tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33841863411065653372024-03-18T10:57:56.711+01:00Experiences of a teacher of EnglishFor English language teachers or other languages, and for language students as well.Fernando M. Díez Gallegohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00257513281796173180noreply@blogger.comBlogger3672125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3384186341106565337.post-11729097224307728282024-03-08T13:28:00.001+01:002024-03-08T17:09:25.147+01:003657. How to Develop a Lesson that Could Be Efficient<p> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">You may be a teacher, one of a second or
foreign language. Well, that’s is a marvelous enterprise. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Now I wanted to draw
some lines about what a good lesson could be, according to my experience plus
others’ one. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Thus we can start the class with a warmer or warm-up activity. I ask
my dear students about today’s date, and about the weather. Then, within that
warmer, we practice saying sentences with such or such grammar structure, one
we are practicing lately. Or they answer some questions by me. Or by them, to
each other. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Then we work on the homework set on the previous lesson. Every day I
set some homework, at the end of the class. And usually they’ll have to review what
done in class – me giving examples of what and how they may revise at home. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And
next we may work either on photocopies I hand out, or on the textbook we are
working on. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Much weight should be given in class to speaking in the target
language. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I plan each and every lesson, on a notebook for that purpose, even sometimes
I call on the students and show them the lesson plan. That may help out. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Now some
activities are carried out on the spot; others are carried out by them silently
and on their own, with their dictionaries, often one online on their cell
phones. I believe that silent working on such or such activities is a very
educative thing. They work at their own pace. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And I tell them kind of, You have
five minutes (or seven or …) to do that activity, one we have already read the
instructions of. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">A silent and concentrated class of students is a positive point
about learning and acquiring that target language. Also in a relaxed
atmosphere. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Now I teach adults, yet all this stuff may turn out great also with
teens for instance. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And please, remember, a lot of speaking, not forgetting to also
practice listening, reading, and writing. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And the students, as homework, also
read some graded readers they have gotten, each student ones they’ve chosen on
their own. Or unabridged books, if they have a quite high level. Reading boosts learning a language. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And that’s it.
I often finish the lesson by thanking them for their cooperation with my
teaching, and they also thank me for my teaching. Have a nice day.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Fernando M. Díez Gallegohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00257513281796173180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3384186341106565337.post-22472302365069860112024-02-20T18:52:00.003+01:002024-02-20T18:53:40.917+01:003656. Creating Genuine Communication in Class<p> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We have agreed that you may be a foreign or
second language teacher, and you may think that you have to foster
communication in class, and not only grammar rules, though these latter ones
are of importance anyway. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Well, the good teacher asks his or her students in
class so there may arise a lot of communication. Ok, that seems the right way. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And
that good teacher asks in some special way, let me explain. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He or she addresses
those questions tactfully, bearing in mind he is addressing persons, with a lot
of dignity, the one any person deserves. Any student is unique too. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He asks
questions or anyway he prompts to create that communication, which is among
persons. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">In other words, that teacher does not confine himself to implement the
textbook activities, yet he gives, with those questions, affection and
benevolence love, seeking what is good for the students. Affection, yet with
nothing posh or silly or ridiculous, but with prudence at the same time. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He gives
affection to the questions and the persons asked. And he has his students participate
and intervene a lot. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Thus as we can see that teacher has a lot of respect toward
his or her students, ok? In that way we were treated at school when young, I may
recall, also by most of our teachers at high school, in the seventies and
eighties of last century. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Summing up, that teacher values each question and
each student. Have a nice day. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Fernando M. Díez Gallegohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00257513281796173180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3384186341106565337.post-66947283290453122592024-02-09T18:32:00.001+01:002024-02-09T19:01:56.705+01:003655. One Teacher who Learned a Lot Just by Reading Books<p> <span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">If I want to learn a language, well, I have to
practice all four language skills, namely listening, speaking, reading, and
writing. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Okay. You may be a foreign or second language teacher, and may have a
textbook or course-book to apply in class and even useful for your students to
learn that language. And you may have for instance only two lessons per week
and per class of students. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Definitely two classes a week is not enough to
master that tongue. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">You as a learner ought to put in six or seven days of the
week to learn it, dedicating perhaps some minutes to that school subject. Well,
better it’s to devote like half an hour or even more to that learning. At least
some minutes. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">With some of my students – they’re adults – we have such a
textbook, yet I encourage them to read in English, for example a graded reader
their choice; some of them can afford to read unabridged books. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Reading,
reading is necessary. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">It gives us the vocab and grammar we need to participate
in class. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">A couple of days ago or so I said to one of my students, when the
class already was over, that they had shown eager to participate in class, even
with some earnest trying … but they also showed lack of lexis and grammar. I mean,
they wished to tell me things in class in English, but … words faltered. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">You know,
I’m positive and optimistic, they’re going to learn a lot and they’ve advanced
also a lot, but they need to read, read, read. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">I know a teacher that has
clearly improved his English … through reading many books. Also he has to practice
the other three language skills, anyway. He’s working on it. Have a nice day. --- Oh, something else: Stephen Krashen put that reading books, especially fiction, makes you learn and acquire a lot of the target language. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Fernando M. Díez Gallegohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00257513281796173180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3384186341106565337.post-75442138591635037552024-01-30T19:15:00.001+01:002024-01-30T19:15:21.055+01:003654. Are You Realistic when Planning Your Lessons?<p> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Let’s proceed into a new point. You may be a
second or foreign language teacher, like me. And you wish to carry out your teaching
effectively, right? And you may be subject to fulfill a curriculum, or
syllabus, or program, right? Anyway, let me tell you that although we may be
