English Language Instruction For Teachers And Students example essay topic

... d on their classroom exchanges. The use of such text-based applications is just the one of the many possibilities for extending language learners potential to explore different learning styles and multiple intelligences. It is important to note that language learning (using deliberate strategies to increase second language competency) involves steps taken by language learners. This is distinct from "learning styles", which refer more broadly to a learner's innate, habitual, and preferred way (s) of absorbing, processing and retaining information or skills. b. Interactive audio With the addition of audio capabilities to personal computers via audio boards (or CD-ROM) with microphones for input and headphones for output, the audio-assisted computer is a virtual mini-media unit. With the hookup of a special tape recorder to the computer, interactive audio provides multiple possibilities to teach and test active listening skills.

In computer-assisted audio, the printed screen comes alive with sound for the acquisition of listening and speaking skills as well as reading and writing skills. c. Video In the case of video, the visual component, which is especially useful for cultural and paralinguistic information, is added to the oral / aural components of other technologies. Regular linear video is most useful in developing listening skills and creating cultural awareness. Video with target language subtitles can also serve in developing reading skills. Video enables students to observe the dress, food, climate, and gestures of the target culture. d. Interactive video When the power of a computer is added to video that is pressed onto a disc for instant access of sound, vision, and text, the resulting interactive videodisc system can provide practice in all of the language skills.

Students's kills in listening and reading as well as in writing and speaking can be greatly enhanced when these latter options are available on an interactive compact disc (CD) program. Given that language is an expression of culture, cultural aspects of the video segments can be highlighted using the CD program to provide a better context for communication. Types of Technology-Assisted Activities Once the specific technology and skill (s) to be developed have been matched as outlined above, the specific course ware and type of activity that are most appropriate must be selected or prepared. Traditional exercises provide various activities for the development of these skills, but technology-assisted activities can also be introduced into standard teaching techniques to enhance language learning. These activities would be made more readily available through the use of information technologies which increase productivity with respect to exposing the student to the following second language formation activities: a. Speaking Dialogues can be effectively used in developing speaking skills.

Use of an interactive audio program allows students to create dialogues and to practice them with other students. Other task-based speaking activities can also be used effectively with interactive audio programs. b. Listening Videotapes or interactive Compact Disks (CDs) can provide excellent listening comprehension activities, given a good listening guide prepared for the students. Depending on the language level, students listen for just the main idea or gist of a segment, or they listen for specific facts in the video program. c. Reading Reading skills can be substantially developed using computer-assisted instructional programs. Word-level reading skills (word recognition) are enhanced by activities such as close activities (every nth word of a text deleted), anagrams, jumbled words, and so on, which are found in many CAI software programs.

To practice reading at the sentence level, computer programs provide practice in ordering words within a sentence, text reconstruction, or ordering sentences within a paragraph. Other CAI programs provide extensive (article or story length) reading comprehension passages with accompanying word helps and comprehension questions at the end of the selection. d. Writing Technology-assisted activities such as fill-in-the blank, multiple-choice, and true / false questions help students to write at the word level. Other types of software, such as databases and spreadsheets, provide students with practice in retrieving information and problem-solving skills. Word processors (in the target language) are ideal for compositions or free writing practice at the discourse level.

Some word processors are bilingual and provide on-line assistance with dictionaries, spell checkers, and grammar helps. When technology is used interactively among students, cooperative writing activities are strong motivators to help students develop writing skills. e. Culture Because of the visual component (with non-verbal behavior), video-based activities are well suited for observing cultural differences and similarities in a live context. Both video tape, including satellite broadcasts, and interactive videodisc programs provide ways of developing cultural sensitivity. f.

Testing Computer-assisted testing now provides a more comprehensive, fast, and accurate way of testing student language skills (other than speaking skills). Students can also self-test using CAI programs. Teachers can use testing in an instructional way given the right kinds of activities and programs. With technology-assisted instruction, there are changes in both educator and student roles. Students are given more responsibility for their own learning, while the educator serves as a guide and resource expert who circulates among students, working individually or in small groups with a technology-assisted lesson. Educators observe more of the learning process in action and serve as a guide in that process.

The new technologies offer many possibilities to the second language learner. The effectiveness of these technologies depends on appropriate use by informed educators. Neither textbooks nor technology can replace the live, unprogrammed feedback and interaction of the language teacher. Internet Resources for Second Language Learners The number of sites that provide information to support second language learning and to emphasize the importance of a second language are growing as fast as the internet itself. There is no need to comprehensively list such websites. However, one of these destinations will be cited as a good example of an effective means to link and filter the growing amounts information in this field.

Dave's ESL Cafe is one of the most popular ESL sites (possibly the most popular ESL site) on the World Wide Web. Its creator, Dave Sperling, is an outstanding example of an ESL professional who is using the Web in imaginative ways to enhance English language instruction for teachers and students. The on-line learning / teaching section includes the Help Center, where students can consult an international team of ESL / EFL teachers; the Quiz Center, offering many on-line quizzes that are immediately checked; the Quote Page, which contains quotations, proverbs, and humor; and the Idiom Page, the Phrasal Verb Page, and the Slang Page, which offer definitions and sample sentences for idioms, phrasal verbs, and slang expressions, respectively. The global communication section includes the E-Mail Connection Pages, where students and teachers can meet; the Message Exchange, for both students and teachers; the Discussion Center, which contains a series of forums on such topics as current events, food, and movies; the ESL Address Book, which includes the addresses of students, teachers, schools, and publishers; and Chat Central, where students and teachers can engage in Alive, @ Web-based chats.

