Instructional Unit Narrative

C&T 491

Dr. Cho

6/27/17

Instructional Unit Narrative

Over the course of history, English has found itself becoming the lingua franca of

the world, becoming a second language for many people all around the world. As these

communities of people continue to use English, it is inevitable that English will be

changed and adapted to suit the local environment of those that speak it. And as

English education around the world grows, these local varieties must be realized and

taken into account in the classroom. This localization of English has given to rise to a

version English education called EIL, English as an International Language.

Suresh Canagarajah, in Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language,

promotes the communicative method as a result of English becoming more of a world

language. Due to localization of English, he places more stress on communicative

practices so as to increase understanding in between both actors (Celce-Murcia etal.

(2014)). The focus of communication over correctness also lets students of English own

the language more, letting them use it more freely rather than sticking to grammar

constructs or trying to attain perfect English. I agree with Canagarajas claims. In my

view, the end goal of language learning should be communication in the target

language. When attainment of perfection is taken out of the classroom, I feel that it

allows for more room for learning from errors and personal growth of the student.
 The age range of the classes we taught were from 16 to 18. Most if not all

students have been studying English in Korean since middle school in a formal setting.

English competency in each class varied. Some students have travelled or studied in

America and spoke more fluently and others took more time to form full sentences. My

co-teacher Jamie and I created two lesson plans. One was themed around the

Olympics and the other was over travel. The objective of the class olympics was to help

the students with quick thinking in English and to practice their unprepared speech.

While in my class, the students were introduced to new vocabulary before playing

games that reinforced the new words- Speedy Spelling, Hot Seat, and A-Z in 123. All of

the activities were competitive in nature and at the end of the lesson we determined

first, second, and third places, who all got prizes. The limited time frame of the games

placed more emphasis on quickly saying what needed to be said, and at the end of the

lesson this necessity of speed was reinforced and I applauded each class for being able

to stay on their toes in English. The main reason I wanted them to practice quick

speaking was to reflect the current trends in English education, and have them maintain

a level of intelligibility while speaking as quick as possible. I think that the activities

definitely helped both their speed and confidence in English.

In conclusion, due to the increasing emphasis on non standard English and

intelligibility rather than presupposed notions of correctness, I chose an activity that I

think best supported those goals, while at the same time letting the students have a fun

time in the classroom.