kind of obliged to fulfill that program, I think we should try to lesson-plan for
our dear students to really learn and acquire that language. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I mean, ok, you
plan your lesson with a set of activities; well, what about thinking, How could
I implement those exercises so that they actually learn and acquire the tongue? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">In other words, each lesson ought to be for them, the students, a firm step
forward in learning the language plus improving their communicative skills in
that language. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">That step may be small apparently, but one step plus another plus
another … in following lessons make a big figure! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Even you may have more
freedom to plan the kind of activities you think they are more appropriate. Then,
come on, let’s think of the activities more convenient for them to attain to
master that tongue they’re learning and acquiring. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">More practical, we may think
of a few aims for that class-group of learners, for those specific people with their
circumstances to achieve to give one more step forward, when I sit to plan that
next lesson. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">It’ll take you a few more minutes, perhaps one minute, and it will
help you big to advance in your committed everyday lesson planning. Have a nice
day. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Well, something else: A language learner will be learning and acquiring
that tongue for a whole lifetime; yet, What could I do for those students to
get for example more fluent at speaking henceforth, until we finish the present
school year? And be realistic, anyway. And we must know that our students have to hear us their teachers to speak a lot, if we want they would speak. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Fernando M. Díez Gallegohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00257513281796173180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3384186341106565337.post-39797202722524867612024-01-10T17:54:00.001+01:002024-01-10T17:54:43.112+01:003653. Let's Make Our Students Think and Learn to Think<p> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Do our dear students ever think? I gave that
title to a previous post, remember? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And the point is that we as teachers have
to teach our students to think, to engage their brains, to learn also how to
study and learn. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">They have to get the most from their textbook: thus we have to
teach them to study. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">As well we can elicit what they do for studying their
textbook, so their classmates will learn new and sound ways to study, perhaps. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">By
the way, at many schools and in some countries they are starting to think that…
it’s better for the students to have a paper book than a tablet. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ok, let’s
proceed. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We teachers also have to make them think: we oughtn’t to give all the
stuff too much digestible: they have to learn to study and draw their own
conclusions. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Something we may implement in class is to think with them. I mean,
you know, the teacher can think aloud and so his or her dear students will see
how to think. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Even something I do with my adult students is, when setting some
homework at the end of the class, I let them choose some aspects of how and what
to do with those pieces of homework, ok? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">At the same time they have to read
books or graded readers in English at their own pace, at home. Read, read, read. The book they just
decide to read. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I guess that with all this way of making them think they’ll
become a bit more of autonomous learners, and that hits the jackpot. I again
wish all of you a happy 2024.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Fernando M. Díez Gallegohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00257513281796173180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3384186341106565337.post-90040070296239313742023-12-20T19:23:00.000+01:002023-12-20T19:23:02.576+01:003652. How Could We Improve Our (Precious) Daily Lesson Planning?<p> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I also know that most of you are or may be busy
and committed teachers. I was wondering if write about this topic or not, but
in the end I’ve decided to write about it, yes, let’s go with it. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">As I said,
you may be hectic teachers, yet I presume that you devote some time of your
valuable and precious time to just thinking about what you do in class, so you
can improve your teaching work, also precious as it is, indeed. Because you
wish your dear students learn effectively. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I mean, the happy teacher – busy he
or she may be though – knows how to extract some time for thinking about their
dear students and how they can learn better and more effectively. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I knew a teacher
who used to dedicate some time for example at the end of the school year to
think and write down some points about his lessons: how they had proceeded, you
know, how they’d improved that past year, how could they improve next year, what
points are paramount for bettering those lessons, what points I have read on
some teaching experts both in books and journals, well, and from the Web as
well, and which I ought to include in my teaching next year, what points I omitted
and could implement next year too. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I mean, basic points that are basic for
improving those lessons… because I’m the most interested person in they would
learn, better and more effectively. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Me, I said? Well, you know, it’s them who
have to really, really wish to learn: let’s see how I might pass on the lure
for learning the subject I teach to my dear students. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And just before next
school year I could rethink about those important points to improve in my
lessons: those points will be reflected and shown in my lessons, in my lesson planning. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Even over the
summer – if vacations are in the summer – I could devote some time to ponder
about some of those points, plus let’s learn how the best teachers on the
Internet actually do it. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Have a nice day and all the best for some Merry
Christmas and a happy New Year! --- Well, how about dedicating some (brief)
time at that task at the Christmas break? Anyway, spend time now with your
family, obviously!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Fernando M. Díez Gallegohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00257513281796173180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3384186341106565337.post-51267757245688543202023-12-01T17:28:00.001+01:002023-12-01T17:28:21.698+01:003651. Do Our Students Ever Think?<p> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I know that you want to become a good teacher. One
who makes his or her students think, right? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">This latter thing may seem obvious,
but do our dear students really think? Do they invest all their cleverness capabilities
upon learning in the best possible way? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">In order to achieve our dear students
would think, and more if they are kids, we have to teach them how to think. If they
settle down to study their books, we may be heading in the right direction. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We as
teachers may think in a loud voice, say, to teach them to think, in class. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I was
remembering that when I taught kids at the first school where I began to teach,
we had, in accordance to their parents, there in the nineties of last century,
a plan for educating them. It was not one more school subject, like math or
literature or biology, but they were weekly sessions about topics where we made
them think: ethics, how to solve problems, virtues and values, situations they
might face as teens, etcetera. It was just what their families had entrusted us
to teach their kids about, as a complement to what they learned at home. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And they
thought, they did indeed. And they participated in class to say the conclusions
