An Analysis on an ESL Class

校园英语/语言文化An Analysis on an ESL Classpostgraduate of International Relations in Deakin University/Du Yueqing[ Abstract] Input is the precondition of interaction and the second step of the teaching procedure,the teacher asked theoutput while output promotes the input and the interaction of students to find a partner and talk about his/her own ideas,whichlanguage,which could increase the efctiveness of input and would take another 2 minutes. What the students need to doenhance the chance of the absorption of interaction.By analyzing during this period of time is to understand what his/her partner isan ESL class,this paper gives readers a picture of how the second speaking about his/her special occasion and try to help each otherlanguage (SL) learners get information,absorb and digest the and improve by listening carefully.For the third step,the studentsinformation,produce language and form their language system were asked to think about how to make a proper sentence and thenin their SL learning.At last,it gives suggestions on how to ensure write down 2 sentences using their own words from brainstorminglanguage learners have a better chance to get comprehensible in 5 minutes.Ms. Sheldon didn’t forget to remind the students ofinput,assimilate language during interaction and output more tenses they should use for making their sentences.For step 4,sheaccurate and comprehensible second language in an ESL class.suggested the students check their sentences by reading aloud[Key Words] ESL class; input; interaction; outputor asking someone else such as the teacher or partners to findIntroduction of the ESL classwhether the sentences are correct or not.The criterion was thatRecorded by“Universal Institute of Technology" ,which if the sentences were understood,they were correct.Then eachis a language institute,this class is an adult English as second students need to tell their stories,“A Special Occasion”to theirlanguage class (ESL) in the city of Melbourne.It is a class partners.Ms.Sheldon emphasized the word“telli ”,which meansat the pre-intermediate level,which is comprised of a small when the students tell their stories,it is not reading but having agroup of the students,approximately 8.These students come conversation with partners about their particular occasions.Thenfrom different countries and different backgrounds,namely at last,the students would share the stories with the class.Peru,Brazil,Italy,China and the majority of Korea,and do not havethe same first language in common.Having been teaching them the students,people could find that the teacher always spokefor about 5 months,the teacher Ms.Monique Sheldon-Stemm in a soft voice and helped the students to correct sentences(Ms.Sheldon) focuses on how to talk about a special occasion by and answered their questions carefully and promptly.She wasusing two tenses,the past continuous tense and the simple past so patient with the students that repeated the instructions andtense,to tell a story and she used four steps to achieve her teaching questions again and again in order to avoid misunderstanding ofpurpose. .the students and put a lot of emphasis of the students’feedbackIn the first step of the class,Ms. Sheldon gave a topic and in order to ensure whether they understood the requirements.brainstormed the students. The students had 2 minutes to think Every student was asked to read the 2 sentences that they wroteabout the words and phrases that may be related to the topic.For loudly and told their stories to the class,which meant that each hadC) In a theater.力会话的理解。同时，丰富的课外知识和生活阅历对听力内D) In a restaurant.容的理解也有很大的帮助。最重要的是，学会熟练运用语用对于例4而言，难点在于Balcony一词， 它本来是阳台的学的相关理论， 有助于理解会话的真正意图。因此，语用推意思，与会话的内容没有太大关系，造成推理困难。究其原 理的训练应作为听力练习的- 一个环节。本文从语用学的角度因，我们发现，balcony是一词多义，除了有阳台的含义，还分析了语用推理在听力理解中的运用，以求能够对英语听力有戏院或电影院里的楼座之意。如果学生词汇量不够或者词学习者听力能力的改进和提高有所裨益。对基于语用推理的汇理解深度不够的话，此题只能猜测了。由此可以看出，必听力训练模式还有 待作深入研究。要的知识储备是语用推理的前提。参考文献:三、结束语语用推理是学生听力会话理解中的薄弱环节，能听懂字[1]Leech,G.Principles of Pragmatics.London:Longman, 1983.面意思，但不能正确理解其所要表达的真正意思，常造成理[2]Rost,.M.Listening in Language Learning.New York:解失误，这是缺少语用推理能力和意识的直接体现。在听力Longman.1990.理解中运用语用推理的知识，必将能够积极地引导听者正确[3]何 自然语用学中国煤化工上版社.2003.地理解话语，从而提高听力理解水平。[4]李悦娥,范宏雅..0H.CNMHG版2023.听力理解是一种综合性较强的考试题型，扎实的英语基[5]张晋林.英语 中山进从各下你刘丽厂土的幽默效果[].陕西本功是必不可少的，良好的心理素质和答题技巧也会促进听警 官高等专科学院学报2008(4).- 203校园英语1语言文化the opportunities to practice their listening and speaking.could feel that there is no challenge so that lose interests and theAnalysis of the ESL classSL leaning could not reccive a pleasant result.In this class,to achieve the purpose of talking about aIn the class,Ms.Sheldon asked the students to use thespecial occasion of the past,Ms.Sheldon asked every student past continuous tense and the simple past tense.The studentsto brainstorm words and phrases,talk with partners,write down absolutely had learned the two tenses before but they neededsentences and finally tell and share a story of a special occasion to use two tenses together in their tasks.It is a kindof“i+1”with the class to practice the use of the past continuous tense input because they might know how to use them separately butand the simple past tense as well as the English skills such as when mixed them,they might be confused. What is more,in