28. My students do not know how to study English


These posts summarize or otherwise present what written in my-not-yet published book (any when?). I also want to say that all these suggestions might be applied to adult learners, as your discernment will tell you.


Usually some students that come to my classes at Alayos just don't know how to study their coursebooks and workbooks. They don't know how to use the book, how to prepare next test, how to even relish the study, how to interiorize the grammar and vocabulary into everyday practice.


They lack study strategies, or these ones are too poor or useless.


On the other hand there once was a student who faced up the challenge of making the book something helpful.


For example, he found the stem of certain exercise, extracted the grammar, revised it for some days afterwards, mentally made up extra sentences, invented stories with those new words, re-read texts, photographed the spelling of the words, consulted the dictionary - always close to him when at his desk at home.


Well, it had its days.


Nonetheless he got to improve more and more.


To be honest, I have invented this pupil. I did with these and many other strategies that I could think of, or you yourself, for sure.


You can find very, very useful strategies in Rebecca Oxford (1990) Language Learning Strategies. What Every Teacher Should Know. Boston: Heinle & Heinle Publishers.


Now consider that a professional worker of any job has to learn how to fulfill his work, his duties.


Some students, in relation to other works, like commentaries on Spanish literature scerpts, told me that no one had taught them how to carry out those commentaries.


To sum up, it's you who have to teach them how to work out the subject of English or French.


Also trying for them to find up their own process of learning/acquiring a language.


Just a NB: As you well know, when I say "he", this word also refers to female students or teachers.


The student with strategies do acquire the fluency of use of a foreign languge.


Following this pathway, we teachers do not break even with the classes themselves, yet we gain a lot from them: at those classes as well, our students do a good use of time.

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