Teach English in Shuangshanzi Zhen - Dandong Shi

In Unit 12, we learned about teaching productive skills, which are speaking and writing English. Writing and speaking differ in their ability to be fact checked in real time. When speaking an individual has the ability to confirm comprehension and perhaps change their wording if need be in that exact moment in time. Writing by converse requires the language to be comprehendible at its inception. Furthermore, errors in writing usually have the connotation that the individual is uneducated. In many respects speaking is easier than writing. Spoken word is usually utilized with colloquial meaning whereas the written word is usually more formal and requires precise grammar in order to have the correct meaning come across. Spoken English activities are either accuracy or fluency based. Accuracy activities are those which are focused on utilization of correct grammar and word pronunciations. As such, they are better used during study phase activities. Fluency activities try and promote the sole usage of English as a communicative vehicle. As such, they are better used in the activate phase of a lesson plan. It’s important to try and encourage the students to actually practice speaking. This may require careful lesson planning. Writing English requires both a fundamental ability to use the alphabet and as well an adequate knowledge of grammar/vocabulary. Utilizing play based learning is a potent tool for ESL teachers as every segment of student typically responds well towards games. Games may be competitive or cooperative. Many of the games that have been played as children can translate well into teaching English. As such, it’s important for teachers to have a large pool of age appropriate games to use as teaching vehicles.