PROBLEM
AND ITS BACKGROUND
The
courses in English as Second Language (ESL) have a long history in the
For a long time, though, ESL instruction was offered primarily as a tool for
Americanization and citizenship education in other countries. The terminology
around English language instruction can be unclear. English as an Additional
Language (EAL), English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), and English as
a Foreign Language (EFL) all bear some similarities to ESL instruction. EAL and
ESOL instructors use essentially the same instructional techniques as ESL
instructors. The greatest difference in the terminology comes from both
political correctness and the preference of certain funding agencies and
policymakers.
Second
language acquisition is the phrase used to describe the process that people go
through when confronted by a need to use a language other than their native one
for communication. People acquire their first and second languages differently.
Some of the issues and processes involved in language acquisition include the
idea of innateness, the relevance of the language input the language learner
receives, and the nature of early developmental grammars (O'Grady, 299).
children depends upon the linguistic experiences of childhood and the language
and language structures that children encounter. Therefore, the burden of
language exposure falls upon children's parents and caretakers. A common
approach among the caretakers of children is to "dumb-down" the
language used or to speak "baby-talk" with the language learners.
Some research suggests that this altering of normal speech leaves learners with
an "impoverished stimulus" and may actually interfere with or delay
the learners' language acquisition.
Moreover,
much of the literature on ESL instruction suggests that natural environment or
"language immersion" courses will provide students with the most
opportunities for learning and greatest success. (O'Grady, 301) To some extent,
though, a traditional English classroom may prove equally as beneficial for
some students, particularly when the objective is learning structured (versus
non-structured) communication tasks that are predictable. An advantage of a
natural environment or language immersion classroom, in which tasks and
conversations center on real language use and the learning of needed terms and
concepts is that teachers are less inclined to "dumb down" their talk
and speak "teacher-ese" or "foreigner-talk." The richer the
stimulus and the more real the language, the better chance learners of a second
language have to become fluent speakers of that language.
Furthermore, there are differences
between language learning and language acquisition. It is generally believed
that the younger the person, the easier natural language acquisition is for
him/ her; this idea includes the Critical Period Hypothesis, which suggests
that there is a chronological cut-off point in adolescence after which a
language learner cannot attain fluency. Language acquisition ability, however,
does not disappear in adulthood; it instead combines with a conscious learning
function, against which natural language use is verified. For this
verification, adults usually require a certain amount of time, the reduction of
excessive stress (in order to be able to think about correctness), and
sufficient understanding of the rules of the language being studied.
of the Study
The escalation of Asians migrating to the
and acquiring their education on US educational institutions brings about the
prospect of teaching English as a second language to Asian primary students.
The scope of teachers’ responsibilities in teaching the English language is
expanded to include devising professional techniques in order to resolve
language barriers. Thus, Asians have continued to look at the English language
as the primary medium of communication ascending its significance to that,
which is not only necessary but also needed.
Learning English as second
language is not a recent phenomenon; it has been the concern of teachers since
teaching has been a discipline of study. Language problems do not just occur
unexpectedly; they are precipitated. Home and other out-of-school environments
can exert a major influence upon children that, in turn, affects their
readiness to learn the language when they come to school.
The information gateway allows the
conceptualization of an increasingly interconnected world. Information
technology is allowing individuals, organizations, businesses, and governments
to communicate instantaneously across vast distances, and at the same time,
immigration is making American society itself more ethnically and culturally
diverse.
Both of these trends are
putting pressure on schools. Educators need to find new ways to communicate
with parents of students who speak only limited English, and they must learn
how to offer all students opportunities to collaborate with their peers from
other cultures. Fortunately, those tasks are made easier by a variety of
multilingual web and computer-based technologies. These free services can
translate online, search foreign-language web sites, and help forge
partnerships between
schools and their counterparts around the world. Clearly, schools will have a
responsibility to communicate to large groups of linguistically diverse parents
and students as well as to other members of their communities.
This proposed study will
outline the underlying idea that learning English as a second language for Asian
primary students is a potent force in achieving high quality academic
distinction. Moreover, the advantages and disadvantages of learning the English
language will be examined and evaluated in the context of a globalized world
where a dominant language must be spoken for communication purposes. Finally,
this paper will argue upon the success of teachers and schools in managing
Asian primary students in fostering the viability of learning English.
of the Problem
The study
basically intends to present the case of migrant Asians acquiring the English
language through ESL courses. Specifically, the study seeks to answer the
following questions:
What
are the strategies employed by teachers in educating Asian primary school
students on the English language?
What
are the advantages and disadvantages of adopting English as a second language
for Asians?
How
does the Asian primary students adopt to English as a second language?
How effective is the adoption of English as
second language in the development of the Asian primary students in terms of
academic performance and English language adeptness?
of the Study
This proposed study seeks to contribute on the literature on the topic
of English as a second language among Asians by exploring and analyzing the
different professional techniques employed by teachers in teaching English to
Asian primary students. This paper shall use the framework espoused by
Dreikurs- the Social Discipline Model. Moreover, this proposed paper shall
evaluate the necessity and the effectivity of universities and school
administrators in developing Asian primary students in learning English. From
these findings, this proposal shall develop suggestions in further improving
the present training by universities and school administrators involved in
teaching English as a second language.
