English as a second language

Learning English as a second language can take place at two points in an individual's lifetime:

• as a child who has probably migrated to a predominantly English-speaking country from a non-English speaking territory or is enrolled in a school whose curriculum provides for teaching English as a second language

• as an adult who has also migrated to an English-speaking territory or who needs to learn English as a second language in order to be more effective at his or her job

Teaching methods for the two groups should vary because the learning curve of the two groups and their ability to take in new knowledge is not the same. For adults, many English as a second language (ESL) schools adopt a practice of learning by exposure wherein students are exposed many English language materials in order for them to become familiar with the rules of the English language.

Many children who are also learning English as a second language are placed in English-speaking classrooms in a move to give them a lot of exposure to English. However, this may backfire because children understand very little or even nothing of what they are hearing. This is a sort of a “sink-or-swim” approach where the best learners eventually learn to adapt while those who are not so fast in adapting to the rules of using a new language eventually flounder.

The idea of radically exposing a learner to a language is fallacious because it actually slows down the children's ability to learn significantly. According to information given in the web page http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/easl.htm researchers Thomas and Collier (1998) found that an average native English speaker gains an estimate of ten months of academic growth in one academic year consisting of ten months. If new learners of English are put in the same class, they must learn more than the native speaker by making one-a-half year's progress in English in six successive school years. Therefore, in order to develop skills that can keep up with those of native English speakers, English as a second language learners must make the equivalent of nine years' progress in just a span of six years.

• Test all students to determine what level of knowledge they fall under and group them appropriately

• Prepare a course outline which will determine the number of hours of instruction that each level will get. During this time, include a lesson plan of activities and information that you plan to teach these students of each level.

• Adapt a holistic approach in teaching English by making sure that you concentrate on all aspects of the language in terms of reading, writing, listening and speaking. Exercises related to these tasks should be tailored to the level of knowledge that the student possesses.

• Choose a good textbook that has good content and is written by academics that teach English in established universities and are preferably native English speakers themselves. Make sure that the book has chapters on three important sections: language, grammar and pronunciation. This will be the anchor under which you will base your lesson plan of classroom activities.

• English is the primary language of countries such as Britain and the United States, both of whom have had significant colonial influence in practically most of the world. It therefore carries a negative connotation as the 'language of the conquerors' which equates to plunder of resources and suffering brought about to a conquered land, therefore making many people averse to it. People of communities who suffered from colonial rule may think that adapting English as a second language is tantamount to accepting the pain and suffering that they have endured, making them psychologically resistant to learning English.  

•  Some countries integrate English into their school curriculum alongside studying their national language in an effort to keep in step with globalisation. However, even prolonged study of English starting from elementary education will not make students automatic masters of English. One factor contributing to this is the educator himself is bilingual, as most schools cannot afford to hire a native English speaker as a teacher. As a result, a bilingual method of instruction is sometimes adopted, albeit erroneously, in language classes.

• Attitude. Many non-English speakers all over the world are intimidated by Western culture. This is partly because of the colonial history of the UK and the United States when they imposed aspects of their culture to their subjects. In addition, the development and prosperity often associated with the West has made many natives have an innate intimidation of learning the English language.
  
  
• Pronunciation. This is one of the biggest challenges faced by English teachers for individuals learning English as a second language. This is due to the fact that the English language has many characteristic features that are not present in other languages, making it difficult for non-native English speakers to integrate pronunciation and vocal patterns into their own speech.
  
  
• Grammar. English as a language does have its own set of complicated rules and regulations, making it a tough language to master. This can also be attributed to the fact that these rules are markedly different from the rules of their local dialect or language. Many English learners encounter problems with these rules, making it difficult for them to understand many of the principles of English on their first or second reading. Another factor that makes things more complicated is the fact that English has many variations. For example, the Queen's English is vastly different from American English, which in turn has its own differences with Commonwealth English.

• Terms in the Teachers' Perspective – English language teaching or ELT is the term which is widely used when the subject is referred to in the teachers' perspective. ELT is commonly used in English language teaching divisions of large publishing firms and in teacher training among others. TESL which is teaching English as a second language, TESOL which is teaching English to speakers of other languages and TEFL which is teaching English as a foreign language are also other terms in usage.

• Terms in the Students' or Learners' Perspective – Aside from the various terms being used in referring to English as a second language, there are more terms being used in the field of ESL. They include EAL or English as an additional language, EIL or English as an international language, ELF or English as a lingua franca, ESP which is English for special purposes or English for specific purposes and EAP which is English for academic purposes. Lingua franca means working language, bridge language or vehicular language. Students learning English are referred to as ELL which means English language learner, LEP meaning limited English proficiency and CLD to mean culturally and linguistically diverse.