Experiences of a teacher of English

Within some days I will post again... In January anyway.

  We teachers should bear in mind we have a great help for our dear daily teaching: the transcendent. We can lean on the transcendent. Man has a thirst for the transcendent. We can turn to God, and count on his big help, and this is a grand truth! As well on his blessed mother, and our mother alike, Saint Mary. We human people have a soul, some spiritual part of ours: this is a plain truth, I’d say. Material things are okay, but we also need the spiritual. We long for love and happiness. And we can see it in novels and films, is that right? We need transcendent values, we cannot confine to material stuff, which is okay anyway! / Photo from: Osterrike-Alpene www comwest fi. We also long for beauty! And that’s a beautiful photo. - I think it is from Finland.

  We teachers have to learn to keep serene when we are hectic. We may have a lot of work accumulated, okay but let’s keep serenity, in order to be able to think about what’s the best in such and such circumstances. We may be hasty but let’s be careful for we’re treating people, ultimately! If we’re upset at a given moment let’s not scold that disruptive student, until tomorrow, when we may be more settled and in good mood and shape. That student also would appreciate it: a terrific scolding can be counter-productive. Don’t me lose your temper, ever and ever: we could regret later. Don't scold anyone. If we have a lot of work, let’s keep serene and carry out one thing after another, one by one, step by step. Serene, always serene, to be able to think properly and in a sound way. What are we to gain if we’re uneasy? Can you tell me? Let’s keep what some people name cold blood. Also let’s stay peaceful, albeit we may not sense and feel any progress from our dear studen...

  In some way we teachers have our students’ souls in our hands, what a responsibility…, and we can influence on their education and even on their salvation, up to some extent! We are like their shepherds and influence on their souls’ salvation, through our daily work in and out of the classroom. Educating is also an art, a fine art, I would say. What a responsibility, because our students and their minds and their souls are in our hands! We’re like potters, who mold them as better students and better persons alike. Whatever we do or whatever we don’t do influence on them. Even our private life, I would say. Yesterday I found a beautiful text by Spanish writer Eugenio D’Ors, published in 1915. Pero yo te digo que cualquier oficio se vuelve filosofía, se vuelve arte, poesía, invención, cuando el trabajador da a él su vida, cuando no permite que esta se parta en dos mitades: la una, para el ideal; la otra para el menester cotidiano. Sino que convierte cotidiano menest...

  I guess and assume that with my adult students I should let them choose between two possible ways of learning English and carrying out their activities for learning English. Ultimately they’re the protagonists of their learning and acquiring English processes! For example when I ask them to summarize a given text, I tell them they can either read their written summaries or say those summaries orally; this is, they can choose between either reading or speaking. My experience so far is interesting and positive. Even at the next class I will tell them that when I let them choose between two possibilities what I want is to make them responsible of their learning process. I think we have to offer the chance of choice among several different ways of learning: in that way they become more aware that it’s them the ones who have to organize both their learning and acquiring English processes. Even in teens’ case I would offer them several different ways of carrying out act...

  My class-groups are mixed-ability ones. Like any one of yours, I guess, right? Anyway, what to do? For example I catch myself translating something I just said or explained, into Spanish, our mother language, for some of my students, while I try to create and make up immersion into English, and so in that way I could facilitate acquiring the language. But the quick solution for some of my rather low-achievers is to turn into Spanish. I said low-achievers, but it’s not so: just there’re so many different levels of English amongst my dear adult students. All of them are nice and so willing to learn and eager to participate! Any suggestions are tentatively welcome. I’m thinking of, on the other hand, making up worksheets of a higher level for those who can go faster and can reach a more thorough communicative competence. Something also I can do is making the high-achievers monitor my lower-level students, whatever they may do, even translating into Spanish, while I w...

I have the purpose and resolution of publishing more, perhaps today. I have findings from reading and from my dear lessons, which may help you hopefully! From the picture we can remember that we all can learn a lot from our elderly, can't we? Oh, I could also write from other teachers' findings!

  Women are important at school, because they’re important at home, for education, and also they’re important at society, at any level. In case women are rotten, society is rotten. They’re so important. And at boys schools they’re important, at least as cooks and lady cleaners, and as admins alike. Because they provide a role which is indispensable. And it is something indispensable because they’re indispensable at education, together with dads. I’m referring to their special features and qualities as women: femininity is indispensable at education, at home, at schools, at society. At any social association – I’m aware of the redundancy – they also are indispensable. And their absence is something to be noticed. Something we cannot stand. On the other way round, if they’re present, all is easier – because of that also they’re indispensable at kindergarten, while at upper grades men can teach children and teens – think of single-sex education for example. But men can t...

  Young people have to be rebellious, in the good sense. Rebellious against what makes them be mediocre and common place. They have to be rebellious nowadays, against what makes them become like beasts. Because the young people who don’t find obstacles cannot be good and virtuous: they show themselves as good when they find obstacles to jump over: hard times, wars, lack of what’s necessary for living, hard day-to-day, even just daily education! Now there are good young people at many places: those who have to behave as human people at those difficult and tough situations, or at simple daily situations too! For example they don’t want to be dragged by drugs, alcohol, sex, but they want to be as they are, human beings. Spanish famous doctor and writer Gregorio Marañón used to say a good young person is good when he or she has to find obstacles in their way, because good with no difficulties is simple and easy. He wrote about this in an article of 1966. Think now of a ...

  I’ve advised you to plan your lessons, right? Now I would tell you we teachers should be flexible about that planning. I mean, you know, if we see an activity is not right at certain moment, because our dear students need something different, we could skip that activity and proceed into the next one from the planning. Flexibility is a necessary skill every teacher should have. Also if you notice such or such activity is getting boring for our students we should also skip it, and proceed into the next one or even sometimes the best thing is to right away change all the planning thing. It’s up to you and your students’ needs. So remember, flexibility. Practice and experience will tell you about that point. Something else: planning our classes and lessons provide prestige to us as teachers. Lesson planning shows a thorough labor from you and gives you prestige, something you need to enhance a moral prestige and authority. You need those authority and prestige to help y...

  If we’re English language teachers it is sensible to say all in that language, in case our students can understand us in the target tongue. We should bear and resist the temptation of saying for example the meaning of a word in the students’ mother language – namely Spanish – when they can understand all in the target language. Even when their level of English is not high. And this is so because we wish to create an immersion atmosphere in English, where things are thought in the target tongue. If we said something in Spanish we could beg their pardon by smiling and then turn and shift back to English. We should say all or 99% in English. I would like you readers reckon we teachers are connecting people by means of communication among them! We teachers are carrying out something human and humane: making people communicate in English! Even at a world scale: it’s something we can’t forget and leave to oblivion: we’re doing something grand – people link to one another ...

  Something great among our students is friendship. And generosity enhances and boosts it. The friends you meet when you’re a schoolboy or a schoolgirl you don’t forget them ever, do you? We can remember some or many of the classmates we had in our childhood and adolescence. Our students are creating friendships that won’t ever be forgotten. Giving to others, being generous with one another, lending school material greatly reinforce that comradeship. Something curious that happens to me is that I can better recall my friends’ last names or surnames than their first names… You have spent time with those people that you’ll never forget. You have spent some experiences that mark your life. The first experiences at important things: the first girls you liked, exams and tests, the first confessions, the large science lab, the best teachers ever, firecrackers and bonfires, the first climbing the city walls, I don’t know, the first sport teams at basketball – I was never t...