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Lasorsa, Bridget
Module 3: Second Language Methodology and Language Proficiency
TESL 652
9-16-14
1. Language Teaching Methodology
According to Rodgers (2001), methodology is defined as a formula that links theory
and practice. In this formula, theory is referred to as the meaning of language along with
how the language will be learned. In this formula, practice simply means the
implementation of how the teacher will teach their students. These teachers can use
different practices to teach such as the types of activities they work on, the roles of the
teachers and learners, and different modes of materials that are used in the classroom, etc.
(Rodgers, 2001).
This article discussed the differences between methods and approaches. Very
often I hear these terms used interchangeably, it is beneficial for me as a teacher to know
and understand the difference. Methods are more explicit which have specific techniques
and practices incorporated that are to be used in the classroom. Approaches are not as
specific and can be interpreted and used in the classroom in a variety of ways, based on
the teacher who is implementing the approach (Rodgers, 2001).
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is considered an approach and not a
method. CLT is considered an approach because it has a broad set of principles and can
be applied in the classroom in a variety of ways. The CLT approach has learners learning
by communicating with their peers, teachers, family, etc. inside and outside of the
classroom. Students are also learning the language through meaningful communication
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inside the classroom. Students are communicating; they are reading, writing, speaking,
and listening in the classroom (Rodgers, 2001). What stands out to me the most is that
Learning is a process of creative construction and involves trial and error (Rodgers,
2001, p.2). In this approach students have the opportunity to construct their own
learning, knowledge, and learning of language through trial and error.
I think that second language learning by adults can be modeled on first language
learning by children. A set of schools (Total Physical Response, Natural Approach)
shares how first language acquisition is the only universally successful model of
language learning we have, and thus that second language pedagogy must necessarily
model itself of first language acquisition (Rodgers, 2001, p. 3).
Here is one example that I have where a student used their first language to
become successful with their second language. I have seen it in previous groups of
students as well as my current students. Right now I have a student who speaks
Mandarin Chinese as his native language. This student who is in my classroom, lives
with his family members who speak primarily Mandarin Chinese at home. He arrived in
the United States last year. I have discussed his progress with his teacher from last year.
His teacher from last year has told me that his English progressed significantly
throughout the school year. This student has Terets, which also makes learning a second
language even more difficult. Last week I tested him on AimsWeb and his reading
fluency was a little low for fifth grade. I was impressed by his reading fluency though
because he is a English Language Learner and he has been diagnosed with Tourette
Syndrome. I believe that with his continued progression he will be able to successfully
read, write, speak, and listen in English.
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2. Principles of Instructed Second Language Acquisition
Principle 1: Instruction needs to ensure that learners develop both a rich repertoire
of formulaic expression and a rule-based competence (Ellis, 2008). I would able to use
this principle in all content areas. An example of this would be using a formulaic
expression in literacy. In my classroom I will model a skill/strategy. Students will work
on this same skill for typically about a week unless more time is needed. When it is time
for students independent reading, I expect my students to focus on this skill or strategy I
have taught them. Before they start reading I give students a formulaic expression.
Example: The main idea of my story is ___________________. Some details that
support the main idea are ___________________, ___________________, and
___________________. The first day that I introduce the skill, depending how
comfortable they feel with the skill/strategy, I will ask them to find the main idea in their
fiction or nonfiction text. The next day, I will ask students to find the main idea along
with at least one supporting detail. The following day, I will ask students to find the
main idea along with finding as many supporting details as they can. I will give these
students formulaic expressions so that they are speaking in grammatically correct
sentences.
Principle 2: Instruction needs to ensure that learners focus predominantly on
meaning (Ellis, 2008). At my school, my principal focuses on reading fluency. As a fifth
grade teacher I believe that reading comprehension is more crucial then reading fluency.
When we learn a language naturalistically, we do so by focusing primarily on
what we want to say (i.e., meaning) rather than how we say it (i.e., form).
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Instruction needs to cater to this capacity for learning naturally by creating
contexts in which learners focus on message content (Ellis, 2008, p. 1).
