Teaching method

                             

ESL teachers need knowledge of the wide variety of teaching and testing techniques, as suggested by TESOL.   As TESOL teacher, I know I must include methods of teaching listening, speaking, reading, writing and grammar. In addition, ESL teachers need to understand second language assessment and a wide variety of techniques, including everything from grammar-translation to communicative methods.

I believe lexical approach will work best for me because teaching English by focusing on lexical chunks, or groups of words commonly used together, gives the student a richer understanding of the language.

Non-native speakers who master lexical chunks will sound more colloquial and assured when they speak English. With an understanding of lexical chunks, non-native speakers will be able to use colloquial phrases that often do not mean the same thing when each word is individually defined.

As per lexical approach, this methodology asserts, "language consists not of traditional grammar and vocabulary but often multi-word prefabricated chunks”. A teacher using the Lexical Approach will not begin by teaching students how to build a sentence from individual words (e.g., subject + verb + object), but give students preformed "chunks" to use in real-life situations. For instance, restaurants role-play using sentences such as "May I have ...?" and "Are you ready to order?"

The emphasis in Lexical teaching is not to explain how each sentence works grammatically but to show their use in the real world. The Lexical Approach has the benefit of giving students "real world" language phrases.

Learning by doing is one of the most effective methods for teaching English. I may try to simulate real life situations for the language as much as possible by incorporating things that support meaning. For example, when teaching directions, I will use maps. Use pictures as writing prompts, or have students draw storyboards to express ideas. Whatever the content of my English lesson will be, I will try to bring relevant items for the students interact with as they learn.

Implementing The Lexical Approach" provides the TESOL teacher with the tools needed to use the lexical approach in class.

Advanced learners can generally communicate well, having learnt all the basic structures of the language. However, they need to broaden their vocabulary to express themselves more clearly and appropriately in a wide range of situations.

by Aayesha Qureshi