TEFL Teaching Monolingual versus

Multi-lingual groups
There are two broad categories of situations in which non-native
English speakers may learn English. Multi-lingual classes are with
students from various nationalities normally in a country where English
is the native language. This may be considered as teaching ?English as
a Second Language (ESL). Monolingual classes are usually in the
students? home country and this context is ?English as a Foreign
Language? (EFL). In multi-lingual classes the students are living in an
English speaking country and are exposed to the language, either for a
limited period of time or permanently. In class they must use English to
communicate even if there are some other students with the same native
language (L1). The teacher will probably ask them to sit separately, and
even if he/she speaks their native language it will not be used in class
because the teacher?s job ?is to serve as a model of fairness and
neutrality and only English is the surest way to achieve this in a
multilingual classroom? (1). In multi-lingual groups students are likely
to have a higher intrinsic motivation (1a) which the teacher should take
into account in his approach and lesson planning. Task based activities
can involve extra-classroom activities in ESL teaching e.g. interviewing
, and it is said that a teacher can ?focus more intensively on accuracy?
(1) in speaking because there are opportunities for fluency practice
outside the classroom. Culturally related activities can be used to great
advantage in multi-lingual classes. Rosemary Richey (2) feels that
intercultural training is not just an added ?extra? in Business English
but that it is essential to ?genuinely communicate in a real life business
setting?. The teacher could find difficulty in multi-lingual classes
because students from different cultures will have different language
problems and learning styles. The Japanese have been classified as
?reflective learners? whereas Brazilian students are ?impulsive

learners? (1). In a monolingual class, students could have a low

intrinsic motivation (1). They find themselves in classes of 30 ? 50 at
university and have to pass an examination or study English as part of a
compulsory curriculum. Alternatively a high extrinsic motivation in
certain situations e.g. businessmen with promotion prospects in smaller
classes, can give good results (1). The classroom activities in
monolingual groups can be related to the students? culture and will
need to have as much student talking time as possible since there is
otherwise very little opportunity to speak English. It is very important to
aim the activity at the students? level otherwise they will resort to the
use of L1 either through boredom or because they are out of their depth.
At a presentation on English Language Teaching in Japan in 2004, the
conclusion reached was that ?properly trained Japanese English
teachers will more often do a better job ? (3) than the EFL teachers in
Japanese High Schools. In the future, as globalization continues,
cultural awareness will become increasingly more important. This
should be taken into greater consideration in the English Language
teaching field especially regarding monolingual and multi-lingual
groups.