The resources and information section consists of the Idea Page, the Search Page, where one can search the Caf'e and use most major search engines; and the Job Center, which includes the Job Links Page, the Job Discussion Forum, the Job Wanted Forum, the Job Offered Forum, and ESL Job Chat. You can go to all of the pages from the Cyber Caf'e's main page. Another site worth mention is the Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) project site. One of the more enduring misconceptions is that raising children bilingually confuses them and inhibits their cognitive development. This misconception, bolstered by several generations of flawed research, continues to underlie much of the opposition to bilingual education and has resulted in generations of language minority parents being admonished not to speak to children in their native language at home, even when parents have little facility in English. It is also often argued that the best way to promote literacy is to push people into English-only immersion programs.

However, again, neither the historical record nor the research supports this view. The most extreme attempt to implement an English-only education program began after the Civil War when the U.S. government pursued an aggressive Indian program. Deculturation involved replacing the use of native languages with English, destroying Indian customs, and teaching allegiance to the U.S. government. Among the strategies used in the boarding schools where the children were sent was an absolute prohibition on Native American children speaking their own languages, and those that did were humiliated, beaten, and had their mouths washed with lye soap. In spite of these practices, Indian children were notoriously slow learners of the English language and lessons of were learned more readily than those related to instruction in reading. Current research on bilingual education for children and for adults indicates that the bilingual education approach is generally more effective than the English-only approach if learners are put into comparable programs with comparable resources.

Further, children taught in their native language develop higher levels of proficiency in that language than those who are directly immersed in English, and bilingualism and bi literacy are positive outcome [s] of any educational program State- and federally-funded bilingual education programs, however, reach only a fraction of eligible students. Three quarters of limited English proficient students receive ESL instruction, while only one-third to one-half of these students receive any instruction in their native language (National Center for Education Statistics, 1997, p. 13). The persistence of the myth of English monolingualism in this country reflects the belief that English is the only language that counts and the mentality that language diversity is a problem rather than a resource. Most national literacy estimates in the United States are based solely on English abilities, and this tends to inflate the perception that there is a literacy crisis.

In order to promote English literacy and bi literacy, the extent and implications of language diversity in the United States need to be understood, and literacy in any language needs to be viewed as a resource, rather than as a liability. Current research on bilingual education for children (see, for example, Baker, 1996; Goldenberg, 1996; Merino & Lyons, 1990) and for adults (see Melendez, 1990) indicates that the bilingual education approach is generally more effective than the English-only approach if learners are put into comparable programs with comparable resources. Further, children taught in their native language develop higher levels of proficiency in that language than those who are directly immersed in English, and bilingualism and bi literacy are positive outcome [s] of any educational program (Goldenberg, 1996, p. 10). Even critics of bilingual education such as Rossell and Baker (1996) suggest that language minority children should be seen as an opportunity to develop bilingual adults (p. 35). State- and federally-funded bilingual education programs, however, reach only a fraction of eligible students. In 1996, more than one-third of teachers in bilingual classrooms were not fully credentialed, and while little is actually known about these teachers, the likelihood is that many were relying heavily on one of the 29,000 bilingual paraprofessionals employed in California's schools.

Seventy percent (70%) of LEP students are educated in English-only classrooms without academic instruction in the primary language. Of these, about 20% may receive some informal help in their primary language principally from an instructional aide to help decipher a lesson that is taught in English. Among the above 70% of LEP students, more than a third receive SDAIE (Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English), which was initially designed to be a transitional pedagogy for students from a bilingual setting who were being mainstreamed into English-only classes. 2 However, in actual practice this instructional methodology is commonly used for any student who does not receive primary language instruction. Because SDAIE methods were developed for students at the threshold of English fluency, it may be inappropriate to use these same methods with students who have little or no understanding of English 3.

Moreover, Aida Walqui, instructor in the Teacher Education program at Stanford University, and an acknowledged expert in SDAIE instruction, notes that "what teachers actually do varies from classroom to classroom and we have no evidence to indicate that what they are doing is actually SDAIE. Furthermore, there are no evaluation studies of SDAIE programs in actual practice". 4 Between 20 and 25 percent of LEP students 5 receive no services at all to support their language and academic needs. These students are mainstreamed into the regular English-only classrooms in a "sink or swim" approach.

The evidence suggests that many of these students sink. 6 In sum, only a minority of LEP students in California is currently enrolled in a bilingual program; 70% of California's LEP students receive some other kind of instructional program, or no services at all. Moreover, because LEP students tend to be more mobile than other California students, they are likely to experience several different kinds of programs over the span of their K-12 education. 7 The consequences of such a hodgepodge approach to educating English language learners can be severe. A recent study by the Council of Chief State School Officers noted that many LEP students in California, and elsewhere, do not receive the services they need and as a result these students are more likely to be held back, tracked in low academic groupings, or even placed in special education classes, and their dropout rates are alarmingly high. 8 What is clear from the foregoing discussion is that neither the successes nor the failures of Limited English Proficient students can be attributed to their participation in bilingual education classrooms.

Since so few of these students have ever received this mode of instruction and even fewer have been in such academic subjects and English language development -- or what most people would refer to as bilingual classrooms. Even within these classrooms, however, instruction may vary greatly from one school to another, and from one community to another. Moreover, all bilingual classrooms are not headed by credentialed bilingual teachers. 6 In sum, only a minority of LEP students in California are currently enrolled in a bilingual program; 70% of California's LEP students receive some other kind of instructional program, or no services at all. CONCLUSION The persistence of the myth of English monolingualism in this country reflects the belief that English is the only language that counts and the mentality that language diversity is a problem rather than a resource.

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