Exposing Students to the Language

The assumption that language learners should be exposed only to the forms they are taught is a wrong assumption as students supposedly learn the language to be prepared for a global economy, enhance their professional and educational opportunities, and hone their communication abilities. As such, students should be exposed as much as possible to a lot of material that open their minds and enrich their vocabulary. So, I give students a hell of comprehension passages that not only open up their minds but also increase their knowledge of sentence construction, subject-verb agreement, sense of language, and paragraph construction.

I do this both in class and out of class. Out of class, I give my students assignments on websites for English exams like English Test Store, mainly comprehension passages or ask them to watch Ted Talks videos and write their comments on them.  Next term, I will make them record their voice reflections on the assigned talks.

As I have a problem with time, so the assigned assignments give them an opportunity to be exposed, practice the language and get more comfortable with using it. The assigned material is new, uncommon and online so they do it anyplace and anytime but before the assigned day. I also introduced students to the idea of MOOCs and many began to take writing courses MOOCs, MOOCs in engineering, management, and computer science (CLIL). This not only improved their English level but enhanced their learning opportunities. Many  students find this practice empowering, as it really helps them improve their language and enhance the idea that play a definite role in their self-development.

Another reason for assigning other material, although it might be nice to limit what a student is taught, to ensure that they perfect what they are learning, is that this is unrealistic. English is the most spoken language in the world, and even within the United States, the variations of dialect, idiomatic expressions, tone and accent are numerous. To only learn the English of one small area would make moving even 500 miles a big difficulty.  For instance; the accent and idioms in Texas are vastly different from those in Maine. Further, if you travel from Texas to India or to Australia, the accent and idioms will be entirely different. If the student can learn to understand the underlying structure, they can fill in the blanks where accent, dialect and idioms come in to play.

A lot of the internet is in English, and most of that English is “standard, American” English, which for an intermediate learner should be easy enough to navigate pretty successfully. But behind all of that “standard English” text, is a huge variety of accents. If the student only hears a Midwestern American accent (which is what American television normally portrays), they would be lost hearing other accents. It is hard to sort out different variations of English from one another, and it can be exhausting. I know a Spanish guy that I can readily understand some accents, and others are completely baffling to me. The more variety the student hears and deals with, the wider their view of the language, and the more they will be able to suit their speech to the situation. More slang and idioms with friends, more formal with an employer, etc. This variation and elasticity is what makes a person truly “fluent” in a language.   

Being more exposed is empowering.