Why Are Some ESL Learners Quiet in the Classroom?
February 6, 2010 by admin
Filed under Teaching and Learning Styles
All ESL teachers have the same phenomenon of quiet learners in their classrooms. Come parents day, many teachers and parents will be talking about how much progress the student has made and most inevitably the comments of “s/he’s too quiet” will be brought up. What is the cause of this quietness that involves second language learning?
A learner may be quiet in the ESL classroom, but he may also be deeply processing the language. It is important to weigh in this factor when discussing the student’s performance in front of the parents. Bilingual children whose first language interferes with second language learning should not be forced to produce but only to listen to the language. It has been found that this act of listening greatly enhances the speed and quality of learning. Therefore the language environment, whether it be formal or natural, plays a crucial role during the silent period in terms of second language acquisition.
The silent period is a conscious and active period where simply listening to the target language is associated with the notion of a one-way communication which can extend for many months at a time without producing the language. Dulay states that when language finally does appear, it is produced quite minimally either in some form of elicitation or the communication of basic needs. (Dulay 19)
Premature pressure upon the second language learners to perform in the target language in terms of taking examinations, writing compositions and participating in oral classroom discourse can be exacerbatingly intense as well as discouraging and futile. in this learning situation, the
second language learner such as a tourist in a foreign country, does not possess an adequate amount of knowledge of the target language and so, he or she will lean on the first language in order to facilitate communication. A “silent period” therefore, may be tremendously beneficial in terms of helping the learners to strengthen some competence in the target language which can be “enough to permit some spontaneous speech production without relying on the first language” (Dulay 25).
Works Cited
Dulay, H., M. Burt and S.D. Krashen. 1982. Language Two. Oxford University Press.
I’ll be giving away a FREE teaching report on how to improve fluency in English language learners to those who leave a comment at the New Teacher Resource Center. Now…I hope you’ll visit the next site on the blog chain sponsored by the National Writing for Children Center. That site is: http://terri-forehand.blogspot.com/. For a list of all the links on the chain, go to www.writingforchildrencenter.com
New Teacher Tips: How to Improve Speaking Skills in the ESL Classroom
February 5, 2010 by admin
Filed under Teaching and Learning Styles
What do you do when students don't want to put that extra mile to do a speaking presentation, so they get cold feet and read from their notes just to get by. Improving speaking skills takes a lot of classroom practice, motivation to speak, and skill. Sometimes it is necessary to think
beyond the box, adding creative elements wherever possible depending of course, on the skills of your students and how open they are to creative thinking.
Improving the speaking skills of your students may be difficult, but the added benefit is building confidence in students for speaking skills and strategies in a foreign or second language. Even though the professional years are still way in the future, help your students by starting small.
Speaking Activities
1.Use picture prompts. Depending on the variety of visual resources and class level and ability, a teacher can brainstorm with the class a variety of sentences, (key) words, and phrases around a particular category or situational context that is the building block for a presentation.
2.Follow-up with a memory game or exercise. Students then work in pairs writing down or translating the words they remember.
Effective Teaching Continues
1.Another teaching activity involves asking questions or presenting statements that are not true about themselves, and then asking their friends to decide whether they are true or false. Students have a lot of fun with this one.
2.Play Adjectives All Around! Students have one minute to present all the adjectives they can in a sentence.
3.This person is _______________________________________________.
4.The other student then tries and guess who the person is. Make sure they include a minimum of five adjectives and no more than seven or eight. A teacher can use this activity to draw the students' attention to the different categories that make up an adjective.
Additional Tips for Improving Speaking Skills
*Allot a time limit for each and every speaking activity. Take into consideration those activities that involve either group or pair work.
*Keep the activity fun and simple. Make sure the instructions are also crystal clear.
*Don't overdo speaking activities in one lesson.
*Make sure you aim for a balance between speaking and listening.
*Have a back-up plan for the entire class and for individual students who are withdrawn.
*Always reflect on what can you do as a teacher to help students improve their speaking skills.
Remember, the more diverse and creative your speaking activities become, the easier it will be to train your students to improve their speaking skills and speaking exercises will become much more automatic.
I'll be giving away a FREE teaching report on how to improve fluency in English language learners to those who leave a comment at the New Teacher Resource Center. Now...I hope you'll visit the next site on the blog chain sponsored by the National Writing for Children Center. That site is; http://ireneroth.wordpress.com/. For a list of all the links on the chain, go to www.writingforchildrencenter.com
