Language Learning Strategy in Class Diary and Lesson Plan - Case Study Example

Reflective Case Study Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course: Date: 1.0. Introduction The argument on the value of reflection and reflective teaching has remained multifaceted. Contemporary studies have reached consensus that there is need for continuous teacher development as a recurring theme as far as Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) is concerned. According to Tedick, Jorgensen and Geffert (2001) not everything needed by second language teacher can be provided at different levels of training, and since the knowledge base of teaching constantly changes, there is need for a reflection on teacher development based on diaries second language teachers keep. Based on self-evaluation during the teaching process, this reflection outlines approaches for professional development assessing issues such as general reading, prior teaching and language experience and observation of second language lessons of peers. According to Small (2003), career development personal reflection entails systematic and objective gathering of information that best define progress of one’s activities. Accordingly, a dairy is considered in this case as a reflection tool as it recorded professional progress while at the same time providing discoveries and insights through reflection. To allow for introspection in a way that is unique to practice teaching and feedback received in the process of teaching the paper is planned as follows: first, the paper introduces scope of the study stating thesis statement and prior studies to contextualize the aim of the reflection. Secondly, the reflection deals with the description of the case study and specifically, personal teaching, background of language learning and current context of learning the learning and teaching the language. Finally the reflection deals with different areas and their effect on development as a teacher. These areas will help in contextualizing challenges noted in the process of teaching and learning the language. 2.0. Description of the Case Study Personal teaching and language learning background if assessed from the dairies remains multifaceted. The first activity that entailed a discussion with a colleague stretched to incorporation of my first lesson where in the 90-minute lesson plan teaching of alphabet from a-z incorporated various aspects of learning and discussion. Connecting this case with recent studies, Nabei (1996) noted in the research while describing teachers’ knowledge base that while teaching, teachers should assess themselves against theories of teaching and justification both for their approach to teaching as well as the instructional practices learners are expected to develop in the process of teaching. It is for this reason that our discussion with the colleague suggested for the introduction of small letter of a-z rather than starting with the capital letter. Furthermore this option (starting with small letters) gave my teaching the opportunity to select learning materials appropriately besides presenting learners’ activities in a manner that allowed them to ask questions, challenge my teaching approaches and providing opportunity of practicing new items besides the a-z learning task. Still on personal teaching, my second day of teaching brought to picture a number of issues that teachers of second language tend to ignore. First, I realized that exposing learners to teaching materials such as video and worksheet exercise as it was with my case may not provide them with the necessary steps they need to learn. As a matter of fact, I assumed that they were getting my point until I was notified that such assumption cannot be guaranteed especially when learners were not participating in my lesson and could not respond to questions on areas they did not understand. Relating this case with recent researches, the accumulated wisdom of research on second language literacy, particularly in the field of bilingualism has indicated that while initial literacy learning in a second language has proved to be successful, it is often riskier than starting with the learner’s ability assuming that they know what the teacher is doing---more so for those learners affected by culture, poverty, lower level of parental education or poor schooling (Ellis, 2003; Chamot, 2005). Accordingly, Tedick (2001) calls for teachers to review difficult or unknown vocabulary that appears in the dictogloss when teaching learners. That is, the central focus on the utilization of the first language in the second language classroom among such learners ought to be pegged on the accompanying social, cultural and political contexts if not trends in the usage of mother tongue in teaching second language classroom. When a student gave wrong answer, I said ‘no.’ However, it comes to my realisation that there was a need to use positive language to correct. Furthermore, when teaching how to read the numbers, a student mispronounced a number, but failed to correct such anomaly promptly to help the student understand his mistakes and the best way of pronouncing the word correctly. Additionally, I now realise that second-language acquisition should not be concentrated on the aspect where teaching and learning are restricted to teachers and that there is less talking and fewer questions from the students. Reflecting on observation note where a peer teacher asked a student to read what he wrote the response was that “it sounds a bid bad.” From the one hand, this response demotivates and secondly, it is for this reasons that the effect of a multi-method approach to teaching should be within the framework of theories of second-language acquisition. In the process of teaching, I noted in the diary that to some extent, some students pretended as if they were unable to pronounce some numbers. For instance the teaching process noted that learners were pronouncing twelve as ‘to-ei-ve’ and fifteen as ‘five-teen.’ Determined to correct these anomalies I repeated the mispronounced words a few more times for their conceptualisation while at the same time reading them slowly to help them internalise the best pronunciation. Relating this encounter with evidence based research, I realised that there is need to incorporate second language acquisition theories and in particular, factors affecting the processing of input such as development of pedagogic activities that will require learners to interact with the target input so that learners to not intentionally mispronounce words and instructions as it was the case (Larsen-Freeman, 2000). Studies such as Kumaravadivelu (1994) further stresses that teaching processes should be tailored to focus on the targeted input by providing opportunities to utilise focussed input. In as much as a colleague told me that ‘twelve’ was difficult for many beginners since English word did not have ‘twe’ sound, so it was okay to leave them for that time. The details as captured in the diary helped be recognize that while first language is indeed essential pedagogical tool, such needs to be applied in a collaborative way such that first language does not hinder second language or the other way round. The teaching process encountered a case where the student said “three mouses” and I had to explain to him that the plural of mouse is mice. Based on this challenge I recognize that the difficult aspect of learning the language includes idea generation, grammar and writing mechanics. Making decisions from the findings, students tend to initially pour their own ideas on paper when internalizing singular and plurals of some English words and this results into delay thinking which they put everything in the sink and later dispense with what is not needed hence making the errors such as “three mouse) and making pronunciation even difficult compared. The findings supports Murray and Christison’s (2011) ideas that exploratory kind of language learning helps learners to developed interesting ideas hence can help to solve the problem of idea generation. Integrating Murray and Christison’s ideas with the findings then it is imperative to argue that multi-method approach to the teaching of language acquisition skills for learners should be based on learner teacher understanding. 3.0. Reflections on the Various Aspects of the Experience Beginning with personal reflection on classroom interaction I noted that teacher-centred method does not engage the learner and is considered to be very passive in nature, students are on the receiving end and are given only little or no chance to stand up and ask questions. For instance, in the diary it was recorded in the teacher’s feedback where she said “this is too much content for a 90-minute lesson, and it’s too hard for absolute beginners.” Therefore I noted from these experience that students also have to accept what the teacher says and how the teacher interprets language; there is a void created by a lack of communicative plug-in at the students' end. Jacobs Hyland (2006) observed from the viewpoint of language teachers that integration of curricular should entail a combination of the teaching content such as science or social studies with the teaching of language like grammar or writing skills. From the diary, I further recorded a situation where the a colleague told me that if it was absolute beginner then they learn small letters for alphabet first, then bit letters, and that may be the first lesson for them. Based on this point, my experience is that the teacher-centred method of teaching language especially from absolute beginners as it was my case may not benefit learners. Furthermore, there is need for the integration of dictogloss and while doing this, Cook (2008) argues that curricular integration can be attained easily through teachers’ selection of texts. For example, if the teaching process will integrate mathematics and language so as to help students learn vocabulary then I am realizing that there may be need for discussions with learners before the introduction of materials so that they are prepared and ready to respond to learning activities. The methodology the scholar used was the ‘Assessment Criteria’ where he believes this waste secondary school learner since it is more of traditional form of exam oriented systems. The main objective of this system as Johnson (2008) claim is to make learners prove that they have the ability of accumulating facts and information as illustrated in their syllabus which apparently denies them the ability to explore their own talents and abilities. One principle of teaching practice is that teachers are considered to be generators of knowledge regarding their learners, their own practice where they should be seen to be contributors to a body of information and knowledge regarding teaching processes. This view has been supported by Johnson (2008) who observed that teacher research is regarded as personal processes which are often connected with the aspect of teacher empowerment and development. This point is connected to my reflection on tasks and lesson planning during the course of teaching. One of the key aspects that have been captured in the lesson planning in the teaching process is student involvement. The lesson plan allocated twenty-minutes to consider the following: “…write the full alphabet on the whiteboard and play the alphabet chant. Play the track several times, encouraging the students to join in at any point if they are able to name a letter. Allow time for students to write any notes on the pronunciation of the letters that will help them remember.” The tasks as outlined above served to conceptualise classroom-based teacher research thus attaining the following: Relating theory to practice in lesson planning Improving learning and teaching outcome in the lesson planning by involving learner participation Generation of learner general understanding of my teaching approaches promotion of discussion processes regarding teaching practices with me and other colleagues especially when the lesson plan involved key study skills (speaking, reading, listening and writing) In the unit two lesson plan the teaching processes included the use of flashcards and real objects like holding up a pen and asking, ‘what is this?’, point to a chair and ask ‘What is this?’, writing numbers 1-5 on the board, and asking students ‘what is this?’ This approach was incorporated and helped learners to be involved, which has a positive impact on their developing thought processes and inquisitive minds. The suggestion made by Halliday and Christian (2004) is that this approach is meta-analyses in nature such that students benefit in terms of effect on explanation construction skills, knowledge about the nature of science, motivation and responsibility and metacognitive and reflective skills. The research also suggests that teacher-centred approaches prevent the development of misconceptions. In this method, learning becomes faster due to promoting positive student perception and performance because students search to answer the questions and learn how to find the answers instead of having them ready from their instructor (Halliday & Christian, 2004). In this method, students find themselves at the centre, such as when examining the topic or question, responding to it, interacting with each other, evaluating solutions and drawing conclusions (Nabei, 1996). The reflection further captured on errors and treatment. Different lesson plans and diaries that were kept in the teaching process, I noted a number of errors both as a teacher and from students. Mitigating steps were taken for their treatment and subsequent direction given to learners. For instance, the process of teaching noted an aspect of “too much content for a 90-minute lesson.” To treat this error I created a diary framework as well as conducting a study on my students levels of motivation correcting errors made in teaching them. To accomplish this treatment strategy I reduced the content that was suitable to be taught within 90 minutes allowing students to place themselves in areas they feel comfortable as far as understanding the syllabus was concerned. As a teacher, I learned that the best treatment needed for this error is inclusion of my own vocabulary in the composition. That way, learners were able to form habits (related to second learning) that are oriented towards the elimination of errors presumably resulting from interference from the learners’ first language. As a result, aspects such as the students’ own ideas and the organisation of texts take second place. I noted that as linguistic features take centre stage, students enhance their vocabulary as they manipulate familiar texts (Nabei, 1996). 4.0. Challenges Observed with Teaching and Learning First, it was recognized that there is a possible connection between the student-centred approach and students’ overall performance; these findings have crucial implications, as developing ESL learning competence presents a vital challenge to ESL students. The teaching and learning processes observed that students expect their teachers to assume responsibility for defining learning goals and supervising progress, yet to advance as a student one should actively learn how to regulate and monitor their own progress through the strategy of self-evaluation. Secondly, pronunciation such as twelve as ‘to-ei-ve’ or fifteen as ‘five-teen’ shows that it may be difficult for teachers to enhance a student’s language skills in different contexts. This is compounded by the fact that beginners may need to be exposed to reading with some knowledge of the spoken language to help them recognise and re-construct instead of deciphering. To conceptualise this point, the teaching process noted that when teachers emphasise form over the communication of ideas, students are unlikely to master a language or develop high-level pronunciation abilities. Thirdly, learners that were taught were mostly adolescents who preferred to portray a good image to their peers. As such, students exhibiting lower proficiency levels in their learning processes were adopting various approaches in an effort to hide their lack of competence, which was a challenge to me because I could not identify their mistakes for corrections. For instance, some students opted to memorise the texts presented rather than understanding different processes taught. This undermined the efficacy of language development since such students would rather mask their languages acquisition inadequacies than face embarrassment in front of their friends. 5.0. Possible Solutions to the Challenges One conclusion that can be drawn from the above challenges is that sometime teaching methodology forces ESL students to learn for the purpose of complying with the requirements of teachers or textbook writers, rather than learning a language to express their ideas. Therefore, possible solution in this case is the need for approaches that utilise the knowledge and interests of students and also prepare ESL students for different language acquisition tasks. There is also need for approaches that would enable students to make the transition from spoken to written English smoothly and encourage them to realise their personal objectives in written communication. 6.0. Conclusion The aim of this assignment was to conduct a reflection based on the class diary and lesson plan. From the one hand, the diary remains to be a successful tool in understanding my learners’ motivational strategies and helped develop personal insights into teaching and learning. Reflection is considered as interpersonal processes that help to promote changes in practice and behavior. For instance, through reflective diary writing I have managed to discover links existing between my actions in class and teaching beliefs; resulting in modification to understanding my behaviours, learners’ behaviours and motivational strategies. Basically, resources such as revision, peer and teacher feedbacks when provided to learners act as an entry point into minimal error making writer. References Chamot, A. U. (2005). Language learning strategy instruction: Current issues and research. Annual review of applied linguistics, 25, 112-130. Cook, V. (2008). Second language learning and language teaching. London: Hodder Education. Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford University Press. Halliday, M. A., & Christian, M. I. M. (2004). Matthiessen. An introduction to functional grammar, 620. Hyland, K. (2006). English for academic purposes: An advanced resource book. London: Routledge. Johnson, K. (2008). An introduction to foreign language learning and teaching (2nd ed.). Harlow, England: Pearson Longman. Kumaravadivelu, B. (1994). The postmethod condition:(E) merging strategies for second/foreign language teaching. TESOL quarterly, 28(1), 27-48. Larsen-Freeman, D. (2000). Techniques and principles in language teaching. Oxford University. Murray, D., & Christison, M. (2011). What English teachers need to know (vol. 2). New York: Routledge. Nabei, T. (1996). Dictogloss: Is It an Effective Language Learning Task?. Working Papers in Educatioal Linguistics, 12(1), 59-74. Small, J. (2003). Combining dictogloss and cooperative learning to promote language learning. Reading, 3(1). Tedick, D. J., Jorgensen, K., & Geffert, T. (2001). Content-based language instruction: The foundation of language immersion education. The ACIE (American Council of Immersion Education) Newsletter, 4(3), 1-8 Read More