Even though classes, books, and audio recordings are useful to language learners, their effectiveness is limited. Therefore, in the process of acquiring a second language, it is vital that students enlist the help of native speakers. Native speakers keep language learners up to date with idioms, word choice, grammar, and even slang. Dialogue demonstrates current ways of using the language. It also tests learners’ comprehension skills and enables them to listen to and produce correct pronunciation by seeing and hearing sounds native to the language.

Audio phone conversations are therefore very helpful in helping a language learner. Video phone conversations are also invaluable. For example, I am currently studying Tswana and Sesotho, and one of the most difficult things for me to learn is how to pronounce consonant pairings not found in English such as tlh, hl and tl. By watching and copying lip and tongue positions in face-to-face conversations with native speakers, though, I am becoming able to reproduce those sounds to the extent that people understand what I am saying. Some even detect a change in my accent. I believe that my progress would be retarded if I could not see the mouth formations of native speakers as they produce phonemes and morphemes unfamiliar to me.

Not to be overlooked, however, are the advantages of written communication. E-mails and chats help second language learners improve grammar and therefore become literate as they see how the language is written. Here again I can think of a personal example. After I’ve heard a word or phrase often enough to feel confident that I understand its meaning and therefore know how to use it, I’ll try to incorporate it in an sms (text message) to a native speaker. But, because I have never read the word, I may misspell it. As a result, the recipient will normally send an sms in response incorporating the correctly spelled word. I then make a written or mental note of that new bit of information. So, while I learn how to say many new phrases in everyday conversation among native speakers by hearing them, I learn how to write new terms by seeing them in text messages.

ESL exchange is therefore an excellent method of language acquisition. It allows students to practice the language they’re learning by interacting with native speakers. Of course, the benefits are mutual. Native speakers who participate in exchange are learning their partner’s language and therefore benefit as well through the previously discussed methods. One partner recites what he/she knows by initiating exchanges in conversations; the other responds to those exchanges by using vocabulary and terms new to his/her partner, and vice versa. Consequently, both parties’ knowledge of the other’s language is enriched.

When researching the terms TESOL and ESL, I came across a variety of definitions; some were even conflicting. But the consensus seems to be that TESOL refers to the field of teaching English as a second/foreign language and that ESL is the instruction of English.

The term TESOL encompasses the world organization of ESL teachers and experts and the courses for certification of such professionals. It also includes the academic discourse of TESOL. The focus of TESOL is on teaching English as a foreign language (in a country where English is not an official language) and teaching English as a second language (in a country where English is spoken daily and is a second or an official language).

ESL is the actual teaching of English to people whose native language is not English. More specifically, ESL is often used to refer to the instruction of people whose second language is English, while EFL refers to the instruction of students who speak English as a third, fourth, fifth or sixth language. The concept of ESL includes both groups.

Students may learn English as a second language in a classroom setting where they study English vocabulary, grammar, idioms and the like. However, many non-native English speakers learn English by participating in social and cultural interchange. This is particularly true in countries where English is used every day on a community level. The advantage is that opportunities oftentimes present themselves for speakers to solve problems or tell jokes and experiences in real-life face-to-face conversations.

With that in mind, TESOL is committed to developing ways of teaching English to non-native speakers in the most effective way. The results of applying these methods determine which are most useful and, should therefore, continue to be utilized and even enhanced. With experience and continuing education, members of the TESOL community devise their own personal methods of teaching English.

Hello, my name is Raquel Moreau, and I'm from Florida, USA. For most of my professional life, I have worked as an English teacher or tutor. I am currently a religious volunteer in the deaf community in South Africa. I've had an awesome time here and am learning what it means to acquire a new language on a level I've never experienced before.

Prior to coming to SA I was involved with a deaf ministry in the US, so I became conversant in American Sign Language. Because I wanted to expand my ministry, I moved to SA and therefore had to learn South African Sign Language. South Africa has 11 official languages, and that diversity is reflected in its sign languages. There isn't one SASL but several varieties which are so disparate that I can easily understand one South African the first time I meet him but not understand another who I've known for months. However, as time passes my signing skills and therefore my communication with the deaf here improves.

