It is difficult to learn a foreign language. It is very difficult if you reside in your home country and speak your native language all the time. Despite the challenges and frustrations related to learning a new language, it can be done. The first step is find a teacher or teaching method that you can connect with.
Teaching a foreign language is a hard job and there are many different styles. Different students feel more comfortable with different types of teachers. Some teachers focus on conversation. Some will provide lots of grammar lessons. Some will assign reading and test students on their comprehension. Other teachers will provide a huge number or exercises and work sheets for students to complete.
Even those that focus on conversation will vary in terms of how they go about it. Some teachers will call on students randomly to answer a question. Some will wait for their students to volunteer to speak. Some classroom conversations are designed to drill home a specific grammar lesson or a group of vocabulary words. Other conversation lessons are more, well, conversational. They may touch on a wide variety of topics and they will incorporate a wide variety of grammar based on the direction that the conversation ends up going.
My lessons tend to be focused on conversation and they tend to be less formal. There are two reasons for this. Most importantly, these are the types of lessons that I enjoy. I enjoy talking to people. I enjoy learning about their likes, dislikes, family history, hobbies, aspirations, and everything else that may come up. This type of lesson tends to be lively. At times it is funny. In general, the purpose of this type of lesson is to find topics that excite the students enough that they forget that they are speaking in English. By generating a lively conversation that entertains and interests the students, I can get them to listen attentively and use the grammar and vocabulary they have learned. If a new word comes up, the students will be much more likely to remember the meaning if it is related to a topic that they have an interest in.
In addition to being enjoyable, I think that this type of lesson is very beneficial. It creates a "real life" type of interaction that gives the students more confidence if they are in a situation where they are speaking with a native English speaker. For example, if you study grammar rules and work sheets in English class all the time, you will develop a skill level and confidence level in work sheets but you will not be confident in a real life speaking situation. This describes many of my Thai students. In school, the lessons are centered on vocabulary and grammar. When students are confronted with a speaking and listening (conversational) situation, they become anxious and tentative. By practicing conversation skills, the student develops confidence and it solidifies the grammar rules he/she has been taught in school.
Some students do not like to learn English with this method. I have had a few students decide to go to a different English class because they were looking for grammar drills and practice work sheets. The important thing is for you as a student to find a teacher and a method that you are comfortable with. If you are not comfortable with your teacher or with the teaching method, it is best to find another teacher that meets your expectations.
ESL teachers can be found many different ways, but I think it is best ask friends, family members, or teachers. These people will give you an honest opinion and they should be able to give you some idea of the teaching style and method featured at a specific school or by a specific teacher.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
How to Learn a New Language
I have been learning about a well known linguistic professor named Stephen Krashen. He proposes a couple of ideas that connect very well with my experience as an ESL teacher. Mr. Krashen's theories about language acquisition support many of the teaching methods we use at PLC school.
I will not get into every aspect of Stephen Krashen's theories here, but there are a few ideas that I have found to be very interesting and relevant. First, Stephen Krashen suggests that language is acquired subconsciously through conprehensible input. In other words, by receiving messages in another language that are understandable, the brain of the learner starts to make connections between the word and the object or idea. According to Krashen, learning grammar rules, memorizing vocabulary lists, and completing work sheets will not help you become fluent in a language. The brain will naturally acquire languagage through repetition and a large volume of comprehensible input.
This concept is clearly an idea that is featured by the Rosetta Stone software. Rosetta Stone presents students with pictures, written, and verbal clues about the meanings of words and phrases. The software constantly feeds the learner with a steady stream of comprehensible input. Rosetta Stone is not asking the student to memorize vocabulary. Using the software, you learn new vocabulary by hearing the word, seeing the written word, and deducing the meaning of the word from photographs presented.
Another aspect of Stephen Krashen's theory is that language learning happens faster when anxiety is low, self-esteem is high, and the student is motivated. Again, Rosetta Stone gives begining students a low anxiety way to learn English. Students are able to practice pronunciation in private using the head set instead in front of a classroom full of other students. Similarly, if a student answers a question incorrectly, it is privately scored at their individual work station instead of getting a wrong answer in front of the teacher or other students.