they were reaching at. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Anyway, we as teachers have to have our dear students
think. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">In no way have we to think kind of, Well, I don’t make my kids – my students
– think much, lest they may act intelligently and may surpass me as a teacher. No
way, man, they have to think! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And to think so as to achieve their best way of
learning. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Do our students read books? I mean books in accordance to human
dignity and to their parents. Literature, classics, non-fiction as well. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We also
have to make our students learn the best way of precisely learning. Some teachers
say kind of, Students have to learn how to learn, but the first premise may be
reading and studying and learning from our culture and civilization and then
afterward they may be kind of more creative. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">You may be creative when you’ve
got a lot of elements in your mind to think and create from that basement. Our students
cannot be creative when they do not have a lot of cargo in their minds to
combine and extract their own conclusions. Some of these latter ideas are from
Spanish pedagogue, teacher, and philosopher Gregorio Luri. Have a nice day, my
readers.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Fernando M. Díez Gallegohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00257513281796173180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3384186341106565337.post-21145592983971701322023-11-20T17:52:00.002+01:002023-11-20T17:52:59.392+01:003650. On Learning a Language and Enjoying the Pathway to Mastering that Language (or Nearly)<p> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Today I wanted to share with you several points
which can help both teach and learn a second or foreign language. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">For example I’m
still learning English and I know that I will finish my days on earth by still
learning: When can you say, well, ok, I’ve already finished to learn Croatian
or Polish or Spanish? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Something I’m doing lately is reading an interesting
book. I confess I’ve been reading it – with some stops anyway – for almost a
year. The book, about the Apollo missions to put the first man on the moon and
written by a space historian, is a volume of more than six hundred pages and I’ve
been reading it since last December. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">You know, it was a present from the Wise Men or Kings on 2018 or so Christmas when we were going to celebrate the 50</span><sup style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> anniversary of sending
a man to the moon and returning him safely. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Then, in 2019, when the 50</span><sup style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">
anniversary, I read it more quickly – namely several months – and now I’m
studying it, let’s say, because I try and notice any relevant and meaningful
detail from the text, and I focus on nearly every sentence. I’m learning a lot.
Phrases, vocab, grammar… all in context. Plus I’m enjoying it a lot. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Other times
I’ve read other books in another way, for example stopping just if necessary to
look up a word in the dictionary that blocked the text meaning and my
understanding it, you know. And thus I could read a book in a few months. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">But now,
like I said, I’m focusing on each detail and using the dictionary for close to
any unknown word to me. Well, it’s just one way of learning and acquiring a
language. And it does work, you know. Have a nice day.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Fernando M. Díez Gallegohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00257513281796173180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3384186341106565337.post-24785132545919566132023-10-26T17:26:00.003+02:002023-10-26T17:26:42.887+02:003649. How to Get the Most from a Single Text in Class, Look<p> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The good teacher must know how to plan his or
her lessons. They have learned over the years. Now I’m referring to second or
foreign language teachers. They learn how to plan efficient lessons for their
dear students to learn effectively. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And there’s a plus. They achieve to plan in
rather short time. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">That kind of teacher plans his classes with their actual
students in mind. He wants for them to really learn and acquire that target
language. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He knows how to get the most from a class text or a photocopy he has
gotten from his resources – they may be modest, though. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He learns how to be
imaginative and he’ll accomplish – as I said – to get the most from a
photocopy. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And he plans several activities from that sheet of paper. For
example, as follows. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">First he plans a listening comprehension activity while
his students do not have the copy yet. And he has planned a lead-in activity
for that listening, for example, a first exercise of predicting what the text
is about, just from the title, and he elicits several interesting contributions
from his students. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And maybe he provides or elicits some useful vocab about
that topic. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Then he may hand out the copies to his dear students. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And he’ll
read out the text for his students to grasp some nice pronunciation. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Then his
students will read it out – reading aloud is good practice. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Then all of them
can work out the text till they know it quite well. For example he will
pinpoint some useful lexis – in comparison to the way it is said in their first
language. Or even he will have his pupils focus on specific ways of saying
things in English – the target language, let’s suppose –, like some phrases or
typical idioms. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Then he can get the students turn the copy over and try – among all the
people in class – to recall all they can from that interesting text, or say it
in their own words, or other things you may be thinking of right now. For
instance also they can summarize the text. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">That teacher, where has he learned
all those possible activities? Perhaps from textbooks, or from videos on the
Web, who knows? Maybe from just experience. Have a nice day, fellow readers.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Fernando M. Díez Gallegohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00257513281796173180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3384186341106565337.post-70092687921350564092023-10-07T17:57:00.000+02:002023-10-07T17:57:08.977+02:003648. On How to Obtain Authority in Class with Your Students<p> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Today I’m trying to say something that may help
you if you teach college students or adults or even kids. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Something I’ve lately
observed is that the teacher has to let those students do, he or she has to
allow them to do, by combining authority with indulgence, authority with clever
lenience. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">First premise: the teacher must become an authority, a moral
authority in class. And that’s gotten if the teacher becomes somebody who can
say things that positively influence upon his or her students. That teacher
achieves that things fall on good soil, only if he works hard and sets an
example of a person who has something that really makes his students learn how
to work fine. I mean, that teacher is someone you can rely on, because he has
gotten that authority, which is moral authority. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Do you know what I mean? I’ve
seen teachers whose students do what they are told to do because their teacher
is a moral authority and has prestige – he is somebody that deserves to be
listened to. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And we must learn that that authority is accomplished over time,
along the school year, although from the first class day his students can
think, Oh, yeah, this is a serious teacher who takes his workload quite
seriously. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">For example, homework. He has to achieve his students would work at
