Experiences of a teacher of English

A learner of English is or must be open-minded to Anglo-Saxon culture, and to all the rest of cultures of those countries whose language is English.  Besides as well he should be open-minded to any culture. Just because he’s learning a foreign language. He’s in that way open to all cultures and considers himself a citizen of the world, and of his own country.  It seems sound to educate our students in these ideals. We as English language teachers ought to include something of this kind of education in the programs of the school subject of English, for example learning about history, traditions, ways of being, geography, folk-lore, music…  We did so in our degree of English Language Philology. / Photo from: www kathyngreeleydesigns com

If the students you have to teach English have a basis of that language, and they know some grammar and vocabulary, you can start classes for speaking, for aural communication.  This is my case. This has been my case this academic year.  And in the end the students were capable to speak English about a given topic, upon which we already have worked on, namely they had to make summaries of stories, as I have written on previous posts.  And if you have not much time, you can focus in speaking and listening. Have a nice weekend. / Photo from: bagnipoeliator it

You teacher, who make youngsters think are making a great service.  At tutorials or tutoring sessions, when you ask a kid of 11, you’re making him think. And that’s simply fantastic.  His parents think he’s still a toddler. But his brain is making still, and can already think abstract stuff, and you’re the person who is getting neurons interweave with one another. Bravo, go on the same way. / Photo from: Boy-writing-primary-schoo-011 www theguardian com

Great Jutta Burgraff said human person is a being to answer, to reply, to respond. I trust her statements, and she’s a great thinker of our century.  It has to do with what Aristotle said that human person is a social being.  If somebody leaves alone, he gets crazy. Robinson Crusoe would be not possible: it’s a construct, just that, and a great novel.  Anyway, man is a being to respond.  So he needs a language of communication and for communication.  We teachers of English and other modern languages lay a bridge among people: we give the chance to communicate with more people.  If you’re a native of Spanish and are learning English and have fluency, the panorama of people you can communicate with is just huge and giant. Carry on what you’re doing since it’s your job, you're doing good, and I trust you. / Photo from: maxitis gr

I didn’t want to have a gentleman who has a particular and peculiar way of being into my classes.  However I have thought I can treat him as well as possible, and teach him how he has to conduct in classes next academic year.  This summer even I will accept his demanding of English classes. I have to give chances to everybody. If somebody is special and different I should treat him special and different. And that is it.  Some of my students don’t like him, but I cannot exclude anyone at first – there must be serious reasons and motives to tell him please do not attend my classes any longer. Hope he will fit in my classes. / Photo from: older-student-Echo gradschool about com

This summer I’m helping out in a summer English camp.  My role is picking up single students from the classrooms and have a conversation in English, so we reinforce conversation and speaking in English.  I will take the kids to my office, and talk with them.  It is a complement to regular classes, where speaking is also emphasized.  I will be engaged with this plus some possible private classes.  I will take photos to describe, in the camp, and as a visual aid. I have been attending this summer course for more than twenty years, and it’s ok. / Photo from: Summer-Camps-Slider deaedpostireland com

This academic year my adult students have been capable to speak in English, this is, to communicate in English.  Next year I should have to polish their grammar. I will correct some errors and mistakes.  What I don’t know yet is if I’m teaching them grammar more systematically or not. Maybe I will teach them some basic and important grammar points, like past simple, for when they’re referring to yesterday or another point in the past. / Photo from: angeelforisgeal wordpress com

Love between the spouses is feelings and sentiments of course, but an important point is donation to the other.  And sacrifice.  And you love all of the other person: body and soul, projects and sorrows, with virtues and defects (which are not an offense to God).  You love the other You, the other person, as a whole.  In marriage the union of the two bodies is a consequence of true love and is open to give a new life: children. And gives and produces more love toward the other person. Oh, and happiness! / Photo from: parents and children 2015quotes gp

I have written a lot about discipline and class management.  But what can a teacher do when the students pertain to some lower class and are more misbehaving, when their atmosphere and ambience are more difficult? What to do when the students even have committed some mischievous outrage?  In this case I would ask you teachers.  Any comment is welcome. They’re not simple situations, and I have never taught at these circumstances. / Photo from: www mba-sensational com The picture is just an illustration

What methodology of teaching and learning English do I hold?  Communicative, definitely.  I like to teach people to communicate with other people.  So not much translation, no mere learning grammar patterns.  This morning each of my adult learners made a summary of a text I had previously handed out to them. And I told them they were uttering and saying messages in English, though with errors and mistakes we will polish next academic year. The topic is that one about a rugby team whose plane crashes against Los Andes, in the 70’s, and some of them survive.

