Reflection on Effective Learning of English

Running head:REFLECTION: TESOL 1
Reflection: TESOL
Name
Institution
REFLECTION: TESOL

REFLECTION: TESOL 2
Introduction
Learning and teaching English to non-English speaking students in Australia requires
the appropriate employment of effective tools and strategies. In this reflection paper, I
attempt to present my account as a learner and teacher of foreign languages. Furthermore, I
delve into the ideal vision that encompasses the principles, approaches, and conditions that
guide an individual towards effective learning and teaching of the English language as an
additional language to students. This reflection ends with a conclusion which functions to
summarize the contents of the entire reflective essay. The conclusion will also elaborate on
the effective means of balancing the ideal methods and the reality as seen in the learning and
teaching of English to non-English speaking students.
My Account
In my high school education, I was enrolled in a German Language class. In this class,
the teacher introduced us to the basic German words. Greetings, common inquiries and
common things were the major things that I learned in the German class. In our German
class, our teacher explicitly used the series methods and approaches to teach us the “new”
German language. In many instances, I usually associate my lack of knowledge and
comprehension of the German language to my high school teacher’s method and approach. In
the series method, the teacher is only tasked to provide a number of “connected sentences in
tandem” (“Language Teaching Methods: A brief history"). These sentences usually
correspond to actions and activities. In my opinion, I could have preferred the direct method
to the series method. In the former, students are thoroughly taught of a new language through
lots of oral narration and with no or less oral narration (Mickel, 2016). Whereas the series
method was more focused on grammar and sentence construction, the thorough oral narration
could have been effective in teaching. At present, I confess, I misremember everything that I

REFLECTION: TESOL 3
was taught in German during my high school. Although I may take half the blame, more than
half the blame should be taken to our teacher's ineffective methods of teaching.
My two Arabic friends have presented me the evidence that teaching English, or
rather, any foreign language, is not an easy affair. Omar Mohammad, one of my close Arabic
friends, usually exposes me to the challenges experienced when teaching foreign languages.
Apart from the many translations that he usually demands, teaching English to Omar is a
tedious task. Courtesy of his curiosity, Omar asks many questions that concern English
mechanics, sentence constructions, tenses, and grammar. Considering that English is very
broad, I can admit that sometimes I am incapacitated to answer some of his questions.
According to (Marlina, 2017), English international teachers ought to fully understand the
variety of features of the English that they speak, before even learning about the other
varieties of English. Therefore, before venturing into teaching English, I have to sharpen and
broaden my knowledge of English. On the other hand, I also find Arabic very difficult to
comprehend. When any of my Arabic friends receive a phone call from his relatives, I find it
very difficult to understand their language. Omar, for instance, encourages me by joking that
the difficulties I face to learn Arabic are half as he faces when learning English. Although
Omar’s assertions usually render me as a poor teacher, I acknowledge the fact that there is an
overt difference between literature and culture. However, I appreciate that these differences
can be solved by the use of certain sets of effective principles, approaches conditions.
Overview of Principles, Approaches, and Conditions
As aforementioned, teaching and learning of English to non-English speaking
students demand a lot of energy and expertise. First, students that need to learn English may
not be willing to learn the new language. Negative attitude and lack of motivation are
identified to be among the chief barriers of learning English to non-English speaking students