I have noted this phenomenon many times with the students at PLC. In many cases, students are comfortable and confident using the Rosetta Stone software, but they are not ready to have a real conversation with a native speaker. Applying Krashen's theory to this situation, we can say that the student is in a low anxiety situation using the software. The benefit of this is that they are able to receive and process the comprehensible input fed to them through the Rosetta Stone program. Over time, Krashen would suggest that the student will internalize or take ownership of the comprehensible input and be able to naturally use the language in a conversation. As a teacher, I work hard to create a comfortable classroom environment. I also bring students along at their own pace. If they are not ready to have a conversation with me in English, we start with some basic reading practice. Over time, I will begin to ask simple questions related to what the student just read. From there, I will try to start a simple conversation from time to time. This progression helps keep anxiety at a minimum while expanding the learner's use of English.
I dissagree with one aspect of Stephen Krashen's theories of language acquisition. Krashen suggests that output is the result of learning from comprehensible input and that output does not create learning. In other words, the ability to speak a new language only develops naturally from listening and reading understandable messages presented repeatedly in the new language. He goes on to suggest that new learning does not take place when speaking (output) a new language.
I feel that speaking excersises and simply the act of speaking a new language helps a great deal in making language acquisition occur more rapidly. First of all, by practicing speaking, you improve pronunciation which is vital to acheiving fluency. Second, I think that speaking practice helps to convert memorized words from short term memory to long term memory. I don't have research to back up this claim, but my observations in the classroom suggest that when students use new words and phrases they become less easily forgotten. Krashen suggests that speaking conversationally is valuable to he student in that it elicits more comprehensible input from the conversation partner. I feel that the process of using the new language in a conversation helps make the use of those words and phases more natural in subsequent conversations.
Stephen Krashen clarifies that these theories are vital for the begining stages of learning a language. Once a learner has a baseline of skills, a great deal of learning occurs through conversation. At PLC, we work hard to encourage students to develop their skill level to a point where real conversation can become an major component in the learning process. Our philosophy at PLC is that Rosetta Stone is very effective at providing a low anxiety way to develop some of the basic foundation skills required in learning English. However, it is important that our students progress to a level where they are not simply mastering a computer program but mastering the English language so that they can speak it outside of the classroom.
Learning English is difficult. It takes a long time to acheive a level of fluency, and as Krashen describes, the process of acheiving fluency is subconscious and therefore it can be difficult monitor progress. Stephen Krashen and his ideas are new to me, but they are obviously not new to the developers of Rosetta Stone. I was happy to learn about his ideas and to see that many of his theories are already being actively used at PLC School.
The information described about about Stephen Krashen and his theories came from the videos below:
I will not get into every aspect of Stephen Krashen's theories here, but there are a few ideas that I have found to be very interesting and relevant. First, Stephen Krashen suggests that language is acquired subconsciously through conprehensible input. In other words, by receiving messages in another language that are understandable, the brain of the learner starts to make connections between the word and the object or idea. According to Krashen, learning grammar rules, memorizing vocabulary lists, and completing work sheets will not help you become fluent in a language. The brain will naturally acquire languagage through repetition and a large volume of comprehensible input.
This concept is clearly an idea that is featured by the Rosetta Stone software. Rosetta Stone presents students with pictures, written, and verbal clues about the meanings of words and phrases. The software constantly feeds the learner with a steady stream of comprehensible input. Rosetta Stone is not asking the student to memorize vocabulary. Using the software, you learn new vocabulary by hearing the word, seeing the written word, and deducing the meaning of the word from photographs presented.
Another aspect of Stephen Krashen's theory is that language learning happens faster when anxiety is low, self-esteem is high, and the student is motivated. Again, Rosetta Stone gives begining students a low anxiety way to learn English. Students are able to practice pronunciation in private using the head set instead in front of a classroom full of other students. Similarly, if a student answers a question incorrectly, it is privately scored at their individual work station instead of getting a wrong answer in front of the teacher or other students.
