Page 338 - Teaching English as a Foreign Language for Dummies 2009
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Chapter 22
Distinguishing Monolingual and Multi-lingual Classes
In This Chapter
▶ Handling classes in which everyone speaks the same language ▶ Teaching multi-lingual classes
▶ Comparing two teaching situations – at home and abroad
English is English wherever you go but the nature of classes varies tremendously. In this chapter I tell you about learning environments at home and abroad and give you some tips on handling similar and diverse students.
Speaking the Same: Monolingual Classes
In the majority of EFL courses, all the students speak the same native language. These usually run in the students’ home land. These classes tend to be larger in size than multi-lingual groups and the students are quite often from the same background and age group as well.
Predicting errors
The advantage of teaching monolingual classes is you can fairly easily predict problem areas, or L1 interference. L1 means first language – mother tongue, in other words. L2 is a second or foreign language.
Most people who speak another language have an accent which reveals where they’re from and usually make mistakes typical of anyone from the same language group. Their mother tongue influences pronunciation, structure and vocabulary. The good news is that because all the students have the same problems it’s easier to predict what could go wrong.
