Esl As A Second Language Online

My first language, or "mother" language, is English, and I can´t remember learning any bit of it as a child. I have brief memories of learning grammar in grade school, but as far as I´m concerned, I could speak just fine before Kindergarten. Then why did it take me over eight years to feel slightly comfortable speaking German' How come I could learn so much better as a drooling baby than a university student' Let us consider the differences in learning a first language vs. a second languageIn defense of the hardened university student, studies show that a baby´s brain is more apt to learn a mother language when compared with an adult brain learning a second language. According to http://www.fcs.uga.edu/pubs/PDF/FACS01-6 , "The baby´s brain is actually ´primed´ to learn language."...  [Read more]

There are various different methods which are used to teach a second language. One such method is the immersion method of teaching , developed in Canada to provide Canada's majority group English- speaking students with opportunities to learn Canada's other official language, French. Students are taught a second language exclusively throught he medium of the second language.The structured immersion approach, however, must not be confused with submersion (which is really a non-approach). Essentially, it is a ' sink or swim ' approach. For example, a non-English-speaking French child moves to England and is placed in a regular English- speaking classroom and is taught exclusively in English in the same way as the English-speaking children.Bull (1965) drew a distinction between these two...  [Read more]

INTRODUCTIONHow did you learn to speak your native language' Notice, this shouldn´t be such a puzzling question. Do you remember when you learned to tie your shoes, ride a bike, and eat with a fork' Sometimes we can remember a parent helping us to do these things. But have our parents helped us learn to speak our first language' Do you remember when your mother taught you the past tense' When your father laid down the rules for passive sentences' We don´t remember these important moments of our childhood because they never occurred. Sometimes we as adults study for years to acquire a new language. It is then quite wonderful to think that children, by around the age of 5, have more or less mastered their first language, excepting some vocabulary and a few grammatical structures. This is...  [Read more]

As a global language, English has been popularly taught as the second language in China for quite a few years. Now there are more Chinese people learning English on various purposes, such as applying for a higher paid job, studying and living abroad, or establishing business with western countries. According to my experience of learning and teaching English, it is harder to master English pronunciation than English grammar for Chinese students. Chinese grammar may appear quite simple compared to that of many highly-inflected Western languages (e.g. Russian, Latin, etc.), or even the low-scale verb conjugations, for instance, of English (e.g. "swim, swam, swum") because of the lack of inflections. (1)Even though there are similarities between English alphabet and Chinese one – Han Yu...  [Read more]

Everyone agrees that learning a second language is more difficult than picking up our native language. However, why this is so is still a question of great debate in the scientific community.Most children with normal intelligence and neurological development will easily pick up their native language. The ease of this process is something that still mystifies scientists. Furthermore, parents do not usually make painstaking efforts to teach their children to speak. In many ways, the process appears innate; the child either “absorbs” the language through immersion or models the language that he or she hears her parents speaking.Although we speak of language learning as innate, recent scientific studies seem to point to the fact that the brain is not hard- wired with preset...  [Read more]

When observing children, the speed and accuracy to which they acquire their native language is quite remarkable to adults. There are many different cultures and many ways in which children are raised, but the rate at which they acquire this information is consistent all over the world. In the scientific community, language acquisition by humans is one of the most unexplainable and highly studied feats in our everyday lives. Parents do not teach their children the grammatical structure of language or how to speak it, rather it is something that is acquired early in life and continues to progress into adulthood. It is said that by the time a child enters pre-school, he or she already has mastered most of the mechanics of their mother language (Galasso). By studying the mistakes and the...  [Read more]

Quite often, the terms English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) are used interchangeably to describe English language instruction to non-native speakers. However, it is becoming increasingly more well known that the two contexts are quite different, demanding the teacher approach and execute different teaching methodologies in the classes. In an ESL setting, the class is likely to be multilingual and be completely immersed in the language by living in the culture of the target language. On the other hand, in the EFL setting, the class is typically monolingual and living in their own country (Brown 2001).In Teaching by principles, author H. Douglas Brown explains that 'it is useful to consider the pedagogical implications for a continuum of contexts...  [Read more]

In consideration of whether or not teachers of English as a second language should teach slang or idioms in class, or rather, why English teachers should teach idioms or slang, I did some research on the internet regarding this particular topic. For the most part, I found one David Burke's article on the subject to be most informative (Burke, 1). I have formed my own opinion on the matter, which I will discuss at length later in this essay.First, it is constructive to define exactly what slang words and idioms are, to differentiate between the two as well as to be completely precise in this pursuit. Dictionary.com defines an idiom as 'an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements' (dictionary.com, 1). In contrast, slang is 'very...  [Read more]

