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| Teach English |
Teachers vary considerably in their views on whether they should use their own language while teaching English. There is often a gap between what they would ideally like to do, Ie use English to teach English, and the reality, which is that it is often difficult to make children understand or that children demand the use of the LI. However as an English teacher, it is important for you to understand both the advantages and disadvantages of using English to teach English so that you can make up your own mind what to do in your
situation.
Advantages
- It increases the amount of exposure pupils get to English.
- It develops pupils' confidence in the language.
- It provides real reasons for using English to communicate, eg in giving instructions, getting information from pupils.
- Much classroom language, eg instructions, has a simple and repetitive pattern which can be picked up by pupils without them being aware that they are learning.
- It can motivate pupils to want to learn.
- It develops greater fluency, as pupils are encouraged to think in English from the early stages.
Disadvantages
- It can take a long time to explain things, even using gesture, etc. Pupils who are anxious to do the activity may lose interest or lose concentration.
- Weaker or slower pupils may lack the confidence to believe they can learn through English; they may be frightened or put off English.
- Teachers may have limited English or insufficient fluency in the language. They may give pupils incorrect models.
- It may be very difficult to do any reflection on learning or discuss pupils' opinions about their learning in English because pupils have limited English.
- For pupils who are not highly motivated, it may involve too much effort to try to understand.
- It may take longer to cover the syllabus.
If we look at the debate simply in terms of learning English, then it does seem best to use for English for teaching English because it gives pupils more exposure. However, there are many other things to consider, for example, your own confidence m using English, pupils age, their motivation and previous experience with the language, which may make it unrealistic or dificult to use English all the time. If you think that it is useful to teach through English, set yourself a goal to gradually increase the amount of English you use.