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Methods And Environments Used In Teaching Second Language

In order to learn or study English as a second language and be successful at it, the students must be assisted by the teacher to acquire the four language arts skills; namely,  speaking, listening , reading and writing. To achieve  this the teacher has to teach  using different method of teaching, by  varying his method of teaching assimilation will be visible.

Malinowski (1991) asserted that composition writing is a difficult skill to acquire, and recommended therefore that teachers must use a  variety of methods for teaching English language. Ellis and Tomlison (1980), indicated some basic  skills to be taught to learners  so that  they can write essay proficiently, such skills include, spelling, punctuation, linguistic skills and convention of style.
Reyner et al (2001:57) ascertained that many  good teachers are adaptive rather than rigid in their approach to teaching the students in learning English. Trifonoviteh (1981) indicated that a students is automatically placed at a disadvantage when he already has a language  of his own and he is asked to learn another language. The teacher  has a lot  to do inorder to make teaching and learning a success by using series  of method he can achieve this.

Bright and McGregor (1970), said that language skills  could be acquired  through practice. The students have to talk, read and write very well under the teacher’s guidance if they are to make  progress Galliher et al (1995) states that teachers must assume the role of “resource brokers” The implication of this is that teachers should become familiar with a variety of instructional  delivery methods, rather than rely on one “best way”.

In addition to the use of different teaching methods, Cleve (1992) and Oluikpe (1979) advocated the use of method such as guided controlled and free writing techniques  in essay writing., the goal of controlled expression is to instill in  the learners  or students the faculties  needed to produce clear piece of composition  free from all grammatical errors. This is because English grammar has it ‘s own set of complicated rules and regulations which makes it a tough language to conquer.

A good number of students struggle with these rules,  and cannot really understand many of these principles. To make matters worse, English itself is of  different varieties. This is why different  regions have their own English accent so if English is spoken in fifty different regions, it is likely that it is  spoken in fifty different ways. This explains why  it is difficult for students to understand  native English. Thus, there is a very clear gap to be bridged between  the  teacher  and the students before actual communication and education can be effective. This can be achieved through the use of different method of teaching. Teachers are not altering  their instructional practices  in spite of the coming of the new instructional technologies. In additionally, most teachers have depended on textbooks  and the chalkboards as media  for disseminating knowledge  a  the classroom. With the current practice by English  language teachers in senior secondary schools,  their  students are greatly deprived without access to modern instructional media.

School Learning Environment    
The  environment plays an important role in both physical and intellectual growth of the learners and this  affects most of the behavoural characterization shown in different persons.
Orisawayi (1985) indicated that the size of the class and  its setting act as constraints in the teachers  plan for the verbal  performance of the learners. According to him, a reasonable size of the class, which might facilitate verbal performance would  be between ten and twenty learners.
Also Aliji (1980),  indicated that the large size of the class discourages assignment, it is common in most of the secondary schools these days to have up to fifty students in a class. In this kind of situation, majority of the students are not allowed to express themselves.

Most students do not learn in environment that is conducive to effect learning many people uses the school’s premises as shortcut  to their destination. People often move through the paths and across the playing fields in many of the schools  thereby distracting the attention of the learners.      










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