Are You Teaching English as a Subject or As a Language?
If you’re an ESL, EFL, or ESOL teacher, English is likely your first language or a strong second language. That means you probably studied English in primary and or secondary school.
During those days, it may have been referred to as English class; more particularly, a subject class, much along the lines of other subjects such as math, science, and history classes.
There’s nothing wrong with learning facts; in fact (pun intended), we need rules to form the foundations of communication. But what often happens, is ESL teachers inadvertently bring this formal mindset to their classrooms—that English is a subject, instead of a language.
In math class for example, you were taught:
- 1 + 1 = 2
- 2 x 2 = 4
- 24 ÷ 8 = 3
- 10 apples minus ½ = 5 apples
In science class, you were taught:
- Cells have a nucleus.
- Water freezes at 0 degrees Celsius (at sea level).
- Mammals are warm-blooded creatures.
In history class:
- Alexander the Great was an exceptional military strategist.
- World War II began in 1939 and ended in 1945.
- NATO was formed in 1949.
- The Berlin wall came down in 1989.
- And the like.
Interestingly, in English class you were also taught a few facts:
- Basic parts of a sentence.
- Adjectives come before nouns.
- Prepositions have nouns as objects.
- The past tense is used to refer to an action that began and ended in the past.
- Etc.
There’s nothing wrong with learning facts; in fact (pun intended), we need rules to form the foundations of communication. But what often happens, is ESL teachers inadvertently bring this formal mindset to their classrooms—that English is a subject, instead of a language.
The result is that instead of preparing students for life outside the classroom, we’re teaching them only academic points of the language. And you’ve probably encountered these types of learners. They can tell you much about English grammar, but when it comes to using English, they stumble or cannot express themselves.
That’s likely because they’ve been taught in terms of right and wrong, correct and incorrect language use and are too busy formulating “correct” sentences in their minds to be fluent. They’ve learned the "facts" of the structure of the language but haven’t been encouraged to use the language fluently.
That’s likely because they’ve been taught in terms of right and wrong, correct and incorrect language use and are too busy formulating “correct” sentences in their minds to be fluent. They’ve learned the "facts" of the structure of the language but haven’t been encouraged to use the language fluently.
Instead, they’re drilled with the rules and pass tests instead of being shown the possibilities. English for them is more of a subject to be mastered than a language to be used. They must have picked that up from somewhere [smile].
The following checks will help you determine if you treat your class as an English subject class or as a language class:
1. Do your class members sit in rows and receive your instruction?
Reflect on Your Practices
The following checks will help you determine if you treat your class as an English subject class or as a language class:
1. Do your class members sit in rows and receive your instruction?
2. Do you think in terms of correct or incorrect answers, mistakes, and errors?
3. Do learners pass or fail English language tests in your class?
4. Do your class members do well on tests and quizzes but cannot speak fluently?
5. Do you pounce on learners’ “errors” even while they’re speaking?
6. Do you often teach the “proper” way of saying things?
7. Do you use such expressions as, “you must say it like this,” “you mustn’t say it like that,” or “that’s not the proper way to say it,” etc.?
If these points ring true or sound familiar to you, it’s quite possible you’re treating your classes as English subject classes. As a result, your class members are learning about English but not necessarily learning to use English.
To treat your ESL class as a language class, try the following ideas to sort of recondition your thinking:
1. Try viewing English as a language for communication.
2. Realize that there are multiple ways to express the same message (e.g., the elevator is on your right, the elevator is to your right, the elevator is on the right side, the elevator is on your right hand side, etc.).
3. Give your class members more opportunities to use English than to learn about it.
4. Try speaking in terms of, “I understood what you said quite well, but you can also say it like this.”
5. Offer ESL learners multiple options for how something can be expressed.
6. Seek to understand what a learner is saying and help them express it on their terms instead of what you think they should say.
7. Remember, when you treat English as a formal academic subject, your learners will too—they’ll clam up so as not to give the wrong answers. So, try creating an environment where expression is welcomed and feedback is provided in a gentle manner.
8. Show learners that even native speakers don’t use English perfectly. In fact, is there a perfect English?
If this already sounds like you, congratulations! You’re working with your class members toward them being able to use English.
We must remember that many, if not most of the people we teach need to use English to accomplish a goal. That goal could be anything from getting a good score on an English proficiency test, studying in an English-speaking country, working abroad, career advancement, professional development, business expansion, chatting with new friends in other countries, or even something as simple as wanting to enjoy Hollywood movies.
3. Give your class members more opportunities to use English than to learn about it.
4. Try speaking in terms of, “I understood what you said quite well, but you can also say it like this.”
5. Offer ESL learners multiple options for how something can be expressed.
6. Seek to understand what a learner is saying and help them express it on their terms instead of what you think they should say.
7. Remember, when you treat English as a formal academic subject, your learners will too—they’ll clam up so as not to give the wrong answers. So, try creating an environment where expression is welcomed and feedback is provided in a gentle manner.
8. Show learners that even native speakers don’t use English perfectly. In fact, is there a perfect English?
If this already sounds like you, congratulations! You’re working with your class members toward them being able to use English.
Final Thoughts
We must remember that many, if not most of the people we teach need to use English to accomplish a goal. That goal could be anything from getting a good score on an English proficiency test, studying in an English-speaking country, working abroad, career advancement, professional development, business expansion, chatting with new friends in other countries, or even something as simple as wanting to enjoy Hollywood movies.
Whatever their reasons, they need to be able to use English outside of our classrooms. That means, we need to prepare them for those times. The question is, are we?
If you put these ideas into practice, in time, you’ll find that you’ve transitioned from teaching English subject classes to English language classes. You may discover that your class members are becoming more confident and capable of expressing themselves.
Share your experience either as a student in an English subject class or teaching ESL classes.
If you put these ideas into practice, in time, you’ll find that you’ve transitioned from teaching English subject classes to English language classes. You may discover that your class members are becoming more confident and capable of expressing themselves.
Share your experience either as a student in an English subject class or teaching ESL classes.
END
This is an update of a blog post I wrote for OnTESOL several years ago.
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Author: Jerry S.
Author Bio: Jerry is a marketplace English language trainer of 21 years, with a wide range of experience and education ranging from bachelor to doctorate degrees in various fields, who writes articles, blogs, devotions, e-books, academic papers, and more.
Photo by Sam Balye on Unsplash.
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