Experiences of a teacher of English

A teacher must possess several virtues for commanding and managing the class-group and the class-period.  One of those virtues is to be prudent and aware. Where? In what aspects?  For instance: noticing his or her students are following his or her explanations and presentations;  the relationships amongst the students – he can learn about it by organizing an excursion out;  discovering a possible bad period or while of a student;  thinking what else he or she can provide to a student who is so clever and smart and high-achieving;  reprimanding a student;  encouraging the class-group;  noticing if the students are making homework and studying;  taking the general pulse of the pace of the class; etc. / Photo from: police-academy wwwjacksonvillebeach org

Last week I talked to a tutor that had a student who used to show several symptoms of something weird and worrying. His grades at several school subjects had dropped, and this teacher observed something weird and strange in this kid, in his face, in his movements, in his behavior, in his capability of focusing on the class, in his not wanting to go out at the recess, in his loneliness at the recess.  The teacher called his parents to attend a tutoring session with him.  Things were not clear but something was happening for sure. All of them three weren’t able to find out the origin and roots of his problems.  They asked another teacher to listen to them about the boy. This latter and more veteran teacher recommended the parents a psychiatrist that they could rely on.  In the end they found a problem of bullying.  The psychiatrist doctor prescribed some medicine and behavior points.  Moreover the boy’s teacher talked to the stu...

At the age of adolescence teens struggle in favor of their freedom, liberty and independence from their parents.  However they still depend a lot on things such as: house and shelter, money, meals, help at studying, food, doctors, going to hospital if necessary, registering at academies or sport institutions, education, human relationships, traveling…  Anyway they show that kind of freedom and at that age they can get somehow defiant, rebellious, even challenging, and they turn more to their gang of friends or to their sport team, like at soccer for example.  / Photo from: Kids-playing-football www soccerbox com

In today’s class I’ve used as wormers at the beginning of the class questions from the written test they made last week.  For example I was telling them a Spanish word and they had to give me the English translation.  Later I had thought I could have asked the students to say the meaning of an English word from the test also by speaking in English. Such is life. I will do it next time. / Photo from: Copy-of-healthy-easy-recipes properecipes com

Warmers in the classes of English are just essential. I mean at the beginning of the class.  You can implement different ones, according to your students’ needs and expectations.  Remember that the class of English could take place after a math class.  Some examples? A Hail Mary prayer all together, standing up;  questions and answers about the weekend or a long weekend;  questions and answers about the verbal tense you’re learning;  some game – you have a list and short explanations on post # 259. I have to correct some errors and mistakes from that list, by the way.  And finally a last example: questions and answers about the kids’ families, likes, favorite food, favorite school subject and why; etc. / Photo from: mountain-climbing www visitcentralvalley com

My adult students are gaining willpower, because of their continuous effort to work on the worksheets I hand them out. I don’t assign homework, they study though.  A habit, let’s think of a positive one like hard-working, is gained and gotten by means of repetition of actions. If they study with some frequency, they’re gaining the habit of studying the worksheets, and more importantly, they’re gaining English.  I struggle for speaking in English all the time, and they understand me, depending on each student’s level of aural English anyway. / Photo from: Gardener Harry Cook who defiantly stopped a man in a van from stealing his potted plants and flowers 

One day, at the beginning of the academic year, I took to the classroom visual aids, specifically pictures of objects, scenes, etc. The size of the photos was A4 approximately.  I put the pictures on top of the chalkboard.  I was rookie at that grade, 3 rd of secondary education – the kids were 14 mainly. And rookie in general - it was my first years as a teacher.  I started an activity that obviously had to do with the pictures plus talking something in English. Pretty soon I started to realize that they considered that exercise as so childish.  I got mad, a bit mad or upset, even I could have shouted at somebody of them.  Well, actually you must know where you are. Visual aids are ok with children, but at certain age they think you’re treating them like children and this is no good.  I don’t mean you cannot use visual aids at that age, but other types and in a different mode – for example you can use pictures for them to de...

