• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets2
• Harry Potter Chamber Secrets 3

So what exactly is TESL?

As obvious as it may seem, some TESL students are still asking this question. TESL (or short for Teaching English as a Second Language) is dealing with the knowledge of how to teach English primarily as a second language. In Malaysia, the English language is considered as a second language though in most cases it’s Malaysian’s third or fourth language. There is a thin line separating TESL (or some consider them the same) from TEFL (as a Foreign Language) and TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) as within these domains, essential knowledge on English language teaching is similar. What differentiate TESL is the fact that it is used in a region/country where natural English language immersion situations are apt to be plentiful as in the case of Malaysia.

TESL programme is not merely a platform for learning English

Some students think TESL is a programme to improve their English, especially when they are not proficient users of the language to begin with. Though you will have the opportunity to improve during your course of study, chances are, you will struggle to cope. You’ll notice in the TESL programme, there are a lot of critical writing and reading to be done. If you’re not proficient enough, you might end up doing things like “copying”, “plagiarising” or “cheating”. A good grasp of the language is essential before you decide to take up a TESL programme.

TESL is not about measuring your proficiency in English

Perhaps, your friends would “salute” you when you tell them you’re studying TESL as they thought you must be really excellent in the language in order to study the programme. The truth is, you don’t necessary have to. TESL is not about measuring how good your English is, but it’s a matter of how good your English language teaching skills are.

Teaching ESL itself takes a lot of effort. Thus, studying TESL requires more than just knowledge about the language. You’ll need to have a huge passion to teach, the passion to make sure your students learn the language.

So, you think you can teach ESL?

The Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia has introduced the MyLINE portal for Malaysian students of higher learning. Online Resources for Learning in English is a service that offers resources for self-access language learning covering study skills, academic reading, writing and listening, grammar and other resources for learning in English for full-time students of public institutions of higher learning in Malaysia.

The service allows you to choose what you want to learn at your own pace. According to the information available on MyLine portal,

MyLinE is different from other available online language learning resources in several aspects. The following are some of its distinctive features:

1. Learning resources for higher education: The learning resources are designed and developed specifically to meet the academic and professional needs of students at tertiary level.

2. Resources for learning English and learning in English: The instructional materials and activities include not only resources for learning English, such as input and exercises on grammar and language use, but also informative resources in English on various disciplines and professions, such as information on the career path of a specific profession.

3. Interactive and self-explanatory activities: The pattern of information presented contains input on a topic, exercises to reinforce understanding of the input and answers with explanation to provide feedback on students’ performance.

You can visit the website at http://myline.utm.my/

Learning English vowels can be a great headache for students. English teachers, especially often struggle to find the best way to teach them the correct pronunciation of the vowels.

One way is often to get help from “native speakers”. This is a useful video obtained from YouTube that could perhaps lend a hand!

Sometimes, we tend to be long-winded when it comes to explaining things in English. The Plain English campaign is responsible of solving this problems. They believe that eeryone should have access to clear and concise information.

Here are some examples of long-winded official writing, with the suggested improvements by PlainEnglish.co.uk.

Before
High-quality learning environments are a necessary precondition for facilitation and enhancement of the ongoing learning process.

After
Children need good schools if they are to learn properly.

Before
If there are any points on which you require explanation or further particulars we shall be glad to furnish such additional details as may be required by telephone.

After
If you have any questions, please phone.

Before
It is important that you shall read the notes, advice and information detailed opposite then complete the form overleaf (all sections) prior to its immediate return to the Council by way of the envelope provided.

After
Please read the notes opposite before you fill in the form. Then send it back to us as soon as possible in the envelope provided.

Before
Your enquiry about the use of the entrance area at the library for the purpose of displaying posters and leaflets about Welfare and Supplementary Benefit rights, gives rise to the question of the provenance and authoritativeness of the material to be displayed. Posters and leaflets issued by the Central Office of Information, the Department of Health and Social Security and other authoritative bodies are usually displayed in libraries, but items of a disputatious or polemic kind, whilst not necessarily excluded, are considered individually.

After
Thank you for your letter asking for permission to put up posters in the library. Before we can give you an answer we will need to see a copy of the posters to make sure they won’t offend anyone.

For more, go to http://www.plainenglish.co.uk