Second Language Teaching and Learning - Essay Example

Instructor: Second Language Teaching Methodology; Philosophy of Teaching Name: Institution: Course: Date: Second Language Teaching Methodology Philosophy of Teaching Majority of students who pursue further studies in oversea countries such as the United States often need to engage in the process of second language learning. The main aim of learning another language is to enable the learner to communicate effectively with other people both in oral and written forms. To achieve this goal acquaintance with grammatical features is not enough as learners need to gain other characteristics of the language to facilitate efficient communication. In Australia learning and teaching English language is compulsory at the elementary level of education. Therefore the paper aims at discussing various principles according to Brown that are considered as essential in second language teaching and learning (Brown, 2007). According to Brown anticipation of reward is considered as one of the main principles of language teaching and learning process. The key emphasis of this principle involves students being encouraged to engage in actions with the anticipation of various forms of rewards. In this sense Brown argues that human beings are generally motivated to engage in actions or forms of behavior. Therefore through the anticipation of various forms of rewards whether in terms of long term or short term a particular behavior will be presented (Brown, 2007). As a student in Australia whereby English was my second language there was various forms of rewards that were presented to the students for learning English as a second language. For instance during classroom activities the teacher would engage the students in question and answer activity. The students needed to answer the questions in English. At the end of the session students that engaged in answering most of the questions in English were rewarded through presentation of various prizes. This form of incentive is important in the process of offering motivation to students. In addition, this principle has various benefits in that through the use of second language orally in classroom activities competence in the second language learning process is enhanced. Furthermore, the oral activities within the classroom setting are important as it allows the teacher to pick up difficulties in each learner and make correction. Thus, it allows the learner to fully comprehend their mistakes in second language learning and be able to correct them. The use of incentives or rewards system motivates student participation in the classroom and assists in the process of confidence building (Cohen, 1994). Brown (2007) argues that the principle of rewards encourages students to perform better in second language learning due to the presence of a reward at the end of the process. Through the anticipation of a reward the learner is motivated to work harder in relation to the learning of a particular language. Additionally, the reward system does not only involve tangible forms of rewards but also the use of verbal means of rewards (Brown, 2007).This is mostly applicable in the classroom setting whereby the teacher can engage in the utilization of various forms of compliments to students in their work. The compliments may be in form of praises or encouragements during the general classroom activities. The use of praises further assists in the process of building the student’s confidence. Despite the use of short term rewards in the classroom activities students should be encouraged to focus on the long term reward that will enable them comprehend and speak the second learned language in a fluent manner at the end of the language learning session. In the process of using the principle of reward system teachers should be able to consider the challenges of learning a second language (Corbett, 2003). Language ego is another of Brown’s principles of language teaching that is applied in the second language learning process. This principle focuses on the fact that learning of a second language encompasses the development of a fresh approach in relation to thoughts. Brown (2007) argues that culture is linked to language and as human beings develop the use of a second language there is the development of a fresh approach in terms of thoughts. The use of second language develops a new sense of feeling and identity among second language learners. The language ego that is developed may further lead to the generation of a sense of fragility and rise in inhibitions among the learners (Brown, 2007). Therefore the use of this principle in language teaching is essential in comprehending the various challenges that second language learners’ face that can create a feeling of helplessness. Therefore teachers are essential in the provision of emotional and physical support to the second language learners. The teachers should therefore explain to the learners that second language learning process is normal and involves various skills just like any experience. Thus in the process the teacher should engage the learners in various activities that will challenge the learner in terms of second language learning. Nevertheless, the classroom activities should not be overwhelming to the learners. In this case the teacher should be able to understand the level of advancement of each learner. This will enable the teacher to offer more support to those learners in need of more support (Strambi, 2013). The principle of language ego is essential in language learning process as teachers are aware of the various skills that the learners possess. As a language learning student of English in Australia at the beginning of each term the teacher engaged learners in a test to test their advancement in the language. The teacher then engaged in grouping the students according to their various levels of grasping of the language being learnt. This concept therefore was essential as the teacher was able to understand the needs of each student in their various groupings. Additionally, the teacher was able to give more attention to various groups of students that possessed some difficulties in the language learning process. The skills that the learners possess in the process of language learning will assist the teacher in the identification of areas that need more emphasis in the second language learning among students. This will further help in improving the performance and fluency of the second language among learners (Brown, 2007). Automaticity is another principle in language teaching that is considered essential as argued by Brown (2007). This is considered as a cognitive principle in language teaching involving emphasis on the student’s subconscious processing in terms of language with marginal focus to various language forms. Brown argues that this principle is considered as effective second language learning process that comprises the control of a limited language forms into spontaneous processing of a comparatively unconstrained amount of languages. Hence the process of over analysis of language while giving too much thoughts about language forms and prolonged on the guidelines of language are regarded as an obstacle of advancement to automaticity (Strambi, 2013). The automaticity principle is regarded as being derived from various observation of first language learning in children. In this stage the student language learning process is generally considered as automatic whether it is first or second language learning process. The students can easily absorb the particular language as they engage in the process of learning. In this case the fluency of the language is attained naturally and the students need not to pause and think in relation to the language prior to answering a question. Therefore the conscious analysis of the particular language is not abandoned but it assumes the backseat. Thus automaticity is mainly focused on the significance of meaningful utilization of language with the aim of promoting language fluency (Cohen, 1994). However, this principle is bound to fail in the process of second language learning in situations whereby the teacher engages in constant form of interruption and correction of grammar and phrases of the learner. Through interruption students while in the process of oral activities of speaking it leads to deterring learners from speaking and question answering. It is also essential not to over burden the learners with various forms of language rules as it will erode their confidence. According to Krashen (2013) students who possess a high motivation, self-image, and self-confidence with a low level of anxiety are able to successfully engage in the process of second language acquisition. On the other hand, low level of motivation, low self-esteem and anxiety act as a mental block that prevents comprehension in second language acquisition. In addition, there are various emotional and social elements that impact on language acquisition. The type of environment highly influences the learner’s ability to successfully acquire a second language (Krashen, 2013). Low level anxiety environmental situation allows for a higher level of interaction between learners and openness to input of others. The process of interruption of the learners by the teacher through the use of various language rules act as a barrier as the student engages in putting up a mental block. In this case, the advice of the teacher in second language learning process is rendered useless. In my experience as a second language learning student in our class there was a teacher who constantly engaged in interrupting students during oral activities. This in many instances led to student confusion and creation of embarrassment of the student and a high level anxiety environment (Cohen, 1994). In conclusion, process of second language learning is in most cases faced by various forms of challenges. The incorporation of the language teaching principles as argued by Brown forms an essential insight in second language learning among students. As a student the use of these principles creates an enabling environment that assists learners in a better comprehension of the learned language. These principles can also be combined within a classroom setting so as to generate a safe and low anxiety language learning setting. Bibliography Brown, H. Douglas., 2007, Teaching by Principles. An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy. Third Edition. White Plains (NY), Pearson, Education. Cohen, A.D.,1994, English for academic purposes in Brazil: the use of summary tasks, in Hill, C. and Parry, K. (eds.) From testing to assessment: English as an international language, London: Longman, 174 – 204.  Corbett, J., 2003, an Intercultural Approach to English Language Teaching, Multilingual Matters. Strambi, A., 2013,"Chapter 4: Learning by Principles." Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia. 07 Sept. Lecture. "Stephen Krashen's Theory of Second Language Acquisition,” n.d, Stephen Krashen's Theory of Second Language Acquisition. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Sept. 2013. . Read More