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21IMPORTANCE OF ESL PROGRAM IN TEACHING
Aynur Yunsurova, Nuriyya Shirinova
Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University, the department of foreign languages
Abstract. English as a Second Language (ESL), also called English as a Foreign Language (EFL), is an English language study program _ for nonnative speakers. Most ESL programs have small classes so that students receive individual attention from their teachers. Students study English and also participate in the cultural and social activities of the school and community where they study. The goal of an ESL program is to improve the students' level of English. ESL classes teach different language skills, depending on students' English abilities, interests, and needs. All programs teach the following: conversational English, grammar, reading, listening comprehension, writing, and vocabulary. In order to achieve good results in teaching ESL students, first of all ESL program (curriculum) should be taken into account properly. The paper provides to obtain useful knowledge on teaching English language learners by using ESL program.
Keywords: curriculum, ESL teachers, methods, approaches, language learners, syllabus
Introduction. This paper is intended to serve as a curriculum for ESL teachers as well as a resource for content area teachers. The implementation of curriculum is to ensure that ESL students receive instruction based on their language proficiency or grade level. Students will receive instruction in a pull-out or inclusion classroom setting. Curriculum is designed in coordination with the language proficiency standards.
Language teaching has reflected a seemingly bewildering array of influences and directions in its recent history, some focusing on syllabus issues, some reflecting new trends or proposals in methodology, and some with a focus on learning targets. This paper seeks to answer these questions by examining the assumptions and practices underlying different curriculum design strategies.
Goals of ESL program. A broad, whole-school approach is provided to support the education of linguistically and culturally diverse students, so that they can benefit fully from their educational experience. Any school community must be ready to help English Language Learners become productive individuals through a comprehensive, challenging and enriching educational program in the mainstream learning environment.
ESL program should allow Non-English speaking students to gain long-term personal, social and academic success in learning English. Non-English speaking students arriving in English speaking countries have often been separated from all that is familiar: family, friends, school, home, culture and the use of their own language in the greater community. Second language curriculum is designed to offer instruction in a low anxiety and sympathetic setting that is critical to alleviating the cultural shock. The ESL program does not relinquish responsibility for Non-English speaking students at the end of the ESL instructional period. With the help of ESL teachers, classroom teachers provide comprehensible input while the students are in the mainstream class. Teachers have been trained in differentiating instruction and modified materials are provided for all beginning ESL students to be used throughout the school day. The following should be considered as a guide of this curriculum:
- To develop English language learners command of English in the four basic skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing so that they will be able to function in the mainstream classroom. Success is measured by multiple criteria. A student is considered successful when able to compete with native English speakers in the classroom during content area instruction.
- To ease the transition of new English language learners from one culture to another.
- To provide instruction to ensure new English language learners make annual yearly progress.
To plan effective English language instruction for new English language learners as part of a district-wide comprehensive effort, which will help them meet the curriculum content standards.
To provide on-going professional development to content area teachers in second language acquisition, diverse cultures, and understanding of increased standardized test expectations for new English language learners.
- To assist classroom teachers in modifying lessons and assignments for new English language learners during the hours that they are in the mainstream classroom. This includes the purchase of modified resources.
To help classroom teachers prepare new English language learners in meeting the curriculum content standards. Adaptations for content area materials and content-based ESL instruction aid the students" transition from the ESL program to the mainstream classroom.
- To communicate with ESL teachers regarding student progress and assessment, including obtaining access test results.
- To develop in the school-wide community an understanding and appreciation of the linguistic and cultural diversity of our student population.
- To continue establishing home/community exchanges of cultural information that can enrich the instruction activities of the mainstream student population.
ESL Methods and Techniques. Using curriculum guide as a base, the ESL teacher in the role of decision maker, selects the specific method or technique best suited to reach a particular objective. The teacher uses an eclectic approach, drawing upon his or her experience and knowledge of teaching and learning while responding to the English language level of the students and their immediate social and academic needs. ESL teachers are sensitive to the differences between what the students are taught and what the students bring to class, so that lessons and teaching methods are student centered, based on each student's individual English language needs.
ESL teachers are using various kinds of teaching methods inspired by the certain model. The model is an instructional framework under which the teacher utilizes effective instructional approaches, such as cooperative learning and differentiated instruction, to support content area instruction and English language learning. Language curriculum model is an approach for teaching grade-level content to English learners in ways that make the subject matter understandable by providing comprehensible input. Teachers scaffold instruction to aid student understanding of content topics and objectives by adjusting their speech and instructional tasks. The language curriculum model approach enables students to access the necessary academic vocabulary and build background knowledge to meet the objectives of the mainstream class according to their language ability. The model is an effective tool to assist mainstream teachers with teaching new English language learners.
