Transfer of Knowledge

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TESL 0100
Unit 4 Reflection

Brown & Lee describe eight principles of second language acquisition (2015, p. 66-87) The principle that stood out the most for me as I worked through Unit 4 was that of Transfer. This principle has come up several times in the coursework of the TESL Certificate program and is a key factor in whether learners acquire and are able to use the language that they learn. Transfer is the idea that if a student is able to make meaningful connections between what they already know and can do to new knowledge and skills, deeper learning will occur. Students will be able to note similarities and differences between ideas and "transfer" previous learning to new situations. As teachers, we want to move our students from surface learning towards deeper learning, and eventually, transfer.

In an ESL class, teachers should build on students' background knowledge, as well as their interests, and make connections to students' real lives whenever possible. Teachers should help students to see and make connections to previously learned skills, and make connections between the skill areas of listening, speaking, reading, and writing, so that students are able to transfer learning from one area to another. As a result, students will achieve deeper learning and be able to transfer and apply that knowledge to future learning opportunities.

Transfer is also a key concept that I focus on as a Reading Recovery Teacher. In Reading Recovery lessons, I echo key ideas in all parts of a lesson, and over several lessons. When reading books, doing word work, and working on writing, I highlight relationships between reading and writing concepts and skills so that students are able to see the reciprocal relationship between reading and writing. The goal is for the student to be able to transfer what they know about one word or text to another, and ultimately transfer what they know about reading to writing and vice versa.

I believe that I will be able to apply a lot of the knowledge and teaching strategies that I currently employ as a Reading Recovery Teacher to second language teaching. My background in literacy will enable me to help my students discover connections between ideas and to transfer their knowledge to new experiences.

Reference:
Brown, D. & Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by principles, An interactive approach to language pedagogy. (4th ed. revised). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education.

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