Clarke Wainikka TESL

What can teachers do to 'discourage interaction'? Teachers walk a fine line when creating a classroom that fosters interaction. It only takes a few simple errors for an instructor to 'discourage interaction.' Firstly, in regards to error correction, Brown & Lee advise that their must be an optimal balance between positive and negative cognitive feedback in order to be effective. Too much negative feedback will lead to a learner shutting themselves off from communication while too much positive feedback can lead to the "fossilization" of certain errors and develop bad habits. (2015) For example, if a student continues to drop the 's' when reading out loud at the ends of words and the instructor decides it is more worthwhile to correct other pronunciation errors, this could lead to the student continuously dropping 's''s and causing later confusion in their speaking.  Another example of the fine line that teachers walk when it c...

Why do you think there have been so many language teaching methods? I believe there has been so many language teaching methods because, firstly, as Brown & Lee stated, there was a search performed from the 1880's to the 1980's for the right 'method' that would successfully apply to all foreign language speakers. (2015). There was an idea that there must be one method that would work for all teachers and all students and this led to a continuous cycling of methods as they came about. Meaning new methods would replace the old, another new method would be released, would be adapted and so on and so forth.  It is clear that, nowadays, our methods are much more comprehensive and not so strictly limited to one type of language teaching. I believe this is because of the expansion of globalization. The ESL industry, with the invention of technology, has greatly expanded its borders. Teachers are now able to connect with other professionals from all over the world and t...

After revisiting the popular ideas about language learning in Lightrown & Spada (2013, p. 202), have any of your previous opinions changed or become stronger? Reading through the popular ideas about language learning by Lightbrown & Spada, I found myself very interested in two particular points. Firstly, that highly intelligent learners or those with a high IQ make good language learners. Throughout my experience, specifically with international students, I have had several students who were very intelligent and very successful in their respective fields but struggled in the classroom. I can confirm what Lightbrown & Spada suggested, having a wide variety of language abilities leads to more success, specifically in oral communication. I have had many students that are very knowledgeable in terms of meta linguistics, grammatical rules and, even, English literature. However, these students still often would make mistakes as they were not able to apply the knowledge that the...