Experiences of a teacher of English

Communication. That’s the goal. That’s the main objective for our lessons.  We second or foreign language teachers and teachers in general have to direct our classes to set nice communication among us the teacher and the students.  Thus we will not use the students’ language too much: we will tend to use the target tongue massively, turning to that mother language when it is indispensable, because there might big problems at using the target language.  Okay, well, but what if our students use that mother language in the classroom?  We will push them to use the target tongue.  For example we may foster the communication in English – the goal tongue – because we make up and create some need of using that language in the classroom.  I’ve seen it: when we teachers speak in English we’re creating a nice atmosphere where English is simply necessary. It is as if the classroom was a place from a country where English is the language com...

According to prestigious Spanish psychiatrist Enrique Rojas the teacher teaches knowledge and promotes some attitudes from the learner as well.  It is more than merely communicating knowledge or informing about some issue.  The teacher is someone great, as you readers. You’re mostly committed teachers. And that honors you. A lot.  On the other hand the wise person is the one that also offers some model and some way of living. He is not merely an erudite person. He’s much more than that. He gives and sets an example.  He’s attractive, more concerning the way he lives, which sets an example, definitely. He gives a nice example that people tend to imitate and emulate. He lives virtues.  You know that when I say “he” I also refer to her, to women, of course. Have a nice day! Oh, and let’s try to be good teachers, and wise people alike, a little bit at least from the latter one: that comprises living virtues and being nice persons. / Photo fr...

I told you on the previous post that we teachers must have fortitude. Also that we have to set an example in the classroom and in all other places where our teaching develops in the school.  We teachers must have a fortress quality. Or fortitude. We must be strong: for example when presenting our students about a new school year we should have previously thought of the goals for that school year.  Those goals should have been thought of with realism. Also with our students in mind. Also with optimism. Human persons can carry out nice learning.  We will have to stop aside our daily teaching to think and project those nice goals.  Otherwise we will not be able to push our students upward. Also we will say to our students how we expect from them to push themselves upward.  Now maybe at the summer break and before the school year or when teaching at the summer break too (!) should have to stop to think of nice goals: realistic, mature, posit...

The teacher has to set an example. He has to. He must have fortitude. He works with a sensitive public, his students. What a responsibility. A nice one anyway. And very positive, moreover.  I know that most of you like your job as teachers.  We have to set an example, whatever we do in the classroom, out of it and everywhere else. Even what we do in our private life influences upon our students.  All this is beautiful. And beauty teaches and educates. It does.  We are not alone. We can count – tentatively – on our directors and our colleagues. For example on veteran colleagues. Tentatively. Also we can count on the transcendent: God, our Father.  In order to set an example and to educate our students we have to improve and better our work and ourselves each and every day. All this is quite educative.  I know that most of you are committed teachers and that is simply great. Have a nice week you all! / Photo from: driving-in-irela...

Obviously we teachers have to educate our students’ intelligence. And we may be working on it. Okay then, also we have to educate their feelings and sentiments, their affectivity.  First premise: it is their parents who have firstly to educate those feelings of theirs. And we teachers help at that education. Our mission is subsidiary. We help their families.  Can our intelligence govern our feelings and sentiments? It can, in some way.  We can strive to have for example positive thoughts, positive resolutions to carry out our duties. And if we thus struggle to have positive and rational thoughts, in that way we can make positive and rational feelings arise inside us.  If we try to have positive and rational thoughts, our feelings can go toward a positive and optimistic side. / Photo from: chess-smarter Examined existence

Why can some people speak in a second or foreign language with such accuracy and fluency?  If you want to have and possess such good things as accuracy and fluency, you should for example read massively in that L2.  Because we can use and employ some of the words that we input and intake by means of for example reading massively.  Reading what? Literature, non-fiction also is convenient, etc. Always those books should be in accordance to human dignity: we feed ourselves from what we read.  What amount of words can I use? Fewer than the words I intake, definitely.  The more words I intake through reading the more words I will be capable of using. Also we should consider that that reading books should take rather long in time.  Summing up: the more I read, the more words I will be capable of using. Have a nice day! / Photo from: Boeing 747

So as I was telling you all, and in order to set a nice and serious classroom climax of serious work, we have to make our students think plus they should see we’re serious regarding our professional work.  I can tell you I have some reputation of being serious, rather serious, and that helps with creating a nice and serious atmosphere of serious work in the classroom.  And the other point was making our students think. Think of what? We could talk with them, with somewhat the frequency of TV ads or the like or less maybe, about being serious in the classroom.  It is my work and it is their work the ones we’re implementing in the classroom. And that’s quite serious, you know? We can’t play with that.  Let’s make them think. Because if we get our students think, they will likely become serious with their work. Also because the best classroom discipline is self-discipline: I set to work because I wish to do that, because it’s my work as a student. I...

