The first pedagogical obstacle in teaching a language is the motivation that drives the student, and the effect that motivation can have on the student (Yu, 2014, p. 24). Yu’s research identified that “learning motivation is one of the most important factors influencing learners’ success or failure in language learning. “A foreigner attending the University of Tennessee’s English Language Institute who is in his or her 30’s has different motivation than a 19-year-old person attending the English Language Institute hoping to gain admittance into the university’s computer science program. Kachru (1985, p.37) separates these learners into integrative and instrumental. Learners with integrative goals, want to learn the language because …show more content…
170). This concept is not English specific as there are numerous books and documents focusing on vocabulary for specific areas, such as English for Hotel and Restaurant industry or Bill Mascull’s Business Vocabulary in Use, of which I have seen uses in various countries around the world. Ideally, the concept of a language course “for specific Purpose” should not be limited to books and community center courses. Universities, colleges and other establishments should create courses like Spanish for Nursing or Sign Language for law enforcement, not only to help those language groups but also to offer resources to students in areas that motivate them. Resource management restrictions become an issue here, but education must adapt to fit the needs of the student, before students choose other resources for …show more content…
This new technology can be daunting even for native speakers, so the idea of students of other languages using this technology efficiently and effectively is rather difficult. This gives us the first pedagogical issue that ESOL students can face, the technological barrier between knowledge in their native language and the new or desired language. This stems from a huge problem in K-12 classrooms across the US where many students arrive in school deficient in grammatical education in their native language and the education system expects the student to reach grade level knowledge in a second language. This creates a whirlwind of problems not only for the student but also for the teacher. If the student does not have the correct level of Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP), without correct guidance, the student will not be able to reach grade level performance and with all likelihood, drop out from school and be remanded to menial labor. The same applies to adult learners in the US, but rarely applies to foreign adult learners. Learners of a second language who originate in a country besides the US have different goals and motivation and most of that is because of career or financial