I have noted this phenomenon many times with the students at PLC. In many cases, students are comfortable and confident using the Rosetta Stone software, but they are not ready to have a real conversation with a native speaker. Applying Krashen's theory to this situation, we can say that the student is in a low anxiety situation using the software. The benefit of this is that they are able to receive and process the comprehensible input fed to them through the Rosetta Stone program. Over time, Krashen would suggest that the student will internalize or take ownership of the comprehensible input and be able to naturally use the language in a conversation. As a teacher, I work hard to create a comfortable classroom environment. I also bring students along at their own pace. If they are not ready to have a conversation with me in English, we start with some basic reading practice. Over time, I will begin to ask simple questions related to what the student just read. From there, I will try to start a simple conversation from time to time. This progression helps keep anxiety at a minimum while expanding the learner's use of English.
I dissagree with one aspect of Stephen Krashen's theories of language acquisition. Krashen suggests that output is the result of learning from comprehensible input and that output does not create learning. In other words, the ability to speak a new language only develops naturally from listening and reading understandable messages presented repeatedly in the new language. He goes on to suggest that new learning does not take place when speaking (output) a new language.
I feel that speaking excersises and simply the act of speaking a new language helps a great deal in making language acquisition occur more rapidly. First of all, by practicing speaking, you improve pronunciation which is vital to acheiving fluency. Second, I think that speaking practice helps to convert memorized words from short term memory to long term memory. I don't have research to back up this claim, but my observations in the classroom suggest that when students use new words and phrases they become less easily forgotten. Krashen suggests that speaking conversationally is valuable to he student in that it elicits more comprehensible input from the conversation partner. I feel that the process of using the new language in a conversation helps make the use of those words and phases more natural in subsequent conversations.
Stephen Krashen clarifies that these theories are vital for the begining stages of learning a language. Once a learner has a baseline of skills, a great deal of learning occurs through conversation. At PLC, we work hard to encourage students to develop their skill level to a point where real conversation can become an major component in the learning process. Our philosophy at PLC is that Rosetta Stone is very effective at providing a low anxiety way to develop some of the basic foundation skills required in learning English. However, it is important that our students progress to a level where they are not simply mastering a computer program but mastering the English language so that they can speak it outside of the classroom.
Learning English is difficult. It takes a long time to acheive a level of fluency, and as Krashen describes, the process of acheiving fluency is subconscious and therefore it can be difficult monitor progress. Stephen Krashen and his ideas are new to me, but they are obviously not new to the developers of Rosetta Stone. I was happy to learn about his ideas and to see that many of his theories are already being actively used at PLC School.
The information described about about Stephen Krashen and his theories came from the videos below:
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Thai Education System
The Thai educational system has been criticized in the news lately. Very low scores overall and particularly low scores in English have drawn a lot of attention.
Thailand's scores on the respected international PISA test have remained almost static since 2003 whereas Indonesia, for instance, has been moving up from a lower base. In another recent competitiveness report Thailand ranked 54th out of 56 countries globally for English-language proficiency, the second-lowest in Asia.
The chief problem is that children's educational attainments are falling, even as more money is being lavished on the schools. Thailand now spends about 20% of the national budget on education, more than it devotes to any other sector. The budget has doubled over a decade. Yet results are getting worse, both in absolute terms and relative to other countries in South-East Asia. source
One of the ways the prime minister has addressed the deficiencies in the educational system is by purchasing tablet computers for the children of Thailand. While I agree that it is important to expose children to technology, I fear that many students will use the tablets for games instead of educational applications. It is fair to question if the money spent on tablets could have been used in another more meaningful way to improve the educational system in Thailand.
Personally, I have a very limited perspective on the Thai educational system, but my experience has been very positive. I have found Thai students and parents to be very ambitious and aggressive. Most of my students attend other tutoring schools for other subjects besides English. The weekends for many of my students include hours of additional instruction not required by their school. Similarly, I am very impressed that such a large percentage of Thai students attend summer school as a way to get ahead on the upcoming term.
