Approaches To Teaching of English in Non-English Speaking Countries - Essay Example

The fact that Standard English can be spoken with a variety of accents often poses certain difficulties for the teaching of English in non-English speaking countries. What are some of the problems you have encountered/might encounter as a teacher of English and how have you tried/might you try to solve them? (adapted from Wardhaugh, 2006, p. 49) Teaching English as a Foreign Language can be a very rewarding task. However it can present a number of problems if this is being done in a country which has few English speakers and /or which does not have it as an official language. There is a ‘ need to recognize the validity of nativized varieties of English,……. and the fact that communication between speakers of nativized and native varieties can more easily involve intelligibility difficulties.’ (Levis 1999) Many languages for instance have borrowed lots of English words, but these may have very localized pronuniciations. Nimoh ( 2010) gives examples of different accent variations between people groups in Africa, but this variation is present everywhere. . Despite the search for validity Beinhoff ( 2009) points out that ‘ There have been concerns about positive and negative discrimination between people who speak with different accents.’ Students may have acquired the knowledge they do have from a variety of sources, which could lead to some variation in the accents and pronunciation they employ. And, whether we like it or not, accent can also involves status and therefore acceptance. Dialects and accents are the most obvious variations that are found in English around the globe. British and American English have for instance diverted considerably in both accent and vocabulary, especially the vernacular, over time as pointed out by Peterson ( 2006) Teachers determine the strengths, interest levels, weaknesses, and final abilities of their students. Students at whatever level want to improve their use and knowledge of English. I t is up to teachers to give them both knowledge and confidence. They need to tell them :- It's important to be able to speak clearly, so that people can understand you. However, it's almost impossible to sound exactly like a native English speaker if you are learning English as an adult in a non-English speaking country. ( English-at-home.com ( undated ) At the same time teachers will be in a good position to help initiate and support changes as described by the University of Exeter ( Undated). Passing exams may mean reducing very pronounced accents as stated by Teacher Phil ( undated) Lessons must be planned so that communication skills in the new language are optimised. However English is an important languages in countries all round the world. This mean that is a resultant tremendous variety in English, both in syntax and in accents. Part of learning to speak English is to develop an understanding of various accents while at the same time understanding that none of them are necessarily incorrect. . Difficulties Firstly – who will teach? Probably someone foreign to that land and therefore foreign to that culture. They will almost certainly have a rather different accent from any local speakers. This can mean that on occasions mistakes are made. Cultural ignorance on the part of the teacher will bring further problems. For instance in Pakistan saris are sometimes worn by higher class ladies in large cities or for special occasions such as weddings. Most women wear shalwar chemise. However teaching materials often come across from India where saris are worn by everyone of whatever social status. This can mean that women reject the materials because they cannot associate themselves with the pictures or even because they are associated with Hindus rather than the Muslim majority, or because speakers in films have Indian rather than Pakistani accents. Similar problems can occur in Africa. Westerners can tend to think of Africa as one big place. They aren’t very aware of the differences between racial groups such as height, costume or skin shade, as well as accent, so again materials may be presented that are rejected, perhaps even offensive to certain students for cultural, religious o there is the need to eradicate bad habits - the students may be familiar with a very local English which would be almost unintelligible to someone from the Home Counties. If they are learning in order to communicate further a field then they will need to learn a more standard usage and accent. This should be explained is as sensitive way as possible. It should be explained that various English accents have developed because of the influence of other languages in an area, thus a South African accent is influenced by both Dutch and the indigenous African languages of the region for example. Their English isn’t wrong, but has developed in relative isolation. The class need exposure to more standard English accents if they are going to use it to communicate over a wider area, but this isn’t so important if they are merely learning out of interest. A more standard accent can be heard by using tapes, DVD’s etc of more standard English speakers, perhaps listening to the BBC World Service if this is possible, If the teacher is not themselves familiar with local language they will need to use different techniques form those teachers who have such fluency. If they are unfamiliar with local culture they need to admit this to the class, but explain that they are eager to learn, but need the co-operation of the class. This can be the basis of lessons as students explain such things as local feasts, what is taboo