TEACHING STRATEGIES

Teaching Strategies for EFL

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Teaching Strategies for EFL

Introduction

Countries are becoming more and more multi-racial and diversified in terms of culture and population. They need to learn the language spoken officially in their residing nation. Since English is the most widely used language in major parts of the world, therefore, teaching English as a Foreign Language have become a specialist skill and a profitable enterprise. EFL schools are increasing on a gradual basis, and so is the demand of teachers. In this report, the major focus is held on the nature of differentiation in English as a Foreign Language with a secondary attention on how it can serve to improve the learner's use and application of the English language. The issues of how differentiation aids the learner, how far-reaching are the differentiation strategies in EFL, and whether it has a scope to become more widespread in its acceptance into English Language teaching are addressed. This paper elaborates a literature review of the research. The different theories and concepts presented by scholars in regard to the teaching strategies are summarized and described in this part of the report.

Research Question

This research report aims to determine which strategies are the most effective in the teaching of EFL students so that they can communicate in proficient English.

Literature Review

With respect to EFL teaching methods, Gardner (2008) points out that students tend to memories grammatical rules, passages of written English and vocabulary to cope with the requirements for passing the grade level. He concludes the English teaching methods in learning classes are traditional, mostly following the Audio-Lingual Method (Mahfood, 2011). To give a clear picture of the whole setting, classrooms in the public schools are usually crowded, with 45 to 55 students in each classroom. On the other hand, English language labs (available in some schools) are rarely used by EFL teachers (Gallik, 2008).

Lack of Proper Training

Learning students spend six years at the intermediate and high-school levels learning English, along with other subjects. However, their English proficiency is generally considered being very poor in view of the time spent learning it (Clary, 2006). The assumption that students' achievement in English is low is based on many studies that examine the system of teaching English. There are no standardized national examinations to measure students' achievement in English.

Difficulties Faced by EFL Students

Many studies discuss the difficulties and problems which students generally encounter in learning English, including all language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The problem is that such a general and broad discussion of the difficulties and problems which students face in learning English might not be precise enough, since each language skill has its own related problems, factors, and circumstances affecting it (Sheorey, 2009). Consequently, the researcher felt that there is a strong need for investigating the difficulties and problems which students from the other regions encounter in learning English reading skills.

According to the literature on EFL reading, comprehension difficulties (poor or incomplete comprehension), reading speed difficulties (slow reading), ...