Teaching English as a Foreign Language

When we wish to express our thoughts, emotions and rationales, we know a fact that language is at the center of human life. We use language for planning out lives, exchange ideas and communicate with one another. It affects peoples’ careers and possible futures, their lives, and very identities. And the English language is now spoken in many parts of the world and owes its widespread use to the fact that it is one of the most progressive of modern languages in a world where probably more people speak two languages than one. Thus, English language learning and teaching are vital to the everyday lives of millions.
It seems, however, for over a long period of time, more often very much focused on how English language should be effectively taught before considering how learners successfully acquire the English language that is ever so widespread. Yet, without understanding how knowledge of other languages is stored and learned, the fundamental question of effective language teaching would never be answered. We have been both blessed and challenged by abundance of teaching ideas, theories, methods, approaches, and techniques without appreciating the substantial growth of knowledge in language acquisition through effective learning. This book has been designed in an attempt to assist language practitioners with the process of English language acquisition moving away from teaching-oriented methods to learning-oriented methods.




WORDSOFTHANKS
Teaching English as a Foreign Language is the product of many years of English language teaching in my own classrooms of both undergraduate and graduate courses, Kongju National University in Korea. In a sense my students have intuitively taught me more than I thaught them, which makes me thank them all, everywhere, for their abundant resources in this book.
I am also grateful to my research assistants, Dr. Huh, Jin-Hee, Dr. Kim, Ji-Seon, and Dr. Kim, Jeong-Ok, for preparing my manuscripts. I offer an appreciative thanks to my research colleagues, The late Prof. Lee, Jong-Hee, and Dr. Narin, who participated in writing the manuscript with critical eyes. And thanks to my student, Jun-Mo Yang, for helping me revise an earlier draft of this book. Finally, I would like to express special thanks to an Emeritus Prof. Yong, Seong-Hae, who always gives me encouragement and motivation in my daily life.


Byung-Bin Im
Dept. of English Education
Kongju National University
February 2018