In the United States, both of these practices are very rare. Summer school is primarily a program for children who have failed a subject or subjects to get caught up and remain at the same grade level with their classmates. Summer school is almost never used as a way to get ahead. Tutoring in the United States is usually used as a way to help a struggling student. Rarely does a child in the United States go to tutoring schools on the weekends if they are doing well in school.
Of course, I recognize that the Thai students that I know personally are the ones who can afford to pay for additional schooling. I also recognize that these students come from families that place a high value and importance on education. When we think about the low international test scores from Thai students we have to recognize that the students tested come from every region in the country and from all different types of families.
I also recognize that some of the hours spent studying may not be with engaging and effective teachers. Just from an English perspective, I have seen homework from some of my students where they are occasionally being taught incorrect pronunciation and at times incorrect grammar.
I am not qualified to make far reaching suggestions about how Thailand can improve its school system. However, the Bangkok Post discussed the importance of tutoring houses as one step to solve the problem.
When looking at the nation of Thailand as a whole, the number of students we can impact is relatively small. However, we at PLC are happy that we are doing our part in giving our students an improved English learning experience than they may be receiving in their Monday through Friday schools. The additional English practice and instruction will help them be more successful in school and more competitive in the job market when they are ready to start a career.Local individuals and communities can work together to provide affordable after-school programs to improve the prospects of students. Working within local communities through tutoring houses allows classes to be smaller, and for parents to keep closer tabs on what their children are learning and how. The more tutoring houses that are created, and the quicker they begin making a positive impact, the more difficult it will be for the government to regulate or restrict them. the full article in the Bangkok Post
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Individual English Language Instruction
PLC offers individual tutoring for students of all ages. However, even in our group classes, we make sure that each student receives some individual instruction. This individual instruction time ensures that each student is encouraged to get the maximum benefit from their time at school. Any time there are more than 6 students attending a class we will have two teachers working. Additionally, we will not schedule a class with more than 15 students. These policies ensure that every student will get the personal attention they need.
Younger students often have a difficult time remaining focused on English studies for a two hour period. With younger students, we change the tasks periodically to ensure that they don't lose concentration. For example, these students will begin by practicing English using the Rosetta Stone language learning program. After a period of time, teachers will spend some one on one time with each student. We may ask the student to practice some writing exercises. During this individual instruction time, we will incorporate some simple English conversation and spoken vocabulary practice. We also have found that young learners are very receptive to English language games. These methods ensure that young students don't lose interest, and that they learn English throughout the entire time. The individual attention and instruction also ensures that the activities and exercises assigned to the student are appropriate to their individual skill level.
Older and more accomplished students are better able to concentrate for the entire two hour class. The individual instruction with these students will often include English conversation practice, reading practice to improve pronunciation and comprehension, and at times, assistance with homework assignments. As students demonstrate better English conversation skills, the conversation topics presented become more challenging.
We at PLC feel that the one on one time spent with older students is very important to ensuring that they are getting the maximum benefit from the course. The language lab work on the Rosetta Stone program is beneficial and time well spent. However, we think that it is very important that each student gets practice using English (speaking, listening, and reading) under the supervision of a teacher. It is vital that students are able transfer the skills they are developing on the computer into real life situations. Of course, we want students to improve their ability to score well on English exams in school, but it is equally important that our students are able to have conversations in English and improve their ability to read and understand what they have read.
Even the Rosetta Stone program is individualized. When using this language learning software, students are able to learn at their own pace. In many traditional classroom environments, students all study the same topics at the same time and progress at the same speed. With the Rosetta Stone software, students advance to the next level when they have completed all the units in a lesson. If a student fails to pass a unit, the software requires the student to go back and attempt the exercises again and again until the student is able to pass the unit. This allows advanced students to quickly progress through topics that they have already mastered and forces the students who need more practice to continue to repeat the exercises until they are able to learn the material.
Regardless of the age or skill level of the student. We have a strong commitment to make sure that every PLC student is receiving individual attention and is demonstrating continued improvement. Many of our students attend other tutoring schools to improve their knowledge in other subjects. The children that attend our school are serious about learning and doing well in school. When they come to PLC, we work very hard to make sure that they receive the maximum amount of benefit during the time they spend with us.
