3032. A Friendly Atmosphere in the Classroom


 
Yesterday I wrote that it’d be okay we second or foreign language teachers would speak in the language we’re teaching to our dear students, and it’s so; and also I said that I usually speak in English to my Spanish students, before and after the lesson.
But think that communication among people is the first priority for us human people, and for teachers and students too, obviously. Anyway, communication can be held in English, the target tongue.
We can enhance and facilitate communication before and after the class with a challenging and helping smile: we can be pushing and gently compelling our students to take risks and speak in English, our common target language. With creativity and a helping smile we can build up communication in English, which will help our students step forward and use that tongue.
However I could also tell you about the experience a female teacher told us about: she used to have nice conversations with their students, female ones above all, before the class, when they all were waiting for the time to start the lesson, in their mother language, Spanish. In that way she arranged to assist and help out her students a lot, and I guess she could hold more communication than those students at home with their families, in some cases; she outdid communication among them.
In a few words, try and hold conversation in English, and little by little you’ll destine more time to nice chatting and talking, but if you see that this attitude (speaking in English) hinders communication, turn to your common mother tongue, namely Spanish, before and after the lesson. And perhaps you could try to create a friendly immersion atmosphere in English. / Photo from: chess-player PaperTo Stone How playing chess enhances the brain power. The photo is an illustration that has to do with education.

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