TEACHING ACROSS PROFICIENCY LEVELS

Defining proficiency levels

Proficiency levels range from 0 (unable to function in the spoken language) to 5 (speaking proficiency is functionally equivalent that to that of a highly articulate, well-educated native speaker). The teacher has to be able to teach whatever level beginning levels, intermediate levels, and advanced levels.

Teaching beginning levels

Teaching beginners is considered by many to be the most challenging level of a language instruction, for in this level the majority of students do not know anything about the target language. Therefore, the teachers have to be patient with them. Moreover, there are ten factors that can help to teachers to approach to the students, for example one of them is teacher talk. It refers to speak clearly and slowly, but not too slow, use simple vocabulary, and not need to talk louder.

Teaching intermediate levels

The students have progressed beyond novice stages to an ability to sustain basic communicative tasks, to establish some minimal fluency. In this stage, they are able to establish a conversation with vocabulary according to their level. Intermediate levels consider the same 10 factors of beginning levels, but   they are more complex that in the past for example: student's cognitive learning processes consists in the mental processes of communication are starting to automatize.   

Teaching advanced levels

The students are able to talk with fluency along with a greater degree of accuracy. When the students are in this level, they are nearer to fulfill their objectives because they are in the top of their English levels. Moreover, this level has the same ten factors that help to develop their English. One of the ten factors is techniques; some techniques that teachers can use in this level are group debates, argumentation, and complex role-plays; moreover, they are able to write essays, summarize, responses, and critiques.   

TEACHING ACROSS AGE LEVELS

Everybody knows that teaching children, teens and adults are not the same. Therefore, teachers cannot use the same techniques for each age levels because each level is totally different to the others. They should not be ready only in a specific level. Either adults or children have the same right for learning if they want to. Moreover, each age levels have different ways to see the life, for example adults take their studies very serious, but some children and teens see their studies like something that they must to do and pass. 

Teaching children

Children are full of energy, and their brain is young and fresh. Moreover, they don't have responsibilities that affect them (in the majority of cases) the teacher has to take advantage of that energy and canalize it. Children learn better when they are motivated; for that reason, teacher should motivate their students, creating an atmosphere of confidence.

Teaching adults

In teaching adults, the teachers can use some principles of teaching children but in different way because adults cannot be treating like children. They have acquired a self-confidence that teachers cannot find in children. Moreover, they are more able to handle abstract rules and concepts, adults with their more developed abstract thinking ability, are better able to understand a context-reduced segment of language.

Teaching teens

Teachers have to consider to students that are in a stage of transition, confusing, self-consciousness, growing, and changing body and minds. On the other hand, they are in between childhood and adulthood. This age level is a little complicated because they have to design a special set of considerations apply to teaching them. Moreover, students in this age levels are able to abstract operational thought and to increase capacities for abstraction lessen the essential nature of appealing to all five senses.

NATURAL APPROACH METHOD ACTIVITY

WHAT I LIKED FROM MY PRESENTATION.

What I really liked from my presentation was that I did not  need to use extra things in my activity; for example, I did not  use visual aids, CD-player, and canyon.  I only needed to explain the activity to my classmates and encouraged them to start the activity (a debate). Although the natural approach method is for beginners, the activity that I presented can be used in all the levels of learning English. It is interesting and entertaining; for that reason, many people like to participate in this activity. Moreover, you can hear many points of view or opinions about a certain topic.

WHAT I COULD HAVE IMPROVE.

I could have organized better the time because ten minutes was not enough for this activity. Moreover, I could have carried a piece of paper for each participant of the activity where they could read the rules, indications, and posture for each group.  I could have made extra papers with some points about the topic for gaining time. Then, I could have given it for each person. Finally, I learned many things that I could have improved in my presentation for the next I will do it better.

 DID I FEEL COMFORTABLE?

I felt comfortable during the activity; however, at the beginning of the activity I was nervous because it was the first time that I was acting as a real teacher and was the first time that I was developing an activity in front of the people. After that I was comfortable because the students or classmates started to participate in an active way with me. To sum up, I did not want to stop the activity because it was interesting and entertaining, and everyone was participating and giving their points of view.

WHAT I THINK ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES MY OTHER CLASSMATES PRESENTED.

I like all the activities that my classmates have presented because each activity has a purpose in the classroom. I like the activities of the lexical approach method because this method helps us to speak like a native speaker. Moreover, we can learn a lot of idioms and slang vocabulary. Moreover, I like the activity that developed Cristy because I think that it was very interesting and entertaining   for the student, for they can use their imagination and creativity.

NATURAL APPROACH METHOD

What I liked from my method.

What I liked from my method is that the teachers do not use their mother tongue because this method is based in the target language; moreover, it is not based in grammar. It is based in communication, and the students should not  use their native language. I liked the teacher's roles because the teacher has the responsibility to create a classroom atmosphere where the students can develope high motivation, self-confidence and low axiety. this method has the main purpose that people learn in natural way; in other words, in unconscious way where they can learn and enjoy the class at the same time.

What I did not like from my method.

What I did not like from my method  is that natural approach is for begginers, and it is designed to help them become intermediates. From my point of view, this method has good activities that they can help us to learn many things; moreover, I did not like that learners do not learn anything or almost anything about grammar, they just learn how to commuicate with other people. It is good; however, the students need to know when they are committing grammatical errors, and they also need to know how to correct them.

What I understood  from the others methods.

What I understood from Community Language Learning method is that the teacher and student work to develop what aspects of la language they would like to learn together. It makes the classes more interesting because the students are learning things that they want to learn; moreover, the teacher acts as a counsellor and a paraphraser, while the learners act as a collaborator. However, this method is something difficult to understand because the teacher plays a secondary rol in the class.

What I understood from  Task Based is that this method focuses on the use of authentic language on asking students to do meaningful task using the target language. Moreover I learnt that the teacher's role is to prepare the task which will be expose in the class for example, the teacher has to select the task; then the students have to do that task in pairs or in small groups. Finally, if the students have doubts, they can ask to the teacher to reinforce.

The expert in anything was once a beginner.

I love this quote because this few words express many things; moreover, it expresses the reality of the life. everyone was a beginner because no one is born perfect. Therefore, we learn something new each day. when I was a child, I was very bad in many things for example, I could not read very well, I couldn't play soccer, I couldn't drive well etc. but now maybe I am not expert; however, I am better than in the past. 

Many people think that they are perfect, but they are so wrong  beacuse the mankind is imperfect and it means that we need  someone else during our whole life. everybody before to be expert needed a teacher who teach how to be successfull in this life for that reason we have to be humble and we don´t have to judge people because there is only one perfect and expert and he is god.

teachers are very important because they play a big rol in our life; moreover, they take the responsability to teach us many things while we are studying for example.

1. They teach us how to be successful  in our life. it includes family, work, friends etc.

2. Teachers are like our second parents because they take care us from many bad things.

3. They give us advices about how to behave in  our life.

4. Even they are happy when we achieve many good things.

As you can see the teachers are very important because before to be expert in anything, we were a beginners and we needed of them in great part of our life for that reason to be a teacher is a previlege. most people think that the worst prefession in this country is to be a teacher; however, it is the best profession in this world because behind a doctor there is a teacher, behind a lawyer there is a teacher too.

As I told you behind any profession there is a teacher so that means that to be a teacher is the best profession in the world. the experts in anything had to learn many things from other people for example if you want to learn something about medicine, you have to learn from someone else for that reason we don't have to forget that the future  depends of us now because the today's begginers become the tomorrow's experts.