Then (July 9, 2003)

Now (August 13, 2003)

Teacher's Role

1. Students' needs should be central

Students’ needs should be central to the development and teaching of an ES/FL course.

2. Teacher should be fluent in the target language

For the communicative approach, the teacher should be fluent in English.  If the teacher opts for a different theory of teaching ES/FL, this may or may not be true.

3. Teacher should take into account the background of the students, and their reasons for taking a course in the target language.

Yes, plus the teacher should conduct a survey to determine the learning styles of the students so as to best meet their needs.

4. Teacher must be willing to use a variety of approaches in order to meet the needs of the learner.

No single learning style is appropriate for all.  A variety of approaches should be taken into consideration when planning a lesson.

5. Teacher must choose materials/ manipulatives to meet the needs of the particular target audience (in context).

Yes, and the teacher should consider the use of ALL media types.

6. Language instruction is best suited in small groups.

Not necessarily.  Large group instruction is also possible, depending on the teaching style.

7. Familiarization with target language phonetics should be one of primary objectives.

Students will need to become familiar with pronunciation, yes, but listening, reading, writing, and other speaking skills are equally important.

8. Texts (when used) should provide high interest, low vocabulary, have high repetition and be age appropriate.

Yes.  If possible, texts should also try to draw on previous knowledge, so students have an existing schema to build upon.

9. Pronunciation is important, though not as important as developing comfort with the conversational style.

It is important that students develop conversational fluency.  Pronunciation, intonation and word stress skills all are components to the successful acquisition of oral English language.  In practice activities, errors in pronunciation should be corrected in such a way as to not interrupt the fluency of the conversation.

10. Learning about the target culture is inherent to language acquisition.

Yes.

11. Teacher must realize the importance of, and encourage

conversation with target language peers.

Yes.  In addition, students should be encouraged to practice using the target (English) language in the ESL classroom.

12. Students should be taught the same curriculum as target language

students, with appropriate modifications made to suit their language level.

Curriculum expectations and modifications will be dependent largely upon the individual student and his/her competence level in the English Language.  Learning the language in the context of the ‘regular’ program is the goal.

STUDENT's ROLE:

13. Student is interested in learning the 2nd language.

Perhaps a more appropriate word to use here would be ‘motivated’, especially in learning how to orally communicate with their peers.

14. Student is capable of learning 2nd language.

ESL students fit the same profile for exceptionalities as do native language speakers.  Therefore, I have re-written this statement to “2^nd Language will be acquired to the best of the student’s ability”.

15. Student is prepared to put forth the effort required to obtain competency in the target language.

The student is going to be more willing to participate in activities that provide high motivation, reward, and interest.

16. Younger students will generally be able to acquire language at a more rapid progression.

Yes, though only because younger children seem to innately be able to acquire multiple languages.  Older students (who have had previous access to schooling) have the benefit of knowing the language conventions and structures appropriate in their native language.

ROLE OF TRANSLATION:

 17. Translation should be used only when learners are comfortable with the target language, so as to prevent an over-reliance on the native tongue (L1).

Translation should be used “WITH CARE” until learners are comfortable with the target language, so as to prevent an over-reliance on the native tongue.

ERROR CORRECTION:

 18. Errors should be subtly corrected by modelling in the early stages, in order to increase learner confidence.  Modelled behaviour should be used to encourage student practice.  Teachers should use caution to ensure that learners are not practising an error.

Error correction is dependent largely upon the discretion of the individual teacher.  Some errors must be corrected, some not.  Some errors can be corrected immediately, while others are better done as “delayed corrections”. 

This was definitely an area where I was unsure of what to do!  I am glad to have some ideas and strategies under my belt now!

GENERAL PRECONCEPTIONS:

19. There is no single methodology that is solely appropriate for instruction of an ESL program.  The best-designed program will take bits and pieces of a variety of approaches.

Yes.

20. A positive classroom environment in which students feel welcome and safe is the key to learning.

YES!