Two ESL classes teaching the same topic－using persuasive language, were observed in the school. The teachers taught students using different methodologies, which will be analyzed in the following paragraphs.
In teaching vocabulary, the teachers provide a number of synonyms and antonyms for students to increase their vocabulary capacity. This is highly recommended in teaching since the words are related to each other to some extent, therefore learning them at the same time helps strengthen the memory of the words.
In helping students get the correct answers, the teachers give them contextual clues to let them think of the answers themselves instead of telling them directly. This is beneficial to students since they are active learners, they should participate in learning as much as possible. If not, they will become passive and dependent upon teachers for answers, and they will not be interested in studying.
There are a few drawbacks regarding the strategies adopted, with the lack of opportunities for students to make corrections themselves being the first one. When the students make mistakes, the teachers give them the correct answers immediately. This is not suggested since the students do not understand why their answers are wrong. Instead, teachers should point out and explain the errors, or giving students another chance to attempt to give the correct answers. These methods assist students in learning effectively since they comprehend the rationales of corresponding grammatical knowledge and they are able to make use of their knowledge to try to obtain required answers. Through trials and errors, students will realize what are correct and wrong and they will remember them easily.
Another weakness is the nature of task. The teachers have set a number of tasks requiring students to work on their own. This teaching methodology is not encouraged since there will be less discussion among students and hence the interaction among them will decrease. Actually, more group work should be included to allow students to learn with their peers as this is a good way to exchange ideas with each other, which inspires them to think of matters from different perspectives.
The second teacher tends to focus on active students but not the passive ones. The teacher prefers asking the active students questions and ignoring those passive ones. This methodology encourages the passive students to keep quiet in the classroom and hence it should be modified. Teachers may consider that asking all students to answer questions will solve the problem. However, those passive students will find intimidating and feel nervous when being asked to respond to teachers. Therefore, teachers should approach them and ask if they have any difficulties in learning or if they are encountering problems beyond their studies. After identifying the problems, teachers can formulate solutions to help these students, who will be more willing to participate in lessons in future. Students should treat their teachers as counselors and share their problems with them in order to find the ways out.
(Number of Words: 499)
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