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My Beliefs and Philosophies about L2 Teaching and Learning

By Martina Seo

July 9, 2012

Students should feel comfortable and safe to explore and experiment in their

second language-learning environment. They should feel relaxed enough to make

mistakes and be motivated to try to use the second language as much as possible.

Last summer, I went to Quebec City to learn French through UBC Colle ge de Me rici

Program for three weeks. I was immersed in a new environment and my classroom

was filled with students who had minimal exposure to the language. My two

professors made the classroom a very fun and exciting place. They had two distinct

teaching styles where one focused on grammar translation or Prussian method. I

appreciated the grammar focus when it was written down on the white board or

worksheets were handed out because I am a visual learner. I could concentrate and

link the syntax and semantics to the language while scaffolding on my L1. On the

other hand, my other professor focused on context based conversational French. He

was very boisterous, encouraging, used a lot of facial expressions and animated,

while using very little written text. He got us excited with his gestures and

incredible enthusiasm for learning. He was using motherese or caretaker speech

with us, which was highly beneficial for learners who were very limited in the

French. Both teaching methods were crucial for me in acquiring French as third

language. I would love to incorporate both teaching styles in my beginner ESL and

tutoring classes.
I have tutored ESL since 1997 until now and I have noticed a lot of interesting

and corky things about L2 learners. Most of my Korean ESL students make innate

biases when we do grammar or conversational exercises, where I foster an open

venue for trial and error. They catch on when there is a lot of repetition. Also, I

believe Krashens views on input hypothesis because it is a fine line where as a

teacher, I need to make sure the level of L2 learning is just above their knowledge, so

they are not bored or discouraged. I constantly check in with the students to find

out if it is too hard or too easy of text or conversation. Sometimes when I first meet

a student and assess their level as being very low, I use Fergusons foreigner talk

because I know they need a lot of prompting with their L2 and I want them to feel

comfortable. One of my beliefs is to make learning ESL more based on play such as

writing about stories about fantasy or dreams, talking about various scenarios such

as alternate endings for classical fairytale or acting out a play with many different

characters, for example the stone soup. To have the students physically and

cognitively involved in learning L2, I think it would beneficial for kinesthetic or

tactile learners. There so many ways to reach a destination in learning a second

language.

My masseuse is from Taiwan and she is an ESL learner in Vancouver and I only

viewed her as someone who is trying to make an honest and humble living here.

But, as I got to know her, she has a Masters in Immunology and was a lab technician

for many years in her home country. She is going to school to study Immunology in

Vancouver and told me she is too shy to talk in her ESL classes. She is highly

educated and knows her profession very well in her native tongue, but still struggles
in feeling confident in her L2. I encouraged her to practice and her classroom is safe

place to make errors. As a teacher, I would use recast because of her anxiety in

making mistakes in front of her peers (Faneslow, 1977; Mackey Gass, &

McDonough). I can understand as a professional back home, it is hard and humbling

to learn a new language and be viewed as only a struggling ESL learner. That is why

it is important to ensure a safe and inviting place for students to make mistakes and

grow in their learning experience.

On the other hand, my worst fear would be premature stabilization or fossilized

for my students. My father took ESL in Korea in high school when his group of

friends decided to do a prank on the teacher. When the angry teacher asked the

students to close their eyes and raise their hands to confess, he was the only one to

raise his hand. His teacher beat him so severely in front of the class; he had

fossilized in his ESL learning. When he came to Canada, despite Vancouver

Community College ESL classes and private tutoring, he never became proficient in

his L2. He complained many times about his traumatic memory and it inhibited him

in becoming fluent in English. I believe teachers need to be forgiving and not

punishing in their methods of teaching because they can have lasting positive or

negative imprints on a students performance in life.

What I believe many L2 learners would benefit from would be field trips to

restaurants, grocery stores, sight seeing, museums and concerts. Learning a second

language can be a very social experience (Thorne, 2000). While in Quebec City, our

French Immersion consisted of classroom time in the mornings and outings in the
afternoon where we could apply immediately what we had learned. And I have

noticed with my ESL tutoring students, when I engage in what they have a passion

for such as dinosaurs, soccer or Lego and incorporate students interest into the

lesson, they students are more engaged and motivated to learn. Scaffolding from the

students passions and prior knowledge are vital in progressing L2 acquiring. I

admire Susan Ashbys different methods of teaching in storytelling, music, affective

activities and poetry. With a variety of tools, any teacher who is dedicated in

bringing ESL learning to a whole new level of memorable and teachable moments.

During my practicum, my sponsor teacher told me, We are not the show, the

students are the show. What she meant was, less teacher talking and more student

talking and group interactions. No more desks in rows, but in groups where

students can interact, cooperatively work together and learn from each other with

the guidance and instructions from the teacher. Learning from peers just by

listening and watching others, ESL learners can benefit from the new language

usage. I truly believe in teaching, it is all about the students and how to

accommodate and modify my lesson plans moment by moment while engaging and

reaching a level of fun, safety and group dynamics to get to the destination of

proficiency in L2 learning. I am just one of the tour guides on their journey of

acquiring their L2, but I am definitely going to make it a fun one when I get them!
References

Fanselow, J. (1977). The Treatment of Error in Oral Work. Foreign Language Annals,
10, 583-593.

Ferguson, C. (1975). Toward a Charaterization of English Foreign Talk.


Anthropological Linguistics, 17(1), 1-14.

Krashen, S. (1985). The Input Hypothesis: Issues and Implications. London:


Longman.

Mack, A., Gass, S., & McDonough, K. (2000). How do Learners Perceive Interactional
Feedback. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 22, 471-497.

Richard Amato, P.A. (2010). Making It Happen From Interactive to Participatory


Language Teaching: Evolving Theory and Practice Fourth Edition. New York:
Pearson Education.

Thorne, S. (2000). Second Language Acquisition Theory and the Truth(s) about
Relativity. In J. Lantolf (Ed.), Sociocultural Theory and Second Language
Learning (pp. 219-243). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.

Vygostsky, P. (1962). Thought and Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

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