Driven by a desire to acclimate to South African life and culture, I'm also trying to learn the hearing languages as well. The initial problem for me was to decide which language to focus on as everyone wanted me to learn their first (or as they say here, home) language. Because Tswana and Sotho are the main languages spoken in my neighborhood and among my friends (and also since they're similar to each other), I've chosen to learn those languages. That's been quite a challenge particularly because the syntax and pronunciation of certain consonant pairings is unlike anything I’ve heard before. With the help of an instructional CD, though, and by just asking people "what does ____ mean?" I've been able to learn quite a few words and phrases.

Although English is widely spoken here, it is actually the first language of few people; it serves as the lingua franca. Naturally, there are differences in the way English is spoken in SA compared to how it is spoken in the US. Besides accents, word choice and grammar are different. For example, on a news broadcast I heard "the peace talks is." Lack of subject-verb agreement is common even among the well-educated who are "fluent" in English. Also, some ESL speakers in SA will use one word for two concepts, e.g., "hear" means "hear" and "understand;" "borrow" means "borrow" and "lend;" "sorry" means "sorry" and "excuse me," etc. That demonstrates how ESL speakers' use of English mirrors the structure of their native language.

What I admire, though, is that the average African speaks at least 4 or 5 languages. That's because embedded in African cultures is the desire (maybe even requirement) to learn about others' ways of communicating, thinking and living and therefore their language. American culture doesn't embrace that concept, so many of us grow up hearing other languages but never learning them because, basically, we're not that interested.

I still love English and its nuances, idioms, and patterns of thought, and I do miss hearing and using certain vocabulary, especially everyday American terms and phrases that I am accustomed to, that I grew up with. That is not to say, though, that I can not still have meaningful exchanges of ideas with ESL speakers here in South Africa. I have deep, even intellectual and, more importantly, spiritual conversations. That discourse has been quite fulfilling.

Reflecting on my own progression of acquiring another language, little by little I'm seeing progress. I don't think I'll ever be as multilingual as the average African, but I do believe that eventually I will be able to hold my own. I get a rush every time I understand a Tswana phrase or say a sentence in Sotho that's understood. That's my glimmer of hope.

Thank you for joining American ESL Exchange. If you need directions on how to use any of the funcionts, please create a blog, or send an email.

Even though classes, books, and audio recordings are useful to language learners, their effectiveness is limited. Therefore, in the process of acquiring a second language, it is vital that students enlist the help of native speakers. Native speakers keep language learners up to date with idioms, word choice, grammar, and even slang. Dialogue demonstrates current ways of using the language. It also tests learners’ comprehension skills and enables them to listen to and produce correct pronunciation by seeing and hearing sounds native to the language.

Audio phone conversations are therefore very helpful in helping a language learner. Video phone conversations are also invaluable. For example, I am currently studying Tswana and Sesotho, and one of the most difficult things for me to learn is how to pronounce consonant pairings not found in English such as tlh, hl and tl. By watching and copying lip and tongue positions in face-to-face conversations with native speakers, though, I am becoming able to reproduce those sounds to the extent that people understand what I am saying. Some even detect a change in my accent. I believe that my progress would be retarded if I could not see the mouth formations of native speakers as they produce phonemes and morphemes unfamiliar to me.

Not to be overlooked, however, are the advantages of written communication. E-mails and chats help second language learners improve grammar and therefore become literate as they see how the language is written. Here again I can think of a personal example. After I’ve heard a word or phrase often enough to feel confident that I understand its meaning and therefore know how to use it, I’ll try to incorporate it in an sms (text message) to a native speaker. But, because I have never read the word, I may misspell it. As a result, the recipient will normally send an sms in response incorporating the correctly spelled word. I then make a written or mental note of that new bit of information. So, while I learn how to say many new phrases in everyday conversation among native speakers by hearing them, I learn how to write new terms by seeing them in text messages.

ESL exchange is therefore an excellent method of language acquisition. It allows students to practice the language they’re learning by interacting with native speakers. Of course, the benefits are mutual. Native speakers who participate in exchange are learning their partner’s language and therefore benefit as well through the previously discussed methods. One partner recites what he/she knows by initiating exchanges in conversations; the other responds to those exchanges by using vocabulary and terms new to his/her partner, and vice versa. Consequently, both parties’ knowledge of the other’s language is enriched.