I usually say the full form of auxiliary and modal verbs in class, as in “we will make”, “what is…”.  With time passing I will use the contract form together with the full form.  I think that in this way my students will understand me and learn step by step. Other teachers and textbooks teach some contract forms from the very beginning.  For me the key thing now is to understand me – and later we’ll use the contract forms; even they’ll discover them in the worksheets I hand them out. / Photo from: rabstol_net_winter_29 www rabstol net

Following is a worksheet I will utilize with my adult students. Their level is generally intermediate or upper-intermediate. We are going to work on it, and so conversation and discussion arise, up to the point that our nice discussion reaches other different topics. I hope there won't be much formatting bugs. Worksheet # 166 January 22, 2015 In class 1.     What does ……. mean? 2.     How do you say ……. In English? 3.     How do you pronounce that word? 4.     The pronunciation is ……. 5.     I don’t understand you. Could you repeat that sentence? 6.     What do you mean? 7.     I mean an animal. 8.     I mean it! 9.     Could you speak more slowly, please? 10. I’m sorry. I don’t understand. 11. I do mean it! 12. Is this correct, please? Story: In the second term we had a volunteer girl for the conversation ses...

Some adults tell me they knew and studied English or French or another language, but since they haven’t practiced it, they’ve forgotten it forever.  However I tell some of those people that if they re-start again, their learning will be more quickly than before, that they would remember words and expressions… in a word, they haven’t lost it forever: they can get a lot from their studies if they start again. / Photo from: learningenglish britishcouncil org

You’re a busy teacher, I know. You have not much time.  Nonetheless you should dedicate some time every day to talk with your family, with your wife, your husband, about whatever, the family, this problem at home, that thing over there.  It’s a way to show you love them.  Listen to each of your children too.  All this stuff is also like a job of yours. It’s worth the try. Oh, and your classes will go better, because you’re like more humane. / Photo from: reading_2477335b www telegraph co uk

Today I had an English test with my adult students. I’ve already graded them. It’s okay. It’s okay in general.  I wanted to find out about my students’ advance, so we’ve had an exam.  The following I’m going to say is rather bad, I mean, the test was written, but our classes are oral, though they have worksheets. What I mean is that you oughtn’t to make a written exam when speaking is the skill you’ve practiced.  Anyway, I needed to get to know their advance and problems. Most of them have gotten a very positive grade, maybe because albeit we’ve practiced speaking they had the worksheets.  I would advise you to have an exam in which you measure the skill or skills you’ve practiced. / Photo from: www usnews com

Traditionally, at least in our western society, we teachers have taught with and about reason. However sentiments and feelings should also be educated.  In this area, like in many others, the first educators are parents.  And so what can a teacher do in this area?  First try to arrange rather frequent tutorials with parents, with each marriage. And then, treat about this field at tutorials with the students – like always male teachers with male students and the same for women.  Ultimately we should teach and help about love. And one of the things and points we ought to underline is that love is a feeling and the biggest thing in the world, okay, but also implies the donation to others, to the other; to search for the best for the other person, the person the student may love. / Photo from: Boy-Studying620x300Veer1002529-80pct imgarcade com

Students can get excited with what they’re studying and learning.  Let’s think of secondary education. If someone is excited he can learn more and more. If teachers know how to get their students excited, much the better.  And a teacher can teach and pass on this ability if he or she gets excited with teaching that subject matter.  You cannot give what you don’t have.  Coming to the head: I would tell you to plan your classes, to read about education, and try to improve your passing on those likes and interests: if you’re excited, you will be able to pass it on. / Photo from: Person-Excited-at-Computer blog compete com 

We may coincide at the statement that everybody is free, and responsible of their actions, right?  Let’s now think of a school, of a classroom: each student is free at doing what he thinks it’s okay at certain time. Along his actions he is making himself. He’s making himself!  He’s the protagonist of his learning process, even more, of his education process. It’s a relief he can count on his teachers.  As well we can consider that it’s a relief because he can learn this nice habit from this teacher and he can discard another behavior, of another teacher.  Coming to the head: we teachers educate our students, not merely when at the classroom, but also with all our life – we’re responsible of the examples we set. Even our private lives do influence on our students, in one way or another. / Photo from: teacher-students-surrounding-laptop-resize www sheknows com

The best discipline is self-discipline.  The students get submitted and engaged in their own learning just because they want to. Tell your young students about all this, for them to apply that discipline: their job is learning, studying, practicing, etc.  David Stevenson has been one of the people to state that. A discipline that must be applied (from outside the students) is not a good one. David Stevenson is an expert at World War I. He’s a historian scholar.  Half kidding, half serious, we’re engaged in a daily battle, aren’t we? / Photo from: Poster Uncle Sam www authentichistory com

This morning I read a passage – the beginning – of an unabridged novel I’m reading, to my adult students.  The result has been that they’ve understood some words.  Nevertheless they’re improving, since all the class – or nearly, some 95% - is in the target language, English namely. / Photo from: Agreement-Handshake blog realdealdocs com

