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My artifacts demonstrating this standard (What?)
The industry of English as a foreign language (EFL) and English as a second language (ESL) teaching has grown immensely. There are many curricula, academies, schools, and methods available. Learning English is a need that can be met with relative ease in almost every country in the world. However, it is also true that there are qualities within the spectrum of options, and there are certain identified characteristics, methodologies, and philosophies that have been found to be the most effective in bringing about the attainment of the goal: to be fluent in English.
The best practices in ESL teaching are many and are documented in several manuals and catalogues of organizations dedicated to the study of teaching English, such as:
· Integration of four language skills: listening, reading, writing, and speaking
· An approach to reading and writing skills. This means you should not only be taught reading and writing mechanics, but comprehension, peer evaluation, lectures, and other tools should be used in order to make you apply the skills and gain better comprehension.
· Integration of language and content. This means you should not just be taught vocabulary and grammar, but they should be presented within a context that makes them more comprehensible.
· Emphasis on language use rather than form
· Emphasis on authentic meaning and function. This refers to not being stuck on formal definitions, but on the meaning and use of words and phrases
· Skills taught in context through topics of interest to students
The above practices would be considered essential in a modern ESL or EFL teaching environment. The last ingredient is the use of technology, such as collaborative online groups, streaming video, and other teaching aids that are widely available in our technology-driven society.
This website gave us osme ideas of what best practices is about and how we can use them in our teaching practicum!
My Reflection on meeting this standard (So What?)
To be an effective EFL practitioner is something difficult to acquire. During the experience we have had as EFL practitioners in different levels, we have discovered that it is important that we make a difference in our teaching world. To do so, it is urged we practice the practices listed above.
One proof of this is that we as EFL practitioners have tried to integrate the four macro skills by implementing different types of activities in our classes. In this way, we could make our students use not only one but the four macro skills. During the time that we have been teaching, we have learned that it is important that we as teachers implement different activities for all the different types of learning styles that we may have inside our classes. Therefore, during this last semester we try to implement new practices that seemed interesting for the majority of students such as technology and music.
Another proof is that we did not focus on grammar, but we focus on context. We tried not to teach grammar rules but to teach them how to use English in real-life situations by being an example for them.
Finally, we can say that we tried to make our students feel interested in our classes by choosing topics that were interesting for them not for us. Sometimes we tend to choose topics that WE think they may be interested in, but the reality may be different. Hence, we asked our students to give us some topics they would like to talk about in the class, and we made the necessary arrangements to apply them in our English Class.
My Future Learning Goals related to this standard (Now What?)
To better everyday is the main goal as EFL practitioners. We are aware that we live in a world that is constantly changing; for this reason, we will try to be changing as well to better our teaching skills. As the next generation of learners has a great contact with technology, we as teachers need to use this important tool for our benefit. We will try to make students think that internet is not only to chat, view profiles, or add comments on social networks, but also to learn in an easier way. Sometimes, it may be really difficult because the schools may have limited resources, but the point here is not to be limited in mind.
As future teachers is essential that we be aware that we need to be growing and learning from our students as much as can get since they are a really important resource for our development. Therefore, we need to keep up improving by apply new and appealing techniques to our teaching.
The industry of English as a foreign language (EFL) and English as a second language (ESL) teaching has grown immensely. There are many curricula, academies, schools, and methods available. Learning English is a need that can be met with relative ease in almost every country in the world. However, it is also true that there are qualities within the spectrum of options, and there are certain identified characteristics, methodologies, and philosophies that have been found to be the most effective in bringing about the attainment of the goal: to be fluent in English.
The best practices in ESL teaching are many and are documented in several manuals and catalogues of organizations dedicated to the study of teaching English, such as:
· Integration of four language skills: listening, reading, writing, and speaking
· An approach to reading and writing skills. This means you should not only be taught reading and writing mechanics, but comprehension, peer evaluation, lectures, and other tools should be used in order to make you apply the skills and gain better comprehension.
· Integration of language and content. This means you should not just be taught vocabulary and grammar, but they should be presented within a context that makes them more comprehensible.
· Emphasis on language use rather than form
· Emphasis on authentic meaning and function. This refers to not being stuck on formal definitions, but on the meaning and use of words and phrases
· Skills taught in context through topics of interest to students
The above practices would be considered essential in a modern ESL or EFL teaching environment. The last ingredient is the use of technology, such as collaborative online groups, streaming video, and other teaching aids that are widely available in our technology-driven society.
This website gave us osme ideas of what best practices is about and how we can use them in our teaching practicum!
My Reflection on meeting this standard (So What?)
To be an effective EFL practitioner is something difficult to acquire. During the experience we have had as EFL practitioners in different levels, we have discovered that it is important that we make a difference in our teaching world. To do so, it is urged we practice the practices listed above.
One proof of this is that we as EFL practitioners have tried to integrate the four macro skills by implementing different types of activities in our classes. In this way, we could make our students use not only one but the four macro skills. During the time that we have been teaching, we have learned that it is important that we as teachers implement different activities for all the different types of learning styles that we may have inside our classes. Therefore, during this last semester we try to implement new practices that seemed interesting for the majority of students such as technology and music.
Another proof is that we did not focus on grammar, but we focus on context. We tried not to teach grammar rules but to teach them how to use English in real-life situations by being an example for them.
Finally, we can say that we tried to make our students feel interested in our classes by choosing topics that were interesting for them not for us. Sometimes we tend to choose topics that WE think they may be interested in, but the reality may be different. Hence, we asked our students to give us some topics they would like to talk about in the class, and we made the necessary arrangements to apply them in our English Class.
My Future Learning Goals related to this standard (Now What?)
To better everyday is the main goal as EFL practitioners. We are aware that we live in a world that is constantly changing; for this reason, we will try to be changing as well to better our teaching skills. As the next generation of learners has a great contact with technology, we as teachers need to use this important tool for our benefit. We will try to make students think that internet is not only to chat, view profiles, or add comments on social networks, but also to learn in an easier way. Sometimes, it may be really difficult because the schools may have limited resources, but the point here is not to be limited in mind.
As future teachers is essential that we be aware that we need to be growing and learning from our students as much as can get since they are a really important resource for our development. Therefore, we need to keep up improving by apply new and appealing techniques to our teaching.