Aspect of language expected to be learned from lesson

Various aspects of language are apparent in the ESL classroom interaction witnessed at International House. The lesson highlights the importance placed on teaching not only written language, but also spoken language. Oral interactions between students and the teacher occur throughout the lesson, and indeed cater for a variety of learner styles and types. The interaction aims to teach students grammar and functions such as passive infinitive, causation construction and reflexive pronouns. Vocabulary introduced and expected to be learned includes words associated with houses, household jobs and professions. The importance of constantly building on the student’s vocabulary in context is made by the classroom teacher in preliminary discussions before the lesson. Researchers such as Krashen and Rivers have argued the importance of vocabulary acquisition in second language classrooms – and make the point that “adequate vocabulary is essential for successful second language use.” (Rivers 1983:125) Also interesting to note was the structure and sequencing of the tasks and learning activities in the lesson. The teacher responded to queries on this by highlighting the importance of the order and organization of the grammar and vocabulary tasks in the lesson and in the overall teaching program.

Aspects of language expected to be learned from this lesson revolve around grammar and vocabulary, but also include familiarity with areas of language involved in life skills, home and lifestyle; possible contexts include dealing with rental properties, looking for a new home, fixing problems in the home and dealing with tradesmen. It appeared that a cumulative strategy was encouraged by the language centre – tasks and units of work were generally centred around a ‘simple to complex’ sequencing arrangement. The lesson gradually introduced more difficulty, grammatical concepts and new vocabulary over a period of time – giving the students some time to process and build on prior knowledge. Researchers such as Bruner, and Lorch and Lorch have produced works on the significance of ordering learning activities and sequencing of language tasks.

Tasks during the lesson were varied, and focused on aspects of language such as vocabulary and verbal skills, and non-verbal reading comprehension and evaluation. Tasks have both implicit and explicit goals and outcomes for the students – an example of a task with explicit goals seen in the interaction is the task of reading the set passage from the “Reward” textbook. Students read for a specific purpose when they are trying to find the meanings for the words on their worksheets – They are aware of the purpose of their reading, and this evaluation and comprehension exercise is successful in that is provides a meaningful exercise which integrates language, grammar, vocabulary and comprehension into a ‘manageable’ task for the learners.

Material used in the interaction

It was interesting to note that the teacher in question used a variety of different materials and resources in the lesson. A course book was utilized during part of the lesson, as well as supplementary materials such as magazines, handouts/worksheets, and flash-cards.

The lesson made some use of the ‘set’ textbook, ‘Reward Intermediate’ (Reward 2003) which appeared to be used rather more as a helpful aid and facilitator of language learning rather than as the major teaching tool in the program. The materials in the set textbook appear to be reasonably flexible and offer a balance of activities and experiences for the language learner. The textbook provides meaningful and realistic learning tasks but did need to be used selectively throughout the lesson. Students responded positively to the combination of using the textbook in conjunction with flash-cards, magazines, pictures and so on. Using a variety of materials is advised by the majority of English language teaching experts – it helps individual students to understand and develop their own specific language skills and learning styles. Materials used in the interaction can be classed as both ‘controlled, non-authentic’ texts and resources and authentic ‘real’ texts. Using actual pictures of houses from the “Gold Coast Bulletin” was just one example of allowing students to experience authentic materials in the classroom. The students are given a variety of ‘roughly-tuned’ as well as completely authentic materials such as pictures of houses, yellow pages advertisements for handymen and teacher role-play participation in class throughout the lesson. A selection of reading material, listening tasks, pictorial stimuli, and question and comprehension sheets as well as the course book were used effectively in the lesson.

Material appeared to be culturally sensitive, clearly structured and user-friendly which are all important considerations in the ESL classroom. The course book has a clear and uncluttered layout and presentation and appears to present a ‘balanced’ insight into English language and society. McDonough and Shaw highlight the need for materials to be balanced, usable, flexible and engaging for both students and teachers in order to be effective in the language classroom. (McDonough & Shaw 2003: 65-66) The visual material used in the interaction was engaging and interesting for the students; it sparked debate and communication amongst the students in the classroom. This was pleasing to note because again, it catered to different learning styles and attitudes – some students who apparently disliked reading and comprehension exercises thoroughly enjoyed looking at the pictures of houses, speaking about why they liked them and so on. The material in the interaction catered to learners who perhaps felt more comfortable in the spoken language situation as well as those students who preferred using written material and tasks.

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