Would you prefer teaching English as a Foreign Language or a Second Language? Why?
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I would rather teach ESL. I simply think there are more activities to do and applicable homeworks to give in an ESL atmosphere rather than EFL. I thinkt that the communicative approach works best for an ESL audience because the real world application is actually there whereas EFL students can only imagine they are in that L2's atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteI think EFL teaching poses some greater challenges. Students might not feel motivated as they may be taking the class to satisfy a requirement. I think in an ESL environment there is automatically greater intrinsic motivation because the student needs to be able to communicate just to survive.
I prefer to teach EFL, especially having the same L1 with students. First, I’ve studied English as L2 for years and experienced this process, so I can understand their problems and realize their thoughts and could help them solve problems quickly and provide my experiences to learn English. Second, because of the same cultural background and the same L1, I can easily communicate with students and explain something difficult in L1. I know the difference between L1 and English and know what the hardest knowledge for students are, so in that way, I can pay more attention on those and teach effectively.
ReplyDeleteThere are also some disadvantages to teach EFL. For example, students cannot be completely exposed to the foreign language environment because there’s always chance to speak L1 and they are not forced to use English in order to survive. So, as the teacher, I think I should think about these problems carefully and try my best to provide the most authentic English learning environment for students.
I think I would prefer to teach EFL. I went to a school overseas where we were taught English as a foreign language, and so I know a bit about the atmosphere of the students (how they look at English, what they thought was important, which activities they liked, etc), so I think I'm more familiar with EFL than ESL. Even though English is my L1, I actually had trouble with the speaking when I came to permanently stay here (I was really good at reading, writing, etc, but my speaking was a bit "awkward," and later my friends told me I spoke "too formally, like from a book"), and so I think having experienced that might be useful when teaching EFL. I don’t really mind teaching either though!
ReplyDeleteI intend to teach in an EFL environment to be able to meet all the teaching requirements with my students. I will be more comfortable and confident dealing with students who share their L1 and culture with me which would make me more understanding to their learning process. My students, also, will be more willing to ask questions and share their thought because they know that I have been through the same experience. I am not going to say that I will be their role model, but I can really make them feel that learning English is not as hard as they think. However, my concern is whether I would be able to teach not just the language but also its culture.
ReplyDeleteStefani Goode
ReplyDeleteI don't have a preference of either. I am currently teaching English as a Second Language. I am teaching adults who hear and need to speak English on a daily basis, so for my students there is a need to learn English.
I would like to teach English as a Foreign Language because the challenges are different. My students may only hear English when they come to my class and I may not know their L1. So I would have to change my approach to teaching whatever the lesson maybe. And the need for English is different. I can only hope that my students want to be in the classroom and will do their best to learn. If I am lucky I may have an assistant that is familiar with the L1 and can help with my explanations but if not then I will have to really be on my toes. I like the idea of a challenge.
So until I have experienced both I can't really say I have a preference one way or another. Sometimes teaching in my ESL class feels like what I think it would be like teaching an EFL class.
I believe that I would prefer teaching ESL ( here in the U.S.) more than EFL. I like that the students have more of an ongoing exchange with the second language all of the time. This way, the students can get a true feel of how the language is descriptively and realistically. We can go nearly anywhere to practice. The opportunities to speak are just much more plentiful. I would also feel like I am playing a key part in someone’s introduction to a society in which the student trying to merge into or even understand. That is not meant to discredit EFL teaching. I can clearly see how EFL teaching is even more difficult. Inspiring that intrinsic motivation and setting the appropriate environment is a difficult task.
ReplyDeleteJarrod Duarte
ReplyDeleteI think EFL and ESL teaching would both be interesting and each would present unique challenges and opportunities respectively. I can't really say which one I would prefer, as I have only taught in an ESL context. Obviously, there would be more opportunities for natural language interaction in an ESL environment compared to an EFL one, however in an ESL classroom, there is a greater likelihood of L1, age, level of education variance amongst the students. This would create difficulties that you would not be as likely to encounter in an EFL context. Additionally, in an EFL context, culture differences between teacher and student would be a greater variable in the classroom, this will hopefully be more of a positive than negative, but nevertheless it is still a variable that you might not encounter as much or as heavily in an ESL classroom. In specifically responding to the question, I don't know my preference between ESL and EFL teaching.
Jarrod Duarte