I will keep on publishing posts asap! I have finished my course with adult learners: they have gotten to speak in English, with errors and mistakes, ok, but you can understand them. I'm glad, and they are. We have to continue after summer. / Photo from: www regis edu

You, well, hmmm, WE need fortitude for teaching, for everyday stuff.  For example, to call and summon the students, who are chattering at one of the halls or wide corridors of the school.  We need fortitude to have them return to the classroom, after a recess or break. We must be firm but affable at the same time.  How to get that fortitude? Also in the classroom you have to call their attention to listen to you and focus on you.  You know, I’d say we learn those tricks with experience, and with an upright life, also out of the school, in our private life! All influences and build us up in one way or another. We can’t give what we lack. And the other way round too of course. / Photo from: www yelpp com

I well can remember the sessions with other teachers of the same grades (academic years) we had to evaluate each student’s work and other possibly remarkable circumstances, along two or three months.  It was in the school of Jaén where I worked, before coming to Granada.  We didn’t confine our work to grade the students and deliver the grates bulletin to each student, to show it at home.  We used to talk about each student at those meetings. It was something more human and humane. We evaluated the kid and talked about what could influence in his work development and performance. / Photo from: www isu edu

I have met several autonomous learners. They studied and engaged with English because of its importance for so many jobs and so many needs and occasions.  They didn’t learn because somebody would be pressing them to learn or they were seeking a diploma.  I remember one of them: we were in an airplane to Rome. Ok, he made good use of time and chattered with the flight-attendants, both genders, in short conversations.  These autonomous learners anyway need precisely other people to talk with – it isn’t enough to study and learn many words and grammar. / Photo from: alban7 unblog fr

Why this blog?  For example I would like to help novice teachers get some tips, practical ones, for their beginner career as teachers.  I have taken from here and there, from my thoughts, from what other teachers have said…  Some posts are more profound and deeper: they could shed some light to them and to veteran teachers as well.  I have learned a lot thanks to this blog.  I hope it has been of any use. Thank you, colleagues and readers. I have enjoyed the blog a lot. Also you can enjoy the pictures. / Photo from: cycling www chianmail bangkok com The photo is just an illustration

Let’s go to the roots for a while.  Man was created by God, by God’s love. God was happy and desired and wished somebody else be happy.  Man carries out his mission by love. His mission is to love others, with love of benevolence.  Who must he love first and most? God himself.  Now talking about everyday stuff: the teacher should love his students. Only with this love of benevolence he can help a student to carry out a difficult exercise, to carry out his life.  I suggest, if you like, to read this post several times, and slowly, understanding and comprehending the post. I hope it be any useful. Oh, by the way, all this is compatible with evolution. / Photo from: kids-on-grass-2 mustbethisalltoride com

Reading classics in abridged versions (readers)? Some teachers are in favor and some others prefer contemporary readers for our students learning English.  In my opinion I’d rather take classics in simplified versions. The reason is in that way students read and get to know universal books.  Moreover human person appears in his sublime characters. They’re versions that show human person with tentatively noble sentiments.  Thanks to this reading classics in simplified versions has served me the purpose of getting me to know masterpieces when I was a kid.  And they educate in values and prepare or could prepare students to read the original versions in future. So as to finish I would say that’s my opinion but I’m at disposal to discuss with those people that prefer contemporary simplified versions ad hoc . / Photo from: www edmontonjournal com

How to make a commentary on a given text?  Some students who have the set work of commenting on a text tell you nobody has taught them.  I would say the first thing is twofold: understanding and enjoying the text.  Make them read the text several times, and you may let them ask you whatever question.  After having read the text they will understand more and more, also with the words they asked you about.  This is the first step. Briefly the rest of the commentary should be about how the writer has made the text for us to understand it; how enjoying it; literary figures, like metaphors; what is special in that text; in few words, all you teacher can tell them: style, etc., whatever you teacher may make to build up a commentary about the text. / Photo from: www dailyteachingtools com

We teachers of English and other languages ought to run and embark on kind of a campaign to teach our students three basic things:  writing on their textbooks and activity books with a crayon or pencil (which can be erased and corrected),  writing neat and with a clean handwriting,  and not scribbling on the book margins.  They seem little things, and they are, but also they’re so educative.  Besides the same books could be passed on to their younger siblings or other poor students.  Of course the thing changes with tablets, but I would hold up what I just said. / Photo from: letter_writing www salon com

Dear almaha'a, sorry for not including you into my circles, but times now are convulsive and turbulent in Irak, your country, as you perfectly know. I'm sorry; I know you're suffering a war. I pray for you all. Plus I don't know you. Sorry if I mistook your name spelling. I should meet you personally, and for long.