A question on the minds of many English as a Second Language instructors are whether or not it is appropriate to teach students the use of slang and idioms in the English language. Although the distinction between what is a formal term versus an informal one is crucial, slang is a significant part of conversational English and, as such, should be covered in the classroom. It would be very difficult for someone new to the English language to understand an American movie, TV show, news broadcast or even a typical conversation as they are filled with nonstandard English. Firstly, it is important to define the terms “idiom” and “slang”. Slang can be described as nonstandard vocabulary of a given culture or subculture. In other words, slang is typically a nonstandard...  [Read more]

The business of teaching English as a second language has grown drastically over the last several decades, and even though it may not be as lucrative an industry as it was several years ago, the sheer number of English teachers has continued to increase. With this increase there has also been a rise in volunteer efforts by native and fluent speakers, especially to undeveloped and third- world areas where knowledge of English can open the door for much- needed economic opportunities. This increase in volunteerism has not only benefited students, but teachers, nations, and humanity in general. Three examples of interesting, excellent volunteer teaching programs are the Peace Corps, I-to-I, and, for those who want to live on top of the world ' Volunteer Nepal Himalaya.Volunteer Nepal Himalaya...  [Read more]

In the teaching of English as a Second Language (ESL), games are very important, with adults and especially with children. Let’s face it, no matter how much one wants to learn another language sometimes class discussions about verb tenses and vocabulary can be monotonous, slow, and boring. Games make learning fun and can be used to add a little spice to class. Many people are motivated by competition so games can stimulate this enthusiasm and help to stimulate participation. Games can be used to aid in: learning vocabulary, verb usage, vocabulary review, pronunciation practice, phrase building, confidence building, and encouraging students to think and respond in English. Games are great ways to begin or end a class. Openers for classes are used to introduce new topics, or to review...  [Read more]

Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) in China is for the most part pleasant and exciting. Students are eager to learn. However, one of the frustrations ESL teachers often complain about is that students seem to make the same mistakes repetitively. Learners will often transfer the rules of their first language to express something in their second language. This transference happens when they have insufficient knowledge of the rules of the second language. In China, students fall back on the rules of their first language (Mandarin) when they do not know the rules of the second language (English). The result is a poor form of English, informally referred to as "Chinglish". The errors that occur are also called language interference errors. These errors affect students’ academic...  [Read more]

Over the past four decades it appears that the advanced development of computers and the ready availability of this technology have led to an interest in a lexical approach to second language learning versus the more traditional grammar based approach. The Oxford dictionary defines lexical as 'connected with the words of a language', and grammar as 'the rules in a language for changing the form of words and joining them into sentences'. Two additional terms that are relevant to understanding this new approach is concordances, 'a list produced by a computer that shows all the examples of an individual word in a book', and collocations, 'a combination of words in a language that happens very often and more frequently than would happen by chance'.One article researched suggest that we live...  [Read more]

The demand for a second or third language at an early age has increased over the last years. Many parents decide to raise their children bi- or multilingual and therefore more and more kindergarten and preschools offer English as a second language. There are many advantages in teaching English as a foreign language at such an early stage in a child's life. Learning a language for a child is a lot easier than for adults. They listen and learn without analyzing sentence structure, grammar, stress or intonations such as adult learners. The child will simply grow up having two first languages. English is generally taught as the first foreign language in school. A child having been exposed to English in kindergarten will have head start in school and even later when he or she wants to learn...  [Read more]

Over the years, many debates have arisen in regards to second language instruction (L2), giving prominence to two main models: English Only versus Bilingual Education. English Only uses solely English as the medium for instruction, whereas Bilingual Education, as its name implies, uses both English and the student's native language. While there are several aspects to the debate, this paper will briefly cover a certain few: cultural sensitivity, accuracy, and segregation. Proponents of the English Only model claim that the use of a student's native language creates a 'cycle of native language dependency,' meaning that the student, to some extent, gets 'tethered' to his native tongue. Using solely English in the classroom, advocates say, frees students to think and speak in English, thus...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in QiAnqiu Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Yancheng Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Growing up in a rural area in Pennsylvania, I always thought teachers were all pretty much the same. My idea of a teacher were those that taught at a public or private school, grades K through 12. I thought of them teaching the main subjects, such as Math, English, History, and Science. Over the past couple decades, the English language has become the most common...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Xihe Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Xiaogan Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Just like any profession, teaching English has specific terms and acronyms that can be used to describe the job. While teaching English to speakers of other languages (ESOL) is an overarching term to describe the job of teaching English to those who do not use English as their native language, ESL (English as a Second Language) and EFL (English as a Foreign Language)...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Yimin Sumu? Are you interested in teaching English in Hulunbei'er Shi — Hulunbuir? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Differences between teaching ESL and EFL There are different ways on how to teach English. To be able to teach English in the United States a person would need to traditionally embark on a bachelor's or master's degree that focuses on a teaching license. Once you have this license you can teach in schools to children from the kinder garden up to high...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Dingsidang Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Huanggang Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Teaching online has been a growing demand. It is preferred by many teachers and students; it seems like a revolutionary thing. This growth has clearly affected teaching English as a second language. When searching for online ESL courses or tutors, numerous websites appear. The reason of this noticeable increase in the ESL online market is the great advantage...  [Read more]

