Experiences of a teacher of English

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

  Within some weeks I’ll be assisting and teaching at a couple of English-language summer camps, with teens and younger children. And that’s okay and I can help out there. However I’ve got to think about the profile I’m applying regarding classroom management. The kids will be spending their vacations and they want to have fun. Even they tend to (in some way) blow up the lessons, and sorry to be so honest. I’m not upset, I simply tell you all how those kids take those courses. So I have to apply some classroom management. I’ll implement some low profile management. I mean, let’s see, I should not get irritated. I’m also implementing a series of games with the younger kids, about which I have a list of more than 100 games, to foster speaking in English and aiming at having fun. I mean it, I ought not to get angry. I’ll let you know about it on coming weeks. I will also try to set some order at the games but taking into account that I won’t get 100% nice classroom manag...

  School excursions are great. It may be sensible to take our students to an excursion for instance to the countryside. In that way they’ll see us teachers in a different context than school, and this may be educative too! I used to take them to an excursion in the former schools where I taught, and those trips turned out to be good. The excursions used to take morning through evening, and we returned home so happy. Some of them took place in May, with nice weather and to a shrine or chapel of the Virgin Mary. At that place we said some prayers and spent the rest of the day by enjoying that day off. Also those opportunities were okay because you could observe the kids in a different context too and you got to know them better. Even though those travels were leisure we teachers tried to keep discipline, but in a more relaxed way. As well they were a chance for the kids to get to know us teachers better. Those chances were enriching all in all. Something not that posi...

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

Expert in communication José Ballesteros De la Puerta (2002) states that the best way of learning is fun. Or that you must have fun so as to learn.  On the other hand in this blog I have said that learning and acquiring a language is something so serious and stern, although on post 259 and others I have written about games for the classroom.  Apparently they’re opposite, but going to the head of the matter they’re sort of complementary.  When the class-period is easy and the students are focused and concentrated, we can have some fun, why not? Even from time to time the teacher ought to break the ice so for the students to relax. / Photo from: kids-music-class bigdave1996 blogspot com

Dictionaries for learning and acquiring a foreign language are essential.  For regular learners it is better to have a bilingual dictionary.  I tell my students that the dictionary is like a private teacher: it solves you many problems.  Online you have for example Wordreference , as you may know – it’s pretty good.  When reading a novel for instance, how do I use the dictionary? It’s up to you. The most basic point is looking up words that make us hard or impossible understand the text.  Evidently you can learn the meaning of a certain word from the context.  Sometimes you’ll use the dictionary more often than not. It depends, it’s up to your likes as well, or necessities. For students should learn how to use it, you can implement a game. You write a word on the chalkboard, and the first kid that finds the word is the winner. They like this game because they like competitions.  Dictionaries are an indispensable aid, ...

Spanish writer José Ballesteros de la Puerta states that we learn through games, by games.  I agree partially. Fun helps, and that is clear, but as well students have to sit down and study with a book in their hands. Anyway, on post # 259 and on many other posts I've written about games at school. You have the Search box at the right hand of this blog and you can type "games", "speaking games", etc. / Photo from: US Swim Trial_Pata www foxnews com

Yesterday one of the meetings I had was with the vice-president of a special center for college students. It was nice, thank you.  When returning home I passed by a center of languages, a prestigious one in Granada, to greet the workers and let them know I’m going to have informal classes of speaking with the students nearby.  The school I passed by was Inlingua, a famous one, as I said. I introduced myself, etc., and I could see one young female teacher with a line of young kids learning vocabulary I guess.  She was singing and acting out.  The school is decorated with colorful posters and so. Another nice visit, I assure you.  I know other Inlingua centers in Spain. Their methods and methodology are so interesting, and their students massively pass Cambridge examinations of English. / Photo from: kindergarten class ts www pbs org

We teachers of English, above all with young children, implement games; somebody said that fun is the best way to learn.  I guess this is partially true: ok, games, but we do other different things that ought to be meaningful for the students. / Photo: The Stagecoach , starring a young John Wayne. The director was John Ford.

