Standard English as a Foreign Language II

Derreck Sunderland

University of Phoenix

AET/570: Program Development In Adult Education

January 20, 2024

Abstract

This English as a Foreign Language (EFL) course aims to improve the communication skills of non-native English speakers who have established a sufficient vocabulary but need to learn the standardized dialect of English. This course does not intend to instruct a large set of grammar rules. It aims to help non-native English speakers speak in standard English that can be understood throughout the world. The need for a standardized dialect of English follows from the fact that there are more non-native English speakers than native English speakers. If the non-native English speakers all spoke different dialects, then communication would be impossible among the speakers. The problem becomes worse when non-native English speakers attempt to speak using English vocabulary applied to the syntax of their native language. This online educational program intends to solve this problem with lessons, assessments, activities, and other online engagement tools to instruct on the principles of standard English grammar and syntax while encouraging the students to interact with their established English vocabulary and to enhance their working vocabulary.

Purpose of Training/Program

With the rise of the global market and the invention of the internet, communication among nearly worldwide population demands that a lingua franca be established as the common means of communication. In fact, English has been adopted as the lingua franca (Nordquist, 2022, June 15). Thus, people from all over the world will speak English as a foreign language. In fact, as of 2021,  1.75 billion people speak English. Of those, 1.125 billion are non-native English speakers (Beare, 2019, November 18). Thus, more English speakers are non-native speakers, and unless those non-native English speakers can follow a standard set of rules while communicating, the communication will be broken and ineffective.

This course does not aim to teach random vocabulary. The learners will be given hints for activities to build or increase their vocabulary. Since they are adults, they will decide how to build their personal vocabulary, which is most likely already extensive. They only need to use those words in a standardized dialect that all English speakers can understand. To accomplish this goal, the learners will need to focus on the standard usage, especially with the common verbs and phrasal verbs.

This course will present a list of common verbs into the lessons with a grammar rule for each verb. An example of a lesson would include the infinitive form of a verb with instructions to use the verb in different tenses. For example, a question on a formative assessment would look like, “How long have you been studying English? Suppose a student had been studying English for five years but answers the question with, “I study English five hears”. While the information presented in that answer may be correct, the grammatically correct answer would be “I have been studying English for five years”. The error arises from students using English vocabulary with the grammar and syntax of their native language.  This course aims to fix that problem.

Training/Program Benefits

A problem with communication arises when non-native English speakers try to communicate using the English vocabulary but with the syntax of their native language. Language is more than simple vocabulary. Unless foreign language students learn the syntax of the new language, they will not be able to effectively communicate. They will only frustrate those with whom they attempt to communicate.

This problem becomes worse when non-native English speakers learn English differently. The open market is full of English courses, many of which teach English from a pedagogical methodology. This will not work for adults. Adults have too many linguistic assumptions clogging our minds (Sunderland, 2025). Thus, adults need to learn English from an andragogical methodology.  Those lifelong lerners who seek to learn and improve their understanding and use of proper English will benefit from the content of this course. In addition, this course will prepare those learners for a more complex course designed for native English writers (See courses).

The Course Details

Diagnostic assessments will be needed to determine the proficiency of the students as they begin the course. During these diagnostic assessments, google translate should not be used. Adults, unlike children, will need to monitor themselves and learn by a set of ethics. The old cliché is true. “You’re only cheating yourselves when you cheat!”

The diagnostic assessments will be opened questions that require complete sentences to answer. The answers to these questions will be stored in a database and compared to data from other formative and summary assessments offered as the course develops.

Research from the needs analysis indicates that the diagnostic assessments would include the following questions:

  1. What is your age?
  2. What is your native language?
  3. Why do you want to learn English?
  4. At what level did you attend school in your native language?
  5. How long have you been studying English?
  6. How did you study English in the past?
  7. How do you feel about your current level of English

Formative assessments will allow the students to practice and review standard English. The students should only use google translate to learn new words. However, these formative assessments will include hints for each question that will link to the lesson related to that particular question.  Finally, a summative assessment will be given periodically to assess the students’ progress.

The assessments will be created in a WordPress plugin similar to The Quiz Maker (n.d.) plugin. An interactive forum will be made available where students can login and ask questions, provide feedback and learn from each other (Tutor Notepad Forum, n.d.). Zoom technology will provide opportunities to connect face-to-face in a virtual classroom. One promising interactive online tool worth considering is the eRoom – Zoom Meetings & Webinars plugin created by StylemixThemes.

 

 

References

Anderson, Stephen R., ‘How many languages are there in the world?’, Languages: A Very Short Introduction, Very Short Introductions (Oxford, 2012; online edn, Oxford Academic, 24 Sept. 2013), https://doi.org/10.1093/actrade/9780199590599.003.0002, accessed 25 Jan. 2025

Beare, K. (2019, November 18). How Many People Learn English. Thoughtco. https://www.thoughtco.com/how-many-people-learn-english-globally-1210367

eRoom – Zoom Meetings & Webinars. (n.d.). WordPress. https://wordpress.org/plugins/eroom-zoom-meetings-webinar/#:~:text=eRoom%20Zoom%20WordPress%20plugin%20enables,in%20terms%20of%20distance%20interaction.

Nordquist, R. (2020, June 15). Definition and Examples of a Lingua Franca. Thoughtco https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-a-lingua-franca-1691237

Quiz Maker – Best WordPress Quiz Plugin. (n.d.). Asy Pro Plugins. https://ays-pro.com/wordpress/quiz-maker

Sunderland, D. (2025). Adult Foreign Language Learning. Tutornotepad.com/Ask A Tutor. https://tutornotepad.com/adult-language-learning/

Tutor Notepad Forum. (n.d.). Tutornotepad.com/Ask A Tutor. https://tutornotepad.com/community/

Bottom of Form