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Seven Guidelines for Teaching ESL. Language Teaching Guiding Principles. Principles. Theory of Language & Culture. Classroom Teaching. Guidelines. Guidelines. 1. Oral Language Instruction: The approach to all foreign language learning should be primarily oral.
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Language Teaching Guiding Principles Principles Theory of Language & Culture Classroom Teaching Guidelines
Guidelines 1. Oral Language Instruction: The approach to all foreign language learning should be primarily oral. • Having student bury their heads in a vocab / grammar book may not be the best way to develop fluency; • Need to instruct orally & give plenty of opportunity for oral communication; • Oral teaching techniques require more energy and enthusiasm & creativity on the part of the teacher
Guidelines (cont.) 2. Active Instruction: Active methods of teaching should be used as much as possible. • Students must be given considerable oral practice; • Oral approach requires interaction: oral drills, pointing to objects, TPR; • Interactions should be in the L2
Guidelines (cont.) 3. Use L2 Target Language in Teaching: The greatest possible use of the foreign language (English) should be used in the classroom. • Much easier if teacher does not know L1; • If teacher bilingual, can be a great asset in the classroom; • Language labs where students can go and listen to English tapes / CDs support this guideline.
Guidelines (cont.) 4. Teach Formative, Not Only Summative: The difficulties of the foreign language in pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, fluency, etc. should be carefully graded for proper presentation in the class. • Be sure to include authentic, ongoing testing as well as general tests at end • Formative: as you go; Summative: at end
Guidelines (cont.) 5. Imparting Skills: Language teaching should be seen more as imparting a skill than transmitting information. • Skills are developed through prolonged practice and repetition; • Some fields of knowledge can be learned via books but language communication needs to be practiced; • Must learn usage of L2, not just knowledge about L2
Guidelines (cont.) 6. Remain Flexible: TESOL should always remain flexible! Flexibility is one of the greatest allies in good TESOL instruction. • Many unanticipated situations in TESOL; • Great diversity in field; • BICS: Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills • CALPS: Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency
Guidelines (cont.) 7. Encourage Student Self-Motivation: Have as a goal to produce independent language producers in the target language. • Overall goal is to produce independent producers of the English language; • Need to maximize student’s motivation; • Get students to talk more than the teacher; • Empower student to find answers and develop new vocabulary and styles
Seven Guidelines 1. Oral Language Instruction 2. Active Instruction 3. Use L2 Target Language in Teaching 4. Teach Formative, Not Only Summative 5. Imparting Skills 6. Remain Flexible 7. Encourage Student Self-Motivation
Summary Thoughts: These seven guidelines should be used to shape and refine our classroom teaching. Knowing these guidelines can help the teacher to fulfill or accomplish the task of teaching English to speakers of other languages.