Teach English in Hanyang Zhen - Yuncheng Shi

Learning a new language can be a daunting step. When you actually think about your own language and all the facets that it is made up of it can seem almost an impossible feat to begin all over again, especially as an adult learner. A lack of confidence can be a big hurdle for an English language learner (ELL) to overcome The effective and positive integration of ELL’s into their target culture is a crucial step in their successful language acquisition and development (Gaines, 2015). Building confidence in young language learners can look very different to that of older learners even though many of the same strategies are employed. This is often because the different age groups have a diverse approach to learning and commonly encounter different problems. Young language learners are generally more receptive to the new sounds, words and grammar of a new language even though they may not have completely mastered their own native language (L1) yet (ITTT, 2011). Over the past few decades, speech perception and production research has determined that, in general, younger learners yield more success when learning a second language (L2) than their adult counterparts (Baker, et al., 2008). Researchers have come to the conclusion that this is especially true in the realm of phonetic knowledge and phonological awareness. In general, up until the point of puberty or the early teen years, students have a ‘want to please’ attitude towards their teacher and learning and it is not so difficult to promote confidence (ITTT, 2011). Offering plenty of praise and positive reinforcement can be invaluable in these young years as they can often be lacking motivation for L2 learning. With young learners, teachers are able to incorporate many more fun games, songs, drawing and visuals in their lessons that can often boost confidence levels as it creates a more open, varied and interesting classroom environment. Although building confidence in language learners of all ages can look a little different, many English language teachers use similar strategies for their adult classes. While adult ELL’s have usually made their own decision to attend classes and are generally very motivated, they are often more nervous about making mistakes and ‘loss of face’ in front of their peer group (ITTT, 2011). The classroom should be a safe space where students are encouraged to take risks and experiment with their new language. ELL teachers should, as such, be kind and encouraging during learning experiences in order to foster student self confidence. Learning experiences should be devised with the ultimate goal being student success. There is no point continuing an activity where the teacher is being met with blank looks from ninety percent of the class as successful completion of the exercise is almost impossible and student confidence will suffer. Often times, an adult learner’s level of confidence can come from their previous educational experiences. Adults have often had a wide range of different classroom experiences and they bring their own fixed views to the classroom (ITTT, 2011). Researchers and instructors have proposed teaching approaches, activities and curricular designs with the central goal of promoting students’ L2 use in authentic or semi-authentic scenarios (Gaines, 2015). These scenarios should include exposure to rejection as these communication breakdowns prepare students for negative experiences in the wider community that could otherwise lower student confidence and motivation to use English outside (Gaines, 2014) Student confidence can be a considerable hurdle for both the learner and teacher to overcome. Overall it is the teacher’s job to first create a comfortable, safe and welcoming classroom environment and then to slowly encourage and support students to take risks and experiment with their language learning. Do not only correct mistakes but praise something that they did correctly first. Set attainable goals and create many opportunities for success by building on student strengths. These are all fantastic ways of building student confidence from the very first class. Reference List Baker, W., Flege, E., Halter, R., Mack, M., & Trofimovich, P. (2008) Child-Adult Differences in Second Language Phonological Learning: The Role of Cross-Language Similarity. Language and Speech, 51(4), 317-342. Gaines, I. (2014). Using In-Class Tutor Practice to Facilitate Language Use Outside the ESL Classroom. ORTESOL Journal, 31, 47-48 Gaines, I. (2015). Increasing Confidence and English Use Outside the ESL/IEP Classroom for Lower-Level Learners. ORTESOL Journal, 32, 56-67. International TEFL and TESOL Training. (2011). Unit 1: Teachers and Learners. 1-12 International TEFL and TESOL Training. (2011). Unit 13: Teaching Pronunciation and Phonology. 1-22.