When working with all of my students (not just ESL students), I focus on
comprehension. I have many different types of ESL learners in my classroom and I am
not concerned with pronunciation, I am more concerned with are they understanding the
content matter. I can apply this principle to my classroom by working on comprehending
and focusing on the content, vocabulary, and communication.
Principle 3: Instruction needs to ensure that learners also focus on form (Ellis,
2008). Even though it is important for students to focus on comprehending the content
matter, students also need to know form. As a teacher, I focus on comprehension first
and then form. Ellis (2008) explains that teachers can provide a focus or there focus can
be incidental based on students common mistakes.
In my classroom I address form by both approaches. For example, if I notice that
many students are having the same errors in a writing prompt, I will take the time to
explicitly teach that skill. After explicitly teaching this skill, hopefully it can be corrected
quickly. If I am choosing and focusing on a specific skill, I will spend more instructional
time on this skill because it is something that the students will have to practice repeatedly
to have success in it.
Principle 4: Instruction needs to focus on developing implicit knowledge of the
second language while not neglecting explicit knowledge (Ellis, 2008). Given that
implicit knowledge underlies the ability to communicate fluently and confidently in a
second language, this type of knowledge should be the ultimate goal of any instructional
program (Ellis, 2008, p. 2). For students to communicate fluently and become confident
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in their learning, teachers need to direct instruction towards students developing implicit
knowledge. Teachers can do this by incorporating implicit knowledge skills when
teaching in all content-matter.
Principle 5: Instruction needs to take into account the learners built-in syllabus
(Ellis, 2008). Early research into naturalistic second language acquisition showed that
learners follow a natural order and sequence of acquisition (Ellis, 2008, p.3). Ellis
(2008) suggests that teachers implement this into their classroom by having a zero
grammar approach. This means that teachers are not going to identify a skill that the
students need before a lesson is taught. Instead, teachers can evaluate what skills their
students need throughout the lesson. All students are going to learn their second
language at a different rate, so in my classroom I will need to individualize their
instruction as often as I can (which can be difficult).
Principle 6: Successful instructed language learning requires extensive second
language input. This principle discusses how students will receive language input in the
classroom, but teachers need to also provide this language input outside of the classroom
(Ellis, 2008). Unfortunately, all schools do not have an abundance of resources that the
students can receive outside of the classroom.
A resource that I am able to use where my students receive language input on the
outside of the classroom would be after school tutoring. A former Goldfarb teacher now
works with high school students at Las Vegas High School. This teacher trains the high
school students in how to work with students on skills such as reading fluency along with
math facts. This tutoring might not be as high quality as having a teacher, but students
are at least getting more exposure to the language. Also, many of these high school
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students are second language learners, so they can bring their background experience to
help other students.
Principle 7: Successful instructed language learning also requires opportunities
for output. Aside from students needing to have extensive language input, they also need
to be able to have opportunities for output (Ellis, 2008). One way that my students are
constantly being able to use language output is through student discourse. In each
content area, students are expected to develop student discourse skills. My school has
adopted A.R. When students are ready to take an A.R. quiz, students will conference with
another student about their book. Students also will conference with a teacher, but they
have that opportunity to practice their language output skills.
When students are working on a math lesson, every few minutes I am having
them discuss with a partner what they are learning. This way they are sharing and
internalizing what they are learning. Students are also able to clear up misconceptions
they may have.
Principle 8: The opportunity to interact in the second language is central to
developing second language proficiency (Ellis, 2008). Ellis (2008) suggests that teachers
have students work in small groups throughout the lesson. In my classroom, my students
are set up in small groups. This way my students are able to interact with each other
throughout the day and throughout each lesson. When students are able to interact with
each other throughout the daily lessons, acquisition discourse is much more likely to
happen (Ellis, 2008).
An example of how I used this in my classroom was during a writing lesson. The
topic was about nine-month vs. twelve-month schools. We read a passage about pro
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nine-month and pro twelve-month schools. After each paragraph, I had the students
discuss the paragraph and they would talk about how the information in the paragraph
could support or not support their argument. After discussing each paragraph on both
passages, I had the students make a decision on what schools were better to them.
