Best Teacher of English - Report Example

Running head: IS A NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKER ALWAYS THE BEST TEACHER OF ENGLISH Is a Native English Speaker Always the Best Teacher of English [ Writer’s Name] [ Institution’s Name] Is a Native English Speaker Always the Best Teacher of English Introduction Language teachers have to be prefect in the language they are teaching, especially if it is to a class with students who do not know the language. Like English as second language classrooms require a teacher who knows everything about the language from, how to enhance reading skills to their speaking ability. Such a difficult task can be managed to the fullest if the teacher is native English speaker. In this way the class even has complete confidence in the teacher and also can learn a lot more then they can if the teacher is not of native English. This paper shall highlight all the benefits of a teacher who is a native English speaker for an ESL class. Analysis A native English speaker teacher plays an important role as he has mastery over the language. Given that it is unlikely that any classroom will include the teacher and all students belonging to the same cultural heritage and linguistic background, it is important that every teacher, from the outset of their practice, be aware of the impact differences of language use will create for their learners. "If one individual or group is unable to understand the communication systems in place in the classroom, that individual or group quickly becomes alienated and excluded from the classroom learning experience" (Green and Campbell 2003, 52). There is no doubt that the values and strategies adopted by the teacher will impact on the success or otherwise of the second language student. This can only be done by a native English speaking teacher. He/ She can make all the students talk in English in class regardless of the mistakes they make and encourage the students who cannot speak proper English. It is helpful to make an effort to develop some level of understanding of the features of student's first or 'home' languages, as these "linguistic differences are associated with sociolinguistic and cultural differences" (Dwyer 1989) and thus it will also ensure that the student feels both his/her first language and culture are valid and valuable, increasing their self esteem and sense of belongingness. This understanding is usually incorporated in the students successfully by native English speaking teachers as they can help them to comprehend the way in which their students are processing new information, putting them in a position to make adjustments to the delivery of this information if necessary: "if they fail to learn, we will question our strategies rather than blame their weaknesses." (Dwyer 1989). Native English speaking Teachers usually recognize and value the connection between language, culture and identity can influence how ESL/ESD students are treated in school contexts (Becket etal 2009). In fact, the strategies that native English speaking teachers put in place to enhance the learning of students with English as a second language or dialect will stem directly from these values held. Some understandings about the processes of learning a second language or dialect is also usually used by professional teachers who have thought ESL classes before. A native English speaking teacher may be aware that "linguistic output does not necessarily reflect cognitive understandings; learners often know far more than they can express in a second or foreign language" (Becket etal 2009), enabling them to adjust their strategies and planned learning experiences accordingly. There are a range of strategies that can be put in place to ensure a supportive classroom for students learning English as a second language. These will support any child's language learning, but are of special relevance to bilingual and bidialectal students. An assortment of these is briefly described below. One of the first to attend to may be the creation of a comfortable learning environment. Gibbons (1991) suggests that "student's attitudes to learning and their confidence in themselves as learners are key factors in successful learning." And also that "positive responses by teachers to student's first language and culture are important in enhancing learner's self esteem and developing their confidence." The environment must include mental, visual and aural stimulation, and be psychologically comfortable and accepting (Gravell 2000). The classroom, then, must be a place where the student feels valued, accepted, supported and able to take risks with their learning, to ensure that classroom anxiety is not a factor working against language learning. The language program which a native English teacher will use will be balanced and focused on meaning making, incorporating a mix of real life, life like and focused learning experiences. If a student understands the purpose behind the learning, and the teacher helps make links to their own background and experiences, they will be far more successful at making connections between the tasks and the outcomes. The n native English teacher may ensure frequent opportunities for interaction between themselves and individual students; because they understand that they are a major resource for student language development. (Gibbons 1991). Also planning opportunities for meaningful interaction between students may help to provide wide range of models and the need to communicate becomes an important impetus for using language. (Gibbons 1991). Language must be integrated with cross curricular content, and not taught in isolation, as learning a second language seems to be most effective when the focus is on using language to learn about something else. Native English teachers know how to do just that, they can effectively use Language activities within any learning area and is purposeful, achievable and explicit, as language will become established and remembered if it is embedded in situations that are meaningful and valued by the student (Hoffman & Bartkowicz 1999). Modeled reading and writing programs serve to support students in learning new skills. This type of learning is a form of scaffolding, with careful staging making tasks achievable (Green and Campbell 2003, 201). Such tasks can properly be planned by native English teachers. Rather than solely being recipients of information, native English speaking teachers give students opportunities to use problem solving skills. This can take the form of collaborative or cooperative learning, giving the