Second Language Acquisition Assignment

□ Class : TESOL 29th weekday

□ Teacher : Valerie Hamer

□ Student : Rose ( Hee Eun Jung )

□ Date : May, 20th, 2010

1. Introduction

(1) A second language environment that I have experienced

- * language : English

* when : 23 years old

* Quality of the class : success

2. Evidence

(1) Characteristics of adult learners

- * Adults have life experience & knowledge

* Adults are goal oriented.

(2) Modern classroom

- Students are center of the class.

(3) Teacher type

- Enabler

(4) Effective teaching

- Focus on autonomous learning

3. Conclusion

(1) Having a goal has a big effect on learning second language.

(2) A positive & supportive class environment is effective.

(3) Good relation between teacher and student is important.

I have been studying English for 14 years.

I stated to study it when I was 11 years old. At the time, everything which is related to English was fun and novel. I was really happy to study it using various kinds of flash cards and pictures.

But as time goes by, English became more stressful. Because getting a good score to enter a great university was much more important than just enjoying English.

Fortunately, I recovered my interest to English thanks to this class that I would like to introduce. It is as follows.

When I was 23 years old, I took an English speaking class. Everyone participated it actively. We weren't afraid of making mistakes. The environment was positive and free. Unlike the class I had learnt at middle and high school, the atmosphere made me comfortable and relaxed. I didn't have to think about being afraid of making mistakes. Although I made a mistake, teacher never said "No, it's not correct answer." So my English ability got better day by day.

My classmates had various jobs ; teacher, officer, university or college student, office worker, nurse. And they had experience and knowledge in which were connected. So it was easy to talk about various subjects.

Also we were goal oriented. Therefore we talked as possible as we could to improve our speaking ability.

We were center. We usually talked and presented our opinion in front of the classmates three times a month. I presented my trip in Australia showing pictures. After my presentation, the classmates asked me questions. Thanks to this class, I could get the information how to present well. I learnt importance of interaction, too. Before taking this class, I thought that the best way to study was doing alone. As a matter of fact, I prefered to study alone rather than to study together.

Teacher was a South African and lawyer.

I was a law school student and preparing the judicial exam. He and I had in common. So we could talk much about our interests. In all honest, at that time I was utterly tired because of the exam. To make thing worse, my health problem got worse. So I nearly faced to quit the exam. He had prepared the exam and experienced that problem so he gave me good ways to overcome. I felt he was friendly. In case of teacher, it's important not only to teach English well but also to care about students.

He encouraged us to think mistakes by ourselves.

He didn't answer any questions as soon as students asked. He gave us some minutes to think about better expressions. His autonomous learning method made me remember the class for a long time.

I think having a goal has a big effect on learning second language. I can't remember English just for a test. But I can remember it more easily to achieve my aim.

And a positive class environment is effective. Especially, Korea students are very afraid of making mistakes. From their childhood they have studied with a passive way which teachers give. Besides Korea teachers show a tendency to be strict. These things let the student more silent. Teacher should be enabler or facilitator.

Also good relation between teacher and student is very important.

I felt through my experience that it makes students study more hard and more effectively. I got the confidence as well as the knowledge about language from my teacher.

Maybe someday I would like to be a wonderful teacher like my teacher.