Teachers’ role in Second Language Acquisition

Teaching pedagogies are evolving from teacher-centric to learner-centred in western countries. As learner- centred and constructivist methods are highly propagandised, it is crucial to understand that the implementation of this method highly hinges on the learning and environmental context as well as available resources.  I have also come to realise the challenge in converting policies into practices, particularly in using a constructivist approach for teaching a foreign language to professional adults.  Researchers highlight three important elements in Second Language Acquisition (SLA):

Motivation (teachers ability to motivate students), interaction (teacher’s ability to increase students’ participation) and vocabulary (teachers’ ability to make students learn new words) (Moss &Ross- Feldman, 2003).

I categorise these three elements into teachers’ key skills, knowledge and attitudes (KAS)

1.      Attitude (motivation)  → 2. Skills (interaction) → 3.  Knowledge (vocabulary)

Teacher’s attitude could unleash and support students’ motivation, for instance the teacher’s self- motivation could have a knock-on effect on students’ motivation. When students are mobilised, incrementing their participation using the right skills can also sustain their interest. Finally, the teachers’ subject knowledge is key to students’ learning. The vocabulary is easily picked up and memorized after students have engaged well in the learning process.

Table 1 below shows examples of KAS that teachers should demonstrate to support students’ motivation, interaction and vocabulary acquisition.

	Knowledge	Attitude	Skills
Motivation	Learning needs	Self-motivation, inclusive, enthusiasm, confident, culturally- sensitive, energetic, open-minded, respect, patience	Good and strategic communication  (clear voice, engaging body language), clear instruction, creativity, diversity of activities, time-management, target/goal-setting, effective evaluation and assessment tasks
Interaction	Learning environment, classroom layout, materials, students background and culture	Inclusive, learner-centred, participative, engaging, encouraging, flexibility, responsibility	Fostering team work, peer tutoring, collaborative learning, cooperative learning, good listening, efficient use of materials, managing students of different levels, age and attitudes
Vocabulary	Subject, various types of learning materials, students’ levels (indicators of students’ level), interactive assessment tasks	Guiding, displaying, using materials	Review of previous learning, recommendations to build on class activities, efficient use of materials, good planning and organisation

As previously stated, there can be a world of difference between policy and actual practice, particularly when teachers are lacking adequate resources and when they are not confident that the policy can be successfully implemented. Moreover, even when lessons are well-planned, the variability of classroom dynamics are likely to affect the teacher’s ability to implement the pedagogy proposed on table 1.  A response to this challenge would be for the teacher to internalise key pedagogical concepts and employ flexibility, creativity and spontaneity in order to keep momentum in the learning process. The teacher should keep in mind that learning added with students’ satisfaction is the goal. Besides, after teaching the same class for some time, teachers can also design their own pedagogy which will adjust with the learners’ needs. An example of teaching methods and practices for foreign language could be as set out below.

-Beginning of the lesson (Motivational part): 1. general subject discussion, related to lessons previously seen. Put key vocabulary on the board for students to use. Monitor the peer discussion with minimal intervention

2. Recap of key points of previous lesson: should be visible with minimal students intervention

3. clearly define learning outcomes of current lesson and set targets. This is when students identify their short-term goals which is effective to motivate them.

- Middle of the lesson (Interactive part): 1. didactic when addressing new topic. People in general like learning new things. Clearly instructing on new topic, teaching new vocabulary and explaining grammar and metalinguistic can generate student interest. However this part should be short, concise, visible or audible.

2. Practice new knowledge through exercise: try to avoid passive exercises as much as possible. Activities should be participatory, engaging and possibly diverse. This part should include activities that foster group cohesion and build a sense of belonging and community. Activities can range from peer-tutoring to cooperative learning, interactive use of visual aids, demonstrations, problem-solving tasks, information gap tasks, to presentation of project work.

Dornyei and Csizer (1998) point out that using varied and challenging instructional activities help learners stay focused and engaged in instructional content. Appreciating students’ efforts and correct answers along the exercises is also a great motivator.

-  End of lesson (Assessment part): 1.Have students’ actually learnt? How do you recognise that they understood the lesson and gained new knowledge? An efficient way of measuring students’ learning is by allowing them to self-evaluate against the targets set at the beginning of the lesson. A short individual writing activity before answering evaluation questions can enable students to determine their own level and give them further opportunity to ask questions to the teacher.