Students could not just give me an opinion. Students had to use evidence from the text to
support their argument. My students were motivated about this prompt and did an
excellent job at sharing their argument. It worked out well and about half of the students
were for nine-month and the other half for twelve-month. Since they were able to choose
the side they were on, they were much more motivated and interested in this writing
topic!
Principle 9: Instruction needs to take account of individual differences in learners
(Ellis, 2008). Teachers need to give students multiple learning strategies to use so that
they can become successful. Teachers need to look at their students as individuals and
not as a whole group.
I have encountered this problem this year especially. This year, I have the
inclusion class. For example, in math I am currently teaching how to divide decimals.
We are expected to teach the standard algorithm, the disc method, and the tape diagram
method. I approve of teaching the students all three methods, because some students
understand the algorithm but not the disc method, and some students understand the disc
method but not the algorithm, and so on. The problem that I am having is that students
are expected in fifth grade to be able to divide decimals. I am having a problem because
some students are not able to subtract or multiply which is needed to understand the
standard algorithm. So I am pulling small groups for math, but I am still having a
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difficult time. Some of these students who have IEPs also are second language learners,
so it makes these skills that much more difficult for these particular students.
Principle 10: In assessing learners second language proficiency, it is important to
examine free as well as controlled production (Ellis, 2008). Students are assessed on
different types of measurement. Yet, arguably, free constructed response constitutes the
best measure of learners second language proficiency, as this corresponds most closely
to the kind of language use found outside the classroom (Ellis, 2008, p. 5).
In the classroom I give students tasks for all of the different content areas.
Students answers should all be diverse because they are given tasks but the tasks can be
completed differently based on their background knowledge on the topic, their
experiences with the topic, and their level of second language acquisition. Students need
to be able to complete learning tasks because they are expected on standardized testing,
but also because these types learning tasks are used outside of the classroom.

3. ACTFL Speaking Proficiency Guidelines
I would put Novice into Quadrant A or 1 (Cognitive Undemanding and Context
Embedded). The novice level is characterized by the ability to communicate minimally
in highly predictable common daily situations with previously learned words and
phrases (Stansfield, 1992, p. 2). Students who are at a Novice level have not yet
mastered CALP (cognitive academic language proficiency). These students are still
working towards mastering BICS (basic interpersonal communication skills).

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An example of students at a novice level in the classroom would be students using
given vocabulary to complete sentence frames. Students could also be talking with a
partner about something they read or learned using basic words. Another example would
be when students are interacting outside on the playground. They are using words,
gestures, movements, etc. to be social with their peers. They are able to use clues
(context embedded) to help them socialize.
Intermediate would be in Quadrant B or 2 (Context Embedded and Cognitively
Demanding). Students who are in the intermediate level are able to ask and answer
questions, speak in complete sentences and/or strings of sentences on specific topics
(Stansfield, 1992). These students are able to use clues (context embedded) to help them
become successful in their second language. These students are also expected to
understand higher content than students who are in the novice level.
Advanced would be in Quadrant C or 3 (Cognitively Undemanding and Context
Reduced). Students who are in the advanced level are able to speak fluently, complete
tasks, write in paragraphs, etc. (Stansfield, 1992). These students are not using clues to
help them understand content. Students are using content knowledge to help them
become successful in their second language.
I would put Superior in Quadrant D or 4 (Context Reduced and Cognitively
Demanding). The superior level is characterized by the ability to participate effectively
in most formal and informal conversations on practical, social, professional, and abstract
topics (Stansfield, 1992, p.2). These students have most definitely have mastered
CALP. These students are able to read, write, speak, and listen fluently in English.
These students do not need any clues, gestures, phrases, etc. to understand context.
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An example of students at a superior level in the classroom would be students
having an appropriate debate on previous content that has been learned in the classroom.
Last week my students had a debate on 9 and 12-month schools. Students had to use
evidence from the two passages that they read to choose a side and debate their view.
From this debate I could tell what students were at a superior level.

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