Teaching English As A Second Language Instruction

Many popular theories of second language acquisition have been analyzed throughout history. The socialization of L2 learners, their present emotional state that is present at time of acquisition, as well as the comprehensible input and output with the use of scaffolding play a major role in second language acquisition. Let us also not forget the importance of written expression as well as reading comprehension with these L2 learners. Each play a role in language development. However, I believe that in acquiring a language, one must use a variety of techniques that work together to create a balance within the learning environment. Furthermore, all L2 learners learn differently and so a variety of resources will need to be used based on the ability of each student. There are many theories that have been developed by highly qualified experts in the field on linguistics. However, I will address those areas that I agree with as I present my personal theories on second language acquisition.

Within this paper we will take a brief look at the Language Acquisition Principles and how they work on the behalf of ELL students. We will see how these principles can be applied within our own learning environment. There is much information from Walqui article that gives a brief overview of ELL students and how things looked in the past for these students. Now that times has change we will see how educators can make the requirements for ELL students better and more effective for teacher and students. Hopefully, as we look at ways of changing learning for our ELL students we must remember that every student learns differently. Even if you follow the principles from

This theory helps us understand learning because it explains how children development their language at such a high rate. It is also helpful because it lets educators know that challenging students above their level of knowledge is the best way to support students’ growth.

Communicating in an unfamiliar language can be a staggering experience because it requires patience and perseverance. Although I was born in the United States, English was not the first language I learned. My parents were concerned that I would be too Americanized and forget my roots. As a child, I had to learn English in an obscure atmosphere and always found myself behind the other kids at my school.There were moments where I would get down on myself for not being able to comprehend the readings or the directions that were assigned to us for classwork. Ultimately, I realized that I needed to stay persistent if I desired to further my education and be able to read and write at a higher level. Learning English was certainly strenuous because I always felt like I was fighting an uphill battle, but this has led me to feel more confident in myself when facing adversity.

There are around 7,000 languages found in the 192 countries in the world (Grosjean 2010). The humans’ different way to communicate with each other according to the environment setting is called a language. The U.S is a diverse country and people who live in the U.S speaks many different languages. “Even with its large immigrant population and a long history of immigration, the general public in the united states does not support the use of multiple languages” (Freeman and Freeman 142). When immigrants come to the Unites States with different first language, the teachers provide them instruction in English which they don’t know. When they don’t understand anything in English, they start failing their classes. Their teachers put them into special needs program because they think that they need special and disability services.

Krashen & Terrell (1995) explore five hypotheses of second language acquisition theory in their chapter. These hypotheses include, “the acquisition-learning hypothesis, the natural order hypothesis, the monitor hypothesis, the input hypothesis, and the affective filter hypothesis” (Krashen & Terrell, 1995). The concepts outlined in this chapter provide a foundation of the process that English language learners (ELLs) are developing through. However, like all theory, it is up to myself as the classroom teacher, to translate this theoretical into a working

After reading chapters 6 & 13 in James Crawford’s book Educating English Learners, two political events that affected the education of English language learners stood out: Proposition 227 also known as the English for the Children Initiative and The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) also known as The Elementary and Secondary Education Act. In 1997, Ron Unz organized the creation of Proposition 227 with the help of prominent Latinos. The main objective of the Proposition was to meet conflicting political and policy goals. Unz sought to outlaw a program that many parents wanted without appearing to restrict parental choice; to tie the hands of the school boards that favored bilingual education without seeming to usurp their authority; and to eliminate

In the week 6 session, we discussed our final learning theory, Lev Vygotsky’s social constructivism (Sociocultural theory). Specifically, we learned how this approach to learning highlights how learning and development start with social-interactions, which are later internalized by individuals. We also briefly discussed two key concepts of the sociocultural approach, the first being the Zone of Proximal Development and the second being the concept of Scaffolding. The Zone of Proximal development highlights the importance of understanding not only students’ actual level of competence, but also identifying students’ potential level of competence. In other words, rather than just focus on what students can do independently it is also important to identify what students can (and cannot) do with assistance (Scaffolding). Scaffolding allows students to do what they couldn’t do without assistance. The external scaffolding is temporary and becomes internalized by students – allowing them to “stand on their own.”

He believed that a child must interact with the social environment on an interpersonal level. Once this has occurred, the child can internalize their experience and construct new ideas. For Vygotsky, culture and social context are critical in learning and he believed that’s when children learn the best. He came up with the ZPD, which stands for zone of proximal development. The ZPD is the distance between what a learner can do with help and what they can do without help. He thought that children learn best within this zone because it advances their learning and challenges them. Vygotsky believed that with the help of a teacher or mentor, students could understand concepts that they wouldn’t be able to know on their own. A classroom including Vygotsky’s social constructivism theory would include meaningful content and content that relates to the real-world. Teacher-student and student-student interaction are key in the classroom according to Vygotsky and will produce strategies such as questioning, summarizing, predicting, and clarifying.

Krashen also gives importance to motivation and the learner’s attitude towards the L2. However, he based his Affective Filter Hypothesis on formal Second language instruction where motivation and the different feelings towards L2 a learner has, from the target language affects the quantity of Input learners receive and can be turned into Intake. The Affective Filter Hypothesis suggests that learners with low motivation and negative views of the target language receive little Input, while learners with more motivation received and acquire much from the Input they are exposed to. As Krashen states:

Strategies 5 and 6 help to motivate the child’s learning of the new language as well as providing the student with the confidence in their ability to continue learning and practicing in their own accord.

Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky is a well known to be a theorist who focused on the sociocultural development in young children. Lev Vygotsky strongly believed in the importance of the interaction with peers when it comes to the children’s growing process of learning. Through Vygotsky’s research, he came up with the concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD). The zone of proximal development is the range of the child’s development of skills and abilities to which the child is able to complete a task by him or her self and needing a more experienced and knowledgeable person to help the child in order to complete a task. The zone of proximal development is an ongoing process; it constantly moves forward. As the child learns the

Many theorists throughout the century have developed concepts that have analysed and explained how a child learns during their schooling years. Educational theorist Lev Vygotsky produced the social development theory of learning. He believed social interaction is the primary cause of cognitive development. He named this the zone of proximal development. There are many approaches to learning in the zone of proximal development such as scaffolding, reciprocal

There has always been a preconception that people who learn English as a second language are somewhat less intelligent than people who learned it as their first language. Subconsciously some people think that people who learn English as a second language don't have the ability to understand the language completely. Especially if they speak with an accent, a person tends to use “simple” words to somewhat help that person understand. When in fact, people who learn English as a second language are just as intelligent or even more intelligent than people who learn English as their first language.

Teaching students with English as their second language comes with its own set of challenges. To effectively teach I first need to understand what the students already know. Through my class Assessment for Learning I was taught not all assessments yield the same information. Formative assessment guides instruction because it is a quick snapshot which identifies what the student has mastered or still needs to work on. Summative assessments are what we stereotypically think of as a test, they are graded and measured to let us know if a student has met a benchmark or standard. When I first started teaching, I corrected homework and did exit slips not realizing how important they were. Now they drive and guide my teaching. These formative assessments are the foundation of the next lesson or small group work.