Teaching English Language Learners
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Bernice Said:
Why is it hard to teach history to English language learners?We Answered:
It's not that hard. You should try teaching them Science.Even students who speak English struggle with the advanced academic vocabulary in this course. Imagine an ELL with limited Science experience in the first place from Mexico trying to learn the word prokaryote and eukaryote. It's a disaster.
All you have to do is look at the TAKS Science scores for the state compared with other tests, and your ELL's are always way lower than everybody else.
Experts say it takes up to 7 years to start learning and mastering Acadmemic Vocabulary in the new language one is learning.
Jo Said:
What sort of degree do you need to teach English as a foreign language?We Answered:
In general you'll need a degree and a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate to get a visa and work. The TEFL certificate can be taken either in-house at a local school for 4 weeks or online at your own pace.As for the subject of the degree you have, in many countries this does not matter but it always helps to get something related to English. That is, English Language or English Literature. It's not necessary to have a degree in TEFL!
Oh, and it's definitely NOT necessary to speak the local language of the country you intend to work in! Language instruction should be done entirely in English and although knowing the local language can help when you're outside the classroom, it's by no means required to teach English!
Andrea Said:
Studying to teach English Language Learners?We Answered:
I have no idea about teaching English in US. But there is a great needs of certified English teacher in PR China. Once you have a bachlor degree and major in English teaching you can get a teaching position here. On the other hand there are many Language Centers around the world offer course for one who has the desire to be an English teacher. You can easily collect the information online. Or you can just make several calls in your state. I am sure there is one in your state which offer you course to be an ELL teacher. May you a good luck.Louis van de mortel
Stephen Said:
What is the newest way to teach English for second language learners?We Answered:
There are several different ways of teaching ESL. I don't know if these ways change constantly so you can say that one is the newest or most recent method. In Asian countries--China, Japan, Korea, etc.--the current emphasis is on teaching people to speak English as opposed to teaching them grammar or vocabulary. Many Chinese students have studied English for ten or fifteen years and still can't speak it, so over the last five or six years there's been a lot of emphasis placed on just holding conversations with students and having them learn grammar and vocabulary from the context. Since this method is also slow work, some people and schools have added total immersion programs (where students spend a week or two totally immersed in an English environment.) Such programs help students learn, but don't always help retention. Other people place an emphasis on physical response learning, where the student must not only say but do something at the same time.Darryl Said:
Do you know a short story less than three pages long suitable for English language learners?We Answered:
I have been teaching foreign learners for some time, and my best successes were with very short poems, and even Nursery Rhymes. All my students liked to know that Humpty Dumpty is known not only by all Americans and Brits, but by Indians and South Africans as well. After reading the poem several times, often with different speeds and rhythms, checking for vocabulary, I could ask"why did he go to sit in that dangerous place?" "Why do some people think he was an egg, when there is no egg in the verse?" "Why do ALL the king´s power come to help? (they wouldn´t come for me!) Is there a moral to the story? Why does Humpty have such a ridiculous name? "Could it be that Humpty represents a certain type of person?"
They also like all the other popular rhymes.
Later we would go on to some shorter poems. Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, all the major poets have some good short ones.
Christina Said:
what kind of phonology can we teach learners of english as a foreign language?We Answered:
I like Dan Jenkins's ideas from this forumhttp://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2009/fo…