ESL/ELL Issues
Teaching English as a Second Language is indeed challenging due to various reasons. One of the barriers to teaching ESL addressed in this year New York times news is the issue of cultural shock. Cultural shock refers to cultural differences teachers in many cases face when they are teaching natives speakers English as a Second Language (ESL). Many of the cultural issues are deep-rooted in the language they use. Most of the students might be used to using their native language, and hence conforming to a new culture becomes quite challenging. Teachers also find it difficult to be fully integrated into a new culture, which is different and unique from theirs. A new culture tends to make teachers realize how far they are from their own culture, where they won’t have to struggle to teach something new using English.
Articles have been published to support the existence of cultural shock in ESL classes. One of the articles is one study done by Walkinshaw in 2012. In his article, he focused on native and nonnative speaking English teachers in Vietnam. This is a clear depiction of cultural shock. In the article, English is depicted as a second language the Vietnamese are exposed to learn. According to the research, English learners prefer to be taught English by native speaker teachers than the nonnative English teachers (Walkinshaw & Duong, 2012). The second article brings out clearly the challenges students face when it comes to ESL classes. The article focuses on the challenges the Chinese students face when adjusting to college life in the united states. English is a new and second language to them, and when they come to the united states, they have to adjust and make it their first language, which is quite difficult.
The cultural shock when it comes to teaching English as a second language is a common problem across the world. This is because of the different cultural backgrounds we have that are deep-rooted into ethnical languages we are born into. It is indeed true that no one can be fully integrated into a different and unique culture very easily (Ching et al. 2017). There are always challenging moments that make it hard and even triggers your memory to show what you are missing from home. This applies to both teachers and students involved in the ESL learning process.
The two articles are important to a teacher’s life and course work. The teachers can know the challenges faced when they are new to a certain teaching environment. Besides, they can know the benefits of interacting with people from different cultures while they are doing their coursework. Through such an experience, they will develop a mechanism to cope with the day to day challenges in their coursework and general life. This is because they are aware of the factors surrounding their life and work and hence can be able to deliver positive impacts to their students despite cultural shocks.
In my own opinion and based on reflections provided in the two articles, I think you need to be creative to overcome such challenges whether you are a teacher or a student faced with such an ESL issue. After all, we are moving and changing directions to interact with different people, learn new things, and improve our personal lives. Hence, no matter what, you may be faced with culture shock in the education aspect if you are a teacher or a student. As a teacher, it is important to take an approach of symbiotic relationship. In this case, it is important to also consider both languages when teaching. Do not just focus on English as a Second language teaching process. You can also integrate their own home and native language to show students that their language is also valued despite them being exposed to a new language, a second language.
Students can deal with cultural shock in a very special way. They need assistance from parents and their teachers. Considering that not all students suffer from cultural shock, they can help each other in dealing with the problem of integrating into a new culture. In addition, you need to explain to the child as a parent or a teacher that the process is natural, and they will adjust slowly. Besides, students can switch off from the pressures of cultural shock by engaging in after school sporting activities such as music and sports competition. Through such activities, she will interact and make new friends who will help her to overcome the feeling of cultural shock and creates happiness.
References
Ching, Y., Renes, S. L., McMurrow, S., Simpson, J., & Strange, A. T. (2017). Challenges facing Chinese international students studying in the United States. Educational Research and Reviews, 12(8), 473-482.
Walkinshaw, I., & Duong, O. T. H. (2012). Native-and Non-Native Speaking English Teachers in Vietnam: Weighing the Benefits. Tesl-Ej, 16(3), n3.