home what assigned in class. Among other reasons because a language is learned
if practiced each and every single day – it’s not something confined to two
lessons per week. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Something even more practical: That professional ought to ask
in class if you – somebody specific – happen to have done that piece of
homework, yes, no, a little? Ok, and can you do it for next Wednesday? (I mean
next class day). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">That teacher will call on another student and ask a similar
question: N., have you written the essay? Yes, no, a little? He is asking that
polite question while he is making some intriguing face as if he would be
asking something with his students’ permission. It’s kind of, May I ask you,
N., if you have read the article at home, the one we read last class? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">As I said,
it’s a mix of indulgence and demandingness from his students. And remember it
is gotten over the lessons plus with professional commitment. Have a nice day.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Fernando M. Díez Gallegohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00257513281796173180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3384186341106565337.post-71382384511563971792023-09-20T13:12:00.002+02:002023-09-20T13:12:49.501+02:003647. To Facilitate Your Lesson Planning<p> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We may be starting a new school year, at least
in the north hemisphere of our dear planet. And we have to take care of it –
our planet I mean. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And in that new academic year we may find us teachers
planning our lessons. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I want to tell you something about that issue, in case it
may help you teachers. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Lesson planning has to be practical and brief, rather
brief. Before I think of the activities I want to implement in class next day I
think of my dear students, so I plan with them in mind. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Plus I wonder what they
expect from me or from our English course, and what they need mostly. It takes me just few minutes, and
sometimes, well, often, I write down those needs, aims, and expectations. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And then
I plan the lesson properly. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I feel that in that way my students are kind of
more satisfied with what we do in class. Have a nice day. Well, hang on,
something else I do when lesson planning is to ask myself what </span><u style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">few things are
important now for my students</u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Fernando M. Díez Gallegohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00257513281796173180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3384186341106565337.post-51944375366867500472023-09-07T19:42:00.001+02:002023-09-07T19:42:27.798+02:003646. What Is a Good Lesson Like? Some Approximation<p> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">What are good lessons like? Let’s try and mull
something about that question, from what Gregorio Luri states plus my own
experience. He is a Spanish teacher, pedagogue, and philosopher. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Some teachers
say classes must be fun. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Are you sure? Well, classes shouldn’t be a bore or
drag, but fun at all? A bit fun may be okay. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">They have to be well taught, for the teacher has planned
them nice and competently. That’s the first premise. And planned with his or
her students in mind. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And that teacher has to speak well, so his or her students
put in and take in good language. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I think that if the teacher acts that way,
more likely his lessons will be consistent and interesting.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And the classroom
atmosphere must be serene, so the students can work, learn, study, and grow up
well and with no stridencies. That’s also applicable if your learners are
adults, like in my case. In that environment those people can work intensely. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Thus
over time that kind of work is something you will like, probably, as a student I
mean. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">But the school is not an amusement park, as G. Luri says wisely. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">On the
other hand I’ve recently repeated that reading books and graded readers is great
and efficient to learn a second or foreign language. Of course you ought to
practice all four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing,
but by reading books and articles you can surely learn a lot of English (for
example). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Now, Stephen Krashen says that fiction books have the kind of
language and vocabulary that most students need academically. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And it seems
better the reader person would choose his book. Anyway, that person had better
select his read carefully, and most or many books are educative, as a matter of
fact. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">If you teacher plan to set a book for your students, let me tell you, it
should be in accordance to their parents, for they are the first educators. Have
a nice day and some nice school back.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Fernando M. Díez Gallegohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00257513281796173180noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3384186341106565337.post-59330431189245553252023-08-24T17:33:00.001+02:002023-08-24T17:33:38.140+02:003645. How to Build Up Practical Tests and Exams<p> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">It seems that a communicative approach to
teaching/learning a second or foreign language may be the best, and actually
most teachers apply it in the classroom. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Thus the learners would learn and
acquire that language by communicating in the target tongue, and also they
would learn that language in order to communicate both in and out of the
classroom. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">As well their dear teacher would not confine the classes to giving
language facts but to communication (plus language facts, if you wish, of course - they are necessary). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Okay. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">However,
that teacher cannot confine the tests and exams to measure grammar learning and
other language facts. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">If the classes were communication, the stuff measured at
those tests and exams has to be also communicative. A few questions can be
devoted to grammar, anyway, but also in accordance to what already done in
class. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The students shouldn’t encounter questions in the tests which they haven’t
been trained for. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Otherwise those students have to be assessed about what done
in class. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">When I taught kids, some twenty years ago, I used to include at least
one exercise that consisted of writing an essay, for example a story – a short one
– about something or with some given elements. And then my teaching English was
not very communicative. Some stories were really good.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Tests should be thus practical and communicative. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Also I
can remember the first test or exam I set when I began to teach kids, nearly
thirty years ago. Well, that exam had a series of questions which demanded from
the kids – they were some twelve years old – some strategies a student can have
at college, but not at secondary education! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The results were a terrible
failure, and even kids who used to get good grades, had gotten fails, and some
parents protested bitterly. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The exam or test is kind of one more class
exercise, always being educative and signifying one more step in the students’
progress at learning the second or foreign language. You may also include
questions about grammar, yet in the same way as you all have worked in class. Have