Younger students often have a difficult time remaining focused on English studies for a two hour period. With younger students, we change the tasks periodically to ensure that they don't lose concentration. For example, these students will begin by practicing English using the Rosetta Stone language learning program. After a period of time, teachers will spend some one on one time with each student. We may ask the student to practice some writing exercises. During this individual instruction time, we will incorporate some simple English conversation and spoken vocabulary practice. We also have found that young learners are very receptive to English language games. These methods ensure that young students don't lose interest, and that they learn English throughout the entire time. The individual attention and instruction also ensures that the activities and exercises assigned to the student are appropriate to their individual skill level.
Older and more accomplished students are better able to concentrate for the entire two hour class. The individual instruction with these students will often include English conversation practice, reading practice to improve pronunciation and comprehension, and at times, assistance with homework assignments. As students demonstrate better English conversation skills, the conversation topics presented become more challenging.
We at PLC feel that the one on one time spent with older students is very important to ensuring that they are getting the maximum benefit from the course. The language lab work on the Rosetta Stone program is beneficial and time well spent. However, we think that it is very important that each student gets practice using English (speaking, listening, and reading) under the supervision of a teacher. It is vital that students are able transfer the skills they are developing on the computer into real life situations. Of course, we want students to improve their ability to score well on English exams in school, but it is equally important that our students are able to have conversations in English and improve their ability to read and understand what they have read.
Even the Rosetta Stone program is individualized. When using this language learning software, students are able to learn at their own pace. In many traditional classroom environments, students all study the same topics at the same time and progress at the same speed. With the Rosetta Stone software, students advance to the next level when they have completed all the units in a lesson. If a student fails to pass a unit, the software requires the student to go back and attempt the exercises again and again until the student is able to pass the unit. This allows advanced students to quickly progress through topics that they have already mastered and forces the students who need more practice to continue to repeat the exercises until they are able to learn the material.
Regardless of the age or skill level of the student. We have a strong commitment to make sure that every PLC student is receiving individual attention and is demonstrating continued improvement. Many of our students attend other tutoring schools to improve their knowledge in other subjects. The children that attend our school are serious about learning and doing well in school. When they come to PLC, we work very hard to make sure that they receive the maximum amount of benefit during the time they spend with us.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Why Rosetta Stone is an Effective English Language Learning Tool
Rosetta Stone is a featured part of many of PLC's programs. From what I have seen, it is a very effective way for students to improve their skills. If one expects to master a foreign language by only learning from a computer, you will likely be disappointed. However, Rosetta Stone in conjunction with classroom learning and real conversation practice will help students improve their skills very rapidly.
Rosetta Stone connects with learners on many different levels. When a new word is introduced, the word is heard by the student, the student sees a picture depicting the meaning of the word, the student sees the word written out, the student is asked to pronounce the word, and the word is incorporated in subsequent writing and grammar exercises. This type of repetition and the fact that student is presented the word in each way that language is used really helps to ensure that learned words and phrases (later in the program) are retained. Some people learn visually, others are auditory learners, and in my opinion, everyone learns faster from writing because it adds the element of requiring the person to physically create the word. Rosetta Stone guides the student to learn using all of these processes.
I particularly like the pronunciation portion of the program. I have found that my students find the pronunciation and speaking exercises in the program more difficult than vocabulary and grammar exercises. I have also seen pronunciation skills improve dramatically with use of the software. The software will not "pass" a student in a pronunciation exercise easily. It pushes the student to practice, repeat, and improve pronunciation. There have been many cases where I feel that a student is saying the word correctly (at least at an acceptable level) but the program requires more precision before the student can move on.
Pronunciation exercises are one of the reasons that I feel that having a native English speaking teacher helping students along with the software is important. One of the weaknesses in the program is that it is sometimes hard for students to identify what mistakes they are making when attempting to pronounce a word. I am often able to listen to the student and point out the problem area that needs to be corrected. Without having a teacher available, the student may become frustrated as they continue to repeat the word incorrectly.
