Teach English in WujiAjing Zhen - Wuwei Shi

This unit looked at learning and development theories, how languages are learned, consideration of the students? learning environment, and the process of maturation. There are four groups of learning and behavior theories: maturationists, environmentalists, constructivists, and others. In the maturation theory, natural biological processes are fundamental, and there is a natural sequence of events that will take place. In the environmental theory, the environment is fundamental and our behavior is a reaction of our surroundings. Constructivism is a combination of both maturation and environmental theories. A students? first/native language is referred to as L1 and the language they?re learning is L2. Important research findings about language acquisition include: language is not a linear process, language is learned through its use, L2 learning draws on the learning experiences of L1, and young learners don?t learn consciously as quickly as older learners. This means that language learning is a dynamic process, total immersion is the most efficient learning style, and there is no ?magical age window? for language learning. Young learners can be split into two groups: ages 5-9 (group 1) and ages 9-13 (group 2). Group 1 follows the standard communicative approach, which means all teaching takes place in English. Lessons are student-centered but needs more verbal repetition and drilling. Lessons are physically active and possibly noisy. The term EP (Engage and Practice) can relate to all activities that follow the engage phase. Group 2 also follows the standard communicative approach. Lessons are student-centered with the teacher acting as a facilitator whenever possible. Student talking time is the main goal of the lesson and should be controlled first before free speaking activities. This group roughly follows the ESA (Engage, Study, Activate) method. There are three forms of the ESA method: Straight Arrow, Boomerang, and Patchwork. The term learning environment is used to mean the organization of the physical surroundings where the teaching takes place as well as the classroom atmosphere. Classrooms can be arranged in the following patterns: circular, semi-circular, or group tables. Teachers should also consider the teacher?s position in the room, where resources are in relation to the students? sight, and where students can access other resources without disturbing others. The two productive skills are speaking and writing. The two receptive skills are listening and reading. There are benchmarks at each level or for each group that the students should be able to achieve in both productive and receptive skills. Maturation refers to a psycholinguistic development process which involves the students? ability to understand more concrete concepts and theories. When considering maturation, speaking and listening should come first followed by reading and writing. It?s good to thing about how the different classes will change depending on the students? age. For example, the likes and dislikes of group 1 might differ from group 2. Additionally, skills will vary depending on age. Taking these into account, a typical classroom for group 1, or five to nine year olds should involve: an active atmosphere, short activities, movement, minimum instructions, games, art, and repetition. For group 2, or nine to thirteen year olds: slightly less active, longer activities, less noise and movement, more instructions, less physical activity, more abstract concepts, and more memorization tasks. I learned the importance of taking into consideration the classroom environment as well as the two age groups. While certain activities may be appropriate for group 1 students, they may not be as effective for group 2 students. Thinking about the arrangement of the classroom as well as what activities and types of lessons a specific group of students may enjoy will help lessons to go more smoothly.