Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Merits and demerits of language teaching approaches
Essay about language teaching
Essay about language teaching
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Merits and demerits of language teaching approaches
Recent studies, as described by Lyster in the Handbook have put forth the theory that the most effective means to teach a language is a counterbalanced approach that includes some form-focused instruction in content-based classrooms and, at the same time, putting “more emphasis on experiential strategies in traditional programs where the target language is taught as a subject” (615). It seems this method of instruction would obviously be the most effective method of language instruction. Providing both useful context for language demonstration and explanation of the framework of the language covers all types of learners and all of the functions of language. However, the implementation of such curricula would be quite difficult in any mainstream …show more content…
Freewriting activities, games, and structured input are a few examples of how a teacher may guide ESL students through processing new information. “Structured input” is generally developed as a list of statements which students respond to by agreeing or disagreeing with in whatever way appropriate at an individual level (Nassaju and Fotos 28). The answers are not counted as correct or incorrect, written or verbal, leaving the student to feel free to express himself without fear of a grade. An ESL instructor could develop structured input activities for each of the subject matter classes. These activities would include vocabulary relevant to the subject matter and grammatical structures matching those being taught in the language arts classes. These few examples show how a school system might implement a comprehensive ESL program that includes all subject-matter …show more content…
For many students, academic writing is a foreign language. Presenting the materials in new and interesting ways, like one would do in an ESL classroom, is crucial. Modern students expect classes to be engaging and practical. Classes should give students an understanding of why the subject matter is important, as well as how to use the information. Modern American culture has trained students to question the importance of everything, and, just like language teachers explaining why it is important to differentiate between ‘bored’ and ‘boring,’ mainstream teachers need to break down the concepts in a way that shows the effects on the students personally, how communication can drastically affect the way a person
According to Runciman, there are many plausible reasons that students and other people don’t enjoy writing. Evidence, assumptions, and language and tone are the basis for which Runciman makes his argument. Overall, this argument is effective because reliable and well known sources are used in a logical fashion. Also, the assumptions made about the audience are accurate and believable. Runciman used his assumptions wisely when writing his claim and in turn created a compelling, attention capturing argument. The article was written so that students and teachers at any level could understand and easily read it. This argument is interesting, captivating, relevant through its age, and can relate to students and teachers at almost every academic level.
During the first day of ESL academy, I realized the inadequacy of my knowledge concerning the needs of ELL students and how woefully lacking my instruction had been for former students whose first language was not English. Partici...
In Downs and Wardle’s article, they argue and identify the flaws in teaching writing in college. Demonstrating the misconceptions that academic writing is universal, but rather specialized in each case. Citing studies and opinions from esteemed professionals, Downs & Wardle state their points and illuminate the problem in today’s many colleges.
In Patricia Limerick’s article “Dancing with Professors”, she argues the problems that college students must face in the present regarding writing. Essays are daunting to most college students, and given the typical lengths of college papers, students are not motivated to write the assigned essays. One of the major arguments in Limerick’s article is how “It is, in truth, difficult to persuade students to write well when they find so few good examples in their assigned reading.” To college students, this argument is true with most of their ...
Academic writing is a very discouraging topic that most young writers do not even want to begin to think about or imagine doing. Throughout college everyone will be asked to write multiple academic essays regardless of their major. We have read two sources in class that have helped clear up some common myths and also helped make academic writing not seem so foreign. The two sources we read were “What is Academic Writing?” and the first chapter of the book “From Inquiry to Academic Writing”. Many young students seeking a college degree are fearful about the amount of work needed to be done in order to survive their college courses. Academic writing is a challenging topic that many young people struggle to get a grasp on. Once the skill of
Language, whether oral, or written is the primary type of interaction we have. In “Learn! Learn!” by Hugo Martinez-Serros, the author stress the importance of language and education in society rather than your social class. He shows the importance of language to us by outlining the everyday life of a hard working Mexican that lingers in developing his authorship, and really likes to criticize the writing of the higher class enlightened priest. He lives in the south side of Chicago, and in his spare time he loves to study and critic others writings for improvement.