Rosetta Stone teaches pronunciation and it simulates conversational exchanges, but having a teacher available to expand on conversation skill development is vital to achieve mastery. I have found that some Thai students are comfortable speaking to the computer, but when I attempt to engage them in a real conversation, they lack confidence. Rosetta Stone builds language skills, but it trains the learner to build language skills within the context of the software. The randomness of a real life conversation with a teacher is very important in preparing the student for real life interactions in a foreign country. The students are not able to anticipate what questions I might ask them, so they are forced to improve their listening comprehension.
Real life conversation practice is also very important in training a student to think on their feet and construct accurate responses even though they are limited by their vocabulary. When working with a language learning software, there is one and only one correct answer. When you are having a conversation with a person, you can say things in different ways to communicate your point. For example, if you don't know the English word "orchard" you can substitute with the words "tree farm". The words "tree farm" would be scored as incorrect in Rosetta Stone, but it is perfectly understandable when communicating with a real person.
My experience with Rosetta Stone is that students who practice the program every week improve their English skills significantly. There is no magic program that will teach someone a foreign language over night, but the Rosetta Stone program is effective and comprehensive and really helps students improve skills and develop confidence. However, language is used to communicate with people not computer software. For this reason, we at PLC consistently engage our students with personal instruction, reading practice, and conversation practice to ensure that students are able to transfer the skills they are learning on the computer to real life situations.
Rosetta Stone connects with learners on many different levels. When a new word is introduced, the word is heard by the student, the student sees a picture depicting the meaning of the word, the student sees the word written out, the student is asked to pronounce the word, and the word is incorporated in subsequent writing and grammar exercises. This type of repetition and the fact that student is presented the word in each way that language is used really helps to ensure that learned words and phrases (later in the program) are retained. Some people learn visually, others are auditory learners, and in my opinion, everyone learns faster from writing because it adds the element of requiring the person to physically create the word. Rosetta Stone guides the student to learn using all of these processes.
I particularly like the pronunciation portion of the program. I have found that my students find the pronunciation and speaking exercises in the program more difficult than vocabulary and grammar exercises. I have also seen pronunciation skills improve dramatically with use of the software. The software will not "pass" a student in a pronunciation exercise easily. It pushes the student to practice, repeat, and improve pronunciation. There have been many cases where I feel that a student is saying the word correctly (at least at an acceptable level) but the program requires more precision before the student can move on.
Pronunciation exercises are one of the reasons that I feel that having a native English speaking teacher helping students along with the software is important. One of the weaknesses in the program is that it is sometimes hard for students to identify what mistakes they are making when attempting to pronounce a word. I am often able to listen to the student and point out the problem area that needs to be corrected. Without having a teacher available, the student may become frustrated as they continue to repeat the word incorrectly.
Rosetta Stone teaches pronunciation and it simulates conversational exchanges, but having a teacher available to expand on conversation skill development is vital to achieve mastery. I have found that some Thai students are comfortable speaking to the computer, but when I attempt to engage them in a real conversation, they lack confidence. Rosetta Stone builds language skills, but it trains the learner to build language skills within the context of the software. The randomness of a real life conversation with a teacher is very important in preparing the student for real life interactions in a foreign country. The students are not able to anticipate what questions I might ask them, so they are forced to improve their listening comprehension.
Real life conversation practice is also very important in training a student to think on their feet and construct accurate responses even though they are limited by their vocabulary. When working with a language learning software, there is one and only one correct answer. When you are having a conversation with a person, you can say things in different ways to communicate your point. For example, if you don't know the English word "orchard" you can substitute with the words "tree farm". The words "tree farm" would be scored as incorrect in Rosetta Stone, but it is perfectly understandable when communicating with a real person.
My experience with Rosetta Stone is that students who practice the program every week improve their English skills significantly. There is no magic program that will teach someone a foreign language over night, but the Rosetta Stone program is effective and comprehensive and really helps students improve skills and develop confidence. However, language is used to communicate with people not computer software. For this reason, we at PLC consistently engage our students with personal instruction, reading practice, and conversation practice to ensure that students are able to transfer the skills they are learning on the computer to real life situations.
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