Teach English in Dongba Zhen - Wuwei Shi

There are several methodologies that can be used in acquiring the English language. Grammar-translation is basically a system of translation; finding equivalents in one?s native language to the foreign language being learned. The downside of this method is that natural language isn?t acquired. Audio-lingualism suggests that learning is a result of habit formation via conditioning. In Presentation, Practice, and Production (PPP), teachers present the context and situation for the language, as well as explain and demonstrate the meaning and form of the new language. Students then practice before presenting the new language. Task-Based Learning focuses on a task instead of the language. Students complete a task while using the focus language and if needed the teacher can provide language assistance. Communicative Language Teaching focuses on language functions rather than just grammar and vocabulary. This prepares students for more practical, real life situations so role-play simulations are common activities. Community Language Learning is about students deciding the topics to discuss. Teachers assist when needed with language help. In The Silent Way method, teachers say as little as possible so the students ?discover? the language for themselves. This methodology uses colored rods, each color representing an aspect of English language. Suggestopaedia focuses on the need for students to be comfortable, confident, and relaxed in order for learning to be more effective. This method features a parent-child relationship between the teacher and student. Students are given new names and traumatic themes are avoided. A lesson has three main parts: oral review of the previous lesson, presentation and discussion of the new language, and finally students listen to relaxing music while the teacher reads the new dialogue. The Lexical Approach focuses on words and phrases rather than grammatical structure. Engage, Study, and Activate (ESA) allows all methodologies to be applied. Elicitation (asking thought-provoking questions) is a component of the ESA process and may be the most important feature of an EFL lesson. This gives teacher information about what the students already know and need to know. It also gives students the opportunity to speak, reducing teacher talk time. Some examples of elicitation techniques include: real objects (realia), flashcards/pictures, drawings, ask for the question, gap-fill, lists, follow-on questions, concept descriptions, mime, and definitions. In the Engage component of ESA, students are encouraged to get involved in the lesson through games, music, stories, etc. using the target language of the lesson if possible. The aim is not to teach in this warmup section, but to engage the students. Examples of Engage phase activities may include: introduction prompts, I Spy, word linking, and Scattegories. In the Study component, students focus on the language and how it?s constructed. This starts with elicitation followed by presentation of the language point and exercises to check the students? understanding. Finally, answers are reviewed as a group to go over errors. Examples of Study phase activities may include: pronunciation drills, hangman, and gap fills. In the Activate component, students are encouraged to use the language they know, focusing on fluency rather than accuracy. Activities can include role-plays, debates, or story writing. Examples of Activate phase activities may include: role-play, producing materials, debate/discussion, and story building. A ?Straight Arrow? lesson is when the lesson in done in the ESA order. The benefit is that it allows students to use the language in a controlled way, however it may become predictable and not suited with complex language. A ?Boomerang? ESA lesson has more possibilities while still incorporating ESA. For example: Engage, Activate 1 (role-play activity), Study, Activate 2 (role-play activity using some new language from the section). The benefit of this technique is that students are provided with language they need and don?t know. However, it?s difficult for teachers to predict what problems the students might encounter. A ?Patchwork? ESA lesson allows more flexibility and balanced study with activation. The lesson begins with an Engage phase and ends with an Activate phase, but may have multiple Engage, Study, and Activate phases in any order in between. Regarding correction techniques, mistakes and errors are not the same. A mistake is when a student is able to correct themselves; an error is more deeply ingrained. Corrections may be made via self correction (preferred), student-student correction, or teacher-student correction as a last resort. There are three occasions when it?s necessary to correct: the mistake is with the current language point; the mistake is regularly repeated; and the mistake impedes understanding. In this unit I learned about the importance of the ESA method, especially the Patchwork technique as it allows the lesson to be tailored to the students' needs instead of a rigid structure. This keeps the lesson from becoming routine and boring while providing many opportunities for language application via different engaging activities.