Teens may be misbehaving in classes, ok.  Yet the authority is in the teacher’s hard-working,  being somehow elegant,  having rigor in his school subject,  polite addressing the students,  stopping if some kids are chattering,  having phones silent or off,  experience,  wisdom,  respecting the students,  being sensible,  listening to the students,  a serious working,  some sense of humor,  respect to himself…  It may seem so many things but the summary is in the teacher’s serious and affable look. And you can be that ideal teacher; it isn't very difficult. / Photo from: teach_in_abu_dhabi www totalesl com

I know a few schools that upload students’ summer work into the Internet. Both for pass students and remedial fail students.  These latter ones have a remedial exam in September, just before back to school.  We have passed from photocopies in a process to – as I said – uploading homework in the Internet, to a school web site. / Photo from: www readinghorizons com

Drill exercises. From the students’ textbooks.  They have often to carry them out.  Sometimes some student has told me he didn’t know how to do an exercise.  And what the student has to learn is: understand the instructions by reading them several times; to look at the example and study it, if any; write the exercise, better if the sentence answers are original and mind engaging. / Photo from: www bijesacademie nl

The class is a team, a work team: the students and the teacher; they learn English together. I've learned many words when teaching.  The teacher helps students to learn by themselves, on their own.  Nonetheless the teacher is the main protagonist among the protagonists. He has to make presentations and explain the meaning of a word, first in English, afterward maybe in their L1.  The main source of activities? The teacher. He or she helps their students take the most from the textbook for instance. / Photo from: www usnews com

We teachers have to teach our students how to think, how to solve problems and situations; also we can teach them how to be creative.  The point is students should be people that will be able to face up with life in their future, and now.  How to behave, how to conduct themselves in life: this is what we must teach them.  The protagonists can be said it’s students, ok, but also their teacher. This one can lead the way, or the ways. And he must set an example. They are like on a pedestal, or basis, or foundation. And the students will in some way imitate the teacher’s way of working. / Photo from: www mtu edu

Social networks require to know English, which is a close-to-a universal language.  Also Spanish is spoken by so many people.  All this shows a reason and motive to learn English. It’s motivation as such. All this requires too that English has to be faced up with a vision of immersion in the class, a vehicle language also in the class.  Our students are prone to and fond of signing up in social networks. And we parents and teachers have to assist in this field, counting on kids’ interior and personal world.  We should become their best friends – I’m referring to parents and elder siblings. Perhaps only in this way can we help the kids, also to be cautious. / Photo from: blogs sap com

One of the positive things of iPads and tablets is that you can connect with another person all over the world.  This is what I heard in the sessions I attended few days ago, though I already knew it.  In kids’ case, parents and teachers should in some way control and help and advise their kids when connecting with other people via the Internet.  You well know this may be dangerous… or positive in many cases. This just is their world.  This is a reason and motive why they should learn English, because already Spanish is their mother language.  / Photo from: www comloab com

I won’t ever insist enough that in English classes the language spoken has to be English. By the teacher and by the students.  If these latter ones can’t speak fluently, we as teachers have got to teach them little by little, advancing one step every single day.  All this is called immersion.  By means of which even the conducting of the class should be in English.  The teacher has to make a compromise with himself to conduct the class in English, and come back to English when he realizes he has spoken in Spanish, their mother tongue. / Photo from: Olympic-Games-2012-Swimming www theguardian com

Yesterday I attended a public session about the use of iPads at school.  I got a bit amazed about how quickly and fast those students used their iPads. Well, it’s their world.  They have been born some twelve years ago, for example, and have grown by using this means.  It’s their world, their natural environment. iPads can be useful and helpful for classes: they are like books but with many other apps. Also other tablets are similar. / Photo from: www thebitbag com

I’m rather satisfied with my adults group this academic year.  We have two classes left.  They have gotten able to speak in English for long.  Something useful and helpful has been my gently praising their effort: positive motivation has proved to work good. / Photo from: myeventconnect com

If you’re parents with babies, you’re fortunate.  Let’s think you’re Spanish: you teacher of English can talk to them some part of the day in English and some other in Spanish.  So for them there will be two ways of saying the same idea: “rojo” and “red”, and they will acquire English in their inside. / Photo from: www broonzy ah net

One day a teacher took his students for an excursion to the mountains. He tried the kids be hard and strong.  As well they all prayed a mystery of the rosary, and he told them some things from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  Maybe those kids will go away far in the future, but his teacher had sowed a seed of sane doctrine which could influence on their parents and families, and society. He treated the kids gently and nicely. / Photo from: www cruiselawnews com

What’s human person’s heart?  I’m not referring to the group of muscles that compound the heart, but I’m referring to man’s interior; even more: all his or her powers in a quiet and still balance.  I’m also referring to the whole person. Spouses are (or “must be”) prone to donate oneself to the other, thoroughly and completely.  In other terms, we have to educate our students as a whole: feelings, reason, will… without forgetting that the first educators are just their parents. And their family: think of elder siblings. / Photo from: Beijing-2008-Olympic-Games olympicgamesbd blogspot com