TESOL: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

English as an international language is the most spoken language. One is almost sure that whatever part of the world they visit, there is the chance they will need to use English to communicate. Therefore there lies the importance of teaching the language to speakers of other languages (TESOL). The success of communication is brought on by the fact the parties involved understand each other. However, this is not always the situation leading to communication breakdown.

Different individuals will have different languages that they use to communicate.

Therein comes the need to have one language that the involved parties understand and can use to communicate. This is achieved through teaching English to the speaker of the other language. The communication process where the concerned parties both speak the same language like English is harmonious, and its agenda is achieved. Understanding of each other leads to quick responses that then result in the immediate formulation of outcomes. TESOL should not restrictive to English as the only language that need to be taught.

Get quality help now

Writer Lyla

Verified writer

Proficient in: Communication

5 (876)

“ Have been using her for a while and please believe when I tell you, she never fail. Thanks Writer Lyla you are indeed awesome ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

The most important thing is that there should be a common language among people that they understand (Wray and Bloomer, 2006).

Teaching English to speakers of other languages has implications. The most noticeable effect of TESOL is bilingualism. This is where one is given the capability to speak in another language that is not native to them. This allows the bilingual individuals to communicate with more people within the two languages (Hughes and Trudgill and Watt, 2013). The effect of this is that information can now reach a wider range of individuals and the message contained in it is passed from sender to recipient.

TESOL also has the implication of creating dialects among different people. The native language of people affects the way they will speak in acquired languages. For non-English speakers, they will have different dialects and accents in their mother tongue. TOSEL brings about dialects like the Spanish, Russian because the individual being taught English as their new language will pronounce the words in the manner native to them and not in the form heard or seen.

The different English dialects have their grammatical systems and in some way this creates a separate sublanguage of English which can be used to differentiate and categorize people (Ramanathan 275, 2001). TESOL has helped make the world a global village. This is respective to where a person comes from or whatever place they are located in; they can successfully interact with one another without being affected by the language barrier. TESOL creates a standard means of communication between people of different first languages. But with the help of TESOL information exchange is no longer a problem.

The reading, we are shown how dialects have an effect on tags, adverbs, pronouns, nouns, and verbs. People of different dialects will have their unique way of phrasing English words. Significantly affected are individual who are not native English speakers but spoke other languages. Various English phrases like don’t you and do you not will be used to pass the same meaning. Some dialects will involve multiple negatives in a statement; an example is I do not see anything can be used interchangeably with I do not see anything.

Dialect barriers should not be the reason communication does not occur. The most important thing is that people understand what others a getting at. The semantics involved should not come between sending a message and delivery (Hughes and Trudgill and Watt, 2013). The reading also states that a person accent is brought about by their native language phonology. This however is not always the case for everyone. Some individual learn to adopt accents that will place them in the social class accepted by most. Accents cannot always be relied on to tell a person’s native language (Antony, 2013).

TOSEL plays a significant role of helping unite the ever divisive world. Having a common tongue that can be understood by most people creates a sense of harmony. This unity is seen through social, economic and political activities. With this in mind, the idea that I develop from the reading is that new technological advancements are important to help teach English to speakers of other languages (Hughes and Trudgill and Watt, 2013). This should include written documents, audio and video recording showing translations from different native languages to English.

The incorporation should be incorporated into emerging forms of technology like the internet, computation, and handheld devices. One does not need to be fluent in every language; they can take advantage of technology that can translate various languages. All a person will need is a device with the technological capability to make translations for them. The process will involve inputting one’s native language, and the technological device will output English (Wray and Bloomer, 2006). This reduces and the language barrier between people of different origins. Therefore, TESOL will no longer have to implement, making the process involved in learning the new language like English less complicated.