According to Dr. Bean’s class syllabus, the primary goal for this course is to, “help you develop the literacy skills you’ll need during your academic career”. In other words, this class was designed to teach students to write like professionals in an academic discourse community. Through several writing and research assignments, we acted as researchers on a quest to examine “how discourse—written, spoken, and digital—is shaped by social practice”. Although I felt I was a decent enough writer, I had doubts that I could accomplish such a tall order of directives. In the end, I found that I could do it, and I did it rather well, thus giving me the boost I needed to continue to move forward on my dream of obtaining a college degree.
In Donald M. Murrays’s essay “What is Practical Education” he explains his reasoning behind why he allowed his students to write badly. He shares his own experience with police-like teachers who drove him to hate writing. In hopes of helping his students find their voice he allows his students to write the words down as they come, no matter how awkward they sound. Often times they find out that they have more to say then they thought. Rhetorical devices are used to help the readers relate to his point of view on writing.
Writing is an important part of everyone’s life, whether we use it in school, in the workplace, as a hobby or in personal communication. It is important to have this skill because it helps us as writers to express feelings and thoughts to other people in a reasonably permanent form. Formal writing forms like essays, research papers, and articles stimulates critically thinking. This helps the writer to learn how to interpret the world around him/her in a meaningful way. In college, professors motivate students to write in a formal, coherent manner, without losing their own voice in the process. Improving your writing skills is important, in every English class that’s the main teaching point; to help students improve their writing skills. Throughout my college experience I have acknowledge that
During the course of this semester; the variety of writing styles and essays assigned to me in my communication skills class encouraged the development of my writing skills, as well as provided me with more self-assurance in my abilities. My writing, research, and presentation abilities enhanced through practice, determination, and the understanding I gained during this course. With every single writing assignment, I learned new innovative approaches and skills, which enhanced my abilities to improve my thoughts logically, enabling me to write more clearly, and to organize my papers more effectively. At the beginning of this semester; despite the fact that I already knew the terminology MAP: message, audience, purpose; I never really understood the significance of MAP. For this reason, my writing lacked clarity, organization, and my writings appeared less focused on the topics. As a result my research papers and essays did not flow as smoothly from one passage to the next. Furthermore, I was unaccustomed with the precise procedures used when writing an essay. For instance, my previous classes before college, although requiring a reference page, did not require me to include proper citations in my writings. After evaluating the quality of my writing toward the end of the semester, I recognized vast improvements in several areas of my writing. By concentrating on the beginning stages of my writings, I could distinguish ahead of time my audience and my message. As a result, my essays are clear, and I remain on topic. In addition to that using transition phrases efficiently also helps my writing to flow smoothly. The proper use of transitions makes my writings easy to follow from one topic to the next. I also learned that pre-writing...
Teaching students a language that is foreign can really be challenging for students as well as for the teachers. The dynamic rule for implementing instructing in a diverse class to English-learners is to use resourceful life skills such as diligence, hard work and patience. There are also methods that are involved in teaching English as a second language that can be creative for the teacher, yet beneficial to the student. First building a strong foundation that is essential to English learners will promote the language acquisition process. To do this teacher’s should always start with preparation. Advance preparation is essential in order to provide necessary adaptations in content area instruction and to make content information accessible for second language lear...
Long, M, H. & Doughty, C, J. ( Eds.).(2009). The Handbook of Language Teaching. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Throughout history, many schools of thought have examined humans’ ability to understand and utilize language. Ancient philosophers, like Plato, used their observations to pose notions of language acquisition and early Indian scholars began the first debates between nativists and behaviorists (Stanford Encyclopedia). These early thinkers only touched upon this human process, as our modern day tests have shown that there are specific stages to acquiring language, varying ideas on whether language is innate or learned, and a definitive, but rarely studied, window for any human to acquire language.
As time goes by and as the global community develops, the world grows more and more international, making second or third language acquisition become necessary to the majority. With the growing importance of multiple language ability, more and more parents think of bilingual or multilingual education, which means acquisitions of two or more languages, for their kids. In fact, we do have many reasons showing why multilingual education is important and beneficial, such as aspects of interpersonal relationship, employment, brain health, and so on.
WORKS CITED Krashen, Stephen. The. Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. New York: Pergamon Press, 2003. 1982 Omaggio, Alice C. Teaching Language in Context.