Instruction

There are mainly three dominant approaches to second language instruction: grammatical approach, communicative approach and cognitive approach. According to Herrera and Murry (2016), the grammatical approach is a teacher-centered means of providing second language instruction. The underlying philosophy of the approach assumes that learners acquire language rules and sentence patterns in a methodical, sequenced curriculum. The benefits of this approach are, firstly, for students, it is a very straightforward way to study. Students will start with grammar, and the main learning technique that they will use is rote memorization and repetitive exercises. For teachers, especially new teachers, this approach is easy to master, as the teacher may not need to prepare various activities to guide students' thinking. The teacher is the center of the classroom, and as long as the teacher prepares a good lesson plan, there will not be much room for students to be creative. This approach can be widely used in reading and writing. However, for listening and speaking skills, this approach does not work effectively. That is why we need communicative approach that lays more emphasis on cultivating students' speaking and communicative ability. In everyday life, it seems that communicative approach would be more useful to students, and in the learning process, students are more likely to be inspired to learn English, as there is not much exam pressure in this area. However, the main drawback is that for teachers, sometimes, it can be difficult for us to design an effective curriculum for this part, and that is something teachers should work on. For cognitive approach, based on Herrera and Murry (2016), is a product of efforts to examine and analyze the cognitive psychological side of learning, language learning, and instruction to promote language learning. For this part, the most often-used instructional method would be cognitive academic language learning approach (CALLA). It is difficult to say which instructional approach is better, as they all have advantages and disadvantages. As a teacher, what I believe we should do is to apply differentiated instruction to different students and to different parts of a lesson, thereby making sure that our teaching is effective and helpful.

Reference

Herrera, S.G. & Murry, K.G. (2016). Mastering ESL/EFL methods: Differentiated instruction for culturally and linguistically diverse students (3^rd ed.). Upper Saddleriver, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

This course focuses on methods and materials for teaching English as a second language (ESL). By taking this course, teachers will acquire information about the design, implementation, preparation, and evaluation of ESL materials.

TESOL Standards:

Standard 1b: Language Acquisition and Development Standard

Standard 3a: Planning for Standards-Based ESL and Content Instruction

Standard 3b: Implementing and managing standards-based ESL and content instruction standard

Standard 3c: Using Resources Effectively in ESL Instruction Standard

Standard 4a: Issues of Assessment for ESL Standard

Standard 4b: Language Proficiency Assessment Standard

Standard 4c: Classroom-Based Assessment for ESL Standard

Standard 5a: ESL Research and History

This course includes principles of curriculum organization, development, and adaptation of TESL curriculum.

TESOL Standards:

Standard 1a: Language as a System

Standard 1b: Language Acquisition and Development

Standard 3a: Planning for Standards-Based ESL and Content Instruction Standard 3.b: Implementing and Managing Standards-Based ESL and Content Instruction

Standard 3c: Using Resources Effectively in ESL Instruction

Standard 4a: Issues of Assessment for ESL

Standard 4b: Language Proficiency Assessment

Standard 5a: ESL Research and History