Experiences of a teacher of English

How to foster communication in English, the target language?  I could tell you a lot, but now I’m going to tell you the ones I did lately.  The students are given a worksheet, with sentences about a semantic (meaning) field plus a story, composed by me.  The sentences include useful expressions for real communication when in the foreign country for example.  In classes we used to describe pictures, say the meaning of a word, summarize the story, and others now I can’t remember.  Also on post 259 you have more than one hundred games to apply in classes. Concerning that post, now I would polish some explanations of the games, but there you have them. I hope this be helpful to you. / Photo from: learn-to-ride-a-bike kensav com. the picture is for illustration sake

One day, at the beginning of the academic year, I took to the classroom visual aids, specifically pictures of objects, scenes, etc. The size of the photos was A4 approximately.  I put the pictures on top of the chalkboard.  I was rookie at that grade, 3 rd of secondary education – the kids were 14 mainly. And rookie in general - it was my first years as a teacher.  I started an activity that obviously had to do with the pictures plus talking something in English. Pretty soon I started to realize that they considered that exercise as so childish.  I got mad, a bit mad or upset, even I could have shouted at somebody of them.  Well, actually you must know where you are. Visual aids are ok with children, but at certain age they think you’re treating them like children and this is no good.  I don’t mean you cannot use visual aids at that age, but other types and in a different mode – for example you can use pictures for them to de...

Currently I teach adults.  An activity I’ve implemented with success – they spoke for long – lately has been debates.  We’ve carried out two, the first about whether it’s okay to smoke inside pubs and bars, and the second one about the military service – about 2000 was the date when that service was not compulsory and mandatory in Spain anymore.  I gave my students some minutes – 10 is okay – to discuss, and before I had split up the class (15 students) into two teams.  And that’s it: it turned out well. Whilst the preparation some of them spoke in English among themselves and some in Spanish.  It doesn’t require much time-consuming work for the teacher, except to think of a topic for discussion.  Another day you can ask some students to recall the conclusions. / Photo from: two girls speaking www pammarketingnut com

We need English words for communication, and our students also for activities and games in the class.  A game students love because it is very competitive is a vocabulary competition.  A pair of students says words each one by turns. The winner is the student that says more words. In this way they can practice the vocabulary of the unit you all are studying. Or a revision of past units.  Something they love too is a competition between you teacher and all the class as a chorus. It’s very fun and focusing. / Photo from: man reading to kids library blogs voices com. Usually the students that love that game are older than the ones that appear on this picture, but those ones above are learning vocabulary

A game that can be interesting: speaking out for the longer time. It’s a game for advanced-level students.  You tell two students to speak out about whatsoever they want to, with no previous preparation. The winner is the one who speaks for longer.  Or you can set it as homework and they can consult the Web. However it is better they spontaneously would speak. There are many aspects entailed in this interesting game. / Photo from: little girl washing dishes chores. www sheknows com

Teacher A said to teacher B, “A powerful activity or game that you can implement in classes are Debates. With this activity students practice and acquire competencies they could need in their future, like  presentations,  argumentation,  selecting points that support their views,  turn-taking,  listening carefully and critically,  group-working,  irony,  sense of humor,  summarizing,  being cunning,  practicing vocabulary, naturalistic speaking, capability of getting enthused,  enhancing a particular view,  writing notes,  thinking in English,  politeness,  helping a member of the team,  elegancy, etc.” / Photo from: redstate com

Teacher B said to teacher A, “What do we do to speak in English, as I told you on post # 1033? I ask them to describe the meaning of a word, or to describe a picture from a general-content magazine, or it’s me who says the meaning and they say the word. We have fun, and that’s so essential.” / Photo from: innovasjomorge no. Fjord in Norway.

One day teacher of English A said to teacher of English B, “I teach adult learners too, like you know. They’re retired people who have worked as many different jobs. I try classes be communicative, as much as possible. So I try to plan activities that could foster communication in the classes. For example, sometimes I address one student and tell him or her about a situation, a specific one, in Spanish, which is our mother language. And then I ask the student what he or she would say in English, so as to respond to that situation. Before that we’ve worked on a list of useful expressions in the target language, by means of having passed on a worksheet with useful expressions for traveling, or when at a restaurant, etc. The student then says a word, or a phrase, or a sentence to respond to what I had asked. Briefly I give you an example: I ask someone how he would ask for or demand the check (or bill) at a pub. And the student will say something concerning the chec...

One day teacher of English B said to teacher of English A, “Something a bit hard to me is when I start to teach an adult group and I don’t know if to address them individually in those first classes by asking them practical questions regarding something we’re studying then, like defining words in English. Alike I don’t know whether to ask them about their lives and circumstances. A while ago I decided to ask them one by one, randomly, also to try to meet each one’s needs and expectations concerning learning English. The thing is working pretty well. I think they expected this way of conducting from myself. At the beginning of the academic year, or even now at the end of it, you can get information about each of them by the following useful activity. I assume it’s better to learn who I have in front of me in my classes, as a teacher. I learned this activity in one of the grades of Centro de Lenguas Modernas , of Universidad de Granada . First the teacher, and then each on...

