Paris, Michigan TESOL Online & Teaching English Jobs

This unit covered the various theories of teaching and learning a foreign language that have been used down through the ages, and the general effectiveness of each method. This gave a good background for explaining why ITTT has chosen the Engage, Study, Activate (ESA) Method as the most effective method to teach future teachers of English as a foreign language. This unit thoroughly explained the ESA methodology and gave good advice and examples for each stage of a class taught using the ESA structure. I have been (volunteer) teaching English for almost a year. So some of these things I have already learned by trial and error. However, I feel that this unit really gave me some structure to make my teaching more effective and engaging. I find that many of the language learning centers in the country where I am currently living spend most of their time keeping the children entertained. I really find that ineffective and have refused to go down that path, because I want to teach, not be a babysitter. But it is true that there must be some engaging and inspiration all throughout the class to truly be effective. And so, I think that this unit has helped me to know how to incorporate activities in the classroom that will provide more engagement and interaction, and a way to keep the students' attention, even when they are adults. I also liked how this method balances proper language usage with fluency. This unit taught the following things: A. A list of various teaching methodologies 1. The theory behind each method 2. Pros and cons and how effective a method has been 3. The most appropriate type of student, if applicable B. A conclusive list of things that must happen for effective teaching: 1. Students need as much exposure to language as possible 2. Students need a certain amount of input from the teacher 3. Communicative tasks offer real learning possibilities but are not enough on their own 4. Anxiety and stress need to be low for effective language learning 5. Where possible students should be encouraged to discover language for themselves C. A thorough explanation, with implementation instructions and examples for the ESA method 1. Elicitation - many creative ways to ask thought provoking questions 2. A reminder to always consider the learning level, culture and language of each student 3. Different ways to use the Engage, Study and Activate stages for most effective learning 4. When and how to correct students