thelistening,speaking,reading and writing.In this way,every student third step there was a student asked whether it is one sentence ifhas the opportunity to practice and improve their second language there is comma in the sentence.The teacher answered that there- English.Also in the class,guided learning and questioning could be many commas in one sentence because in one sentencestrategies were implemented.Ms. Sheldon always repeated many things could happen and the comma could give the sentencethe instructions or questions and paid much attention on the details.She also told the students that a sentence begins withfeedback of the students by asking them whether they understand the capital letter and ends with a full stop with a sentence as anthe questions or requirements and guided them to answer her example.She gave the students effective answer according toquestions,which aroused students’noticing of language learning. their current language ability to help students to acquire betterAlso she guided them by saying, “who was there? When was it? understanding and comprehensible knowledge during SL learning.What happened? Was it private? At a party?”etc.However large2.Interactionnumbers of repeated sentences seem like not very proper to teachInteraction is believed to be helpful in exchanges between/adults.among learners or between/among learners and native speakersIn addition,in this ESL class,the teacher stressed on the (or fluent speakers) of the language being learned where languagecooperation and mutual support among the students,which created is negotiated,or feedback is provided. Feedback is an importanta good language environment for SL learners to learn,practice feature of interaction and can be viewed on a continuum betweenand develop their second language learning.Besides,elements explicit and implicit.The interaction hypothesis is primarilyof language such as words,sentence structure,grammar,oral concerned with reactive feedback- -that is,feedback that occursexpression and essay writing were taught from step by step.All as a reaction to some linguistic problem.It can come from manyof them were taught in a way from an easy level to a difficult individuals,including not only teachers,but also other learnerslevel.As far as we are known,an essay is comprised of sentences or native speakers of a language (Gass,Susan & Mackey,Alisonwhile sentences are composed of words.The information of the 2006).In the class,Ms.Sheldon is a native speaker while theessay should be delivered by oral expression like presentation or students are SL learners. During the conversation betweenspeech.Reading the sentences or the essay loudly,the information Ms.Sheldon and the students,people can find that the teacher’ scontained could be meaningful and understood by others.Thus the language influenced the students’and some students were tryingfunction of language- -transferring meaning will be realized.to correct their own language.Also in the teaching procedure,the1.Inputeacher always focused on students’feedback and repeated theInput refers to language that is available to the learner requirements or asked the questions again and again to ensurethrough any medium (listening,reading,or gestural in the case whether the students understood her to help these SL learnersof sign language).All theories of SL learning recognize the to get used to and improve their SL learning.For example,whensignificant of input as a basic component in acquisition process she asked the students what they could do to help each other(Gass,Susan & Mackey,Alison 2006).The comprehensive input when they were talking about their ideas with their partners,nohypothesis claims that the acquirer should understand input one answered her so she said that she was asking a question andlanguage that contains structure a bit beyond his or her current repeated it again to make her intent clear and understood by thelevel of competence.Krashen defined the learner’s current stage students.In this way,the students paid more attention to the teacherof studying language as“i”.The next stage of developing as well as their SL.languageis“i+1 ”(cited from Li Chao 2013).That is to say theThe interaction provides a forum for feedback,which serveslanguage that the learners learned should be a lttle bit beyondtheir present competence.If the language is either too dffcult focus their attention on language.That is,interaction may primeor too easy,learners could not get comprehensible input.Because learners to“ searc中国煤化Ie more sensitiveif the input language or material is too difficult,learners could to future input (e.HCNM H Gonunciation,spenot understand so that the teaching procedure cannot be kept ling),or to be more aware of their hypotheses about languagegoing,but if the input language or material is too easy,learners (Gass,Susan & Mackey,Alison 2006).In the class,Ms. Sheldon校园英语/语言文化and the students discussed how and why body language helps difficulties and the problems the met in the learning proceduretheir expression.In our daily life we can also realized that people and stimulate the cognition of the SL learning.In this case,the SLalways use body language when they cannot express themselves learners have the opportunities to test hypothesis,ssimilate