Dialogue Around “Reexamining English Only in the ESL Classroom” by Elsa Auerbach
After reading this chapter, I had a lot of feelings about BARBARA MARIE JORDAN ‘s Response because I had the same experience in the “English Only in the ESL Classroom.”
In the language institution where I have taught in Taiwan, all the teachers have been trained to ”Never speak Chinese to your students.” All the teachers took turns teaching different age students, and none of us wanted to teach the elementary students. It is impossible to speak English to them all the time because the vocabulary they know is so limited. However, one day, the instructor informed me of teaching the elementary students for my next session class. It was like a thunderbolt from a clear sky because I had no idea how to deal with these kids without saying any Chinese. The rule ”Never speak Chinese to your students” is strictly enforced in the classroom. Fortunately, a senior teacher taught me some tips. First, write down the frequently asked questions on several pieces of paper and put them on the wall, such as “May I go to the bathroom?”, “I have a question”, “I forget to bring my books”, “I feel sick, can I make a phone call to my mom?”, and “What time it is ?”…etc. Second, use one minute to review them before each class, and encourage students to use these English phrases to express what they need. Third, only the students who asked me in English would get the permission or gain the response. At first time, several mischievous boys were trying to talk to me in Chinese, but they were totally ignored by me because I would point out the poster on the wall “Please speak English to your teacher.” When they had been ignored for many times but saw that the other students who asked me in English got the right response, they changed, especially when they desperately want to go to the bathroom during the class.
It worked. I didn’t have to use anything to bribe them to speak in English and they finally adapted to the“No Chinese” classroom. In the long run, I also passed the trial when the supervisor came to my class for the last day of this class.
