English
is beginning to be a universal language. People all around the world
are learning English as their second language, and speak it along
with their native tongue. People learn English because they need to
for work, school, family, or for other reasons, but how do they learn
it? In some countries, like in South Korea and Japan for example,
English teaching is part of the school curriculum, and is taught in
after-school programs called academies. For adults learning English,
there are English classes offered through the community. These
schools, academies, and community
classes need English-as-a-second-language (ESL) English teachers,
preferably native English speakers. These teachers would follow a set
curriculum given them by the government, one that has evolved over
hundreds of years. An ongoing problem concerning this is that
teachers are given this set way to teach, while they also want to
teach what they want and in their own way that will help the students
the best. Even though this curriculum is beneficial for the students
and adds to their knowledge, ESL teachers should be able to adjust
this curriculum in their teaching based on the needs of the students.
It is also beneficial for teachers to build that personal relationship
with their students so that the they will be able teach more
effectively.
What
we know today about ESL
teaching, and much of the curriculum of ESL teaching today, has
developed over time since the 15th
century. At that time, the only country that spoke English was Great
Britain. These people traded a lot with other colonies around the
world and
wanted to expand their empire. They thought that in order to expand
their trade routes to farther places, they needed to speak the same
language with the nations with whom they were trading. This is how
English began to be taught in foreign countries. English teachers
would be sent to teach English to people of higher classes, and even
governments, and those people would teach the lower-classes. This
helped the spread of the British empire and English language to other
countries.
This
influence of the British and English language in other countries
caused the idea of being bilingual to come about. Since a lot of
these countries did not want to give up their native tongues, they
started a bilingual educational system where the people could still
respect their language as well as the British language, which was
English (Your Dictionary). This is where the curriculum came from.
Later on, these educational systems expanded out of Europe and
eventually came into the United States. Around the time of World War
II, the United States saw the importance of foreign language
teaching, and therefore there came a greater interest in ESL
education (Your Dictionary). Now, there are people from America,
Britain, Australia, and various other countries teaching English in
countries who's native tongue is not English.
Britain,
by their desires to enlarge their empire, persuaded other countries
to adopt or learn their language, and made English teaching popular.
Teaching in and of itself is persuasion because teachers are trying
to communicate a certain subject to students, and persuade them to
learn and apply the subject to their life, whether it be work,
school, home, or other places. But many believe that teachers need to
follow the curriculum that was created, and has been used and
adjusted over time. Also, there is a growing fear that the system is
becoming so concrete that the students' needs are not met. The
communication and persuasive appeals are wavering since this
curriculum was put forth, and many say that teachers need to follow
it. All the people who are learning English are at different levels
of speaking and comprehension abilities, so the teacher should be
able to adjust their teaching based on those needs, not the set
system or curriculum that was put forth. While there are teaching
systems and organizations who create different comprehension level
lessons (beginning, intermediate, and advanced), one level would have
to be taught at a time. Of course the students who are at those
levels would be taught in that level, but there will still be a
difference in speaking, listening, reading, etc. The teachers need to
adjust their teaching based on the level of each student in the
class, rather than teach based on the class level.
An
association who creates a lot of the ESL curriculum now is the TESOL
International Association. This association is worldwide, and focuses
on ensuring excellence in English Language teaching to people who
want to learn English (TESOL). This association holds meetings
monthly, focusing on the teachers and students in ESL programs all
around the world. They also hand out a test called “The TESOL,”
which people have to take in order to get accepted to jobs and
universities. This association creates the curriculum for ESL
teachers and students all around the world, but there is still a gap
between the curriculum and the students needs.
Being
persuasive in ESL teaching is crucial. How are these ESL teachers the
most successful in their teaching, or how do they teach more
effectively and persuasively? How do they know what level their
students are at, and know at what point to start teaching a certain
vocabulary word or grammar form? The answer to all of these questions
can be stated in on word: relationship. Not just in an ESL teaching
setting, but in any teaching setting, the teacher should get to know
each student so he or she will know what to teach them. Also,
building that friendship first creates a sense of trust, and is a
crucial persuasive tool in teaching because when the student trusts
the teacher, he or she is more inclined to listen and learn.
While
trust and persuasion are great persuasive tools, being taught by a
native English teacher is persuasion enough for many people who want
to learn English. Many English-language learners want to learn
English from someone who is a native speaker, preferably from
America. In South Korea for example, Koreans want to learn English
from Americans being Americans speak “normal” English, or English
without an accent. This would be called “Standard English.” The
argument or reason for this is that the students would be able to
pronounce words and phrases accurately, rather than with an accent. After teaching English in South Korea as part of my church mission service, I learned that most Koreans want to learn English from Americans because they, according to Koreans, do not have an accent.
In
terms of communication in ESL teaching, the teachers are doing a lot
of the communicating in the classroom because they are teaching their
students, and the students are communicated to most of the time. But,
the students communicate back to the teacher in the form of their
progress in class, showing the teacher how much they were learning.
Their progress reflects how well the teacher persuaded them to learn
English. In a way, both teacher and student do the communicating and
are communicated to. Teachers can be the ones who are persuaded as
well, because their students are people who are learning English, so
they may not speak English all that well. This would compel the
teacher to speak in simpler terms, and speak slower, so that their
students can understand. This goes along with the teacher building
that relationship or trust with the student.
Britain's
desire to expand their empire changed the world linguistically, in
that English is spoken almost everywhere in the world. Teaching
English as a second language is a profession that is persuasive for
both teacher and student, and good communication is crucial if an ESL
teacher wants to be effective and persuasive to his or her students.
It is important that the teacher follows the curriculum, yet adds to
it with their own style of teaching, and adjusting it based on the
needs of the students. That is the way that ESL teaching can be the
most persuasive.
Works
Cited
“The
History of ESL.” Your
Dictionary.
Your Dictionary, n.d. Web, 13 November 2015.
TESOL
Intentional Association.
National Geographic, Cengage Learning, Union of Professionals, 2015.
Web. 21 November 2015.
Image
Woman hand ripping white paper on grey background. Digital. Dreamstime. (I added the word "curriculum")
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