Professional Language Teacher

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How can I be ready to become a professional language teacher? This is a question that is neither easy nor hard to answer. However given some thought and consideration to current research, theories of development and learning and also to other professionals in the profession this can be answered. There are many points that could be discussed and even more that need to be understood to be a professional language teacher but in this paper I will discuss just a few of the points I feel I need to consider when I become a professional language teacher. Recent research has shown that teachers of second languages should be encouraged to use the communicative language teaching approach (CLT) (Francis Mangubhai Perce Marland, Ann Dashwood and Jeong-Bae Son, 2004 ). This is an approach that highlights the importance of communicating during lessons in the language being taught, that is using as much of the language as possible to instruct the children during the lesson. I have done one round of placement in a Language classroom where CLT was used and I feel that the results where commendable. Children as young as prep and year one could understand the instruction to be quiet, sit on the floor, listen and look etc. research has proven that immersion programs are effective and this can be the closest to that in a real classroom. Children pick up English or their first language by hearing it daily and responding to it in daily routines so why not use it as much as possible in the classroom? Why not surround the children with it during class? Sure we can prompt them with sign language and the like, but encourage them to understand what you are asking. This I feel is also effective as the children will regularly be hearing the teacher use the language so they will get used to the sounds and rhythm of the language. Planning will be an essential part of an effective learning
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