Clarke Wainikka TESL

First Language Acquisition versus Second Language Learning Above you can find a diagram I made about the differences and similarities about first language acquisition and second language learning. In my research, I was surprised by how different the two are and how truly fortunate I am to be born with English as my first acquired language. To learn that Second Language learners will, truly, never reach the point of competence of first language acquisition is quite surprising. Even those who are bilingual will still have one language more dominant than the other. I’m curious to see if this changes in the oncoming years as second language learning and children being taught two languages at a young age becomes more and more common. In my personal experience, I think I am a clear example of the differences between FLA and SLL. As a child, I spoke only English but upon entering school I was enrolled into a French immersion program. From ages 5 to 13 all of my schooling was in Fr...

How would you approach teaching a multi-level class? In my experience, nearly all of my classes have been multi-level classes. Unfortunately, ESL learners do not always fit into 'boxes' in terms of level.  I've had multiple students that have the same IELTS level on paper but upon entering the class it is clear that their levels are incredibly different. I find that level can, even, vary depending on a students mood! For example, in my current class, I have pretty strong writers and readers but their listening and speaking skills are on the weaker side. At the beginning of the week, on a Monday, usually my students are quite tired and I notice a major decrease in their pronunciation and retention of materials.  I would approach teaching a multi-level class by, firstly, ensuring that I have accurate needs assessments in hand. Knowing what my students require and their goals for the class will assist me greatly in being able to accommodate to their levels. I also will ...

"Reflect on what it means to be the speaker of the language or languages you speak. What does speaking that language mean to you?" How does it shape you an as an English teacher? (Razfar & Rumenapp, 2014, p. 286) Being a 'speaker of the language' for English means privilege to me. I believe that I am incredibly lucky to have been raised in a country where English is the native language. English is an incredibly nuanced language with multiple varieties that will only increase in the coming years. As Brown states there are certain 'internationalized' varieties of English. (2015) For example, countries like Singapore or the Philippines will be developing their own nuances as English is an official language in both of these countries. There is not 'one true English' and I've found, in my experience, that students at times get caught up in the idea of speaking 'native speaker English.' However, what will occur when native speaker Englis...

Teaching Identity Thinking about Tyson Seburn's perspective, he advised that he didn't consider teaching his profession for a long time at the beginning of his career. This caused him to lack his professional identity. I can strongly relate to this, I didn't expect to fall into teaching as I have. I grew up in a household of teachers, my mother and father were both teachers, my grandfather, my grandmother, my aunt. All teachers. To be honest, it put me off of teaching for a bit, in that I didn't see myself pursuing it as a profession.  When I was in school, I studied psychology in hopes of one day becoming a therapist. And perhaps this avenue will one day be pursued but for now I've fallen in love with teaching English. I believe I still struggle with a professional identity. I'm only 4 years into my career and still everyday I doubt my confidence as a teacher. I believe if I can accept and modify my identity it will assist me with my teaching philoso...