When researching the terms TESOL and ESL, I came across a variety of definitions; some were even conflicting. But the consensus seems to be that TESOL refers to the field of teaching English as a second/foreign language and that ESL is the instruction of English.

The term TESOL encompasses the world organization of ESL teachers and experts and the courses for certification of such professionals. It also includes the academic discourse of TESOL. The focus of TESOL is on teaching English as a foreign language (in a country where English is not an official language) and teaching English as a second language (in a country where English is spoken daily and is a second or an official language).

ESL is the actual teaching of English to people whose native language is not English. More specifically, ESL is often used to refer to the instruction of people whose second language is English, while EFL refers to the instruction of students who speak English as a third, fourth, fifth or sixth language. The concept of ESL includes both groups.

Students may learn English as a second language in a classroom setting where they study English vocabulary, grammar, idioms and the like. However, many non-native English speakers learn English by participating in social and cultural interchange. This is particularly true in countries where English is used every day on a community level. The advantage is that opportunities oftentimes present themselves for speakers to solve problems or tell jokes and experiences in real-life face-to-face conversations.

With that in mind, TESOL is committed to developing ways of teaching English to non-native speakers in the most effective way. The results of applying these methods determine which are most useful and, should therefore, continue to be utilized and even enhanced. With experience and continuing education, members of the TESOL community devise their own personal methods of teaching English.

Hello, my name is Raquel Moreau, and I'm from Florida, USA. For most of my professional life, I have worked as an English teacher or tutor. I am currently a religious volunteer in the deaf community in South Africa. I've had an awesome time here and am learning what it means to acquire a new language on a level I've never experienced before.

Prior to coming to SA I was involved with a deaf ministry in the US, so I became conversant in American Sign Language. Because I wanted to expand my ministry, I moved to SA and therefore had to learn South African Sign Language. South Africa has 11 official languages, and that diversity is reflected in its sign languages. There isn't one SASL but several varieties which are so disparate that I can easily understand one South African the first time I meet him but not understand another who I've known for months. However, as time passes my signing skills and therefore my communication with the deaf here improves.

Driven by a desire to acclimate to South African life and culture, I'm also trying to learn the hearing languages as well. The initial problem for me was to decide which language to focus on as everyone wanted me to learn their first (or as they say here, home) language. Because Tswana and Sotho are the main languages spoken in my neighborhood and among my friends (and also since they're similar to each other), I've chosen to learn those languages. That's been quite a challenge particularly because the syntax and pronunciation of certain consonant pairings is unlike anything I’ve heard before. With the help of an instructional CD, though, and by just asking people "what does ____ mean?" I've been able to learn quite a few words and phrases.

Although English is widely spoken here, it is actually the first language of few people; it serves as the lingua franca. Naturally, there are differences in the way English is spoken in SA compared to how it is spoken in the US. Besides accents, word choice and grammar are different. For example, on a news broadcast I heard "the peace talks is." Lack of subject-verb agreement is common even among the well-educated who are "fluent" in English. Also, some ESL speakers in SA will use one word for two concepts, e.g., "hear" means "hear" and "understand;" "borrow" means "borrow" and "lend;" "sorry" means "sorry" and "excuse me," etc. That demonstrates how ESL speakers' use of English mirrors the structure of their native language.

What I admire, though, is that the average African speaks at least 4 or 5 languages. That's because embedded in African cultures is the desire (maybe even requirement) to learn about others' ways of communicating, thinking and living and therefore their language. American culture doesn't embrace that concept, so many of us grow up hearing other languages but never learning them because, basically, we're not that interested.

I still love English and its nuances, idioms, and patterns of thought, and I do miss hearing and using certain vocabulary, especially everyday American terms and phrases that I am accustomed to, that I grew up with. That is not to say, though, that I can not still have meaningful exchanges of ideas with ESL speakers here in South Africa. I have deep, even intellectual and, more importantly, spiritual conversations. That discourse has been quite fulfilling.

Reflecting on my own progression of acquiring another language, little by little I'm seeing progress. I don't think I'll ever be as multilingual as the average African, but I do believe that eventually I will be able to hold my own. I get a rush every time I understand a Tswana phrase or say a sentence in Sotho that's understood. That's my glimmer of hope.

Thank you for joining American ESL Exchange. If you need directions on how to use any of the funcionts, please create a blog, or send an email.