Your Answer (Next Page Corrected Version) Assignments Phase 1 : 1.

) Write about your past formal or informal language learning experiences (any which is not your first language). Would you consider them to be effective or ineffective? Give reasons for your answer.

My past formal and informal language learning experiences were very interesting because I came to India and I believed that here nobody could speak Spanish. At that time, I thought that it would be wonderful for me but when I started to work like a Spanish teacher and all my students started to speak to me only in Spanish. I knew that I could never learn any other language. In addition for my personality, I could pass long time without say any word. At the first times, I couldn't say anything for long time but slowly I started to speak. I had to think every word before to say it and I wasted a lot of time until I felt that I was ready to speak. That means that in my past informal language learning I was usually exposed to the other languages for many hours every day but, not only English, also Bangla and Hindi then It were quite difficult for me to understand anyone. Always, I used to prefer formal language learning in the classroom because It is more likely to receive only one exposure to the language, that means only one language not two o three, but here it wasn't impossible. In formal language learning, the Teacher could pass speaking 45 minutes in Bangla or Hindi and only 15 minutes in English. In summarize, I learned Bangla before to English. However, this condition was sometimes very good because it forced me to speak other language. Moreover, there were others people who interact regularly with me. They tried to help me to understand and to speak English. I definitive prefer formal language learning but in class. Where only speak the language I want to learn. I am organizes person, discipline and I love books. I need the classroom, the curriculum, the time for thinking; I want to know about grammar, structure, etc. I need a teacher that corrects my mistakes and my pronunciation.

My Answer Assignments Phase 1 : 1.) Write about your past formal or informal language learning experiences (any which is not your first language). Would you consider them to be effective or ineffective? Give reasons for your answer.

I am Zulema Arias and I came from Spain to Kolkata located in the Indian subcontinent in ______________. India is a country where with more than hundred language varieties. It is a country rich in heritage, culture and literature. The official language of India is Hindi, which is a dialectical variety of the Sanskrit language and the second official language next to Hindi is English. Another language that is spoken widely in the place where I stay is Bengali, which is also a different dialectical variety of Sanskrit. While Hindi and Bengali are spoken sparsely by the common people, English is generally spoken by the literate Middle class,Upper Middle class and upper class people of the society. Spanish being the only language I knew when I came to India made me realise that in order to communicate in India it was very necessary for me to learn English, Hindi and Bengali. My first lesson in Hindi and Bengali started informally when it became very necessary for me to communicate with people who helped me in my household works, in banks, in shops and in supermarkets. Here people do not follow Spanish and so I had to learn their language. Initially learning a completely different language was very difficult for me. I thought for half an hour before I uttered a single word. I feared that I might make mistakes. But my neighbours and my household help helped me and patiently taught me the basic spoken Bengali and Hindi language. Though they helped me with these two languages, none of them could teach me English. So I decided that to attend a formal Language learning class for English, Hindi and Bengali. I think a formal class conducted by a teacher with formal knowledge of the subject is more constructive, methodical and easier to follow. After joining these formal classes I even found these classes difficult because the trainer taught and gave examples of English words in Hindi or Bengali and vice versa. In this formal class my classmates helped me informally and patiently explained to me the lessons that were explained in English. So slowly I started to follow what I was taught and now I am confident enough to undertake and study a TESOL course. Since I am a Spanish language teacher, a course in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages would help me teach English to speaker of other languages. I think the lessons in the formal classes were more effective than the informal ones. English is a widely spoken language all over the world. I aspire to open an English Teaching Class, as I do not want anyone else face the language barrier that I faced in a country which had English as one of its major languages. A course in TESOL from your organisation would help me learn all the techniques of Teaching English Teaching to Speakers of Other Languages on a first hand basis and would help me fulfil my dream of being an English teacher with a formal training in the same.

Your Answer (Next Page Corrected Answer) Why do you think the CLT has gained popularity in the language classroom?

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is the more accepted approach because it uses a wide variety of interpretations and classroom applications and incorporates authentic, real-world simulations (such as agreeing, inviting, suggesting, etc.) as opposed to reliance only on grammar and vocabulary. This approach highlights the social, cultural and pragmatic features of languages. CLT suggests that the students will have enough exposure to the language and the opportunity to use it (in real life situations), so role-play and simulation have become popular with this method. Moreover places far more emphasis on completion of the task than the accuracy of the language. Therefore productive and contextualized communication is necessarily the goal. The functional aspects like fluency, accuracy and spontaneity are very important. Never copy a complete answer from a website. Check the concept and write it in your own words. You copied this from
http://m00natalat.wordpress.com/2009/09/10/efl-teaching-%E2%80%93-methodologies-andapproaches/

My Answer 2. Why do you think the CLT has gained popularity in the language classroom?

There are three basic methods of teaching language Structural method, functional method and Interactive method. The structural and the functional method are One way teaching method where there is very less communication between the language learner and the Teacher. Interactive method is the method in which there is ample amount of communication between the teacher and the student. By this method the student learns by communication and by making practical mistakes in the language. One of the most important interactive methods of teaching language is Communicative Language Teaching method. I think, it is a more accepted approach because in this method a wide variety of interpretations and classroom applications and incorporates authentic, real-world simulations like agreeing, inviting, suggesting are used unlike being dependent on only grammar and vocabulary for language learning as in structural and functional method. The social, cultural and pragmatic features of languages are highlighted by this method. By CLT the students have enough exposure to the language and the opportunity to use it in real life situations. Role-play and simulation have become popular with this method as students can use this method in practical situations. This method also puts emphasis on completion of the task than the accuracy of the language. The goal of this method is productive and contextualized communication. This method also inculcates functional aspects like fluency, accuracy and spontaneity in the students.