Teaching English as a Foreign Language in Chinese Classroom

Teaching English as a Foreign Language in Chinese Classroom Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Teaching English as a Foreign Language in Chinese Classroom Introduction Second language learning or the second language acquisition is a process through which people learn to communicate in a foreign language. Second language learning is also a discipline in science that aims at studying the foreign language learning process. This field is mainly categorized in linguistics but also draws from various other disciplines such as education and psychology. The primary theme in the second language acquisition study is that of interlanguages. This means that the second language is totally different from their first language, and it has different systematic rules from the first language. The second language is gradually acquired by a learner as he or she is continuously exposed to rules and instructions about the targeted language. However, the first language and culture can have a significant language transfer influence to the learners when acquiring the second language. The central factor that appears to influence the learning of the second language is the language input received by the learner. The learners become more equipped with the second language as they spend more time doing more voluntary reading and practicing the language. Various other factors play part in the second language acquisitions which include the internal and the external factors. The internal factors refer to those things that are within the learner such as age, personality, motivation and the native language. External factors are those that surround the second language learning situation which includes instruction, culture, status, curriculum, and access to the native speakers. Chen, J. J., & Yang, S. C. (2014). Fostering foreign language learning through technology-enhanced intercultural projects. Language Learning & Technology 18(1), 57–75. Retrieved from http://llt.msu.edu/issues/february2014/chenyang.pdf This article notes that the main aim of learning and teaching the English language today is to communicate effectively with people from different cultures. Cheng and Yang concluded that people of Taiwan origin have difficulties in expressing cross-cultural communication using the English language. The authors of the article carried out an action research study using three different collaborative projects which were intercultural using web-related tools. The web-based tools included online forums, email, and Skype which were used on the 7th grade English as a Foreign Language class. The conducted project was aimed at improving the language skills of the students as well as their intercultural communicative ability. The authors also noted that technology plays an important role in foreign language learning among foreign language students. To make the findings more viable, Yang and Cheng used both qualitative and quantitative research methods in the collection of data. The foreign language learner’s response to the learning process was assessed using the questionnaires, document analysis, and the interviews. The results of the study showed that participants of the study had a strong positive notion or attitude towards technology-based teaching of the foreign language. The results were also similar for intercultural language learning. Authors of this article also noted that technology-enhanced learning of a foreign language helped the learners to spend a relatively shorter time to learn a foreign language. The results suggest that technology-based foreign language learning approximates the real-life foreign language learning contexts by allowing the students to use the second language for a similar purpose that they will still use it outside the classroom. This article provides essential knowledge that can be applied in teaching English as a foreign language in a Chinese classroom. The applicability of the article is in using technology-based teaching tools which can enhance teaching English to the Chinese students whose first language differs significantly to the English as a second language. Also, the results of the study can be used to project the outcome of introducing technology to teach English to Chinese native speakers. Teaching a foreign language and intercultural communication using technology-based methods was found to improve language acquisition. Web-based learning, Skype, among other technology-oriented platforms are found to accelerate the learner’s learning curve due to the conducive environment created by this method as opposed to the other instructional method. Oliver, R., & Azkarai, A. (2017). Review of Child Second Language Acquisition (SLA): Examining Theories and Research. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 37, 62-76. doi: 10.1017/s0267190517000058 This article explores the differences between children and adults learners of a second language. Oliver concludes that there exist only a few types of research done about determining whether there is any difference between children and adult learners. The author also notes that the two groups; children and adults second language learners have very different and distinct characteristics and hence the need for the study of their learning behavior. Therefore, this article gives a review of the child second language acquisition research and in particular the study with a pedagogical objective. In this article, Oliver has described and reviewed the literature of a series of studies which include those based on the different theoretical angle (socio-cultural and interactionist), in different settings of instructions (i.e. foreign language, second language, language and content integrated learning contexts) and using different methodologies of research (longitudinal, experimental, case study and naturalistic). Oliver begins this study by considering age as a critical factor in second language acquisition. The article also highlights the important differences that exist between the older and the younger second language learners. From this research, these different categories of learners are different in terms of motivation and cognition which are two major factors which influence the speed at which a person learns a new language. Also, the study gives the interventions aimed at enhancing the second language learning. These recommendations and interventions include the use of tasks and the form focused learning instructions. The research in this article is concluded by proposing a way in which the research with children learners should be conducted. The connection between the study done in this article and the research relating to teaching English as a second language in a Chinese classroom is the age difference between the learners. Before the teaching method or the instructions administration method for delivering the English language curriculum in a Chinese class is selected, one has to consider the age difference between foreign language learners. The two groups of learners have different learning capacities of a foreign language in as far as learning speed are concerned. The article has noted that younger children would learn faster than their elder counterparts. Therefore it is important to select the method which would be suitable for each group for effective language teaching. Richards, J. C. (2015). The Changing Face of Language Learning: Learning Beyond the Classroom. RELC Journal, 46(1), 5-22. doi: 10.1177/0033688214561621 Richard asserts that there are two main important determinants of effective second language learning. The first one is what happens inside the foreign language classroom while the second factor is what happens outside the classrooms. The article notes that foreign language learning and the acquisition of the second language is aimed at helping the learners outside the classroom. That means that most of the work taught in the classroom about the second language acquisition should help the learners of the second language to communicate outside the classroom. However, Richard notes that the traditional method of teaching the second language has for a long time been focusing only on what happens inside the classroom. In these articles, the limitations and challenges of mainly focusing on classroom-based learning have been highlighted. There are only limited opportunities for learning in the classroom as the classroom-based second language teaching provides only a narrow range of discourse and educational practices. In today’s learning environment, the internet, media, technology and face-to-face use of English, as well as social media and networks, provide a greater and meaningful opportunity for the language learning and usage than the opportunities available in the traditional classroom. In the light of the growing range of resources and opportunities which support the out of classroom learning of the second language, the article evaluates some of the best opportunities that can support effective learning and teaching of a foreign language. Also, the article examines how these opportunities are used, the issue that they bring forth for the classroom-oriented learning, the kind of learning experiences that they provide and the second language teacher level of education. This article is of great importance to anyone intending to conduct research of the effects of the classroom as well as the out of the class learning methods of a second language. In this study, we aim to examine the factors that contribute to the effectiveness of learning English as the second language in a Chinese classroom. Richard provides important knowledge as he concludes that out of class learning would enhance a better learning experience to those seeking to learn a second language effectively. Macintyre, P., Gregersen, T., & Mercer, S. (2019). Setting an Agenda for Positive Psychology in SLA: Theory, Practice, and Research. The Modern Language Journal. doi: 10.1111/modl.12544 This article examines the role of positive psychology which is a relatively new field in the teaching and learning of the second language. The authors describe how positive psychology influences the overall acquisition of education and learning of a second language. Therefore, the theory of positive psychology provides promising expectations for language learning and teaching. The authors suggest that the agenda of the theory should be carried forward and applied in second language teaching and learning for the effectiveness of the process. The article further suggests that the ease of learning and teaching of a new language lies in the learner’s psychology. Psychological factors that may influence the effectiveness of learning a new language include motivation, fear, goals, and frustrations. The article goes ahead to state that the second language acquisition process depends on the psychology of both the teacher and the language learner. These processes may include teaching method, learning as well as communication between the teacher and the learner. Factors associated with positive psychology such as happiness, hope, optimism, well-being, and resilience are proven to contribute significantly to the learning process of the second language. The authors note that second language learning is a long-term process which requires resilience and optimism as well as the other positive e psychology factors. As the authors of the article state, focusing more on the second language learners strengths can help to improve the process of acquisition of the second language. Also, the article concludes that the learner’s enjoyment when learning a second languag...