Show Me Where Thailand Is

Foreign Language Experience I come from a country, which is with high cultural values and great diversity. There are different languages spoken and different customs and traditions followed all over India. When I was in school, which was English medium school, we had Marathi and Hindi as our second language, Hindi was introduced from grade 3 and Marathi from grade 4, both these languages have almost similar script but there is a difference in the way we speak the language thus the difference in these two languages. It was easy for me to learn to read and write Hindi. It was very difficult for me to learn Marathi, my struggle worsened as my mother too was not able to help me as being from south of India she had never heard or spoke Marathi .It was compulsory in school to score same amount...  [Read more]

Should Students Be Allowed to Use Their Native Language in the Classroom When I first began teaching lessons during the TESOL Course I found myself almost automatically saying to the students, “English please,” after all it is an English class. However, I began to question myself about whether or not this was “correct” practice or if the students should in fact use their native language to assist them in the learning process. After doing some research I found the TESOL Law Code of Ethics. The Law of Ethics provided many vague and open-ended ideas. It suggested things along the lines of, “The foreign language teacher shall direct her whole professional effort to assist the students to develop his/her second language speaking ability.” It also mentions that TESOL teachers are to...  [Read more]

Songs in the Classroom The use of songs in the ESL classroom can be a fun and innovative way of covering a range of English language topics. Songs can be used for vocabulary, grammar, dictation, pronunciation (stress and intonation), phonetics, speaking, writing, listening, integrative skills, and many other ESL points. Furthermore, songs can invite the non-native speaker into the English speaking culture. For instance, pop music gives the learner a taste of what is trendy at the moment. Meanwhile, the lyrics to classic rock songs can give a sense of history and the attitude of the country at the time of recording (for example, “Give Peace a Chance,” John Lennon, 1969). Additionally, children’s songs are crucially important for the young learner as they are an easy way to encourage...  [Read more]