HOW DO PEOPLE LEARN ESOL?

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ESOL is English for Speakers of Other Languages. English is the most internationally known language in this world. There are of course a lot of different ways in which people can adopt in order to learn ESOL. In this essay, we are going to look into some different approaches that can be taken. Those approaches include the behavioural, cognitive, affective and communicative views of learning.

The behavioural view is an approach that is practised in the psychology field. It is mainly habit formation, which simply means acquiring new habits for the learners so that they will keep practising the language. According to Skinner, "special techniques have been designed to arrange what are called 'contingencies of reinforcement' the relations which prevail between behaviour on one hand and the consequences on the other with the result that a much more effective control of behaviour has been achieved". (Entwistle&Houdsell, 1777) There is obviously a sense of repetition in this approach. This method is acceptable in the sense that being reminded of their lessons is indeed essential to help the learners understand more of the language and hence they can easily use the knowledge in their everyday life. Once the particular type of reinforcement has been arranged, techniques are used to shape up the behaviour of students. This is seen as necessary because using a language is not about using one point at any given time, but may points at the same time.

The next set of principles that can be adopted is the cognitive principle. This approach involves the thinking and conscious mind, which relates to mental and intellectual functions. In Ausubel's theory of assimilation, "meaningful learning occurs only if the material is presented in a way which is itself potentially meaningful, and if students adopts a meaningful learning set and has the necessary anchoring ideas to establish links with the new material". (Entwistle, 18116) The memory plays an important part in this method, plus the teacher's understanding towards the learners. A monitor model deals with self-correction, in which part of our minds monitor what we say or write and correct ourselves should there be any mistake. According to Brown (1418), "meaningful learning will lead toward better long-term retention than rote learning". Strategic investment is when a lot of the learner's own personal 'investment' of time, effort and attention to the second language in the form of an individualised methods for comprehending and producing the language leads to him mastering the second language successfully. If cognitive structure is clear, stable and suitably organised, accurate and ambiguous meanings emerge and tend to retain their dissociability strength or availability. If, on the other hand, cognitive structure is unstable, ambiguous or disorganised, it tends to inhibit meaningful learning and retention.

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The third method that will be discussed in this essay is the affective view of learning. This approach deals mainly with motivation and is more central towards the emotional processing of human beings. A negative affective filter can stop something coming through the mind, which simply means it refuses to let any new information or knowledge to be processed and stored in the conscious mind. The teacher needs to provide enough emotional support towards the learners, for when they learn to use a second language, they also develop a new mode of thinking, feeling and acting- a second identity. This is called the 'language ego' (Brown, 14). When blended and mixed with the second language, this 'new ego' can easily cause learners to feel fragile, being defensive and they are unable to relax and behave in a natural way. Getting learners to identify and recognise their own mistakes can lead to them feeling at ease to take the necessary risks in attempt to use the language. When they have truly achieve that level of firm belief that indeed they can do it, learners are then ready to try out their newly acquired language, to use it for meaningful purposes, to ask questions and to assert themselves. 'Successful language learners, in their realistic appraisal of themselves as vulnerable beings yet capable of accomplishing tasks, must be willing to become 'gamblers' in the game of language, to attempt to produce and interpret language that is a bit beyond their absolute certainty.' (Brown, 144) It is universally agreed that language and culture are 'embroidered' and twisted so as to become joined. Teaching a language also means teaching a complex system of cultural customs, values and ways of thinking, feeling and acting. The teacher has to be aware when discussing with the learners, making sure that he emphasises the situation whereby there is no 'better' culture than the other, but the difference being the way of understanding those cultures vary from one individual to another. Learners also have to be able to see the connection between language and culture, but in order to teach them this connection the teacher needs to screen the techniques for materials that may be culturally offensive to some.

The communicative view of learning is sometimes known as the experiential view of learning. In this method, learners are being exposed to hours of pleasant experiences, all of which are hand-on experiences. This input or exposure is yet another way that learners can adopt in order to learn ESOL. The input includes roughly tuned input, finely tuned input and practice, which focuses mostly on improving the reading, listening and speaking skills. While roughly tuned input is defined as the general exposure at any given time and situation, finely tuned input is exactly right for the need of the learners' at one particular point. To put it in a simpler way, the latter is more focused. The teacher can use all information eclectically, choosing different things to put together and make up his own ideas or theories based on the information. In any phenomenon, learners have to be taught that errors are natural and the teacher has to acquire and try to enable learners to accept their errors. In teaching, the teacher has to have plateaux, where he gets the learners to a certain level and stick to it. This can be used as a way to measure the learners' standard of understanding in a particular subject and to how to assist them in achieving that level of certain knowledge.

