Problem-Solving Activity in EFL Teaching (Chapter 5)

The problem-solving activities mentioned in chapter 5 impress me because they really motivate students to engage in learning effectively. However, it seems difficult to apply to foreign language teaching especially in outside circle (countries where English is not the first or second language). Take foreign language learners in Taiwan for example, they have little chances to interact with native speakers, which causes some difficulties with complex and realistic contexts required by anchored instruction.

But still, there are some resources for teachers to make use of. For example, a problem-solving activity which I participated in was produced with the help of American educational fair held twice every year in Taiwan. Since every year the school where I worked as a student teacher at that time held studying tour for studetns, the teachers addressed the problem “Which school in the fair will you choose for studying tour this summer?” Then teachers made a list of the schools in the fair and each group of students was in charge of five schools. Several aspects were assigned for evaluation: course, club, event, environment, and cost.

First teachers introduced related vocabulary of school life, such as semester, credit, drop, register, and dormitory. Then students surfed the websites, made some research of assigned schools, and used spreadsheets to list the characteristics under each aspect. Next each group had to figure out ten questions about each school which they would ask the representatives in the educational fair. Third, teachers guided student to learn communicative skills in American culture, such as how to greet, break the ice, change the topic, and end the conversation. Since students had to talk to the representatives who were native speakers of English, they felt the need to learn how to talk appropriately and politely. The next step was to go to the educational fair and have interview with the representatives. After the fair, students chose one of the five assigned schools and made power point to introduce it to other classmates. Finally all the students voted and decided on the best school for studying tour. This activity took several weeks and worked very well. By means of real interaction with native speakers, students in outer circle had opportunities to not only practice speaking but also applied what they had learned to real-life context, which made learning become more meaningful.

Teaching Structures in ESL (Chapter 4)

In chapter 4, it is shown that one important aspect of accessing knowledge is to grasp disciplinary structures. Instead of memorizing a collection of facts and theories, understanding the patterns can help students make connection between concepts and acquire the disciplinary knowledge more easily and effectively. It can also be applied to foreign language learning where memorization is emphasized a lot. When learning English vocabulary, it is helpful for students to know how words are structured ---- the concept of morphemes. With the database of lists of familiar words, teachers may assist students to analyze, categorize, and define what roots, suffixes, and prefixes are. By learning what common suffixes and prefixes mean, students are able to apply to unfamiliar words and infer their meanings. For example, “re” is a prefix added before a root,meaning “repeatedly” or “again.” Grasping it, students can get the big picture of what “reforest” or “reframe” mean even if they have not learned these words. Another example is the antonym. By analyzing the occurrence of prefixes “ir” “in” “im” and “il” used to make antonyms, students will find the rule of assimilation --- “ir” appears before words starting with the letter “r,” like irregular and “im” appears when the words starting with bilabial sounds. By grasping these basic patterns, L2 learners can remember English vocabulary more efficiently and guess the meaning of new words approximately. Therefore ESL teachers should teach students these underlying structures, which equip them with the ability of handling plenty of new but highly related information.

Related Links: Teaching Prefixes "ir" "im" "il" and "in"