a nice day and a nice back to school.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Fernando M. Díez Gallegohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00257513281796173180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3384186341106565337.post-4556589153387359822023-07-27T20:57:00.001+02:002023-07-27T20:57:30.271+02:003644. You Can Learn a Lot by Just Reading Books, Look <p> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So we have – continuing what said on the
previous post – that we can learn a foreign or second language, but also we can
acquire it. Subconsciously. Similar to what little children do. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And we language
learners have to receive a comprehensible input, to acquire the language. Thus we
will be exposed to that input, which should be a bit above my actual level,
thus we can proceed and advance in that language learning. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">All this entails practical
points for the classroom. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Remember all that was already said by Stephen Krashen
from the seventies and eighties of last century. A great fellow this expert I guess. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He also said that you can learn & acquire the target tongue by reading
books, and this is good news – I do like reading books and articles. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He puts
that fiction books, like novels, help you a great deal in those learning & acquiring:
those books bring everyday lexis and sayings and kinds of expressions. And even
it seems better if you select those books. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The following thing is mine: with
those graded readers and books you can also learn – not just acquire. It’s what
I do. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Recently I have re-read the third sequel of Harry Potter (and the
Prisoner of Azkaban) in English, and right now I’m reading a book on the Apollo
missions to the moon, by Andrew Chaikin. I’ve had fun with those two books. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I’ve
tried to read a B2 graded reader – a retold story from </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Wuthering Heights</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">, yet it’s rather terrible: the characters are so
cruel and evil, and in just a hundred pages, I’m hesitating to read it: I’m so
interested in revising that B2 English, yet the retold plot is kind of
disgusting. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So I was saying: when I read those books I also LEARN vocab and
expressions and English ways of saying things, for I consciously focus on those
expressions, and try and learn them by heart – I wouldn’t wonder some of those
expressions are utilized when composing these blog posts! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So summing up,
comprehensible input but a bit above your level, so as to advance and progress,
and loads of reading. Have a nice summer (or winter in the southern hemisphere)
day.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Fernando M. Díez Gallegohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00257513281796173180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3384186341106565337.post-44959979140252004182023-07-17T19:39:00.001+02:002023-07-17T19:39:23.914+02:003643. How to Learn a Lot of a Language at Home<p> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We teachers have to learn from the experts. If we
want to teach our dear students fine. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So Stephen Krashen – an expert on
learning a second or foreign language himself – put his first theories in the
seventies and eighties of last century. According to them we know that we can
learn a language, ok, but – and it’s good news – as well we can acquire that
dear language.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Subconsciously. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We can acquire a language without being aware we
are learning that tongue. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">For that we have to receive comprehensible input in
that language, for example by reading a fiction book we have selected
ourselves, not necessarily an assigned class read. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Of course also we can learn
that language: it’s when we study its grammar and such in an aware way we are
learning. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And – if you let me say so – to produce that language (to speak and
write) we can hand those both learned and acquired languages, which is what I note
I do when I speak or write in English – which is not my mother tongue, as it’s
clear enough... </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">That expert has also said that we have to have a low affective filter
to input that language: we may be so willing to learn it, relaxed, focused on
it, we just wish to learn it, leave me alone! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And I guess the foreign or second
language teacher ought to foster both ways of getting that language: learning
and acquiring it. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">If it’s helpful, with my adult students, I tell them to
select graded readers in English to read at home: in that way and with a suited
level they may be learning (and acquiring) English in so a nice way: I note
they are improving their English: for example they have some increasing lexis
they can use at class discussions. Bravo for them. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Some of my students read
unabridged books as well. The nice ideas on this post are taken from Krashen, plus some of my own harvest. I can assure you I have learned quite a lot by reading books in English. And you, have a nice day.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Fernando M. Díez Gallegohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00257513281796173180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3384186341106565337.post-25312985713283395002023-07-08T13:29:00.001+02:002023-07-08T13:30:21.358+02:003642. Do Schools Kill Creativity (Again)?<p> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I have found apparently very plausible postulates
from two education aces which seem – only seem – incompatible. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">They both are
Spanish education aces, Gerardo Castillo and Gregorio Luri. And they do know a
lot on educating our students, both in theory and in practice. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Castillo puts,
in a book about fifteen world geniuses, that schools, or better said, teachers
should foster and promote their students’ creativity. Namely Isaac Newton, Thomas
A. Edison, Antonio Gaudí, John Ford, Joan Miró, Alfred Hitchcock, Steve Jobs,
well, they were considered as bad students (!). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Gerardo Castillo says that it
was like schools systems were possibly boring for those geniuses when they were
schoolboys. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Thus that education expert says that creativity should be fostered
at school, or some creativity should be thus fostered at schools, together with
regular set education. Anyway, let’s note that creativity stroke. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">In the meanwhile
another education expert – I believe they both are – namely Gregorio Luri puts
that explicit and set instruction should be given to our kids at school, and
creativity will be developed and built up upon that already set knowledge. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So it’s
like one of them said that yes for creativity and the other said set knowledge
should be given to our kids, plus let’s not much believe in those people who
say a big yes for creativity. Is it much of some controversy between those two
education experts? Creativity against no creativity? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Well, most of you readers
might guess the same I have concluded. I’m trying and giving a synthesis of
both experts about which I have read quite much. Let’s see. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Perhaps something
we can do in our schools is giving established instruction to our kids plus
whilst that knowledge is given to them, let’s allow that creativity. Each teacher,
on his or her real teaching development over time, has to look for that setting
established knowledge and taken from our common cultural treasures, and at the
same time they will foster our kids would feel free to create. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So as to finish,
I’d like to report about two kids, two examples, of boys who used to write
stories on their own. Well, you know, I think they created those adventures BY
taking from what they already knew and had lived, and from that amount of