For the learners to acquire the language, they have to be motivated. 'Motivation is the extent to which you can make choices about goals to pursue and the effort you will devote to that pursuit.' (Brown, 144) There is two definition of motivation that has been stated by Brown in his book, Teaching by Principles. One is a behaviouristic definition, in which he states a psychologist's view on the role of rewards. Human beings tend to pursue their goals because they see a reward at the end of the journey. 'This reward serves to reinforce behaviour to cause it to persist.' (Brown, 145) A behaviourist would define motivation as 'the anticipation of reinforcement'. There is no question that a tremendous proportion of what we 'do' is motivated by an anticipated reward. From eating to exercising to studying, there is 'something in it for me'. The other definition is the cognitive definition. "While rewards are very much a part of the whole picture, the difference lies in the sources of motivation and in the power of self-reward." (Brown, 145) Ur associates this cognitive drive with intrinsic motivation- a typical motivation that often can be seen in children and decreases as they grow older.

There are different kinds of motivation, as stated in the book A Course in Language Teaching, by Penny Ur. Integrative motivation is 'the desire to identify with and integrate into the target-language culture' while instrumental motivation is 'the wish to learn the language for purposes of study or career promotion' (Ur, 1676). Another difference, which is probably more beneficial for teachers, is that between intrinsic motivation- the need to be involved in the learning activity for its own sake- and extrinsic motivation- motivation that is influenced by external matters. In the same book, Ur states that there is a third distinction. This is between 'global', 'situational' and 'task' motivation the first is the overall orientation of the learner towards the learning of the foreign language; the second has to do with the context of learning (classroom, total environment); and the last with the way the learners approach the specific task in hand.

One essential part in being a teacher is having the ability to motivate learners. 'In more recent learner-centred approaches to language teaching, however, the teacher's function is seen mainly as a provider of materials and condition for learning, while the learners take responsibility for his or her own motivation and performance.' (Ur, 1676)

In producing successful learners, the most important task for a teacher is to make sure that the learners are aware of their own success. This can be done by giving them praises and good remarks regarding their work, or simply a nod when they give the right answers. Generally, one often views failure as something that should be avoided, just as success is something to be sought. But this idea should only apply on the surface. For one thing, success would mean nothing if it is too easily obtained and if there is no real possibility of failure. For another, occasional failure is something that cannot be avoided in any normal situation, and one should not be ashamed of making it. Good learners can identify this idea, 'take setbacks in their stride, and look for ways to exploit them in order to succeed next time' (Ur, 1678).

When the teacher puts some pressure into the learners' work, they are usually motivated by it. The learners will want to invest effort in tasks simply because the teacher asked them to; they are able to identify the authority of the teacher and his right to demand this, hence trusting the teacher's judgement. 'The motivating power of tests appears clear; learners who know they are going to be tested on specific material next week will normally be more motivated to study it carefully than if they had simply been told to learn it.' (Ur, 167) Again, this method is found to be useful, provided there is less stress to it, and not used too frequently. Often learners will be motivated when they are able to give their very best not for the sake of learning itself, but in order to beat their opponents in any given competition. The competition should, however, be taken lightly for the learners to be able to enjoy themselves and at the same time feel motivated within.

In conclusion, there are obviously a lot of methods that can be adopted in order for people to learn ESOL. Some of those approaches are as stated in this essay. For people to be able to learn and absorb the language easily, they have to be motivated from within themselves. Success and satisfaction are key factors in sustaining motivation. If learners feel that they have achieved something worthwhile through their own individual effort, they are more likely to participate the next time. Hence, the need for teachers to set achievable goals, and to highlight learners' successes.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Brown, H.D. Teaching by Principles - An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy, Prentice Hall Regents, 14.

Egan, K. Education and Psychology, Methuen & Co. Ltd., 18.

Entwistle, N. Styles of Learning and Teaching An Integrated Outline of Educational Psychology, John Wiley & Sons Ltd., 181.

Enstwistle, N. & Hounsell, D. How Students Learn, Institute for Research & Development Uni. Of Lancaster, 175.

Stephens, J.M. Educational Psychology The Study of Educational Growth, Holt, Rinehart and Winston Inc., 156.

Ur, P. A Course in Language Teaching, Cambridge University Press, 16.

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