So I’m trying to post again. And I wanted to write about classroom management.  Some tips: let’s try to make our students think and let’s show we want to implement seriousness at our common work in the classroom.  I’m telling you soon something about these latter premises.  It works with me, and it has worked along my career as a teacher. Not always but mostly.  I think classroom management and discipline have to do with students thinking and with them to learn that I’m serious at my work, my professional work. They cannot play with that: working in the classroom is also their professional work now, and they are training for life as adults.  / Photo from: Juventus-stadium-Champions. This picture has to do with the current soccer world championship.

I'm having some problems at posting, but I hope to post again so soon!

  Reading novels or non-fiction is okay to refresh English – or any other language – through the summer. I do it myself – plus other classes and other stuff I carry out at the summer break. At present I’m reading English literature. And I like it. Even I love it I’d say. Do I use the dictionary? I do but rather seldom. Seldom because I try and understand new words from the context, and it works! So I don’t stop often to look up some word in the dictionary. I figure out meanings from the context, as I said. And other words are left not understood. But anyway I quite understand the novel. It’s okay. And it is a good way to learn English: you not only learn words but other ways to convey some meaning: idioms, circumlocutions, etc. I tell you something: you have to find your own unique pathway to learn and acquire a language. Acquire I said. Yes because acquiring a language means that you’re learning though you are not aware. Also my students keep learning English a...

Yesterday or a couple days ago I read something interesting on the British Council-BBC website for English-language teachers. May we foreign or second language teachers use our students’ and our own mother language in the classroom, Spanish in my case? Sometimes, even often, using the mother tongue is demonized, the post said. And the answer – the article was much richer anyway – is that we may use it when the benefits are heavier than the counterproductive reasons. T he first premise, however, is that our students should be exposed to English – the target language in my case – massively. That is the only way for those students to learn and ALSO acquire the target tongue. Actually there are occasions when using the mother tongue is more than necessary. You know, sometimes we teachers may feel kind of guilty, for using that L1 (the mother language). The authoress of the article was Loli Iglesias, a teacher from the Basque Country, north of Spain. Summing up: let us expos...

  Studying, reading, researching. All those things are necessary for the teacher. Tentatively. He has to study – books on teaching and education, websites, forums – to improve as a teacher and as a person. Otherwise it is more difficult: he might not be capable to teach and educate other people. Tentatively. You can tell me you’re hectic and busy… which is true! Anyway we teachers have to dedicate some daily minutes at least to reading, studying. We cannot give what we do not have. No one can give what he does not have, right? Or at least it is quite difficult. You can tell me you plan your lessons, which is fantastic! Same way we have to read from other teachers. Two heads can think further than a single one. And researching I told you too. I think the teacher has to stop to assess his own teaching. How is it going? Why do I have no time to approach that students’ problem? Why I don’t find time to improve myself? What must I do to become strong again after the ...

  When correcting and reprimanding a student we should be delicate and considerate. Better we will do it aside, out of the classroom, not in public, and considering him as a person; what is more as a valuable person, who deserves all my attention and affection; remember that we would love our students with benevolence love: seeking what’s good for them because they’re human persons. They deserve all my respect. When acting this way we should leave an exit to the kid or the adult: he or she will be able to defend him or herself. In other words: we should count on his or her own desire to improve as a student and as a person. Also we should respect his or her freedom plus responsibility, as we considered on the previous post. We will never humiliate that person; otherwise our correction will be kind and nice, firm though, plus with a serene and serious look and voice. As well we have to consider that that person will be an adult some day, not far anyway because ti...

“That that that that has been used may be deleted.” How many “that’s” can you say or write? Any comments may be welcomed – tentatively. I wrote four, how many can you say or write? I remember once I saw quite many but right now I can only use four in a row.

  We teachers have to educate our dear students in freedom. Only then can we educate them truly, genuinely and actually. And also we have to educate them with the corresponding responsibility. Freedom and responsibility. Two siblings they are. Obviously I have to set some rules and there must be discipline, sheer ones by the way. And thorough ones too. The student has to do things because he wants to. Because he wishes to. Not because I’m going to be punished in case I don’t fulfill that rule. I want to be educated, and so I follow and even obey what I’m told by the teacher: what a responsibility we teachers have! We are going to be followed by our students – tentatively. We have to see persons in our students. Free ones. Persons who can love, because they are free. And they are free because they love. I’m referring mainly to benevolence love: I want what is good for the other person. Thus we teachers have to have ample lenses when entering the classroom: I’m ed...

  Classroom management? How to deal with discipline? I can tell you what I would do now. I would enter the classroom, with a serious look. I would treat those marvelous kids with respect and in a serious mode. If I respect them… more likely they will respect me. However they could put me to the test. Something pretty important is getting them engaged and roped with the class conducting. And while they’re starting to do the activity I’d try to get them into the activity, in a serious way. Also because I’m fulfilling my professional work, and I don't play with that. I would allow little, or nothing, but without investing too much attention at discipline itself. It’s a mixture of seriousness and delicacy and getting them immersed into the series of activities. Well, all this is what comes to my mind right now and which is based on experience. I’ve already written quite a lot on classroom management and discipline on this blog. Gravity! That’s the word: I would ...