Education Theory Essay

English Language Learner (ELL), English as Second Language (ESL), and English as Foreign Language (EFL) are the teaching and learning strategies of English language for students whose first language other than language. The complexities and technicalities of English Language often confuse students having non-English background and especially those who live in non-English speaking countries (Ferris and Hedgcock, 1998). ELL, ESL, EFL and similar courses are designed to help students to enroot themselves in the basics and essentials of English from beginning. Importance of ELL Globalization has seen English becoming the language with maximum reach and influence, and it is taught in many nations as the second language. With English becoming the international language of commerce, business, law, technology and medicine, it is has become an essential career and communication tool. Estimates are that around 1. 5 billion people around the world, out of which more than 70 percent are non-native speakers of English, use English as a language of communication (Ferris and Hedgcock, 1998). In consequence there are host of full-fledged academies and dedicated institutions in many non English-speaking countries that design curriculum and try to select most appropriate course material to impart English communication skills to students (Gass and Schachter, 1996). On a secondary and more immediate level, there is a continuous influx of foreign nationals in USA and many of them lack formal communication training in English. The foreign nationals and students, who come to USA in thousands every year, share a combined language background of more than 1000 languages. The individual background of foreign nations s acts as a hindrance in their amalgamation with their immediate surrounding and culture, and presents the image of USA as an alien nation (Messerschmitt Vandrick and Hafernik, 1996). This obviously requires designing a comprehensive and all assimilating learning procedure that can act as cultural and linguistic melting pot. In this respect ELL assumes a very important role, providing a crucial cross over opportunity to foreign students, imparting the necessary communication learning and teaching that is essential for their survival in the generally English surrounding (Messerschmitt Vandrick and Hafernik, 1996). Theories in ELL designing Most of the students passing through traditional ELL courses have reported difficulty in actual understanding of content and implications of English language when they face it in the real life situation. In this perspective, researchers have theorized that by observing the model of English education imparted in native English speaking countries and modeling the ELL courses on those parameters (Messerschmitt Vandrick and Hafernik, 1996). The most prevalent and popular pedagogy model observed for native students showed that students were required to study novels, short stories, literature work, and were required to devote their time to writing. The formal schooling requires students to get well versed in descriptive, narrative, argumentative and imaginative style of writing (Gass and Schachter, 1996). These models also required students to undertake discussion and expositions on the literature material they covered during the course along with developing their own text, expressing their own ideas and reviewing and analyzing other works. Most of the major educational institutions have started following this process-oriented approach in language education that makes learning of language as a non-directional endeavor, enabling students to develop their inner thinker and writer and empowering them to imbibe, rather than learn, English language (Ferris and Hedgcock, 1998). Since 1980s, researchers have found that ELL methods succeeded mostly for students who were encouraged to develop a cognitive and create approach towards English through the process of writing (Messerschmitt Vandrick and Hafernik, 1996). Writing helps students to think originally, compose ideas in a logical way, transfer the essential communication strategies to students and enable them to develop a reflective intuition on interpretation of English text and language. There are a number of additional studies and researches to prove that learning strategies that are based on the model of primary education techniques have been successful in creating the most effective set of models (Gass and Schachter, 1996).