Learning English as my second lenguage

Over the years, the methods of teaching second or foreign languages have changed a great deal. Emerging research and philosophical debates have greatly affected the study of how students learn and how a second language is acquired. In second language teaching, methods have moved from teacher-centered approaches to learner-centered approaches that emphasized the student as a whole (Peregoy, 52). Methods have also moved from an emphasis on linguistic competence and grammar structures to communicative competence and learning strategies. Language learning is no longer seen as simply an academic subject to be learned. It is now an act that can transform a person and offer independence (Cavanaugh, 40).

English as a Second Language has been a part of the history of the United States since Colonial times. Even at that time, the colonies were a mixture of many different nationalities and languages. As the colonies grew, there became a need for a sense of unity, so the leaders began to work for national literacy. Many of the colonies formed schools of their own in which the native languages of the colonists were utilized, but eventually many of these schools became English-speaking. Although Colonial government could not prevent groups from forming schools of various languages, early colonial leaders such as Benjamin Franklin stressed Americanization though education and the teaching and preservation of the English language to strengthen the government. This idea was strengthened with the American Revolution, which emphasized building common bonds and loyalties to build the new nation (Peregoy, 52).

Communicative approaches, which stress language learning for the purpose of oral and written instruction, differ from structural approaches, which focus on the structure of the language such as grammar and syntax. Several communicative approaches appeared between the 1960s and 1980s. These approaches reduced emphasis on grammatical structures and recognized ...