student responsibility for their part in the group's learning, and another opportunity for meaningful interaction and language use.). All of these issues come together to affect the learning environment that is so crucial to success within an English program for students who speak English as a second language. Green and Campbell (2003) points out that native English speaking teachers are .aware of the assumptions, practices and resources that dominate our classrooms and to be mindful that all presentations and activities are as inclusive as possible, and to examine the purposes behind each choice the native speaking teachers make there.learning areas, english learning, utmost importance, communicators, thinkers, outset, umbrella, likewise, Hide extra keywords There are many ways in which the promotion of speaking and listening in the English classroom may be approached, but where native English speaking teachers follow current beliefs about language acquisition and the pivotal role of oracy and the value of individual learners, then there are some broad strategies to consider at the outset of programming. Fluent expression is the product of knowledge, experience, positive self esteem and a supportive learning environment. Familiarity with the expectations of how language is coded and used in that learning environment is also vital for success. Such knowledge can only be found in native speakers. Thus there are many interdependent factors to consider – what the student already know, how they feel about themselves, and the environment in which they are learning. Teachers who are native English speakers can only create an environment in which all students feel safe, comfortable, and able to learn, Hall (1995) suggest constructing "frameworks established upon principles that value the individual...build upon the funds of knowledge and experience, and therefore the strengths of learners...eliminate barriers to learning...that reflect principles of effective learning and teaching. Strategies for doing so include: making teacher talk explicit so all students understand requirements; ensuring cueing systems for interactions are explicitly taught and practiced by all; carefully modelling strategies and tactics, using student experiences as part of the scaffold and model for learning; provide sufficient scaffolding to support learning; being consistent in managing student contributions to classroom interactions; and providing opportunities for students to reflect on their learning, regularly sharing lesson content and learning processes with all students. In this learning environment, students will be able to contribute much more than in a classroom in which the teacher "controls the topic and direction of talk...and Discourse practices are not always in tune with those of many students." (Hall 1995). Once the effective learning environment is in place, the next consideration is to ensure the students' learning experiences are purposeful. Only teachers who know are native English speakers can do this, as they have complete control over their language. The most effective approach which they use is involving students in developing oracy skills is by incorporating [the students'] interests and experiences...and the funds of knowledge they bring with them, gained from their experience. Strategies to ensure purposeful learning experiences include: offering choice and open ended tasks to students; encouraging cooperative learning and group interdependence in the classroom; allowing students to assume responsibility for their own learning; enabling students to establish and monitor their own goals, and enabling students to regularly practice reflective thinking on their own learning. Native English speaking teachers are successful in modelling and scaffold questions, and explicitly link learning experiences to past current and predicted events explicitly. These teachers while engaging in these strategies adopts a facilitative approach to teaching and learning in the classroom in order to successfully implement them: a 'chalk and talk' approach is not what they use. They make use of a lot the expression of an underlying attitude towards how children learn the importance of learning to learn, and the encouragement of independent learning. In such a classroom, teaching and learning is usually explicit and native speaking teachers help make clear not only the purpose behind the process and content of the learning experience, but their own expectations of the students' learning. Explicit teaching, according to Krashen (1981) "involves all the information needed for learning... [Including] access to the teacher's expectations..." they can successfully integrate Speaking and listening with the other English learning areas, and across the curriculum into wider learning areas. Ideally, according to the Curriculum Framework (Montes 2002) students will have opportunities to use oral language for argument and persuasive purposes, to reflect on their values, to express opinions, to draw conclusions, to evaluate and to make judgments. Activities to encompass these opportunities could include talk as performance (news, storytelling debating) and talk as process (barrier games, problem solving tasks, construction activities) (Jones 1996). Mostly teachers who tea native speakers of English, from the outset of their practice, are aware of the impact differences of language use they create for their learners. If one individual or group is unable to understand the communication systems in place in the classroom, that individual or group quickly becomes alienated and excluded from the classroom learning experience. Native English speaking teachers can successfully make an effort to develop some level of understanding of the features of student's first or 'home' languages, as these linguistic differences are associated with sociolinguistic and cultural differences (Dwyer 1989) and thus it will also ensure that the student feels both his/her first language and culture are valid and valuable, increasing their self esteem and sense of belongingness. However these teachers should also have a little Understanding of a student's first language can also assist the teacher to comprehend the way in which their students are processing new information, and they will then be in a position to make adjustments to the delivery of this information if the student is not receiving it in the way it was intended: if they fail to learn, we will question our strategies rather than blame their weaknesses. (Jones 1996). In order to ensure these groups are not marginalized, the native