    A useful activity for speaking in English, if the students are with that language. Valid also for other languages of course.   You give the chance to two kids to speak all they can, on their own, about a topic they like and know about. Don’t let one of the students prepare something for his turn.   So you can choose whoever in the classroom after the first student’s turn.   The winner is the one that speaks for longer.   Otherwise they could consult the Internet, if you like, so as homework. I guess better in this case if they improvise. You can think of the many aspects they deal with this activity: fluency, knowledge of the topic, steel nerves, deep inside the topic whilst he’s acting, order in the mind, using varied lexis. / Photo from: jobeasyfair23 (1) www partimerichs com. this picture is merely an illustration

Yesterday we started the vacation course for boys.  Girls have other activities in a similar center, near ours. Both boys and girls have a different style of learning.  I had the satisfaction of being capable to speak all in English, because they were able to understand most of the games! So the kids listened to English massively.  It was great.  Some of them study in bilingual schools. Some others had some trouble to understand me anyway, yet in general the classes turned out to be good.  Also some of the students, among the older ones, showed minor problems of politeness, but we just run this course to educate them! Their families asked us about the kids. It’s them who have to educate the kids at first.

Next week I start teaching in a summer course, a short one, just two weeks.  I will teach two groups of different ages, as I said on post # 1827.  In order to plan the first class I think of several things that help me.  These things approximately are the following ones, as they come to mind, and with the students’ in mind: discipline, some rules and routines for the conducting of the class;  I may know some of the students, so they know my ways of making up the class;  the games we are going to play, for example competitions, brainstorms, etc.;  I will have to attract their attention toward the games;  all the class will be in English;  some behavior considerations;  the skills we will work on are listening and speaking; how to welcome these boys and possible changes of the seats they choose.  And this is it approximately as the big scheme plus small conducting points. / Photo from: Landscape Chinese...

Vocabulary is just essential for a language, for communication between two people, between two persons.  Some students teach us some learning strategies.  Make up a group of words of the same semantic field,  focus on spelling,  think of or write sentences with the new lexis,  focus on the Latin root if the learner is Spanish for example,  write difficult-spelling words several times,  make like a photo of a new word,  play with the words,  make up original sentences,  learn a word every day or two words or several ones,  revise the already known ones,  ask oneself as if one would be his own teacher in some way. / Photo from: student profiles www ieinstitute net

English is a language and a vehicle of communication and a tool to communicate.  Students need to learn and acquire the language… also to participate and win the competitions and quizzes.  It is usual they want to participate in those contests… but they need the instrument, the tool. This is one more reason they have to learn, and a motivator as well. / Photo from: students working.  americanradioworks publicradio org

Students who want to participate in games in English in class need grammar and vocabulary.  You can tell them that that is one more reason for learning English. / Photo from: marriage watching tv.  www dailymail co uk. The photo of this post is a mere illustration.

Teacher A said to teacher B, “People learn a foreign language when they need it.  In class the students have to learn a language for the games at extra school activities and classes.  Playing games prepares the kids for adult life.  The student that is a low-achiever should be encouraged by you at the games. Give him the chance, and discreetly congratulate him for his responses and contributions. Once and over again. You’re changing his life, and he’s changing to better himself. Seek help with your high-achievers as monitors, though they would use their native language. The important point now is no one should be left behind.” / Photo from: www geograph org uk

Teacher A said to teacher B, “My students like games, they like learning and acquiring English through games.  Sometimes we play games.  Their eyes are open as dishes. It’s something as if by magic: they’re so focused, even more when the games are by teams.” / Photo from: www theguardian com. emma shaw painting a mural  

Teacher B said to teacher A, “When I taught English at another different educative center we used to split the class of English into two parts: the first one for the homework of their schools, and a second part for games in English.  The games appear on post # 259.  In this way I could help the students with the school subject of English, and also we could play games in English with the vocabulary from their course book plus speak in English. The thing turned out well: they reinforced the subject of English, fulfill their homework, and play fun games with the words and grammar they were learning at their schools.  My classes were in the evening, after school, maybe after some soccer practice, maybe after learning how to play a musical instrument, maybe after their classes at the parish to make the first confession and receive the first Eucharist Co mmunion.” / Photo from: www checkit alexng net

Teacher A said to teacher B, “Tell your students that the more new words they learn, the better they can convey their thoughts.  Also they’ll become better players in the vocabulary games. The point is you should create the necessity of using words. Games can be by groups or individually.  You have competitions and other games on post # 259.” / Photo from: www mathsciencesuccess org

In the paper I composed about H. D. Brown he suggests to consider learning a language also as a game. And indeed it could be seen as that, in my opinion too.  The learner of a foreign or second language can view his or her learning as something amusing.  Now I remember what a television presenter said about the TV spots or advertisements: youngsters can see those ads as a short film: the point here is to learn who the bad guy is (the product they sell).  I enjoy learning and teaching English, and when I have the chance in Granada to speak in that language I actually do it. / Photo from: www educational-psychologist co uk. listening skills