ESL Lessons – How Do You Know You’re Taking the Right Classes for You? Do They Target The Skills You Need To Develop?
Many people attend English classes in every corner of the world on a daily basis. All of these students have different proficiency levels. Some of them are complete beginners seeking to understand and be able to use a completely new language; these students sought out ESL lessons for many different reasons but they all have one thing in common: they are facing a completely unknown subject matter. These neophytes do not even understand the task ahead and will only find out the universe opening up before them after some months of hard work. Other students have a basic understanding and can even correctly use some phrases in English but get completely flustered when presented with a situation where they have to carry a conversation or understand the meaning of a full text. Yet other students are past the vocabulary and verb conjugation, have attained a certain level of confidence, and are now seeking to increase their proficiency quickly because they know how beneficial and how mind-opening learning a second language has been to them.
All of these people have personal motivations and made the decision to embark upon the adventure of learning a second language – the most useful second language in the world: English. The results they need and want vary with their proficiency level. The very beginners perhaps only seek to understand the instruction manuals they get with their electronics and that do not come in their own language, or perhaps they just want to be able to sustain a basic exchange with a foreign customer who may come to their shop. The middle-level students have already experienced the benefits of having at least a limited ability to speak, read, and write English and want to continue their education. The higher-level students are many times already quite aware of what knowing this language has done for them and seek ESL lessons that will allow them the practice and exposure they need to become true ESL speakers, readers, and writers. Different ESL schools stress different areas of English training. Therein lies the importance of understanding what your needs as a student are and that your goals align with the methodology and philosophy of the ESL lessons you decide to take.
Reading and writing in English are the skills that round up the concept of a true English speaker. Language is a communication medium and can travel through sight and sound. There are people who can speak English well but cannot read or write it very well. ESL speakers are very thoroughly trained in reading and writing because most ESL schools introduce students at the very basic levels through a lot of visual methods. Words are presented together with images; sentences are presented before the students and analyzed and pronounced for them. It is a curious fact that since native speakers of a language came to learn it first as a sound-travelling communication medium, their reading and writing skills can many times be below those of a foreign English speaker. In the worlds of business and academia, the arts and many others, reading and writing are very important and complement communication. english classes that focus only on speaking as quickly as possible have catered to a group of ESL students who need to adapt quickly to a certain demand coming up in their jobs – for instance being able to pick up the phone and speak to a foreign person. These english classes cover a certain need, but will not be adequate for someone seeking real English proficiency. As a matter of fact, many of the students who solve their emergency and do enter speech-intensive english classes go on to other ESL schools to complete their training.
Other ESL methodologies put a lot of stress on the reading and writing, and are very adequate for those students mentioned before who entered speech-intensive english classes to solve an immediate need. Good vocabulary, spelling, writing skills, and reading comprehension are extremely important to any ESL student who wishes to have a true exchange of ideas on every level with English speakers around the world.
Besides the stress on reading, writing, or speech – there are other methodologies and training patterns differ. For example, the use of technology as in videos and interactive computer programs that place the student in situations that will train his listening and comprehension skills are very common these days. There is also the use of role-play and simulations, which have become popular of late and are even part of some smaller ESL schools’ curricula.
When ESL students assess their goals and where they are in the proficiency scale, they are then faced with selecting the right institution with the methodology and focus that best addresses those goals and proficiencies. LCI English is a 14 year-old ESL school that offers a wide range of english classes with different methodologies and intensities. We have found that, as mentioned earlier - even though there is a wide range of needs among ESL students, the necessary skills to offer each one of them the training they require can be all housed within one institution and can actually enrich each other when practiced in close proximity. This way of operating has made of LCI English a truly flexible and all-encompassing ESL institution that can meet every ESL student’s needs.
Navigate the LCI English website and find out more about the wide array of choices available to ESL students. Here you can find .
We're sure you have a lot of questions and we're here to answer them all. Please use the contact form below to contact us and we'll get back to you within 24 hours. Thank you!
