Experiences of a teacher of English

  I’ve been perceiving a curious fact on Granada streets lately, well, from a few years now. It’s parents with their children, walking or cycling anyway, and they’re Spanish definitely, yet they speak to those kids in English, and these ones sometimes respond in the same language.  I guess Spain is not kind of an isolated country anymore – it used to be one like that after our civil war, in the 1930s and afterward, and now it’s pretty simpler to find young people talking in English on the streets, for example a Spaniard to a foreign person.  And stays abroad now are much easier and more common than forty years ago, so as to speak.  A lot of young parents try their kids would learn English as a matter of fact.  However, today I’d like to point out something I do myself to learn English. On other previous posts I wrote that one way to increase my lexis and subsequently to learn English is what follows, just in case it may help someone.  I read a lot, or quite...

  If I want to learn a language, well, I have to practice all four language skills, namely listening, speaking, reading, and writing.  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.  Definitely two classes a week is not enough to master that tongue.  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.  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.  Reading, reading is necessary.  It gives us the vocab and grammar we need...

  Today I wanted to share with you several points which can help both teach and learn a second or foreign language.  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?  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.  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 th anniversary of sending a man to the moon and returning him safely.  Then, in 2019, when the 50 th anniversary, I read it more quickly – namely several months – and now I’m studying it, let’s say, because I try an...

  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.  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.  All this entails practical points for the classroom.  Remember all that was already said by Stephen Krashen from the seventies and eighties of last century. A great fellow this expert I guess.  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.  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 th...

  We teachers have to learn from the experts. If we want to teach our dear students fine.  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. Subconsciously.  We can acquire a language without being aware we are learning that tongue.  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.  Of course also we can learn that language: it’s when we study its grammar and such in an aware way we are learning.  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 ...

  Are you a teacher yourself? I mean, a second or foreign language teacher?  I’m going to tell you something today which hopefully may help you with your lessons. Let’s see to it.  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.  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.  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.  They do need the l...

  One month ago, while I was suffering some Covid-19 at home with minor symptoms, I wrote a series of remarkable points to take into account for my English lessons, if I wish my students would accomplish to learn and acquire that adorable language. Namely they are:  1. To read English graded readers or books they could get at a given recommended bookstore.  2. To foster they would give oral presentations in class about a topic of their choice, for a quarter of an hour or so.  3. To pass them on the lure of learning English also on their own, so they would become “autonomous, independent and self-relying learners” (Jeremy Harmer 2003).  4. To have discussions in the class about the activities we are carrying on in that class, or about pictures I show them, or about topics they like (my students are adults).  5. Assign homework to them by emailing, and demand that homework in the class.  Well, actually I wrote down more points, yet I wanted to pinpoint t...

  And now I’m trying to say something which could hopefully help you out on your lessons, above all if you are a teacher. I’m telling you something from my classes to adults, yet same things could be said for teaching kids.  Ten points, ten.  I would say that for teaching English or any other language and, if possible, you the teacher ought to say all in that target language, or more than 90%. Well if everything is said in L2, much better. Even your announcements to your students, about logistics. The communication problem may be convenient for them to learn and acquire the foreign or second language.  Second, while talking to your students, look in their faces also for them to have eye-contact. That will help you reach them more fully with your messages and also that will help you keep the class tight – for classroom management and sere discipline.  Third, your messages to them have to be clear: speak in a finely or roughly tuned level, so that they can follow ...

  Today I would tell you more about reading for learning English or any other language, and also about communication in the (remote) classroom.  Reading books and readers is a language-learning booster. Yes, sir, it is. I do it myself, and I’ve done so for many years. It gives you language: grammar, ways of saying things in the target language, lexis.  While I’m reading a science-fiction novel,  I read, yes, but also I study the language. I kind of devour the words, the phrases, the sentences, and much is retained in my memory.  And while speaking at the English lesson with my students, or while writing a new post for this blog, some expressions come up to that moment and I utilize them.  I study the language, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy reading, I do, yep.  Plus sometimes after reading a couple pages I go back and randomly revise some sentences or phrases or words, which thus get stuck in mind too. And afterward I can retrieve them when neces...

