Identifying Trends in the field of ESL

By: Lina Engelhart,Sebastiaan Van den Bergh, Isabelle Roulet and Jeremiah

Scalia

❖ Common professional background (ESL)

Introduction:

❖ 4 Trends:

- Use of L1 in L2 (target language) instruction- An increase in non-native ESL teachers - Vocabulary sets: shift in instruction- Technology in the ESL classroom

Goede Morgen!

Onze eerste les:

Goede morgen

Goede middag

Goeden avond

Mij naam is:

❖ Previous: Structure-based environment- focus on language, not message- focus on vocabulary and grammar

rules- frequent error correction

Trend 1: Increase in L1 usage

❖ Trend: Content-based environment- emphasis on interaction, conversation

- grammar used for clarifying meaning

Krashen’s theory on Low Affective Filter:

High = students experience stress, anxiety, lack of self-confidence inhibiting success in L2 acquisition

Low = facilitates risk-taking behavior, enables learning of L2

Trend 2: An increase in non-native ESL Teachers

Use of English

Experience

Communication

Concerns Benefits

Teaching Culture

“Language consists of grammaticalized lexis, not lexicalized grammar.” -Michael Lewis

Trending, Then and Now● General trend toward teaching vocabulary ● Recent shift in methods of teaching vocabulary

Trend 3: Trends in ESL Vocabulary Teaching

SEMANTIC SETS – grouped according to category (e.g. furniture items, foods).

THEMATIC SETS – grouped under thematic concept (e.g. fishing, air travel).

UNRELATED SET - no semantic relation, nor are they expressly thematic in association.

(frog, car, raining)

❖ 1993 Study (Tinkham) semantic sets had negative effect on vocabulary learning, thematic sets- neutral to positive.

❖ 1997 Study (Waring) learners needed about 50% more time to learn semantically related words than unrelated words.

❖ 2012 Study (Mirjalili, et al.) Subjects recalled more words from

unrelated sets than other sets.- unrelated sets (7.30)- thematic sets (7.06)- semantic sets (5.90)

Interference Theory - Similarity between vocabulary words learned at the same time hinders retention.

What the research says:

Semantic Set: has flattened semantic relation

table shelf dresser couch

Unrelated Set: has dynamic/contrastive semantic relation

frog

car raining

Frylock, Master Shake and Meatwad

from left to right:

Exception that proves the rule:

Technology redefines nature of language learning

Trend 4:Technology & Language Learning Experience

Positive & negative experiences

Negative: Direct Translators!

Txt Spk, Internet Language & Acronyms

Word PlaySlang

Technology & Language

Make a sentence as short as possible!

“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to a man in his language, that goes to his heart” - Nelson Mandela

Student-centered

Conclusion

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION.

Reference 1: Chapter 5 - Observing Learning and Teaching in the Second Language Classroom

Reference 2: http://teachingpronunciation.pbworks.com/f/When+the+teacher+is+a+non-native+speaker.PDF

Reference 3: http://eldstrategies.com/affectivefilter.html (Krashen)

Reference 4: Thomas Tinkham, Second Language Research 1997 13; 138

References: