The Right Lesson Plan and Environment for Teaching English

 Planning for the Right People in the Right Place
By Maynor Segura C.

I have heard teachers stating that English should be learned the way children learn it. I really worry about this statement because I think it is over simplification of the term “Language acquisition”. I do agree that exposure to the language is great when we are children, and analyzing the natural reaction children have when facing language,  but as an adult, exposure to a language and responding as a kid does,  seems  uncomfortable. For that reason, I do believe that teachers need to plan their lessons with activities and create the correct environment according to age and cultural background. 

 

From this perspective, I do not want to diminish the remarkable ability of children to communicate and how adults may take advantage of following the same patterns. However, there is a big difference between using those strategies to learn a language and forgetting about the linguistic input an adult can manage. 

In the end, it is also really important to teach adults different techniques on how to learn a language and not only to be exposed to that specific language.