The Debate Over Target Language

In a perfect world, teachers would be able to talk and teach in every language and know the different dialects and correct grammar structures. This would help student’s value their cultural language and not feel excluded because they are ‘wrong’ by not using the ‘correct’ grammar or sentence structure. Sadly this is not realistic. Teachers have to teach what they know but they also have to keep in mind the different cultures in their classroom and outside of it. To help English Language learners learn in the classroom, teachers need to teach students about the strategy called codeswitching, teachers have to make sure their classroom environment is supportive, and lastly teachers have to teach students Standard English to for their future successes

Many of their learning needs are similar to those of other children and young people learning in our schools. However, these learners also have distinct and different needs from other learners by virtue of the fact that they are learning in and through another language, and that they come from cultural backgrounds and communities with different understandings and expectations of education, language and learning”. (NALDIC, 1999).

At Brindishe Manor our SLT and SENCO are responsible for EAL tracking. The resources needed to support these children are planned and delivered by class teachers, which is then reviewed by a teacher with Teaching and Learning Responsibility (TLR) for Modern Foreign Languages (MFL). I have observed several different teaching styles used in Brindishe Manor to support EAL children and I will be assessing the effective use of these strategies.

Each year, schools across the nation are seeing an increase in the amount of English language learners they are receiving. Teachers of all grade levels are finding it harder and harder to teach these ELLs because of lack of or little to no proper training. So the article, Setting the Foundation for Working with English Language Learners in the Secondary Classroom aims to show you the ideas and strategies that current and future teachers can incorporate into their daily class lessons to make them more effective in meeting the academic needs of ELLs and in helping them learn the target language.

With the immigration population increase comes a language barrier increase. Therefore, English as a Second Language (ESL) tools in the classroom is essential. ESL was established in the 1970s when children of many mother tongues, crowded classrooms due to the immigration increase (Tomkins, G., 1981, p.

The most ideal translator/interpreter for hard target languages would be someone who grew up speaking or writing target language. Although the United States military has specialist of languages, most are taught the language and may miss certain cues or inflection that would be caught by a person who is fluent with the native language. The task of finding and acquiring native speakers of hard target languages can be a burdensome task. For example, in a terrorist driven country, it may be challenging to find a willing local who speaks or writes the native language fluently for fear of being a “traitor” and the harm that could come to themselves or their families. However, the benefits for a willing individual could be very favorable. A native

Students have enough opportunities to practice the target language, in pairs, individually and as a whole class. They practice the language in speaking and written form.

Strategies for Teaching ESL Student - ESL Students in the Classroom. (n.d.). Retrieved February 02, 2016, from https://www.eslpartyland.com/teaching-esl-student

Along with benefits for the entire class, ELL students also benefit from whole-class discussions. The effective use of whole-class discussions allows for ELL students to hear and practice language in an authentic and academic setting, encouraged and supported by the teacher. “The

The ESL scales have been developed to help teachers clearly understand the level at which each non- English background student is working in all of the language skills; listening, speaking, reading and writing. These skills develop differently, at different stages and the role of the ESL scales is to identify the level and strategies needed to improve the student’s proficiency. “A knowledge of the ESL scales supports all learning areas and enables those involved in education to cater more effectively for students whose first language is not English.”(ESL scales,)

English Language Learners are children whose primary language is not English. This paper will include important topics such as: strategies for classroom teachers, How to adjust classroom instruction, and facilitating language learning. This will help guide new and existing teachers in the ELL process. I will discuss do and don’t with Ell’s and also different classroom strategies. It is not always easy to remember to be mindful of all students when planning instruction but this paper will help with all aspects of ELL learners and things that we must do when it comes to teaching these learners.

provide, or language we expose pupils to may be in the form of anything from general talk amongst

It will also serve to provide the beginning stage of a more comprehensive action research study to allow me to meet her needs as best I can, which I will discuss in the conclusion. METHODOLOGY The objective of this case study is to describe, in terms of second language acquisition theory, this student’s language proficiency, especially through the lens of whether she will achieve the expected ‘C grade’ required of her for passing and matriculation. The key research question for this case study is, “What are the specific language-based and affective patterns that identify this child, and can they be described in an inter-related fashion?” My hypothesis is that such “thick description” (Geertz 1994) can be reached through two different but complementary aspects of second language acquisition theory by integrating the discussion along these lines: • Learner language analysis. Features and patterns are identified through a close analysis of Katie’s output: written and oral. This is matched to SLA theory, and ‘gaps’ between the target and achieved language will be identified. • Affective factors as revealed from choices in responding to prompts and the content of discussion from three interviews held with Katie.

Due to the presence of the use of mother tongue (L1) it shows the lack of teachers’ incredibility and capability (Labov, 1971, cited in Hughes, Shauness, and Brice, 2006). Linawati (2015, p. 2) also felt a disadvantage of using code switching in classrooms, she stated that the teachers are not creating appropriate atmosphere and encouraging the students’ interest in learning English. In contrast from socio-cultural perspective, the presence of code-switched communication in EFL classrooms encourages capability of using both languages effectively and creative language use (Dahl, Rice, Steffensen, Amundsen, 2010). As for the students’ attitude based on Suganda (2012) and Hamied (2014) studies reveal that students have a positive attitude towards the use of code switching in EFL classrooms. They feel code switching is one of the effective language learning

Acquiring and learning a second language do not refer only to handling oral communication skills. It is more than that; it takes the students´ abilities in enhancing their lexicon, their management in syntax, and their perspective about words´ influences in people. Thus, summing this up, it is indispensable that ESL students have a grand deal about linguistic knowledge. In other words, ESL learners not only require speaking, but also reading, writing and thinking in English when they complete whatever English career.