Experiences of a teacher of English

One day teacher of English B said to teacher of English A, “Sometimes a student of ours can have an interior, an inner problem or conflict, and he can suffer dire straits. Verbalizing, putting the conflict into words, conveying it at a tutoring session can help a lot. The very fact of telling the problem may make it start to solve it – a shared problem can alleviate the weight. I know you respect your students’ privacy, but also I know that you wish to help them. Sometimes you say to that student that you see him strange in some way, or that he looks worried lately, and that is the trigger for him to shoot his inner problem. That student then can see a way out for his problem by telling it to you. Carry on that way, I’d tell you. And count on his family: perhaps that problem should be told to them – with the mutual understanding between him and you.” / Photo from: visitphilly com. ethel cee sitting on bench in rittenhouse park. Obviously the pic above has nothing to do...

One day teacher of English A said to teacher of English B, “I was recalling that teacher that knew how to listen to her students. She was attentive when a student told her something at a tutoring session, or another student told her that he had not done the assigned homework. The teacher asked him why, and it was crystal clear she was attentively listening to his reasons and trying to make the big picture of those reasons. She peered and gazed at him, like I said, as if she was trying to find out the deep reasons of this failure. All concerning her students was important to her. She was pretty attentive to her students and her colleagues. I guess one male teacher fell in love with her because of this attitude of hers. They got together at the staff’s hall and the guy, who was a novice teacher, one day told her some problems he had had. I think the next time at that hall he got stunned because he was asked how things were going – even she asked about some punctual thing...

One day teacher of English B said to teacher of English A, “I have told you that it’s sound to plan each class. Much of the success in teaching a language depends on planning. However, and even more if you didn't have time to plan one class, you can do up and improvise. That class-period can turn out to be good, perhaps because you do have a specific goal concerning those students’ development, and also because you then focus on viewing teaching in a different way as usual. As well, at that moment you could view the way they learn with ample and new lenses.” / Photo from: usembassy org uk. the first english colonists to america. i think this is a replica of the Mayflower ship but ain’t sure

Here you have a translation into English of the main contents of post # 943. / Photo from: telegraph co uk. young girl writing       1.    The teacher has a teaching love to kids, teens and youngsters. In few words it’s a profound tendency toward discovering and focusing on the inmaturity of learners, plus toward their capability of self-growth. This tendency implies certain psychological capability of view, and being able to understand and comprehend each person. 2.    A tendency toward values. The educator must love and practice values if he wishes to pass them on to learners. 3.    Temper, personality. Someone who is not educated cannot educate. 4.    Sense of humor. This is a feature that defends from arrogance and being too serious but without real contents or essence. It’s like a resource to hinder from becoming a too strict and unchangeable person. Due to sense of humor we are able of focusing on everyd...

Hi everybody. Just to let you know I will keep carrying on blogging. Merry Christmas! / Photo from: olympic-games-2012-london com.   Cycling-Track-Olympics     

  A couple days ago I came across the following text, which is just great for you committed teachers. I hope that pretty soon I’ll give you the translation in English. Or even you can translate it – I’ll do it on coming days anyway. GALLEGO CODES, Julio (2004) Los estudios de los hijos. Cómo ofrecerles ayuda . Madrid: Rialp. 1.    Inclinación hacia los niños, adolescentes y jóvenes. Es el “amor pedagógico” que en esencia es una profunda inclinación hacia la inmadurez del educando y sus posibilidades de desarrollo. Inclinación que supone capacidad de penetración psicológica y de comprensión individual. 2.    Tendencia hacia los valores, el educador tiene que amar y cultivar los valores para poder transferirlos a sus educandos. 3.    Personalidad. No puede formar quien no está formado. 4.    Buen humor. Cualidad que es defensa contra la pedantería y la seriedad sin contenidos. Es el recurso para no convertirse en un i...