The key concepts of the model begin with determining what content area key concepts and vocabulary the new English language learners need. Then teachers can begin building background and making the content comprehensible. The model gives teachers a lesson-planning framework, so that mainstream and ESL teachers are working collaboratively to support new English language learners.
Cooperative Learning: Throughout the school year, cooperative learning activities give students opportunities to work in groups and share their knowledge. These learning activities are characterized by three components: positive interdependence, individual accountability, and face-to-face interaction. Cooperative learning helps new English language learners develop social and oral language skills. It motivates new English language learners to learn English, which helps them become an integral part of the class community.
Differentiated Instruction: The ESL Curriculum strives to implement differentiated instruction in order to meet the standards. Students must have access to a variety of leveled materials that enable them to learn the same topics being taught in the mainstream classroom. Texts, computer resources and assessments are modified as needed.
Thematic Approach: The ESL teachers should include topics or themes into their lesson planning that incorporate the Curriculum Standards. Topic or theme-related language and concepts may be spiraled over a period of time, ensuring their conceptualization. Students are continually expected to communicate in all four language domains: listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Technology: Computers can play an integral part in providing new English language learners with valuable language experiences as they learn a new language. ESL teachers should offer English language learners a language-rich environment in which students are constantly engaged in language activities. The computer can act as a tool to increase verbal exchanges, develop content area vocabulary and improve reading and writing skills. Students should be exposed to language learning software and websites, which may be utilized at home and in school.
Reader's workshop for new English language learners: Reader's workshop method blends whole group instruction, small needs-based groups, and individual conferring to guide students through the application of the basic reading comprehension strategies. This reading method is
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especially effective with elementary English language learners. Teachers of English language learners should be familiar with the Reader's and Writer's workshop methods of teaching.
ESL Concepts and Strategies for content area teachers. Most new learners of English will go through a "silent period", which is a period of time during which they are unable or unwilling to communicate orally in the new language. This stage may last for a few days or more than a year depending on a variety of factors. The silent period occurs before ELLs are ready to produce oral language and is generally referred to as the "preproduction" stage of language learning. ELLs should not be forced to speak before they are ready. The goal is to not embarrass them by putting them on the spot. They need time to listen to others talk, to digest what they hear, to develop receptive vocabulary, and to observe their classmates' interactions. This does not mean the student is not learning. They may understand what is being said, but they are not yet ready to talk about it. Teacher instruction is an important factor in the length of the silent period. If the teacher provides "hands-on" activities and has students interact in small groups, ELLs will be able to participate in the life of the classroom a lot sooner. They will feel more confident in risking oral language. It should not be assumed that learners of English do not feel embarrassment or shyness when attempting to speak in a second language.
Teachers often decide to move students who have social communication skills out of language support services because they sound like everybody else in the class. Academic language proficiency is not just the rote learning of academic facts. In fact, many students can say all of the words in a reading passage and memorize the definitions of vocabulary words but still not comprehend the text. Academic language includes the development of cognitive abilities. Students may need to learn new concepts at the same time as they learn new language.
Language learning, on the other hand, is not communicative. It is the result of direct instruction in the rules of language. Learners have conscious knowledge of the new language and can talk about that knowledge. Students who have learned about the language are not necessarily able to produce, speak and write, it correctly. A language learner can fill in the blanks on a grammar page. Research has shown, however, that knowing grammar rules does not necessarily result in good speaking or writing. A student who has memorized the rules of the language may be able to succeed on a standardized test of English language but may not speak or write correctly.
Conclusions. In conclusion, any language teaching curriculum contains the elements of content, process, and output. Curriculum approaches differ in how they visualize the relationship between these elements, how they are prioritized and arrived at, and the role that syllabuses, materials, teachers and learners play in the process of curriculum development and enactment.
Teaching English especially to non-native speakers is not an easy task to do. It is a long process which may be influenced by different issues. However, the effective teacher is the one who knows what to teach, how to teach and how to react to any educational situation. To teach English as a foreign language, one needs first to consider his/her learners as social beings because each learner is an individual, who is characterized by a personality and by social traits which may influence the process of learning.
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