Teaching Of English as a Second Language - Research Paper Example

Case Study In English Language learning, it is quite natural that people lack basic skills like listening, reading, speaking and writing. As such, students depend heavily on “the language learning techniques materials” that cover these basic skills. Learning, as an activity, involves the integrated skills of reading and writing English language, as it is the lingua franca or common global language. Therefore, right from the kindergarten days, education system in most countries, where English is most the motive language, focuses on teaching of English as a second language. To determine the stages of reading development, we take Joshua age 15 who is the 6th standard. Joshua is an immigrant to America. Joshua has difficulties in comprehending a written words and his vocabulary is equivalent to a second grader. He is quite eager to learn when we first met him and this enthusiasm can be seen throughout the course. He does not understand most the words and he cannot express himself. He is an eager student and is quite determined to learn English. In his first session the instructor access his English and she finds that his fluency in English is equal to the second grade student. While assessing his language learning vocabulary progress, the instructor assesses the Joshua’s power of vocabulary by observing him closely, and monitors whether his use of technical vocabulary is good. This encourages Joshua to identify words that are connected in meaning. The influence of the primary language is always is very strong in Joshua. So when the instructor indicates a word in English, he tries to correlate its meaning in the primary language, the meaning is in one word. The teacher and the student refer dictionary often, to verify the similarities and differences among words in the various languages. The instructor also makes a list of words, to enrich his vocabulary. At first, Joshua struggle, but as it is quite difficult to non native English learners. In addition to assessing vocabulary, the instructor also use traditional means such as multiple choice tests and matching items. Joshua’s reading development can be summarized into three categories – “Early emergent readers, emergent readers and early fluent reader” (Stages of Development, 2012). While tracing the different strategies in learning vocabulary, the levels of difficulty also vary. Beginners can only observe things around them and name them, as they are known to them. Students in the secondary stage can describe verbally the meanings of the words in context, as they are more advanced in “target vocabulary.” The next stage is itch for advanced knowledge and finding related ideas to target vocabularies, using the choicest words.” Word frequency estimates point us to those words that occur most often and are therefore important for students to know. In the first stage, Joshua develops an understanding of the letters. He then understood the lower and upper case as well as their relationship in spoken words. He begins to understand the basic concept of books and prints. He also can recognize the front and back of the book. He also develops the ability to recognize phonemes, syllables and rhymes. In the second stage, which is the emergent stage, Joshua has a strong understanding of letters and sounds. He also begins to understand the phonology as well. He is able to recognize different types of text like – fiction and nonfiction. He also begins to understand that reading is for a purpose. In the second stage of development, children no longer rely on pictures or patterns. They begin to understand many words and are able to identify with the characters in the book. In the third stage, Joshua acquires the stage of early fluent reader. In this stage he is more focused on the comprehension rather than decoding the words. He is able to read more fluently in this stage and he no longer stumble from word to word. He is now able to recognize sight words and is quite comfortable with reading complex sentences in the third stage. In the third stage, the children are more aware of the meaning of words and are able to distinguish between words. Throughout the learning process, Joshua struggle a bit as he is not a native speaker of English. For students whose takes English as a second language, learning vocabulary is always a challenge. Identifying vocabulary skills in each student involves observation of word lists and linking them with other words they need and each student’s personal dictionary entries offer ongoing record of individual vocabulary levels and growth. “Comprehension, organization, vocabulary, retention and information processing are important basic thinking skills and are required of almost anyone. The Critical Thinking Skills (Comprehension) program is ideal for students that may be proficient in logical reasoning but have not mastered reasoning skills to the point where applying them is automatic” (Help with Critical Thinking Skills, n.d.). In the writing section, Joshua’s progress is not as fast as the reading section. His stages of writing can be categorized into Phonetic, Transitional spelling and conventional spelling. He is quite eager to learn writing as well, but he is also quite frustrated with the whole process. Many times, he is not able to express himself in words. Interestingly, he has some idea about the concept of writing, as he has some concept about the idea of reading a story. This enables him to progress quickly. Joshua is given a task to write a story and a poem and read them both in front of the class. He is quite happy to write a story and a poem and is not frustrated with the idea of writing. This enthusiasm is what made him a fast learner. Overall, Joshua’s progress is quick and the method that the instructor uses is very effective. The ideal methodology a teacher can adopt in assessing students’ vocabulary is to discuss words that they are aware of and are prescribed in the instructional plan. The teacher can even facilitate the pupils’ involvement in the vocabulary part of the lessons by giving pair work, or by encouraging them to write anything they know about. “In addition, on alternatively, you might ask students to work in pairs, to write anything they know or can guess about a list of words. They write or draw their responses” (Peregoy & Boyle, 2008, pp. 210-211). With reference to the experience of a teacher in a Spanish kindergarten school, the narrative exposes the various stages involved in developing reading and writing skills. Reference List Help with Critical Thinking Skills, (n.d.). Dream Catcher. Retrieved from http://dreamcatcherlearning.com/programs/thinking-skills.html Peregoy, S. F. & Boyle, O. F. (2008). Reading, Writing and Learning in ESC: A Resource Book for Teaching. English Learners. 5th Edn. Pearson Learning Solutions. Print. Stages of Development, (2012). Readinga-Z.com. Retrieved from http://www.readinga-z.com/guided/stages.html Read More