Teach English in Wendeng Jingji Kaifaqu - Weihai Shi

English has become an international language and many language courses like TEFL have been developed. And it is important to know the differences between the two types of classes where English is taught. Monolingual classes consist of students speaking the same language and are usually found in non-English speaking countries. For example, teaching English to Russian students in Russia. They all have the same native language. Multilingual classes consist of students speaking different languages and are most often found in English speaking countries where students come with a purpose to learn English. For example, teaching English international students in the USA. I used to teach in multilingual and monolingual classes. I worked as a teacher of English at schools and at the university in my native country Russia. So I quite used to working in a monolingual class. But teaching English in a multilingual class was a completely different experience for me because in Russia I usually taught English in a monolingual class. And only when I got the Fulbright scholarship and moved to the USA, I had a chance to work as a teacher of English when I was volunteering at the refugee and immigration center. It was the first time when I started teaching English in multilingual class and I had to find out different approaches to teaching in multilingual classes. In my class, I had students from the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Of course, it was something really new to me to teach in such an international class. So based on my own experiences and useful information I got from the TEFL course, I came to the conclusion that there are many differences between monolingual and multilingual classes. And it is significant to know about these differences. The advantages and disadvantages of monolingual and multilingual classes are really different. One of the advantages in monolingual class is that most students would have the same common language, similar cultures and most would experience similar problems when learning English. And of course the students usually have the same mistakes and the teacher deals with the individual problems less often. For example, I know the difficulties that Russian speaking learners have while learning English sounds /ð, θ/. So I work more on these sounds and rules of pronunciation. Another advantage is that in monolingual classes it is also easier for students to organize themselves to carry on the task at the lesson. And they are able to help each other in their native language. In multilingual classes, the advantages differ from those we have in monolingual classes. First of all the students have no common language so they really have to speak English because it is the only language they have for communication at the lesson. What is also really good is that they have more exposure to English outside the classroom because usually, they study in an English speaking country. Normally students who go to an English speaking country to learn the language are often more motivated and study harder. As the students come from all over the world they also have a large variety of experiences that can be used at the lesson. And it is really great because they can know each other’s culture as well and learn different accents in English. For example, when I was teaching English in the USA in my class there were students from Asia and Latin America. And I noticed that in the beginning, it was hard for students from Mexico to understand Chinese accent and vice versa. But then after one month, it became easier for them to understand each other. But besides many advantages, there are also some disadvantages in multilingual and monolingual classes. The disadvantages in monolingual classes differ from those we have in multilingual classes. One of the disadvantages in monolingual class is that the students will always try to use their native language even if the level of their English is good. And I can say that this is one of the most difficult things for me when I teach in Russia. When the students use Russian at the lessons too often it makes the process of learning English less effective. Another disadvantage is that the students also have less natural exposure to English. For example, my students in Russia couldn’t speak English outside our classroom. It happens rather often in monolingual classes because we usually teach such students in their home country. As for disadvantages in multilingual class, we can say that one of the biggest of them is that the students do not have similar difficulties and usually make different mistakes. In the USA my Russian, Arabic and Latin-American students could easily pronounce the sounds /r,l/. But for Japanese students, it was a bit confusing to pronounce them and I tried to work on that. Another difficulty is that in multilingual class not all students use the Latin alphabet for their native language so some students work at different speeds. It also complicated that the students come from different cultures and therefore their learning styles may be also completely different. Some students come from countries where teachers don’t encourage critical thinking and his role is mostly to lecture. Due to cultural background students from some countries stay quiet at the lesson and don’t ask too many questions. While for students from other countries it is normal to participate in class actions and have creative work. Cultural diversity influences learning styles and students’ behavior in the classroom. And sometimes it becomes a challenge for teachers teaching a multilingual class. There are many important issues we have to consider in monolingual and multilingual classrooms and all the differences must be taken into account. Knowing the differences between multilingual and monolingual classes makes the process of teaching much more effective and successful.