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Since I became an English teacher there have been several issues that profoundly concern
me about my students language learning processes. One of the commonalities I have noticed
from teaching is that, in my classes, just a few students become proficient, whereas the rest are
left behind. I have gone through different phases trying to explain myself this phenomenon, in
which I have either blame my methodology or partially excuse my students for lacking the right
foundations due to previous meaningless learning experiences. Recently, I added one more to the
list and this one deals directly with the context, hinting that foreign language learners do not
receive enough exposure to input and they have little time to interact with other classmates in a
setting like ours (Gass and Selinker, 1994). However, I am aware that these are just some of the
Since our students live in an EFL environment, they are expected to be exposed to the
language mostly during English classes. Gass and Selinker (1994) suggest that, in these classes,
students are exposed to three types of sources: (a) teacher, (b) materials, and (c) other learners.
If we examine these sources, it becomes clear that in Colombia we have many hindrances that
need to be tackled. To begin with, there is a great number of teachers that lack the aptitude and
the methodology as well. Additionally, the materials we use (usually booklets) may be somewhat
appealing and well-structured, but they are too universal and they do not engage our students.
Finally, thanks to different theories that support students interaction as Vygotskys zone of
proximal development, we know for sure that these interactions affect the students positively.
Nonetheless, students performances may be negatively affected by the mistakes they share with
their classmates if they do not receive feedback from their teachers. (Gass and Selinker, 1994).
WRITTEN COMMENTARY 2: INSTRUCTED SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING 2
References
Gass, M. and Selinker, L. (1994). Second Language Acquisition: An Introductory Course. (pp.
368-394). Routledge.