Second Language Acquisition

Assignment

(Language Learning Experience)

Tesol 93 Weekend Class

Instructor : Jayme

Name : Sarah (Yoo Eun Chae)

Date : October. 9. 2013

I have thought that I did not get enough english education.

It's because It's been about only 5months Since I could speak english in my thirties.

After I heard this Assignment, I tried to look back upon my school days.

Then I couldn't help being shocked.

My long journey of learning english will be started now.

It Starts at 7 Age From My Mom

To tell the truth, my mom can't speak english at all.

However she had a great interest in my english education. So she bought me huge

amounts of english books and tapes. The books were very well made. The books were

composed with so exciting chants, interesting illustration and color that it seemed enough to attract kid's interests.

Most of all, the books introduced me American kid's daily life such as playing, housing,

food etc. Looking at these books, I listened to the following tape and repeated after stories and chants everyday. I never concerned about letter or alphabet.

I learned through full sentences in each case of situations. I also didn't have to memorize any vocabs or even sentences. When I just looked at different kinds of picture

I could speak out sentences naturally. Surprisingly, untill now I remember the pictures and I can speak in full sentences.

I think it is similar to Audio-Lingual Method. There was no translation into native language. learning through full sentences was very good.

However there was no transition, feedback and communication.

In the future, I decided to supply these weak points in my class.

Anyway, It was true that it was very helpful to improve my linguistic potentiality.

Took a Private Lesson

When I was an elementary student I started a private lesson with two of my friends.

I studied grammar and reading in that class. She explained grammar rules once and

let me solve the following exercises. She always explained what she knew like 'jug and mug'. 'the jug' pour something in 'the mug', however 'the mug' didn't full at all.

Yes. I was a slow understandable person. She didn't try to make relationship between

us. In addition she was so strict that I couldn't ask anything. If she tried to know about me, through evaluation and consultation, I wouldn't be able to waste my precious 3years in my life. In her class I also had to study 3-5level higher than my suitable level.

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Following Krashen's Hypothesis ,language acquisition occurs when learners can understand. He also suggested that comprehensible input should be one step beyond the learner's current language ability.

It also made me feel hard. I always felt like that I walked in faint mist.

Plus, I'm not sure weather she didn't listen to me or she really didn't know, she ignored

my wrong pronunciations. For example, "island" to [islend].

It was not easy to correct the problems because It was fixed in my early age.

There was no respect, no empathy, no authenticity.

One of the important thing in this lesson is that teaching should be based on relationship between teacher and student. Teachers have to ready to listen to their students.  If my teacher used her strictness to make speakable and positive environment, I might be a good speaker now!

Teaching Experience

About a year ago, a friend of mine who was working as an english teacher asked me

to teach children phonics at her academy. At first I rejected her proposal because I did not know how to teach english. But my friend encouraged me, "You are a kindergarten teacher! then I'll make you know how to teach phonics". "You'll learn well through teaching "she added. In order to teach children well ,I had to study very hard.

So to speak I studied with students at the same time.

I totally agree with that 'Teaching/ Mentoring others Method' is scored highest rate in

retention. Now I learned about the 'Retention System' so I want to apply these method

to my student in the future.

At an English Conversation Class

Let me talk about my english conversation class that I'm taking thesedays.

In the beginning of the class ,we read topics out loud and then have discussion time.

Sometimes teacher bring topics, sometimes teacher let us bring topics that we are really interested in. I have to search for current topics in order to bring them.

I also have to study about how to explain the topic in english, how to discuss, how to

express my opinion and also opposite opinion myself.

In this way I can talk current news, daily useful expression, sometimes specialized part.

Like Malcolm Knowles's theory-Characteristics of Adult Learners, my english conversation

class includes autonomous & self-directed, and also deal with a foundation of life

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experiences & knowledge.

Teacher usually brings topics related to American culture and gives us information about how Americans think and behave. I think that understanding culture of the target language is very helpful for learning second language.

And all of my classmates have the same goal. Our goal is speaking english fluently.

And teacher's goal is to let us speak out more and more.

In this side this class is successful. Perhaps he doesn't know about 'enabler' but I think

he is close to an enabler.

As I mentioned at the beginning, It's been only 5months since I could speak english.

I mean speaking english is the ability of conversation.

Even though I could solve english exercises and learned about grammar for many years,

I had thought 'I can't speak english!'

However as my conversational ability is growing gradually, now I can tell "I can speak english" to everybody.

I have already noticed that the goal of most methods is for students to learn to

communicate in english.

I will bear it in my mind. Also I decided to learn hard in order to learner's ultimate goal, the successful communication in english.

Now I know a little What kind of teacher I should be.

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