An activity I’m doing tomorrow, willing God, is to read out the beginning of a thriller in its original version to my adult students, for them to encounter a text in genuine and authentic English.  My students’ levels are from intermediate to upper intermediate, some B2.  It’s an experience which is new to them and has a stroke of novelty.  As well I’m thinking of projecting Casablanca with subtitles in Spanish.  By the way, the book is a thriller, The Prometheus Deception , by Robert Ludlum. I might tell you about the experience. I will ask them what they understood or their feelings. / Photo from: meeting-with-agenda abhinavpmp com

The first educator of kids is not the school but their parents, their families, their siblings up to some extent.  Think of the way parents value their jobs, and work in general, the way they talk about their boss, their attitude to life and labor.  All this influences more on kids than their gang of friends, according to an American survey. / Photo from: Reading-together www dyslexia ie

At a school where there’re both boys and girls, the role female teachers carry out is indispensable. Woman has a series of features that are necessary and unique for the school.  And more if we refer to young children.  They have a special intuition, delicate tenderness, capability of being specially focused on small details, a special genius, etc.  All this isn’t opposite to the idea of single-sex education, which option I personally prefer. Mostly I have taught in single-sex schools and I prefer this latter option. But as I say, it’s one more option. / Photo from: edustyster com. female teacher

Spanish expert Julio Gallego Codes states about the teacher’s features, which are:  trend and tendency toward young people, who are adolescents, so they “adolescentes” or need instruction, protection, love of benevolence;  secondly, trend to values;  thirdly, personality, temper, character, if the teacher doesn’t have a clear and sculptured personality, he cannot give it to others;  and finally, good humor, which lets him pass over everyday small conflicts and which makes him human and humane. / Photo from: advice_for_teachers_to_help_prevent_misbehavior_in_their_classroom expertbeacon com

I thank you a lot for passing by my blog and read it. I hope it be any useful. / Photo from: EP-140809410 TBO com

If a student has several and different school subjects, he can become confused, in some way.  Besides we’re pushing toward bilingual centers, aren’t we?  One thing we can implement is CBI, Content Based Instruction, and so have interdisciplinary nature. We can work on texts of history, traditions, folk-lore, science, etc., in English.  One thing students have in favor is they can use the Internet. / Photo from: technology-school-1236x824-1376585841 www parentdish ca

Young people that are generous with other people recognize, with time passing, they’ve made good use of time, and they sometimes can see the fruit of their actions, also when a boyfriend and a girlfriend have known how to wait to marriage to have intimacy relationships.  I know some cases, and they reach marriage with entire being. / Photo from: o-FRIENDS-BRAIN-facebook www huffingtonpost com

It’s sound to learn how to write notes while the teacher is speaking.  Sometimes we will write the key points,  sometimes most of what he’s saying,  sometimes a global diagram with the important points,  sometimes just words, or references to other sources,  sometimes the point or points we’re concerned about,  sometimes we will just listen and maybe we’ll write afterward. / Photo from: diving www obgtravel com. This picture is just a nice illustration

Last Christmas The Wise Men or Three Kings have brought me a book by scholar Carlos Cardona, whose title is Ética del quehacer educativo . It’s just great.  I used it in my last years of my degree – Philology of English.  One thing it says is that the kid or student lets be educated by whom he knows he loves him, with a love of benevolence. 

The problem looks solved in the other computer I usually utilize.

Thank you: the problem seems solved!

I've had some problem at publishing new posts. Hope to get it soon. I'm using a new format.

Teens love freedom and liberty. They discover them, and then they ask others to let them be free, starting with their parents and families.  They like rules only little.  However since they’re eighteen approximately they discover that above all liberty and freedom serve the purpose of choosing what’s good, they discover freedom is not just doing what they fancy, otherwise what’s good. / Photo from: mommybrown com. teens on a line

Many students in our country, Spain, fail just because they don’t know how to study, say, History.  They lack learning strategies.  First you must read the text several times so as to understand it. Also you will have noticed the main info and the important points. Afterward write a summary or a layout, and then memorize it. Later, after that, revise the text several times.  If 80% of students did it this way, there would be fewer fails. / Photo from: Swimming Clubs 1_920x550 www leisurecentre com

Who’s the person that achieves to master a language?  A person who really wishes to learn a language , and he has the firm resolution to do it: he shall learn for sure.  It’s a mixture of effective willing plus likes.  You love what you know. You know more and more, and this fact makes you love learning, carrying on learning.  You are continuously learning, from there, from here. All the time. Every day. You pick up one word here, one other word there. That’s the person who actually learns. / Photo from: english-learning www youtube com