EXPLORING ADULT ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHERS' EXPERIENCES AND PERCEPTIONS OF LANGUAGE INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS
type: CreativeWork
description: This dissertation study is aimed at gaining a deeper understanding of adult English teaching by examining English as second language (ESL) teachers’ experiences and perceptions of learning, selecting, and implementing language instructional methods. ESL programs and courses in the United States have proliferated in order to meet the language demands of the rapidly expanding population of non-native English speaking immigrants and/or of international students who have some grasp of English who seek to improve their English language skills. As a result, it is imperative to draw attention to teachers’ instruction since instruction is the medium for cultivating knowledge and skills in learners, and is thus closely related to classroom effectiveness as well as to student learning. For this reason, understanding how ESL teachers perceive and practice language instructional methods was conducive for the teacher participants of this study to engage in deliberate reconsideration and reflection of the teaching principles they have long believed in and practiced. In addition, the issues that have occurred in their pedagogy surfaced and can serve as a mirror for ESL preservice teachers, language method instructors, program directors, curriculum planners, and language experts who devote themselves to the invention and improvement of language teaching methods. In an attempt to obtain a better understanding of the teaching methods prior to data collection, literature of the 20 contemporary language instructional methods (Grammar-Translation Method, Direct Method, Direct Method, Situational Language Teaching, Total Physical Response, Silent Way, Community Language Learning, Suggestopedia, Whole Language Multiple Intelligences, Neurolingistic Programming, Lexical Approach Education, Natural Approach, Cooperative Language Learning, and Task-Based Teaching) are presented. Their characteristics as well as strengths and weaknesses are charted. These are reviewed according to the changin…
abstract: This dissertation study is aimed at gaining a deeper understanding of adult English teaching by examining English as second language (ESL) teachers’ experiences and perceptions of learning, selecting, and implementing language instructional methods. ESL programs and courses in the United States have proliferated in order to meet the language demands of the rapidly expanding population of non-native English speaking immigrants and/or of international students who have some grasp of English who seek to improve their English language skills. As a result, it is imperative to draw attention to teachers’ instruction since instruction is the medium for cultivating knowledge and skills in learners, and is thus closely related to classroom effectiveness as well as to student learning. For this reason, understanding how ESL teachers perceive and practice language instructional methods was conducive for the teacher participants of this study to engage in deliberate reconsideration and reflection of the teaching principles they have long believed in and practiced. In addition, the issues that have occurred in their pedagogy surfaced and can serve as a mirror for ESL preservice teachers, language method instructors, program directors, curriculum planners, and language experts who devote themselves to the invention and improvement of language teaching methods. In an attempt to obtain a better understanding of the teaching methods prior to data collection, literature of the 20 contemporary language instructional methods (Grammar-Translation Method, Direct Method, Direct Method, Situational Language Teaching, Total Physical Response, Silent Way, Community Language Learning, Suggestopedia, Whole Language Multiple Intelligences, Neurolingistic Programming, Lexical Approach Education, Natural Approach, Cooperative Language Learning, and Task-Based Teaching) are presented. Their characteristics as well as strengths and weaknesses are charted. These are reviewed according to the changin…
author: Chung, Yung-Chen 1980-
language: eng
keywords: English as a second language, Narrative inquiry, Teaching methods, Teaching experience, Teacher perspectives
date published: 2013-08
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:32:32Z
provider: University of Houston
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Houston

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/10657/1186