects of cross-cultural communication, and how these effects can be changed into a social value through education.

The sociocultural theory of second language acquisition has provided me with the strongest reasons for reconsidering my previous views on second language learning. Vygotsky proposed a sociocultural theory that is very influential within the field of second language learning. The focus was on the idea that all learning is primarily social. The connections between people and the sociocultural context in which they interact with one another are crucial. Through interaction in shared experiences new knowledge is obtained. This perspective emphasizes the social nature of learning and examines the complex and dynamic social interaction involved in the process of learning a second language. According to Vygotsky the cognitive and social processes in acquiring a second language are inseparable. Social interaction has a vital role in the process of cognitive development.