This material is the continuation of the previous week. In groups of four, we were required to choose one of our fellows who has taught EFL/ESL in his/her country. During the presentations, each model demonstrated different implementations of ELT due to the fact that they came from different countries, cultural backgrounds, experiences, beliefs of teaching and learning process, level of students taught as well as the curriculum requirements. In general, I think that it is not too exaggerated to categorize them as the good L2 models apart from their status as non-NESTs since they shared what the L2 models should do in teaching.
Having read Littlewood’s (2004) illustration of positive influence of classroom instruction on the L2 learners progress, I think it is reasonable to carry out this strategy in countries where learners obtain insufficient English exposure. I did it when I taught English beginners. As my students’ competence increased gradually, I tried to minimize the use of instruction frequently. It was because of my anxiety whether my students would dominantly relied on instruction given or the class turned into teacher-centered. How to keep the balance between learning the L2 through instruction and learning independently?
The range of interaction hypothesis demonstrated by Littlewood (2004), are very interesting to be discussed. I like Vygotsky’s (1930s) concept about the essential role of social interaction on learners’ progress. As a learner, I enjoy group discussion a lot because we can share our ideas freely and gained various inputs both from the teacher and our fellows. I think that this concept is best introduced to both L2 teachers and prospective teachers since some classes are still teacher-centered class that do not provide wider spaces for the L2 learners to develop their knowledge independently. In other words, teacher acts as the only speaker during the class whilst students remain as the listeners.
Reference
Littlewood, W. (2004), Second language learning. In A. Davies & Elder, C. (Eds.), The handbook of applied linguistics (pp. 502-523). Blackwell, Oxford.