English speaking teacher usually adopt teaching and learning strategies that focus on language awareness - the way in which language shapes and reflects worldviews; comparisons of meanings and rules between dialects; exploration of stereotypes. Harlech-Jones (1983) suggests such focuses as key domains, role playing, talk tapes and code switch puppets as specific ways to explore awareness of language from which all students can benefit. Speaking and listening play an important role in the primary English classroom, and indeed, the wider world. It is imperative that native English speaking teachers are aware of the importance of the learning environment in which these skills develop, and are able to include all of their students in carefully planned, engaging and purposeful activities, that give all students the opportunity to practice speaking and listening in a wide range of areas and contexts. ESL teachers know that English learners who wish to use the language as a tool for acquiring information, fluent reading ability is probably the most important single skill they can acquire. ESL who is native English speakers usually is more successful in helping teachers acquire this skill. In a communicative classroom, the problem of materials is one faced by all teachers. Therefore, mostly native English speaking teacher have the ability to design a course with selected reading exercises by which they may be free to work more efficiently with students to solve individual reading problems. There are two factors that need to be considered before a reading is taken into the classroom. Native speaking English teachers can easily indentify the following: 1. Proficiency level and the interest of students. These are related to reading, linguistic trouble and semantic application, must be considered before used 2. They can easily use important and different type of exercises which are more realistic and related to real life issues. By varying the tasks, students are expected to perform and the teacher makes the classes more interesting. At the intermediate and advanced levels we can assume that students possess a basic competence in English and that our primary task is to teach reading. At this stage the native language speaking teachers usually consider materials development as being composed of two parts: 1. The development of reading exercises (scanning, skimming, reading for full comprehension and critical reading). 2. Designing language skill exercises (meant particularly for vocabulary, structure, discourse), both of which allow students to read more competently by means of a minimum number of linguistic clue to attain maximum information. At the same time that they plan the reading lessons they need also to allow for maximum flexibility. This does not mean that strengthening of a particular skill will be overlooked. Approximate time limits are established in advance for each activity so that the teacher knows that a successful activity is being continued at the expense of another. The role of the ESL teacher also changes from activity to activity. During vocabulary and structure work, the teacher provides help and encouragement as students work to solve language problems. Due to this a native English speaking teacher is usually a successful facilitator in poetry and short passage readings, interrupting the flow of reading only in when their linguistic expertise is required. A teacher with English as a second language mostly tries to show her/his efficiency by intervening regardless of the need. Apart from intelligence and ability to concentrate, there are lists of skills which can be taught best by native English speakers 1. To recognize English words and to build up an appropriate vocabulary. 2. To identify sentence patterns 3. To react typographic conventions 4. To identify the longer passages that constitutes thought units 5. To follow and evaluate the development of the information being presented. The first three of these skills are those traditionally taught in the elementary stages of reading instruction with which we are all familiar with (Mackay, R., Barkman, B., and Jordan, R. 1979). It is extremely essential that ESL teachers develop flexibility in planning such activities sin class which requires reading. However English native teachers usually make students take part in discussion topic and make them to comprehension activates before they make them read. It is the belief of many native English speaking teachers of ESL Students that the class will most probably improve the reading ability if the students are familiar with special vocabulary items prior their reading. Similarly, they also believe trying to answer a comprehension question requires the students to carefully read the text. Conclusion It may be said that ESL class room require a prefect teacher to fulfil all their needs. Such a teacher can only be one who is the native speaker of English. The class has to be thought how to read, write and speak English, sometimes from zero. At times the class knows quite a bit of the language. In both situations a teacher who has complete mastery over the language can handle the classroom properly. Top of Form References Beckett, Gulbahar H.; Stiefvater, Andrea (2009). Change in ESL Graduate Students' Perspectives on Non-Native English-Speaker Teachers TESL Canada Journal, v27 n1 p27-46 Campbell, R., & Green, D. (Eds.). (2003). Literacies and learners:Current perspectives (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, Australia: Prentice Hall. Dwyer, John (1989). 'Talking with Aboriginal children.' In A Sea of Talk. Primary English Teaching Association, Newtown. Gibbons P (1991) Learning to Learn in a Second Language. Australia, PETA. Gravell, M (2000) Planning for Bilingual Learners- an inclusive curriculum. Stoke on Trent, Trentham Books Hall D (1995) Assessing the Needs of Bilingual Pupils. David Fulton Harlech-Jones, B. (1983). 'ESL Proficiency and a word frequency count'. ELT Journal 37/1: 62–70 Hoffman E and Bartkowicz (1999) The Learning Advenmture. Learn to Learn, UK Jones, M. L. (1996). Phonics in ESL literacy instruction: Functional or not? Proceedings of the 1996 World Conference on Literacy. Philadelphia, PA: International Literacy Institute. Krashen S (1981) Second language acquisition and Second Language Learning. Oxford, Pergamon Press Montes, F. (2002). Enhancing content areas through a Cognitive Academic Language Learning based collaborative in South Texas. Bilingual Research Journal, 26, 697-716. R. MacKay, B. Barkman and R. Jordan, Reading in a second language, Rowley: Newsbury House Read More