Globalization and the increasing demand for English speaking professionals all over the world, especially in emerging regions, has brought about a new, steadily growing sector: English as a Second Language (ESL). An ESL teacher is, therefore, an educator who works with English Language Learners (ELLs) whose native language is not English. The goal of the ESL teacher is to help the students reach a certain level of fluency in English, on both a spoken and written level. ESL educators are not to be confused with foreign language teachers. ESL teachers do not share the same native language and are specifically trained to offer explanations and directed teaching methods to non-English speakers. This teaching style is mainly focused on repetition, drills, demonstrations, and visuals. Often...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in GAnyi Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Xiantao, Tianmen, Qianjiang & S? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Every English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher desires to successfully teach their students how to proficiently speak, understand, and use the English language. English is a very complex language, and teaching it presents many challenges. Because of this, an ESL teacher must be willing and able to take on various roles throughout the teaching...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Yadong Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Hulunbei'er Shi — Hulunbuir? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Grammar is the foundational building block of effective communication. The same way that improper wiring can cause an unclear picture on a television screen, improper grammar, can similarly skew the clarity and meaning of an intended message. Learning proper grammar is important for English learners because it will: build confidence, help make good...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in ShAjintaohai Sumu? Are you interested in teaching English in Bayannao'er Shi — Bayan Nur? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. ESL students usually mention slang or idioms that they acquired from the language outside of the classroom. Although slang and idioms are not the proper mechanics of a language, it is important to help students distinguish formal and informal speech which can improve their writing skills and speaking skills. Slang can improve the writing...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Baoshi Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Xing'an Meng — Hinggan? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. The proliferation of the internet and the personal computer has great implications for education. Online ESL is a fast-growing segment of the ESL market. This new mode of teaching has changed the teaching methods, materials and the relationship between student and teacher. It has also radically increased the ability for language learners to get their...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in DushAn Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Huanggang Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. Learning a second language is challenging. Especially for adult students who famously find learning a language more difficult than children. This stresses students and slows their learning process. Teachers, on the other hand, need to accommodate these learning barriers to effectively teach a language. ESL teachers need to have certain characteristics and skills to...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in ShuAngpai Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Shaoyang Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. When it comes to learning ESL, most learners associate it with memorising spelling rules, doing countless grammar exercises, making abstract speaking topics and translating sentences from L1 into English. In these, there is little or no listening and speaking practice involved, making English just one of the numerous boring school subjects. However, there is so...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Baidishi Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Hengyang Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. The ITTT 120-hour on-line TEFL course is intended to provide the novice ESL teacher with the fundamentals for building an ESL teaching career. The course is divided into a total of twenty individual units. Half the units are concerned with the process of teaching English to non-English speakers. The other half of the syllabus is concerned with class content –...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Tanghu Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Xianning Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. The terms ESL and EFL are often used interchangeably because at their root they both mean the same thing; English for people who are not native to the language. However, there are many possible differences between both learners. Typically EFL stands for English as a Foreign Language whereas ESL means English as a Second Language. This means that generally speaking,...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Binhuai Nongchang? Are you interested in teaching English in Yancheng Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. In Canada, the Department of Education, Newfoundland and Labrador defines an ESL student as one “… whose primary language or languages of the home, is other than English and would require additional English language support to develop” (“Who is the ESL student?” n.d, 2) receptive and productive skills. They go on to divide ESL students into...  [Read more]

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in YAqueling Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Yichng Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language. The general importance of volunteering is known by most people. Volunteering helps people, causes, and organizations that typically cannot afford resources, and so greatly benefit from volunteers and donations. Volunteer teaching, particularly teaching ESL learners, is no different. Private tutors are expensive and not all can afford to send their children or...  [Read more]