Second Language Paradigms can be said to be the concept of passing on information or knowledge to academia.
According to research, most scholars or non-native speakers find it difficult to understand and assimilate most teaching patterns used by their teachers. Thus making them unable to cope in their line of course and being absent from lecture.
For any teacher to be able to pass on sound knowledge of education to their scholars irrespective of the race or language of instruction, they must have a pattern of teaching, and some of the patterns will be discussed in detail.
The teachers must have a one on one or intimate teaching relationship with their scholars for them to have a sound understanding of how to carry out their teaching pattern since both the international and native speaking students have different ways of understanding hence making it difficult for them to assimilate whatever they are being taught.
Once the teacher is familiar with the scholars, depending on their level of knowledge, the introduction of phonetics and vowels and how to make up words through speaking, reading, and listening will be the basic teaching pattern (Richards & Rodgers). The language of instruction must be put into consideration since most of the scholars are classified as international students. They have to be instructed in a clear and loud voice and every word or assignment being taught has to be repeated before and after writing it down on the blackboard (Richards & Rodgers, p. 11).
The teacher must distribute handouts as a study guide, for this will always act as a study guide or a source of revision for them wherever they are, making it easier to learn after lectures, in a situation whereby its difficult to understand objects or words that relate to objects, the introduction of physical objects or diagram for identification has to be put in place for visual viewing and proper identification (Richards & Rodgers, p. 12).
On achieving this, great emphasis will be laid on the introduction of the different parts of speech or structuring of grammar and rhetoric (e.g., phrases, clauses, and sentences), which will help the students build up on how to make sentences and where to place each word to make a good sentence (Richards & Rodgers, p. 13). Though it’s a gradual process that requires patience and time, each assignment or class reading must be given in segments for easy understanding and vocabulary building. After each classwork, every assignment must be dictated to scholars for identification and familiarity with words and sentences, hence building up their writing skills and also improving their reading ability.
Subsequently, all scholars, irrespective of their culture, must be involved in group assignments and also be called on to explain the topic of discussion after every topic. This builds up their structure of grammar, hence enabling them to express themselves and also understand the topic of instruction. Though some students are slow in learning, be it native or non-native speaker, and needs enough time in their way of expression. However, the teacher has to be liberal and encouraging in teaching, making the students assume they are one family and learning will be fun.
Through group learning, the teacher will be able to pass more knowledgeable ideas and information that will be beneficial to both the native and non-native speakers in the way that they will learn from others’ mistakes and adjust in their learning wherever they might have gone wrong. It also helps in building the native speakers morally and academically. However, the class must be grouped in a way that both the native and non-native speakers will fit in the group, thereby building confidence and being able to share ideas.
The teacher must give the scholars a written and oral test regularly to know their performance after every topic, either once a week or in two weeks. Some of the things that must be considered when given such a test is writing in a simple and correct language that they will understand and be able to answer correctly; the question has to be typed and printed in a clear and correct format for the scholars to understand each word and sentence being asked by the questionnaire. Extra time must be given to them so that they can be able to arrange themselves while answering questions, and they are to be given the opportunity of asking questions when they are not sure of the word or sentence that they are being tested on. For non-native speakers, the use of a dictionary must be allowed for checking the meaning of words that are confusing to them.
During tests and examinations, the question must be explicative and similar to what they have learned before and also avoid many vocabularies, which may sometimes confuse the students. The sitting arrangement must be in a way that they will not be able to copy from one another, and strict supervision must be carried out.
Reference
Richards, Jack C. Rodgers, Theodore S. Approaches and methods in language teaching, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001.