or socially correct and what isn’t and so on. Written material may be hard to obtain. Books can be expensive, especially if they have to be imported. In an English speaking country one can use such things as menus, advertisements, television programmes etc, but these may not be as easily available elsewhere. You could ask students to contribute or lend English materials that they do have, such as comic books and materials they have written themselves. If you have links with English speaking countries perhaps someone can send you magazines etc, and of course there is always the Internet with its cornucopia of useful material, often spoken as well as written. Lessons could be devoted from time to time to students producing tapes or other material to get across a particular concept. Not only will these be of benefit in later classes , but the material will become engrained into the minds of those taking part. Another problem may be poverty levels - it is no good suggesting that students watch a particular television programme, U Tube film or listen to the radio if they come from a place with no reception or no money to buy such things as computers and other electronic devices.. Perhaps they could listen together in class. Another difficulty is that one cannot easily suggest that students go out into the town and practise their English if there are few English speakers to be found. But there is usually someone, or failing that all could meet in a café from time to time and practise on each other, although this can mean perpetuating each others mistakes and accents. Over correcting students will discourage them. A balance must be made between fluency and accuracy, Being too pedantic about grammer or accent is not necessarily a good idea. It is a better option than constantly correcting to merely repeat what the student says , but in correct English, including having a good generalized accent that is understandable . So if he says ‘ I did work in an hotel.’ You merely respond by saying to him, ‘You used to work in a hotel’. If this is done consistently then correct grammar and pronunciation will gradually take over. Students expectations Many students will equate learning English with being able to speak it , but if opportunities are not available they will get frustrated , even if they are learning perfect grammar and widening their vocabularies in the classroom. This means that class work should not just be teaching and written work but should include such things as guided conversations. This is possible even with only limited abilities. For instance at the most basic level model sentence can be used. For instance ‘ I have one brother and two sisters’. Each person then changes the sentences to suit their particular circumstance – ‘I have no brothers and three sisters’ etc. If there is considerable variation in accent then the teacher needs to check ‘Did everyone understand what John was saying? How many brothers has he got? The same idea can be used as homework practise. How many variations can they come up with on ‘The man is walking quickly down the road’? Such lessons take little preparations, cost nothing in equipment and at the same time give students confidence in their own linguistic abilities. Lessons which include involve speaking activities must be aiming to improving verbal communication skills. In this way the rules of language use will be absorbed in a more automatic and less tedious way than merely repeating grammar rules or chanting verb forms. Smith 2007 points out how learning to use an acceptable and widely comprehensible accent can be very important if one is to be understood. Speaking in class In some cultures students will not be used to speaking out in class – that is the teachers job they feel.. Some may feel rather shy – this may apply particularly to girls in mixed classes. The way to deal this is to make your classroom different from others – perhaps by arranging chairs in groups rather than in rows. By creating this new classroom culture the old rules of school society will no longer apply and there is a new freedom. Avoid asking questions which can be answered with a mere ‘Yes’ or ‘No’, or even a nod of the head, so not ‘Do you have brothers?’ , but ‘Where do you come in the family? Or ‘How many brothers do you have?’ ’ Open questions often begin with words such as ‘Why?’, ‘What?’, ‘When?’ , Who?’, ‘Where?’ and ‘How?’ Other phrases ‘Do you prefer to spend your time with friends or with family,?’ may be answered quite shortly, but then the student is committed to say why he thinks so or the teacher can ask follow up questions. In smaller classes each student can take turns answering a particular question. With larger classes smaller groups are better and they can discuss more general questions such as ‘ Is it better to take exercise every day for a few minutes or for longer once a week?’ if they can cope with such a complex question. More complex question should perhaps be written down, either on a board everyone can see or on sheets of paper placed on each table Easier questions to answer might be such things as ‘What is the perfect present to give an aunty?’. Slightly harder ones might include such questions as ‘Why is it good to learn English?’ Open question s such as these will bring forth longer and more complex answers and encourage students to stretch themselves. Closed questions have their particular uses too. They can be used to check understanding of concepts. For instance make a statement ‘ I used to have a dog.’ Then ask individuals or groups ‘ Is this question about the past or the present? Do I still have a dog? Again cultural consideration should be accounted for - in places where rabies is a problem people do not keep dogs. In parts of Africa ‘I used to have lots of cattle’ might be a more appropriate statement. Such questions can be used for revision, perhaps at the end of a week or in the following class as suggested by Katie (January 2007) The more speech is used in class the more a unified accent will emerge as people gradually move their own accent closer to that of others, perhaps without even realizing they are doing so. Let the class listen to English voices from around the world - this will help them to realize that variation is normal and o.k. I t is necessary to be patient, especially at the beginning of lessons. It may be a week or so since your students had any opportunity to use their knowledge of spoken English. A few minutes devoted to simple language drills will help them get back into English mode. The needs of students The requirements of particular students will vary. They may be learning English for a variety of reasons – just out of interest, in order to be able to study a particular subject at higher education level, perhaps they hope to travel to an English speaking country, or an English qualification may enhance job prospects. It can be difficult to meet all such aims in one class. Perhaps you could come up with some specialist language for an engineer or scientist. Letter writing may be a required skill. A student may want to communicate with someone in particular such as a grandchild or a daughter-in –law in a far country. A teacher who knows the hopes and dreams of her students will be more successful than one who merely plans lessons in a fixed order. There needs to be at least some degree of flexibility. At the same time students should know that certain standards must be met if they are to become adept at communication over a wider area. Some teachers resort to rote learning, but this does not necessarily get over the problem of diverse accents. A more useful method might be to break words up into their individual components ( phonemes) . The students will then learn where stress should be placed for instance, as described on the web page ‘Teaching English Pronunciation Using Role Playing and Other Games’. ( 2010) The same writer suggests the use of role plays. Students prepare short speeches in which they imitate famous people. These are taped and played back so that they can see how well they performed. This overcomes problems of students clinging to very local accents at all times and is fun. Diagrams of how the mouth appears when certain sounds are produced can be helpful for sounds produced with the confines of the oral cavity such as ‘g’ and ‘k’ Such things as using hand clapping rhymes in which all participate will break down shyness levels. It will also overcome the dreaded ’I can’t do this!’ which can be difficult to overcome. Another point is that it encourages everyone to place stresses in the same place – an important point if consistency in pronunciation is needed as pointed out by the International Teacher Training Organization ( 2001-2011) Conclusion The aim over all is to meet the needs of students. This may not include being word perfect or speaking BBC English. Some will want to concentrate on written language, others want verbal ease. Fluency may be more important to students than accent. A teacher who fails to take into account the particular individual requirements of each of her students will find empty seats or students who merely sit in silence or talk in their own tongue. References Beinhoff ( 2009) Attitudes of Non-Native Speakers Towards Foreign Accents of English, The Linguist List, retrieved 12th May 2011 from http://linguistlist.org/pubs/diss/browse-diss-action.cfm?submissionid=2645034 International Teacher Training Organization ( 2001-2011), Teaching English Abroad, retrieved 12th May 2011 from http://www.teflcertificatecourses.com/tefl-articles/eflteaching-terminology.php Improving your English Pronunciation, ( undated) English-at-home.com, retrieved 12th May 2011 from http://www.english-at-home.com/pronunciation/improving-your-pronunciation/ Katie, ( January 2007) Is this a concept check question? TEFL Whygo, retrieved 28th April 2011 from http://www.tefllogue.com/training/is-this-a-concept-check-question.html Levis ( 1999) Variations in Pronunciation and ESL Teacher Training, retrieved 12th May 2011 from http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/sec_document.asp?CID=196&DID=571 Nimoh, P. ( 2010) Communication Challenges Faced by Foreign-born Faculty, Creative Nursing. Volume 16, retrieved 12th May 2011 from http://www.questia.com/app/direct/SM.qst Peterson, B. ( 2006), What?s all this then?, TEFL Courses, retrieved 12th May 2011 from http://www.teflonline.net/articles/complete_articles.php?index=225&category=57 Smith, K., ( 2007) TEFL Problems for learners in Japan, TITC, retrieved 12th May 2011 from http://www.teflcorp.com/articles/46-tefl-problems-learning-english-different-countries/147-problems-for-learners-in-japan.htm Teacher Phil ( undated ) Learning Business School English Lesson 18: Consistency, variable, variation, variables, retrieved 12th May 2011 from http://teacherphil.com/business/18.html Teaching English Pronunciation Using Role Playing and Other Games, ( 2010) Buzzle.com, retrieved 29th April 2011 from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/teaching-english-pronunciation-using-role-playing-and-other-games.html University of Exeter, (Undated) MEd/PgDip/PgCert Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, retrieved 12th May 2011 from http://www.exeter.ac.uk/postgraduate/degrees/education/tesolmed/ Read More