One day teacher of English A said to teacher of English B, “Look, one practical tip for your classes, concerning communication in English. When you don’t know a word in English – you’re not a native speaker of this language, but really need to say that word, what to do? I try to explain the word, in English; I try to explain the meaning, because I want to carry on communicating in English and not translate into L1. So, I say the concept, the meaning, the notion of the word; maybe examples of the word whose concept I want to describe; also, if convenient, the use for, the material, shape, color, even by means of a drawing, by means of gestures. This is also an activity you can make your students practice: they explain the meaning of a word they don’t know. I think this is sensible, because communication is held totally in English. I learned this technique from a colleague of ours. Give it a try, and let me know.” / Photo from: centrodenegociosretiro com

One day teacher of English A said to teacher of English B, "Brainstorming has some very positive aspects. The students, with full freedom, say ideas about a topic, in order to produce original ideas or new solutions. Its aim entails to develop and exercise a creative imagination. The first premise is that if you let your students act as persons, in an informal environment, there exists the chance to find a brilliant idea. This technique stimulates racking one's brains, and makes searching varied ideas something likely probable, and impels to act autonomously, with originality and according to their own personality." I've translated, with minor changes, from José Bernardo Carrasco (2004) Una didáctica para hoy. Cómo enseñar mejor . Madrid: Editorial Rialp. / Photo from tefl fll purdue edu

One day teacher A said to teacher B, "You've asked me for a class planning of mine, so as to have one example of my classes. Here you go. These notes are for a regular day of my schedule: they may be not the best-thought ones, just one class at random. I've written them briefly, as a prompt for myself: behind are years of experience and battle. In no way do they show exhaustive notes of the class planning. The main goal of the current course is some craic in the classroom: practicing listening and speaking - it's an extra-curricular course. Kids 11 and 12 year-old. One hour approx." 1. Learning their names. 2.Tell them "I do not understand Spanish at this time..." [So they've got to say their messages however they can] 3. Competition. Two players. Topic: means of transportation. 4. Competition. All the class vs me! Topic their choice. 5. Revise alphabet. 6. Hangman. Clue: objects in this room. DICTIONARY. BOOKCASE. TRASH CAN. ATLAS. 7. Dictionary com...

One day teacher A said to teacher B, "On posts approximately #106 through #120 I told you how you can present verbal tenses in your classes. Grammar is essential. It's like the skeleton of communication . No grammar, no communication. Our students need vocabulary too. My classes are extra-school. They have learned the grammar in the school, in their coursebooks. In my classes, late afternoon, we practice that grammar. In the form of games. I try to make them use those grammar patterns. Even we are achieving something else. We make conversations: they try to explain to me some message, in English, because I pretend I don't understand Spanish (L1), and they use the grammar and vocab they have stored. I praise their try. They see grammar and vocab like useful instruments. However, they make many mistakes, of grammar, you know?, but we are trying to hold a conversation among us." Picture from knanvar files wordpress com . Niagara Falls.

Next day teacher B said to teacher A, “Yesterday I told you I had achieved to make my students talk in English, remember? I made an interview to one student of my class-group. Today I wanted to also tell you some other questions that provoked, or boosted that speaking . I asked the interviewed kid how long he had been a socio (a member , or how to say in English, I just mean a student whose family paid some fare every month); and I also utilized mimicry with this very question, and synonym expressions. And another question I gave more relevance to was what activity he, or they, would like to do, one activity ‘you don’t have now in Alayos’, adding some nodding to make me understood – I referred to excursions, or games, or educative activities, or practicing a new sport. Oh, just a bit more: I told them this interview ‘would be’ published in the weekly newsletter of Alayos center – They actually did know this was not true, simply a ‘mock interview’ – Every week one socio is interviewed...

One day teacher B said to teacher A, "You know what happened today? Like you know, my goal is for my students to say words - as replies; then, later on, sentences or expressions; and farther on conversations and presentations of whatever topics. Today I was with three of my students in my class-period - they are 11 or 12 years. So far they have said words or even invented words - as an effort to communicate with me; the positive point of this inventing is they try a guess, they try theories or ways to produce messages. Well, for today I had planned to interview N. - Some variety of questios: full name, eternal-in-Spain football team, favorite activity in our center, one activity he would like to do, favorite color, one subject of the school, one smell, taste, letter, what else?, ok, whatever - some a bit more questions. They three got involved in the conversation, also because I roped the others in the conversation. So the result has been an authentic exchange of information, so ...

Further games and tasks. Implementing games and tasks or solving problems, either in small groups or individually, prepare your students for future work. 1. Teaching a class of English. Although they may not be prospective teachers, or teachers of that language. They practice planning a class-period, thinking of one objective for their actual learners, performing that plan before their "learners", and making these ones contribute and intervene in that class-period. The best point would be doing this task, say, twice during the academic year, so as for them to improve their teaching. Twice a year per "teacher". Obviously the student may speak on another topic his choice. 2. Designing, labeling and composing a website, or a blog. As well a very demanding task. Picture from www kalipedia com.