Skills Post 1

                                                                                                      Photo by Automania on Flickr.com

Modeling a compare and contrast essay.

For the first skills post, all students will have to write a “Compare and Contrast” essay. In class together we all did a great job talking about the good and bad points of a number of English Language camps that might appeal to young students. They had to look at the benefits of each program and decided which one was the best for the class to attend.

During class I also asked students what a major difference between speaking English and writing English was. For me, good writing always has smooth transitions from one idea to the next. In spoken English you can use all different kinds of techniques to signal small changes in the direction of your conversation; tone of voice, body language, pauses, volume, or eye contact. In writing, the reader needs a little more help. This is where “transition” words become valuable. They signal the changes to the reader and bring different thoughts together. When used well and with good variety, they can take make a simple comparison seems lively and readable.

Here are some of the transition words or phrases that are commonly used with the “Compare and Contrast” essay format:

compared to, similar, alike, both, as well as, although, even though, however, but, on the other hand, despite, contrasted with

As a demonstration of the type of essay I am looking for, I will pretend that I am a Korean student of English in a University class and write about my preference for one the schools below:  (taken from http://esl.about.com/od/teachingintermediatelevel/a/Which-English-Language-School-Do-We-Choose.htm)

British Best

• London, England
• Language instruction 6 hours a day, Monday through Saturday
• Housing with a British family - breakfast included
• 14 days - 12 days of instruction
• Teachers qualified with TEFL Certificate
• 4 Outings included: Tate Gallery, Concert in Royal Albert Hall, The Countryside around London, Cats (Musical)
• Price: $1,500 round-trip airfare included
  

Hawaiian Paradise Learning

• School located in a park on Oahu Island 60 miles from Honolulu
• Language instruction 4 hours a day, Monday through Friday
• Housing in a bungalow 5 minute walk from the beach - breakfast, and dinner included
• 14 days - 10 days of instruction
• English native speaking teachers
• Beach Party, Scuba-Snorkel Safari, Wind-Surfing included
• Price: $1,700 round-trip airfare included
  

English Program at University of Whatchamacallit

• School located in the small town of Paluka in Wyoming, USA, population 40,000
• University staff - all teachers with Masters Degree
• Language instruction 5 hours a day, Monday through Saturday
• Dormitory style housing, breakfast, lunch and dinner included
• 14 days - 12 days of instruction
• Nature walks, meet American students party (party to make introductions between US students and international students), skiing at weekends included
• Price: $1,400 round-trip airfare included
  

I'm sure nearly everyone would agree that one of the best ways to study English is to spend some time abroad and immerse yourself in a culture where English is spoken all around you. Any program that enables a student to speak in a natural way on a daily basis is bound to be very beneficial. Even though each of these programs may be beneficial, the benefits are not the same and each program has some drawbacks. 

On the surface it seems that they are all fairly easily acceptable programs. They all have a minimum of four hours a day of English instruction by highly educated and trained teachers. Each offers the opportunity for a Korean student to experience a new culture and learn from new teachers. All three offer great activities outside of the instruction of the camp, although they do have very different types of activities. 

One of the important things for me to think about when I am choosing a place to go is the quality of the instruction. Compared to the University of Whatchamacallit and the Hawaiian Paradise learning, I think that British Best has the best instruction. All of the teachers there have TEFL certificates, which means that they have been trained to teach English to speakers of other languages. Even though the teachers at the University of Whatchamacallit have Masters Degrees, I don't really know what subject they studied and I don't know if they have any experience teaching. In contrast to both of those, Hawaiian Paradise learning doesn't seem to care about qualifications at all. Their ad says that their teachers are “native speakers” which means they could have very little or no experience teaching. 

I also look for opportunities to interact and speak English with local people. The University of Whatchamacallit looks attractive because, on the one hand, it has a party where we can meet American Students and we can stay in an American dorm. On the other hand, though, I can't be sure that the dorm won't be filled to the brim with Koreans while the American students stay far away. Compare that to the interaction promised by the Hawaiian school and it seems like you are guaranteed a lot. They make it seem like you will be at the beach by yourself all day. While I could probably find a way to meet some people in both of those situations, I don't think that either one is as good as British Best. A home-stay situation with a British family will let me learn all the different aspects of the language, not just what we study in class. 

In short, although I've considered other factors, the two reasons above are enough for me to choose British Best. I feel that the quality of the instruction within the classroom will be better than both the others. Also, staying in another family's home will be a great help to my language skills, despite the difficulties I may have adjusting to a different household.