theclearly,especially among the people who do not speak the same language and then produce more accurate,appropriate,complexfirst language.By discussing this,students could focus on their and comprehensible language.language and get the opportunities to search more informationConclusionand grasp more comprehensible input if that kind of conversationAccording to theories of input,interaction and output,peoplehappens again and then develop their SL learming.can find that the relationships among input,interaction andNegative evidence can lead learners to notice errors in their output are mutually complementary Input is the precondition ofown speech (Gass,Susan & Mackey,Alison 2006).Ms.Sheldon interaction and output while output promotes the input and thereminded the students of the tenses they should use when the interaction of language,which could increase the effectivenessstudents were working on their sentences and she also pointed of input and enhance the chance of the absorption of interaction.students errors and guided them to correct.For example,she This adult ESL class gives us a picture of how the SL learners getpointed one student error,“this is in the past right? So not information of the SL,absorb and digest the information,produce‘I am’,‘I am’ is today...and then the students said, “I language and form their language system in their SL learning.was”.In this way,the students could be more aware of their usesHowever 40 minutes could not conclude everything.of the word as well as the tenses and then pay more attention to Therefore in the current ESL teaching, input,interaction andtheir hypothesis about language.output should be paid relatively equal attention.Teachers :should3.Outputrecognize students’level,chose the most appropriate materialsOutput refers to the language that learners produce.Swain for which would fit the majority of students in the class andhas argued that production“ may force the learner to move enhance the quality of the language input to ensure students couldfrom semantic processing to syntactic processing”and many get the comprehensible input. For most SL learners,they lack ofresearchers have claimed that output provides a forum for enough confidence and feel afraid to communicate with othersreceiving feedback,which pushes learner to produce more accu using SL,especially with native speakers.So teachers should layrate,appropriate,complex,and comprehensible forms.Swain has emphasis on the students ’output.Besides the group work,thealso suggested that output provides an opportunity for learners method of output in the classroom can be various such as discusto test hypotheses about the target language,and modify them sion,debate,speech,presentation and interpretation or translation.where necessary (cited from Gass,Susan & Mackey,Alison 2006). However the major output during the class is focused on oralIn this case,the learner tests hypothesis by producing spoken expression since there is limited time for written practice,so therelanguage,which in turn takes the learner back to the process of could be some interesting written work for learners after class toassimilating changes to his or her grammar system (Block,David arouse students’interest and then reinforce the output of writing.2003,p.30).If there is no output,there is no test and evaluationThere is one last thing important that in order to receiveon input,thus SL learners could have no chance to check their a better effect of SL learning,teachers should help learnerslanguage and could have no comprehensible input any more.That overcome the psychological block, form confidence, increaseis the reason why many SL learners could not be able to use the and protect their interest of expression and respect their efforts.second language after manyIn this way,SL learners could have the better chance to getIn the class,the students produced language in every step. comprehensible input,ssimilate language during interaction andIn the first step,they produced language in words,and then in output more accurate and comprehensible second language.the second step produced language in spoken English by talkingReferences:about their ideas with their partners using those words.In thethird sep,hey produced language in written English by writing [1]Block,David 2003,The Social Turn in Second Languagedown 2 sentences using the past continuous tense and the simpleAcquisition,pp.26-30,Edinburgh:Edinburgh University Press.past tense.In the fourth step,combined with previous 3 steps,they[2]Gass,Susan & Mackey,Alison 2006, . Input,interaction andproduced the language by telling their partners and the classoutput:an overview’,AILA Review, Vol.19,Issue 1,pp.3-17.their final stories in their own words. Every output stimulates [3]Li Chao 2013,The infuence of Krashen' s input hypothesis onthe next output and the students were forced to move from teaching cllge English lstening in China.Studies in Lteraturesemantic processing to syntactic processing from step to step. and Language,Vol中国煤化工Also the process that students made mistakes and finally corrected作者简介: .MHCNMHGmistakes in some steps or even in every step,provided the chance杜岳青，女，土，厌八创工迪肯大学国际关for the students to pay attention to their language,notice the系专业研究生。- 205