TESOL Hengyang

In this Unit I learned that speaking and writing are productive language skills. I learned that writing is related to accueracy and speaking to fluency. Accuracy activities, like in the study phase, are more focused on language production and during them we will confirm students understanding and use of it. While, during fluency activities, like in the active phase, are more focused on communication skills, students experiment and create. There are many kinds of speaking activities: controlled activities (like drilling), guided activities (like guided role plays) and creative communication (like discussions and debates). I learnt teachers should create the need and desire, in students, to communicate; that we should encourage interaction between them and that there are ways to achieve that, like working in pairs, groups, or even by making great planning of our lessons. In addition, teachers can create a relaxed atmosphere that can help shy students become more confident and feel secure to make mistakes. We should always encourage our students to write, to spell and to improve in all skills, even though, it might be challenging for students whose first language is very different to English. We should also encourage creative writing like making funny sentences, poems or even stories. Lastly, games should be regarded as learning tools for spelling, pronunciation, vocabulary, etc. and not as an activity to waste time on without purpose.