Experiences of a teacher of English

  Quite many students learn and acquire a second or foreign language by reading books. Me myself.  Well, as you know you need to practice all four language skills, namely listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Ok. I always have a book in English which I’m reading. Now, two: a graded reader plus Jeremy Harmer’s The Practice of English Language Teaching .  I’m learning and re-learning quite a lot from this latter one. Well, also from the graded reader. From Jeremy Harmer I’m learning a lot of insightful points for teaching my English lessons.  Now we have summer vacations, but I’m taking lots of mental notes for those classes I’ll teach in fall. And the graded reader, well, basically it’s B2 level, yet it serves the purpose for me for reviewing lots of expressions and ways to say such and such things in English. Remember that level is upper intermediate.  When I come across a new phrase or word, I stop reading, study and take like a mental photo of it. In that...

  A teacher needs to have enthusiasm for his or her teaching. And they will show that enthusiasm when teaching, at least sometimes it will be shown.  Now I can remember a teacher, some weeks ago, one who teaches English, and one day in class you could notice his eagerness when writing on the whiteboard and trying to explain something in English.  I know some of you may have disruption and discipline problems in class, and you may be fighting against that problem, but what I mean is that a teacher oughtn’t to have lukewarmness and indifference, and feel kind of well you are there to fill out your lessons with a minimum effort, and you’ll be paid.  You cannot be one with indifference toward your teaching and your students. And I know that most of you teachers are committed and try and do your best in class.  Notice that most of times your students get motivated if you also are so.  One should not teach with some paper notes which are old and getting yellowish...

  We as teachers wish our students would learn, is that right? That’s the reason why we teach our dear students.  What about if also they would wish to really learn? Well, we may do a lot to make them autonomous learners.  We as teachers need to put their ball onto their roof, let me explain. I teach English, ok. And teach adults. I’m working out they would wish to really learn, and I can say a lot good about them.  Those students may not just attend lessons and that’s it, as if the teacher would be the main one interested in they would learn. If you actually want to learn a language, you may not confine your effort and struggle to just attend classes and do your best there, as though the teacher would be the one really interested in they would learn. You have to give your best as a learner, as a student. You have to invest your best in the struggle.  These ideas were already sated by great H. D. Brown (1989). I’ve already written about him on this very same blo...