Experiences of a teacher of English

  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.  And there’s a plus. They achieve to plan in rather short time.  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.  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.  He learns how to be imaginative and he’ll accomplish – as I said – to get the most from a photocopy.  And he plans several activities from that sheet of paper. For example, as follows.  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...

  One example of a lesson plan for the second or foreign language classroom? Ok, let’s go with it, for a lesson plan or part of it, by combining the four language skills, which are listening, speaking, reading, and writing.  Let me see. Ok, we have a text, one for our dear students, adequate to their English level – that language is the target one.  First I provoke my students’ attention by asking them, kind of, Now, do you know how we say such and such things in English? And I give them, one by one, sentences in Spanish for them to try hard to translate into L2 – English.  Then, I hand out some photocopies of the text or I send it via the Internet, to their laptops or iPads.  Then, they have some minutes, say, ten or fifteen, to read the text silently. While they’re doing so I can contemplate how they work – often it’s awesome, and I can circulate to solve doubts.  Then I read the text out for them to grasp word and sentence pronunciation.  Then, the...

  Reading aloud. Just reading aloud. It helps our students get better pronunciation, if we’re teaching a second or foreign language. First we the teachers can mold the sentences by reading ourselves aloud. And then we can have our learners read out, one by one. This latter thing is something we used to do when we were training to achieve the C2 level of English, and we weren’t beginners! That level is the highest one, within the Common European Framework. I prepared myself for that level at University of Granada, south of Spain. If you want to accomplish a good pronunciation of English, you have to read texts out for rather long. And as I said the teacher can firstly mold the sentences by reading himself. Concerning pronunciation I’d say that the first goal is trying our students would gain a clear pronunciation: they should be understood, first of all, then we can have them improve their pronunciation. H. D. Brown, an American expert at learning languages, used...

Teacher B said to teacher A, “Ok, after you all laughing at yourselves it is the right time to focus on pronunciation whilst listening to a radio station in the Internet for example.  Focus on the way those people pronounce, on intonation, rhythm, sounds of the language, stress patterns, the flow of language. Now it’s the right time for you to focus on your pronunciation. Imitate native speakers – inhibitions out now.  Doesn’t matter you don’t understand the radio show: even better: focus on the oral text, pick up certain sounds, and then just keep repeating them to yourself, until you pronounce as the speakers; do imitate them; repeat if nobody else can then hear you (you’re alone).” / Photo from: www ucasmedia com. students listening to music  

Here the text by H. D. Brown continues. The first part is on post #834. The reason for this apparent contradiction is that IQ tests measure very specific verbal, mathematical, and logical abilities. Language learning requires other forms of intelligence, such as: -          interpersonal communication ability (for perceiving and understanding other people) -          self-knowlege (for developing your own unique pathway to success) -          musical ability (for hearing intonation and rhythm of the language) -          muscular coordination (for pronouncing the language) All of these abilities are forms of intelligence that aren’t calculated into IQ tests. (Page 47 in his book) / Photo from: thefancarpet com. singin in the rain (1952)  

Three days ago I received a comment from German English translator , which is the following text. The comment was about post # 778 . Learning a language and having fun “This suggests that the likelihood that we will achieve close to native-like pronunciation if we take up a language after childhood, varies from person to person, no matter how hard we try.” Let me think. I would tell you, inasmuch as I know, that after childhood someone can learn or acquire a close-to a native pronunciation actually depending on that person, yet he or she has to invest a big (and nice) effort to pronounce as a native speaker. Something of this acquired pronunciation is gotten from massive exposure to listening to English – like something you’re not aware. H. D. Brown, moreover, wrote that you can imitate a native speaker, and as with the time passing you can reach far in the pronunciation of a language. Some people have more aptitude to grab pronunciation and express it than other people, but anyw...

One day teacher of English A said to teacher of English B, “My students utilize different strategies to learn new words. They notice the resemblance with a French or German word they already know. Or with a Spanish word, and they focus on the similarities and differences, and the root-origin, either Latin or Germanic. They use the word in the next opportunities they will find to express some specific message. So, I mean, they use the words. Some of them write lists and revise them from time to time. If they are teachers themselves they use the word in the following class, because it fits well then. Some write a word several times, focusing on the sequence of letters. Some compare the spelling with the pronunciation. Some make mental and visual linkages with the word, or write cards and shuffle them. Some learn a few words every day, not many. Some read common everyday language in the Web, so as to learn language a native speaker would use. They gain and expand their memory with precis...

One day teacher of English B said to teacher of English A, “Pronunciation in English is essential in teaching/learning this language. The teacher has to pronounce single words clearly, and make the students repeat, as a chorus, and individually. Also the teacher should read sentences in a more naturalistic way, and make the students read aloud too, and so listen to one another. He or she will dedicate enough time to the vowels, for example the pronunciation of ‘i’ in different words, like idea, finish, mine, meantime, bit, bite . Though the students may not understand much, it seems good they listen massively to their teacher, to sense the peculiar texture of English. CDs and DVDs help the learners focus attentively on the spoken language and its pronunciation. With passing time, the teacher can start to teach the international phonetic alphabet (IPA), a great aid, as it appears in dictionaries.” / Photo from: www thecia au. The film is Once , a moving Irish movie, produced with an ama...