sources they created those nice stories. Have a nice day.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Fernando M. Díez Gallegohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00257513281796173180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3384186341106565337.post-68912531074227995142023-06-29T13:10:00.000+02:002023-06-29T13:10:14.143+02:003641. What to Have if You Want to Learn a Language<p> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I wish my students would learn and acquire
English, and you also wish that from your students as a teacher. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">You know,
those learners must be willing to learn that language, no matter their age, yet
above all if they are kids from some ten years of age – before that age they
are pretty naturally willing to learn. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Of course they must be that willing if
they’re teens or adults. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Only that way can they learn and acquire the foreign
or second language. The more willing they are, the more language they’ll learn
and acquire. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And learning and acquiring a language is not just attending some
classes and just sitting there and just see what the teacher does. You don’t
learn English that way at all. It entails your whole self. It’s not just
sitting and listening to some audio. It’s not like learning math or history –
and in no way do I despise those subjects. It’s what scholar and expert H. D. Brown
used to say: you must involve your whole self: physical, emotional, mental,
attitudinal… It’s more of a sheer positive attitude to learning. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Or what other
experts say: it’s not just what you do in class as a learner but what you do
out of the class. It’s the experience of language-achievers. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Because of that
you may think of the possibility of having some talks to your dear students
about all this stuff: if they really really want to learn, well, then they will
attain it. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So as to finish for today: as well all this stuff is up to the
teacher: if he or she really really tries and teach nice and planned classes,
with the purpose their students will really really learn English, then those
teachers will obtain that purpose more likely than not. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Yep, because those
professionals will be transmitting and passing on the lure for learning English
or whatever the language is. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Another issue is classroom management, for you can
find students who don’t want to learn; however, we have to start by having a
professional who really really wishes his or her students will learn, and he or
she will have to combine both benevolence love plus serious class managing to
achieve a rather peaceful class atmosphere for learning and working: the
teacher IS a serious and moral authority, and you can consult other blog posts
about discipline and management of the class. Have a nice day.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Fernando M. Díez Gallegohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00257513281796173180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3384186341106565337.post-63884216732435745062023-06-15T13:42:00.000+02:002023-06-15T13:42:15.367+02:003640. On Becoming a Better Teacher: Some Hints<p> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">If you know about teaching and learning another
language, you may know that some experts have said that that teaching should be
student-centered, right? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Yeah, I can see the point, but to achieve that, the
classroom has to be also teacher-centered. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">All of us teachers want our students
would learn for example English, and to attain that goal, well, the teacher is
a central piece in that classroom. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Most students who have gotten to learn and
acquire that second or foreign language, well, mostly they have also had good
teachers. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">If we wish a number of learners in a schoolroom will learn a tongue,
we have to get very good language teachers. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">No good teachers, likely no good
language learners. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Behind a good learner often is a good teacher. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Well you may
also have a good student with a poor teacher, of course, but what I mean is
that we have to invest on getting good teachers if we want those students will
attain to learn English. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And that good teacher also has to be a (moral)
authority in the classroom. And that teacher has to speak well in the classroom
for his or her students to also speak good English. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And that teacher if he or
she’s a non-native English teacher, that person has to strive to also learn and
improve their English: a good language learner can orientate and direct other
learners. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I said that person must be an authority and a reference for those
students. And he or she will achieve that goal by controlling and managing the
classroom atmosphere: by controlling the environment with such and such looks,
with looks into the students’ eyes, with looks that comb the class of students,
with questions to obtain nice and useful feedback from those students, with
benevolence love to them, with real interest and concern about their students,
with conversations that implicate those students, etcetera. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">If that teacher is
a serious professional, well, then he or she will transmit and pass on seriousness
at working in the classroom. I’ve seen it. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Some ideas were taken from Spanish
teacher, pedagogue and philosopher Gregorio Luri. Have a nice day.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Fernando M. Díez Gallegohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00257513281796173180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3384186341106565337.post-63404622221532079162023-06-02T13:20:00.002+02:002023-06-02T20:09:01.945+02:003639. How to Encourage Our Students to Also Learn on Their Own <p> <span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">So we have already finished another school year
or are about to do it. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Do we teachers have into account that we have to also
educate our students, and so in accordance with their parents’ views? </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">We also
have to educate them in freedom. If we educate our students like they were
robots… we are doing wrong with them. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">I teach adults. Yet something similar in
some way may be applied to teens. I believe that a lot of English may be
learned by reading books – like Krashen himself puts it himself. And, you
know?, I say to those learners of mine they have to purchase graded readers or
unabridged books. On their own. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">As well they have to massively and intensively
read, on their own. Beside what we actually do in the classroom to learn
English. On their own, I said, by themselves. I leave them on their own. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Something
I do is I encourage them to read, and when they’ve finished that graded reader,
then, come on, get a new one. Or an unabridged book, which for the same money
or similar it’s longer than simplified books, which commonly are much thinner. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">They
may buy just what they like. -- Anyway, you can also orientate them in some way.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Thus they go to the bookstore and pick a reader
and see whether it’s okay with their actual English level. Of course they can
get those books from the Internet. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Right now I could tell about two people who
have learned quite a lot of English by reading and working on their own. Just because
they wish so. Well plus they need it. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Something else I do with my students is
to ask them to write… chapter summaries or essays about the book characters or
about the kind of language or activities from the graded readers or… And when we are in the schoolroom I address
somebody specific and ask him or her, N. do you happen to have any essay for
me? If the answer is negative, N. is it possible for you to write something for
next Monday? And it quite works. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Reading is a language learning booster indeed.
And the students have fun and may learn a lot for example from the classics. Have
a nice day. --Just something else: freedom comes together with RESPONSIBILITY. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Fernando M. Díez Gallegohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00257513281796173180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3384186341106565337.post-46495460197195343382023-05-19T13:29:00.002+02:002023-05-19T13:29:58.267+02:003638. Toward an Effective Way of Teaching a Second or Foreign Language<p> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Are you a teacher yourself? I mean, a second or
foreign language teacher? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I’m going to tell you something today which hopefully
may help you with your lessons. Let’s see to it. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">It’s common to say that we
language teachers have to have our students practice the language they’re
learning and we should not confine our teaching to teaching language facts. And
that’s okay. We should not confine our teaching to grammar and little else. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Yep,
that’s right. However, let us not think we cannot teach those grammar facts,
like for example verbal tenses or the use of the comparative of irregular adjectives. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Thus, if I’m teaching a bit of grammar or lexis, I don’t have to think I’m
doing something wrong. Come on, as well you have to give your dear students
language facts and grammar and the like, because those students do need those
facts… to be able to precisely communicate in the target language. And above
all if they are adults or even teens. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">They do need the language! It’s ok you
would teach them about the comparative and superlative of </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">good</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">bad</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">far</i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">, etc. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">If they learn about those
points, well, they will likely be able to use those points for their
communication, in class and out of class. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Maybe you teacher can attempt to
reach a balance of grammar facts and practical communication in the classroom. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Something
else: those learners will learn a lot of grammar, vocab, ways of saying things
in English or whatever the language they’re learning… by reading books
massively and intensively. Or graded readers. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">It’s my own experience and what
some authors state, like Krashen for example. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So let’s foster and promote
reading a lot. Also Sandy Millin on the Internet says that reading books is one
of the ways to learn and acquire the target language. Not only reading, of
course, for there are four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and
writing, and all of them should be practiced. Have a nice day.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Fernando M. Díez Gallegohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00257513281796173180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3384186341106565337.post-65731243281741612512023-04-24T13:07:00.001+02:002023-04-24T13:07:43.145+02:003637. Are Our Students Really Learning with Our Actual Way of Teaching?<p> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I’m back with you again, my fellow readers. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I wanted
to tell you something that may be of any interest to you, both if you are
prospective or novice teachers, or otherwise experienced ones. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I’ve been
thinking lately that, for a teacher, practice and experience are so paramount
important. And as well another key point to bear in mind when teaching in the
classroom or remotely teaching is that we should have our students in mind when
lesson planning. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Something you can do before the actual lesson planning is just
to think on your specific and real students. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">On a parallel way you may know
that when our students have to write an essay, well, you know, they should have
a reader in mind. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Equally when the teacher is about to plan a lesson – and every
lesson ought to be planned – he or she may think, Well, let’s see how my
students are in class and how last lesson worked actually. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And I invite you to
write a few points before the actual planning, considering their real needs,
how they worked on last lesson, some problems, how they can actually progress
on their learning process, some – few – teaching aims, and things that kind. For a few minutes. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">In
that way we teachers will obtain realistic lesson planning pieces, believe me. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And
finally, and we may have a few students in class or large groups, the teacher I
think should be focused on them and how they interact in class with you their
teacher and with their classmates. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Thus the teacher will for sure note their
troubles as well as their strong points. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The teacher is thus committed to their
learners in class: a lesson is not a chance for the teacher to show off, yet
otherwise he or she is there to make their learners really learn and ultimately
for them to be happy with a profound happiness. With just your committed
teaching in class you can cooperate to make them that happy. Have a nice day.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Fernando M. Díez Gallegohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00257513281796173180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3384186341106565337.post-20669647345548365622023-02-24T13:06:00.002+01:002023-02-24T13:10:38.357+01:003636. Is the Teacher Necessary in Innovative Schools? Yep, He Is.<p> <span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">As you may know, I have greatly written on this
blog about foreign or second language <b>autonomous learners</b>. And that’s ok, for
it’s them who really really really learn and acquire that language. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Today I wanted
to say, however, that the teacher is just necessary and essential too. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Furthermore
I would say that the language lesson has to be student-centered… but also
teacher-centered. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">We have to recognize that a good teacher may well help and
boost his or her students’ learning. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">I have learned a lot of English over time,
yet I am very grateful to my teachers over the years: they were just so great,
and have helped me learn that tongue. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">As a matter of fact a teacher also may
excite and stimulate his or her students’ eagerness for learning the language. It’s
something of what I try hard in my classes to adults, and these ones are great
language learners, yep they are. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">As well the teacher may shorten the way to
learners, because he or she may provide with useful techniques, approaches,
tricks, tips, hints… to his or her learners. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Before I said that lessons should
be student-centered and teacher-centered, both, ok? One example? </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Let’s see to
it. Well, one of my groups are learning BE GOING TO for plans and predictions. To
be honest, last lesson tuned out a bit of a failure about that grammar point:
some of the pupils got it and can make sentences and utilize that verbal form,
but others… just not. Next class I will treat that point once more. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">I will use
the PPP procedure, that is, Presentation, Practice and Production. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">On the first
stage, presentation, I’ll elicit some examples from the students plus some
examples by me perhaps. Thus I am involving them a bit more in the class. What I
mean is that, ok, they are the protagonists of the class, but also the teacher
fulfills an unequivocal role, is that right? </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">And that teacher has to be kind of
an animator, actor, prompter, adviser, a bit of a clown, authority, etcetera. Oh, and the
teacher has to provide contents and knowledge and some wisdom, plus he or she
has to provoke in their students the lure for learning, reading books, working
on textbooks. Thus a library is just essential in the school. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Some of the ideas
here were taken from expert English-language teacher and methodologist Jeremy
Harmer and Spanish pedagogue and philosopher Gregorio Luri. Have a nice day.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Fernando M. Díez Gallegohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00257513281796173180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3384186341106565337.post-92132465427637128842023-01-30T20:26:00.000+01:002023-01-30T20:26:13.982+01:003635. Educating Great People in Class: Some Try<p> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We may be teachers, okay? We may also be
educators. But do we know what to educate is? Well, maybe we already know it,
or know something about it. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Where I want to aim? Educating is getting the best
from my students, yet also it is getting the best </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i>to</i></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> them. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Some people say
kind of, Well, we have to get the best from those learners. Yep, but also we
have to take knowledge and other things to them. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Otherwise we will not obtain
the best from them. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">This seems clear in children’s case: we can try and get the
best from them, but alike we have to provide knowledge and others to them, because
they were born with no knowledge at all. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Spanish philosopher and pedagogue Gregorio
Luri puts it in that way: the teacher has to provide knowledge to their
students. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">It doesn’t seem sound to get some children into a classroom and
naively try and get the best from them, like they already were wise people. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Let’s give them knowledge and other things. For that we created our
schools. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Those other things are… like values, civil and moral values – in accordance
with their parents, for it’s them the first educators. Plus ways of learning,
of thinking, of working, of team-working, of solving problems, of writing
essays, of reading books, of… a rather long etcetera. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Educating is getting the
best from students, and secondly – last but not least – taking and leading them
to living their own lives in a way it is adequate of honorable men and women. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Something
more practical? Well, don’t you think the aforesaid stuff has practical points?
Anyway, do we think of our dear students when planning our lessons? Do we ever
think of them at all? Do we stop to listen to them? To talk with them? I do
know some teachers whose students meet around their desks when the class is
over so as to talk to their teachers. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">It would not be clever from us teachers not to get the best from our students, and let them stay uncultivated. When they are treated with affection and interest, they respond in a great way, yes sir, they do: you may also be a witness to that. Have a nice day.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Fernando M. Díez Gallegohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00257513281796173180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3384186341106565337.post-53087794526352573872023-01-20T21:08:00.000+01:002023-01-20T21:08:21.514+01:003634. Learning a Language through Reading and Becoming an Autonomous Learner<p> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I wrote a few days ago the following. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">One more
year has begun. And today I’m going to let you know about something I lately do
when lesson planning, in case it may help you out. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I teach English to adults.
And when I start to plan a new lesson, I wonder, Okay, what should I do to
really help my students learn that language? Because each and every class
should be one step forward in their learning and acquiring English. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Secondly I also
could wonder, Okay, what can I do next class to make my students become autonomous
learners? For those autonomous learners are the ones that actually accomplish
to learn English. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Thus we have two points for when we have to plan a lesson. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Now I’m trying to give you some examples of those two points, which we can bear
in mind to improve our lesson planning. Well, they have to be brief, each one
could take few minutes to think about. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Some examples, I was saying. Let me
think. Even I’m trying to give an example that covers both points. This is it. Lately
also I say to my students to choose a book to read in English. Either fiction
or non-fiction. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">My learners have different levels so I admit to choose a graded
reader as well. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">You may prefer to set a read, or set some norms as to choose
the book. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And they have to read on their own, at home, with perseverance,
dedicating at least some daily minutes to that task. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">This school year some of
them may have already read one book. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So they are quite free to read and work on
their own, at their own pace. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">And then from time to time I tell them I’m going
to pick up some essays about for example the characters of the story, or a
chapter summary of a non-fiction book, or perhaps I’ll have some of them read
out their essays in class, and then afterward, after someone has read his or
hers, we may have some discussion about for example those book characters. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Thus
we may be fulfilling that twofold goal: they more and more become autonomous
learners and secondly I try to implement some tasks in class which may really
help them learn the language. Have a nice day. - Oh, something else I do is to encourage them to read, to read and enjoy what they read!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Fernando M. Díez Gallegohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00257513281796173180noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3384186341106565337.post-91015204115252157992022-12-20T18:59:00.002+01:002022-12-20T18:59:47.979+01:003633. Toward Excellence in the Classroom: Some Try<p> <span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt;">The teacher in a face-to-face or
online classroom? He or she must be elegant. I mean they have to be tactful, respectful,
loving toward their students. What I mean by </span><i style="font-size: 12pt;">loving</i><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt;"> is one with benevolence love, i.e. they will seek the best
for their students. </span></span></p><p><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt;">For example, that teacher has to know how his or her
students are at each moment, and whether they feel good with the activity he or
she is carrying out before those students. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt;">And this value is obtained through those
affection and benevolence love, plus through experience at the classroom. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt;">As well
that teacher will try and be discreet, cautious and tactful. And he or she will
say things that will not hurt their students. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt;">Furthermore that teacher will
seek what builds up their students’ personality, in accordance with what their
parents want for them. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt;">I said he or she won’t say anything harming in the
classroom. For those people have some or a lot of sensitivity. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt;">Over time that
teacher knows how to pull his or her students upward: they will achieve their
students would work better and stay peacefully in the classroom. If that
teacher wishes they would work and learn well, he or she will make up a
peaceful and quiet atmosphere in the classroom. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt;">In that nice and kind
atmosphere those kids – or adults alike – will grow without stridencies and
shrillness. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt;">To keep order, classroom management and discipline is better if the
teacher is elegant in manners, serious, full of dignity, with moral authority. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, "sans-serif"" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 12pt;">And
those values are gained over time and only if that teacher strives him or
herself to be better and better every single day, if that teacher him or
herself struggles to become a better person. I wish all of you a Merry
Christmas and a Happy New Year.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Fernando M. Díez Gallegohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00257513281796173180noreply@blogger.com0