Application Essay

Though there are as many as 5000 languages that are spoken in the world, English language is the language that is used the basic language of communication by most people in the world. It is also ranked the second most spoken language as a native language after the Chinese language. The reason why the English language is this widely spoken is that it is highly taught across the globe. It has become an avenue of business interactions and educational learning. Teaching the English language, therefore, needs to be a matter that is taken seriously, with adequate teaching methodologies being put in place. To make it easily trainable to the upcoming generations, teachers of English need to be versed with the different methods and learning approaches that can best allow the language to be imparted to the upcoming generations. I believe that widespread learning among teachers is necessary. I am therefore seeking to pursue a degree in the same so that I can have a better understanding of the language and the adequate learning and training methodologies to put in place. 

Learners of the English language especially those who learn English as a second language fail to understand the fundamental building blocks of the language. Most of the learners train themselves the language without understanding the basic necessities of the language. They approach it just like another subject or something that one is meant to learn. Consequently, the real touch of the language concerning flow and wording has changed from the original view (Lin & Chien, 2010). It is, therefore, necessary to understand that the English language has specific concrete that need to be followed while learning the language. Upon this understanding and not being a native speaker of the English language, my interests in understanding the specific concrete and abstract themes of the English language are some of the reasons that I am interested in the Bachelor program.

One of the reasons why I believe that the teaching of English as a second language is because people still base their abilities to learn and teach the language on their personal characteristics. The consideration of ability to learn and teach English based on personal characteristics is fuelled by the cognitive ability to speak in the native language fluently and have an understanding. However, the same approaches that are used in learning the native language could not be applicable while learning English (Nunan, 2015). Most secondary learners and teachers of English, therefore, fail to grasp the concepts of the language because they seek to apply the same native pedagogies on the English language which often do not work out. I, therefore, think that it is necessary for a learner or a teacher of language as a secondary language to approach the subject with the utmost regard for English as a new language that does not resemble their native languages. 

While still thinking of English and the way that it is taught, I think the secondary aspect of the language is one that is so wide. One of the secondary approaches is the teaching of English as a second language. The other secondary approach is viewing it as a foreign language while the last approach would be thinking of it as another language (Lin & Chien, 2010). All these approaches stand in the gap of anyone learning English as second language and not as a native language. A teacher would choose to approach the teaching of English as a second language in any of the perspectives. However, every one of the perspectives requires the trainer to understand the abstract concepts of the language. They need to focus on the language not just as a language but also as a tool for communication that is necessary and which is the reason that they are learning it.

Learning to teach a language as I have learned is about grasping the very little details concerning it. It is about sufficing oneself to grasp every minor detail that seems not meaningful. To me, every little detail as some aspect of the language that cannot be deconstructed by the very complex detail concerning the language. One of the issues that I lay emphasis on while learning a new language is the oral approach towards the language. While learning English for the very first time, I realized that there is a peculiar oral approach that concerns the language that is way different from my native language. The belief that all languages are similar and that by virtue of being spoken their oral approach is, all the same, is, therefore, one of the mythical issues that I learned about the English language. It is instead one that should be learned with ultimate regard for its spectacular oral tone (Fauziati, 2010). As a second learner of the language, therefore, I believe that I have had some understanding of the oral approach to the language in my lower levels of education. However, I want to perfect more on the same since I believe that there is something more about the oral codes accompanying the language that I have still not yet learned.

As a second learner of the English language, I observed the methods that could be put in place while learning the language. From my past research, I realized that English as a second language needs not to be taken lightly but as a kind of situational learning. Situational learning is a way of learning where one not only learns the language for the sake of it but also in the preparation of an expected situation. While learning the language for instance in the expectation of a standardized test, one will be required to observe issues such as the subject-verb agreement in a more critical manner (Fauziati, 2010). The learner of the language, therefore, may not lay as much concentration in how much that they can memorize the language or talk in the language, but rather they will concentrate on how much they can get the accuracy of the intricate grammatical structures surrounding the language. They will concentrate on formulating a theoretical foundation that could be so helpful to them just because of a particular situation. 

One of the best ways to teach the English language especially to second learners is the use of the audio-lingual pedagogy. The approach is quite applicable in situations where the native language dominates the mind of the second learners of the English language. The method is highly used in training students the English language in different areas where the English language is a second language. It involves the issuing of instructions using the English language. The instructions are issued using the language to make the learners understand that there is a new language being taught to them which they are expected to grasp fast (Nunan, 2015). The approach makes a sort of new thinking concerning the English language where they do not only speak using the language but also want to go further into learning more complex details of the language. An accumulated intelligence is developed where recognition of the difference between the language they are learning and their native language comes up instrumentally. The approach can however only be used for children as it is not very applicable to older people.

While writing and learning of how to teach English as a second language, I realized that where other approaches to not work as efficiently, the student-focused learning. I believe that student-centered learning is a kind of a democratic approach that seeks to ensure that the learners can air their concerns. I learned that were it not for the approach; I would not have been as polished as I am currently in the language. The reason as to why the student-centered approach is quite efficient is because it allows students to mix up and form groups. In one group, for instance, there will be a student whose English is their native language and one whose English is not a native language (Fauziati, 2010). Through observation and daily answering of questions, an easier way of learning the language amongst students who are not native speakers is enhanced. It is an authentic approach that unlike many other approaches to learning the language, coercion is not accepted at all. The needs of the students are addressed in the manner that they like it best giving them the confidence to try it out next time on their own.

My past academic work regarding teaching English as a second language gave me such an implicit understanding of English language. I learned that for English to make an impact on the learner especially one who needs to be a teacher of the language, they need to understand the language and make it an object of total communication. It ought not to just be taken as a new language for the learners of English who want to be teachers. Unlike the view of second language learners of English as people who can make good teachers, I learned that by the assumption of the learning process as total communication can be helpful to the learners. Total communication, in this case, will also make use of sign language, interactive communication and even frequent revisiting of what is learned. 

As a second learner of the English language, I made such a heavy concentration in researching and writing about how to perfect teaching skills in the language as a second learner. I learned that it was not an easy process for a learner of English as a second language because they have to understand not just the major aspects of the language but also the implicit minute details that make up the English language. The learning process is quite hard due to the influence of the native languages, but with the ultimate dedication to the process of learning, learning can be achieved instrumentally. My urge to engage in a Bachelor degree in arts therefore is for the purpose of learning more concerning my skills in the language to polish up on my present abilities and also to ensure that I have the capacity to be a better teacher to both young and elderly students who may also need to learn English as a second language. 

References

Fauziati, E. (2010). Teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL).

Lin, G. H. C., & Chien, P. S. C. (2010). An Introduction to English Teaching, A Textbook for English Educators.

Nunan, D. (2015). Teaching English to speakers of other languages: An introduction. Routledge.