  One day teacher of English A said to teacher of English B, “I knew a student that used to re-read what they had studied at that day’s class of English. At that moment, when reading at home, she understood more about the stories. Characters meant more to her and the plot was more interesting too. When they had finished a unit from the course book and had nothing to do for example, she used to read and have a look at the next unit. In this way, when the teacher began the unit, and its texts and grammar points, the student already had some significant knowledge. Sometimes there were points she did not understand, but anyway those things rang a bell to her. She used to get high grades in the tests and had some fluency at speaking.” / Photo from: mpsaz org. pencils clipart   

  One day teacher of English B said to teacher of English A, “Last year one of my students had Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder. I would say that all of us teachers should know that this disorder just exists among our students. Between 5 and 8 per cent of our students have or may have this disorder. I remember that one teacher taught him private classes, apart from the regular scheduled ones in a class-group. The teacher told me that he assigned short, small and challenging goals to the kid, taken from the boy's course books.” / Photo from: rv-103 com. RV 103 towed web pic    

  One day teacher of English A said to teacher of English B, “You can advise your students to read something in English for some time, for long if possible, right before an oral exam. This reading prepares the candidates to have more resources to express their ideas in the target language. The candidates arrive at the examination venue as one who has already trained and practiced, like before a sport game. Their English then can be fresh, their mind more adapted to think in English. They are already like in their own land, more likely ready to respond in English in a fluent way.” I published the post above in November of 2010. I have changed small things, like some words for instance. / Photo: cbsnews com. he is lochte, in last olympic games london 2012   

  I have planned a sequence of pieces of communication to implement along the course I teach to adult learners, most of them already retired. They’re excellent learners. They wish to learn English for example for their trips abroad. The sequence is: words – phrases – sentences – conversations and presentations. The basis for the material we use is on worksheets with short stories and meaningful-for-them sentences. As you can see, the approach I follow in my classes is communicative (mainly). One example: I ask them a question and they respond with a phrase: “What does the man help himself with, to stroll?” And the students will answer, “With a stick”. / Photo from: centennialofflight gov. instructor and students studying map. civilian training school      

One day teacher of English A said to teacher of English B, “Just thinking. That is something some of my students fail. That failure comprises from the effort invested in doing a drill to the effort at thinking about the ethics as the main topic of a long text in their course book. An example of this latter case is a text where they've got to decide if reporting or not a case of a starting bullying by a school mate. Something even farther: seeking the truth. For example, why am I on earth? What for? What’s my ultimate goal in life? What does my Father God wants from me? God has a loving tenderness, limitless, toward me, like all the best dads and moms in the world as a whole.” / Photo from: terawarner com. mom and daughter

  One day teacher of English B said to teacher of English A, “Notice that you’re helping those people become good professionals at their area of knowledge. In other words you’re teaching students how to become good professionals. Remember their job now is studying. What’s more, why don’t you tell them these things next class? They might become more aware of their responsibility. Make them think that they expect to have a good and demanding teacher of English, right? Tell them that they could plan the homework they’re going to do that evening, a planning that can take just a couple of minutes or three. Also you can tell them how to plan their exams of the present term, the term before Christmas.” / Photo from: coracletrust orh uk. camouflaged boy

I publish a post that can be useful for teachers of advanced levels of English or any other language. The text was published January 8, 2011, on a post from this very blog. I’ve changed minor things. / Photo from: thisoldhouse com. perfect interior painting   537. Practicing for the near future Saturday, January 8, 2011 Here is a set of activities I helped to compose for a three-week course of English; a set of activities directed to the advanced students. We tried to think of high level activities, professional ones inasmuch as possible; as well it should be useful for the students’ near future. This document was included in the book I wrote for teachers of modern languages. Apéndice 18 Objetivos para un curso de inglés de verano May 18, 2007   Advanced group. Professional-like. Demand the following three objectives from the NN Academia’s teacher. Core point: help the students learn and practice professional English, in view of social current ...

  One day teacher of English B said to teacher of English A, “Someone at home last night was listening to a CD of Los chicos del coro (the music of Les choristes movie). All of the kids were singing as a single voice, which is one of the most important things in a choir – maybe the main one. I carried on by listening. And then I thought of the movie as well. You can make a choir from a group of kids. It has something to do with a class. In a class YOU are the conductor, and the main thing, so, the goal, is each and every student do the right thing at the right moment. A real example: think of a teacher who achieves every student is plunged into a dictation. With the weeks passing, you, a novice teacher, I hope you’ll achieve your students do what is scheduled and planned for that time. Be patient. You’ll get it, and your students will learn and acquire the language, one step after another.” / Photo from: bestsingletravel com. St Patrick’s Day Parade Band in a memori...