Teach Effectively, it Is Critical

¶ … teach effectively, it is critical to develop a comprehensive teaching methodology. This course has not only revealed the importance of a teaching methodology but also how to develop a methodology and implement it in the classroom. With a focus on teaching English as a second language, I have learned about various techniques of instruction that I will use throughout my career. For example, I have learned how to tailor lessons for the learner. I make adaptations to suit the needs of individual students. Assessments are given to students both at the onset of the class and during the class, as well as at the end of the class because this is the only way to monitor student progress effectively.

One of the most instructive issues we learned about in class came as a surprise: the principles of language learning. At first these principles seemed daunting. Mastering them meant understanding the cognitive, affective, and linguistic principles surrounding language learning and development. However, I applied myself fully and learned that it is upon these principles that our career as English Language and TESOL instructors is based.

Issues like meaningful learning had a particularly strong impact on me, because I want my students to retain their knowledge and apply it to their lives rather than memorize language by rote. Ideally, my students will be intrinsically motivated by the desire to communicate well. I also learned how to incorporate lessons regarding culture into the language lessons, and to help students develop the personal self-confidence with which to practice their skills.

Among the practical knowledge gained in this course, the most important has been the International Phonetic Alphabet. The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) offers a means by which to transcribe words in a universal manner. Learning about the IPA helps me to become a more effective teacher because instead of teaching textbook English that is not used in daily speech, I can help my students converse in natural daily speech.

Although Esperanto was never adopted as an official language of discourse, learning about Esperanto is of enormous theoretical assistance. For one, Esperanto is an idealized global language and one that does not assume the cultural superiority of one culture over another. For this reason, I found it refreshing to learn about Esperanto. Usually people from different cultures will communicate in a base language and most of the time that language is English. Using English unfortunately presumes the cultural superiority of English-language societies. English as the global language of choice validates this sense of cultural superiority. Many of my students are aware of this fact, and do not want to surrender their culture just so that they can interact in the global business community.

By far the most important knowledge I have gained in this course is the understanding of how culture and language intersect. As Robert Lake points out in "An Indian Father's Plea," "It takes time to adjust to a new cultural system and learn new things." Western and Anglo cultures take for granted that the rest of the world sees things their way. When the father in Lake's narrative speaks about his son's pre-school learning, it is apparent that different cultures have different ideas of what education is supposed to do, and what knowledge itself is. For example, the son learned that there are thirteen full moons per year and therefore technically there are indeed thirteen months in a year. After all, the word moon comes from the word for month, even in English. Yet the teachers at the boy's school assumed he was slow or disadvantaged because the child did not know the Western calendar. Similarly, what passes for "knowledge" or "information" in a typical American public school has no real relevance for traditional Indian ways of life. The reverse is also true.

The father in the story claims about his son, "He is not fluent yet because he is only 5 years old and required by law to attend your educational system, learn your language, your values, your ways of thinking, and your methods of teaching and learning." In essence, the father clearly understands that education is as much about cultural indoctrination, socialization, and assimilation as it is about knowledge acquisition. The boy "is caught between two worlds, torn by two distinct cultural systems."

I know that as a TESOL teacher, I will also meet many students who are caught between two worlds. We learned about bullying and discrimination and about how these issues affect the learning experience and educational experience for many students. In "An Indian Father's Plea," the boy in the story has been bullied and has also been the victim of racism. Many of the students I teach are socially awkward because their being "different" has rendered them outcasts. Not being able to communicate in English makes it doubly difficult for students who are non-native English speakers to find social as well as academic success.

In "An Indian Father's Plea," the father clearly states the main objective of a genuinely multicultural education: "I want him to be proud of his rich heritage and culture, and I would like him to develop the necessary capabilities to adapt to, and succeed in, both cultures." Being able to shift between worlds is the essence of multilingualism. This has become the central goal of my professional development: to help students learn English while also retaining deep respect for their own cultural and linguistic heritages.

We as TESOL teachers are helping our students become empowered by their mastery of more than one language. Many of my students will have already mastered more than one language, such as both French and German or both Japanese and Korean. They are adding English to their already rich repertoire of knowledge. This will actually put them at an advantage vis-a-vis their English-only speaking peers. At the time they are enrolled in the TESOL class, they might not feel advantaged. But I hope to instill in them the pride and self-confidence that enables them to see what a position of power being multilingual puts them in. After all, the graduates of a TESOL program can get jobs in more than one country and in positions that involve world travel. They can do business in different cultures, not just because they know the language but also because they know the communications styles and customs.

Using the various teaching methodologies learned in this course, coupled with an understanding of IPA, and Esperanto, I am now able to teach English as a second language in a comprehensive and culturally sensitive way. In accordance with the principle of Esperanto, English can become neutralized. The TEJO (n.d.). organization claims, "Esperanto is most useful for neutral communication. That means that communication through Esperanto does not give advantages to the members of any particular people or culture, but provides an ethos of equality of rights, tolerance and true internationalism."