TESL-0120 - Final Course Reflection

by - 16:57


Some of the concepts covered in this course have changed my views about teaching English. One example is the use of language assessments. I had a narrow perspective and assumed that they were only conducted by teachers and by institutions like universities and resettlement agencies. I had not considered other uses for language assessments and the roles that students can have in their own education. I learned that students can conduct their own assessments that will help them set and achieve their own educational and personal goals. The student assessments can also help teachers to plan lessons that will incorporate material so that they can meet these goals.

Another example of a concept that has made me reconsider my views about teaching English is the decision to teach or not to teach pronunciation directly. We do not teach pronunciation directly in the ESL classroom that I volunteer in. This is something that I have wondered about since many students have only learned to recognize words visually and have limited reading abilities. They have trouble understanding the sounds that letters make and sounding out unfamiliar words. Sometimes I think that specifically teaching pronunciation would help improve their reading abilities. This is the way that I learned to read. I did not realize that there was a debate on this topic and that the issue is often only addressed when pronunciation and letter sounds become obstacles in learning activities. I think this decision about teaching methods depends on the ages and educational backgrounds of students in the classroom and the level, purpose, and goals of the class. As such, this decision is something that I need to continue to consider as I get a better idea of the types of students I will teach. I must also go beyond my own formative experience of language learning to look at what current literature says on the topic.

Perhaps my biggest takeaway from this course is learning the roles that listening skills play in language acquisition. I had assumed that listening was the least important skill in learning a new language prior to taking this course. However, this course has taught me that listening skills are incorporated into most learning activities. They play a role in everything from understanding instructions for activities to hearing models of sentence structures and from distinguishing between letter sounds and pronunciation to forming responses to the questions and statements of other people in conversations. As a result, it could be argued that listening skills are actually the most important skills in language learning and I will be sure to incorporate listening into my lesson plans.

Share
Tweet
Pin
Share
Tags : , , , ,

You May Also Like

0 comments