TESOL

Essay Assignment

92th WD TESOL

HONG YU JIN (Yujin)

As an English learner, I think I was a very lucky person because I had many chances to experience a second language environment since I was 7 years old. Some environments were successful and helped me a lot to improve my English while others were less helpful.

I entered International school in Abijan when I was 7 years old and that was my first experience of second language environment. At that time, I only knew how to read Alphabet and couldn’t utter a word in English. However, surprisingly, I absorbed the second language at a very high speed and I think the reason was, the classroom was quite close to modern classroom and the teachers were very enthusiastic. There were only 15 to 20 students and the desks were arranged in circle so we could not only see teachers but see each other and talk freely. Teachers gave us lots of live demonstrations and I learned English naturally from my school life which was ‘experiential learning’. Also, I joined a drama club and was selected as a leading actress and that was an unforgettable memory of my life. Because of my bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, I still remember some of my part in the play.

After 2 years in Abijan, I came back to Korea and didn’t use or try to learn English at all for 4 years until entering middle school. At that time, I thought that I must have totally forgotten English and my level for English should be ‘beginner’ but actually, I was a ‘false beginner’. Therefore, achieving high marks in English was not so difficult for me. However, the conditions, atmosphere and teachers in Korea were very different from what I have experienced in Abijan. Most of the teachers were explainers. Teachers only gave us lectures, homeworks and tests based on text books and they did most of the talking and we had to listen and take notes. Students were generally and personally not involved in the classroom and it was really boring. Many teachers forced us to memorize hundreds of vocabularies and I had to do it, though reluctantly, and it lead to a problem with retention. Moreover, there were over 50 students in one classroom and the level of students were all different, so teachers were very strict and wanted students to obey them, instead of trying to establish close rapport with them. That was a typical and traditional classroom, with teacher-centered and passive students.  During middle and high school period, English was still my favorite subject but I didn’t really enjoyed studying English and my productive skills like speaking and writing haven’t improved.

While at university, I took a year off and went to England to take an English language course and I can tell you for sure that those time I spent in England was the most valuable time for me as a second language learner. At the first day of language school, I had a level test which was about grammar and reading and I got the highest score, so I was put in at an advanced level class. However, I was very shocked to find out that I fell far behind other students in speaking and writing skills. I had to accept the fact that at first, I was a passive student. But fortunately, teachers were great and admirable. They were involver and sometimes enabler. Compared to teachers in Korea, they gave many chances to students to  participate in lots of activities using various materials. Teachers were always good at eliciting and we talked more than teachers. As we were all adult learners, most of the students were goal-oriented and relevancy-oriented so they were very active and willing to learn what they need. Also, the atmosphere was respectable and both teachers and students treated each other with empathy. It was totally a modern classroom with student-centered environment.

In the past, I had experienced lots of teaching and I believe these experiences with my own teachers will influence my teaching attitude and manner. Of course it’s crucial for teacher to be an expert and to give clear and positive feedback to students. But I also think that it is teacher’s duty to create authentic environment for learning and be a facilitator and empathize with students. Also, taking TESOL course, I realized that every learners has different characteristics, so when I become a teacher, I will do my best to find out what will be the best way to teach my students more effectively and efficiently.