Can adults learn a foreign or second language, or rather this is more for children and infants? Can I actually learn a language?  Lately I'm telling you that that is also perfectly possible for grownups!  Thus now I offer you a quotation from another expert at learning languages, E. W. Stevick (1989) Success with Foreign Languages: Seven Who Achieved It and What Worked for Them . Hertfordshire: Prentice Hall International.  Look, "Until a few years ago, people assumed that this natural ability to 'acquire' a language died out at about the age of puberty. After that, it was thought, people could gain control of new languages only by 'learning' them. In this special technical sense, 'learning' is what we do in classrooms, with a textbook, focusing on one thing at a time under the guidance of a a teacher.  More recently, we have begun to change that view. It is still true that small children cannot learn from textbooks, of course. But we are discovering th...

Do you need to learn a language? I do. English. I’m working on it.  Now I can help you by giving more advice from the scholar we’re treating about on our last posts, H. D. Brown, who is an ace at learning and teaching languages.  So now we could think that children, young ones, infants actually, have a lot of facility to learn a language, right? But if we are adults… So what? Adults have a great potential to learn and grab a language.  Our author puts, “(S)hould you, like a kid, try to pick up language subconsciously? The answer is a qualified yes. As an adult now, you most likely analyze yourself too much. Your tendency is to memorize, focus on grammar rules, translate from one language to the other, and do just about everything except subconsciously acquire it. You’re probably learning facts about the language at the expense of learning to use it. And one sure way to fail at learning a foreign language is not to use it for genuine communication.” (page 21 from the book...

Many people need to learn a foreign or second language. For their work for example or perhaps they want to get a new job. And it’s our mission as teachers to facilitate that. Now amid these special circumstances of the Covid-19 crisis.  Lately I've told you my readers that reading books however the format may be a stupendous way of learning and acquiring that tongue.  Not only is reading good for learning: we have to practice listening, speaking and writing. But reading is so great and it comes to the same plate: it actually helps a lot, also as Stephen Krashen puts it.  I do it and I have done it over many years and I can assure you that you learn a great deal.  I’m reading a Jules Verne’s novel, in a complete and unabridged version. It’s okay. Each learner has his or her own unique way of affording learning a language, even the same person changes and shifts ways of learning along his or her career as a learner.  I read a couple of pages and then go back to fo...

We are still at the beginning of a new academic year. And it’s good we teachers and our students alike be enthused. Even now that we are going through this Covid-19 crisis.  Anyway, what I’m saying on this post may affect any time around the school year.  I teach English. Currently to adults. And I do know that students can learn the language, but also they can acquire it, i.e. learn it subconsciously.  We learners of English also acquire the tongue if exposed to it at a level we can understand, better if the texts are a bit above our level. This is, finely tuned at a level which is a bit above us.  The scholar who explained all this theory is well-known, Stephen D. Krashen (Chicago, 1941).  He also said that if the learner reads books freely, he will acquire a lot of the target language.  It’s also my experience: I’ve learned a lot of English through reading, and keep on doing so.  Presently I read Jules Verne’s Five Weeks in a Balloon . In an unabrid...

So we have said that we are about to start a new school year. In some way we have already started it, for we have thought of nice and convenient goals for our students.  The main star this year may be reading. I mean, we are going to practice all four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Yet I want to especially foster and inspire Reading.  This latter skill helps learn the target language, English in our case. It’s my experience. I also learn English, like my dear students. And reading provides with the language and other cognitive subskills that foster a deep learning.  Namely I will encourage my students to purchase graded readers, in accordance to their levels.  Some learners of mine have A2, but most of them comprise B1 through C1 – I’m referring to CEFR levels of a language, where CEFR stands for Common European Framework of Reference for languages. A1 and A2 are basic, B1 and B2 are intermediate, and C1 and C2 are advanced. I will tell m...

Reading books is so good and convenient for learning and acquiring a second language, as I said on the previous post. It's great. I personally do it myself – I’m learning and acquiring English.  On the last post I described some techniques you can implement to read in order to learn a second or foreign tongue.  Something else I sometimes do is focusing on some words, phrases or sentences I already know but my students are learning as something new. They’re some more basic expressions I learned years ago but my learners are learning now.  As well and as a consequence I prepare myself to teach those expressions to my students, now considering next school year.  Some of my students – well, few of them actually – tend to translate those books they are to read into Spanish, our mother tongue. No way, they have to read and enjoy directly in English.  The point is to have books or readers that are in accordance to their levels: they understand them and also there’s som...

Learning English or any other language can be great. You can communicate with many other people.  You can learn that language and also you can acquire it. This is, you can learn it formally and by means of instruction at a school, and also you can acquire it by being not aware you are acquiring it, by means of reading and listening to it, at a level you can understand.  Infants acquire their mother tongue in an unaware way. Well, adults can also achieve it, according to Stephen Krashen and Henry Douglas Brown.  Okay then, this latter way of interiorizing the language seems better than formal learning, isn’t it?  Both, learning and acquiring, can be absolutely compatible. Furthermore, both ways can be complementary.  Actually, formal learning at a school can trigger and boost acquiring that tongue. They are not antagonist. They are not so at all. Also, because it’s my experience concerning learning English.  Something else I wanted t...

Reading may be so motivating. For our students and for us their teachers. As well reading may be a skill that makes you learn a lot of a foreign or second language.  I’m a foreign language teacher: I teach English to my countrymen Spanish people. And I can assure you that you learn a lot by reading. Also you acquire the language: you learn it in a not adverted way: you internalize a lot of language without being aware of that fact.  Currently I’m re-reading some English literature. It’s great. And I’m learning a lot. Now more than when I read it for the first time.  Something to bear in mind: we have to accept that we learn little by little: a language is not learned by big chunks or by vast lots. Little by little. And if you’re enthused, much better. Just dedicate some minutes every day.  By reading a lot you are creating and building up the language sense: you are able, you become able to discern whether something is English-like or not, you c...

Something which constitutes a big booster to learn a second language is just reading. Well, all four language skills ought to be practiced: listening, speaking, reading and writing. But I can confess you that reading books massively and intensively really helps you learn and acquire that language.  One of the books I’m currently reading is Harry Potter, namely the third episode or sequel, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban . I read it also some ten or more years ago, so I know the story. And it is still interesting.  I read also for just fun or entertaining.  And I do not get too trapped in looking up words I don’t know – I enjoy the reading.  As well I’m studying and working on a C1 English textbook and I can assure you also I’m learning quite a lot. C1 is one of the levels of mastering a language: it equals to advanced level, with C2 as the highest level possible. They’re levels at the European framework of reference: A1 and A2 are basic, B1 ...

Learning and acquiring a foreign language, like English in my case and my students’, demands learning and acquiring a vast vocabulary. This is clear enough, right?  Something I implement when daily learning and acquiring English is reading books in that language. I consciously try and learn new words from those readings. Every single day.  And when writing for example these blog posts some words come up to mind and then I use them, while writing. For example ways of saying things in English, or single words, or phrases. Or whatever.  I am sure also I gain and acquire words I’m not aware I’m acquiring. Also those words may come up when writing. More often when I read more.  Currently I’m reading a book about teaching English by great Jeremy Harmer plus a book on Apollo missions to the moon in the sixties and early seventies, when I was born and a young infant. Great.  Sometimes I read as if I were writing those texts, word by word, and in tha...

Reading both fiction and non-fiction books may be so good to learn new vocabulary of the language you’re learning.  By reading you can learn quite many new words, but they need practice to get those words learned and memorized.  It is not necessary you look up every single new word in the dictionary. Only from time to time or when the meaning of the text cannot be understood by you. Enjoy reading! As well quite many words are not only learned but also acquired or gotten in an unaware way, and they pop up when writing or speaking in that language.  Over time you get the language sense: you have a nice background to guess and know intuitively some other language aspects. In that case you kind of feel the language: you know that native speakers say things in that way and not other. You have the language sense when you’re capable to understand (both by listening and by reading), speak and write in that tongue with enough fluency.  Only after some yea...