Objectives of the Study
achieve the following objectives:
To
determine the factors, requirements and principles of English as a second
language for Asians studying in the
To
determine the advantages and disadvantages of learning English among Asians in
the primary level
To
analyze the impact of learning the English language on the academic and
cognitive development of Asian primary students
4. To evaluate the strengths and
weaknesses of teaching English as a second language for Asians in the primary
level
Framework
This proposed paper shall use the Social Discipline Model of Dreikurs in
examining and evaluating the problems encountered in the teaching English among
Asians particularly in the primary level. This model, which reflects the
optimistic approach, espouses that people are capable of changing and that
human problems are interpersonal and socially embedded. Dreikurs espouses the
values underlying Adler's Individual Psychology -- an emphasis on equality,
respect, cooperation, and self-discipline.
Definition of Terms
DESCRIPTORS
These are broad
categories of behaviors that students can demonstrate when they have met a
standard.
DISCUSSIONS
These are brief
explanations of teacher and student actions in each of the vignettes, linking
vignettes to standards and progress indicators.
ESL
This term shall be used to define the course taken by the
migrant Asian in order to acquire the English language.
GOALS
These are
defined as overarching intentions for English language use; they are tied to
social and academic language and appropriate use.
ADLER'S INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY
emphasis on equality, respect, cooperation, and self-discipline.
PROGRESS
INDICATORS
These are
defines as assessable, observable activities that students may perform to show
progress toward meeting the standard; they are organized by grade-level clusters.
SOCIAL DISCIPLINE MODEL
This model reflects the
optimistic approach, espouses that people are capable of changing and that
human problems are interpersonal and socially embedded.
STANDARDS
These are what
students should know and be able to do as a result of instruction.
VIGNETTES
These are
defined as brief instructional sequences that show the standards in action,
organized by grade-level clusters.
METHODS
AND PROCEDURE
This chapter shall discuss the research methods
available for the study and what is applicable for it to use. Likewise, the
chapter shall present how the research will be implemented and how to come up
with pertinent findings.
Method of Research to be Used
style='font-family:Arial;mso-ansi-language:EN-GB'>There are three kinds of
research methods, correlational, experimental and descriptive. (Walliman and
Baiche, 2001) The descriptive research
method uses observation and surveys. In this method, it is possible that the
study would be cheap and quick. It could also suggest unanticipated hypotheses.
Nonetheless, it would be very hard to rule out alternative explanations and
especially infer causations. Thus, this study will use the descriptive
approach. This descriptive type of
research will utilize observations in the study.
research, Creswell (1994) will guide the researcher when he stated: Descriptive
method of research is to gather information about the present existing
condition. The purpose of employing this
method is to describe the nature of a situation, as it exists at the time of
the study and to explore the cause/s of particular phenomena. The researcher
opted to use this kind of research considering the desire of the researcher to
obtain first hand data from the respondents to formulate rational and sound
conclusions and recommendations for the study.
The research
described in this document is based solely on
and iterative approach. During data gathering the choice and design of methods
are constantly modified, based on ongoing analysis. This allows investigation
of important new issues and questions as they arise, and allows the
investigators to drop unproductive areas of research from the original research
plan.
This study basically
intends to present the case of migrant Asians acquiring the English language
through ESL courses. Specifically, the study seeks to identify the strategies
employed by teachers in educating Asian primary school students on the English
language; establish the advantages and disadvantages of adopting English as a
second language for Asians; explain how Asian primary students adopt to English
as a second language; and the level of effectiveness of the adoption of English
as second language in the development of the Asian primary students in terms of
academic performance and English language adeptness.
The
primary source of data will come from published articles from social science
journals, theses and related studies on ESL, education, and those concerning
the Asian migration and its concurrent effects in communication.
For
this research design, the researcher will gather data, collate published
studies from different local and foreign universities and articles from social
science journals; and make a content analysis of the collected documentary and
verbal material. Afterwards, the
researcher will summarize all the information, make a conclusion based on the
null hypotheses posited and provide insightful recommendations on the dealing
with Asians going through ESL courses.
Arial'>
Arial'>DATA ANALYSIS
Little sense can be made of a huge collection of data;
therefore an essential part of research is the analysis of the data. This data
must be carried out in relation to the research problem. (Walliman and Baiche,
2001) Because research is not a linear process, the only way to help us to
judge the type of and amount of data is to decide on the methods, which we will
use to analyze them to obtain a feel for the data, establish reliability and to
understand how the results are interpreted.
meanings expressed through words. It results in the collection of
non-standardized data, which requires classification, and is analyzed through
the use of conceptualization. (Sounders et al, 1997) In this research, I also
need to get some qualitative data through a number of the process of
qualitative analysis, including document and interim summaries, self-memos,
etc.
the variable of primary interest to the researcher. The researcher’s goal is to
understand and describe the dependent variable, or explain its variability, or
predict it. Through the analysis of the
dependent variable, it is possible to find answers or solutions to the problem.
(Sekaran, 2000) Furthermore, an independent variable is one that influences the
dependent variable in either a positive or a negative way. As a result, the
researcher will use a systematic explanatory and exploratory research
dependent variables. The relationships of the
variables will be designed in detail, based on the understanding the
independent variables of the ESL courses.
Qualitative and quantitative approaches.
Sage.
Rudolf. (1999) “Social Discipline”, in Tauber, Robert, Classroom Management:
Sound Theory and Effective Practice, Bergin & Garvey, 1999
O'Grady,
William, Michael Dobrovolsky and Mark Aronoff. (1989) Contemporary
Linguistics.
Martin
Dr Adrian Thornhill. (1997) Research Methods for Business Students.
Pitman Publishing.
Sekaran, Uma. (2000) Research Methods For Business.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Baiche. (2001) Your research project. SAGE Publications.
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