Experiences of a teacher of English

Communication.  That’s sheer important in second language lessons. Otherwise… why would we summon our students into language classes? If I teach English as a foreign or second language, I have to foster and promote communication in my classroom.  Sixteen years ago I filled out a card when I was studying my PhD – I carried out those studies yet I did not finish that academic career; anyway I got a lot of interesting research for my lessons and for this blog. On that card I typed:  Communication 1 280504 “The language teaching profession was still not ready for much real communication.” (x; the underlining is ours). We as teachers should foster as well real communication and not just always simulation. Think for instance of the warm-ups we practise in class: they usually deal with real things of their lives (of our students). So we teachers should also give our logistics announcements to our dear students in the target language or L2, in the classroom. And then, af...

  Vocabulary and its learning is paramount at learning a second or foreign language, and that’s obvious, okay. The more lexis the learner has learned the more able he’ll be to have a nice communicative competence in English or whatever the target language is. Because of that my students and I practice in the classroom how to define words in English, our common target tongue. It is an activity my students love, and it is nice for practicing the communicative competence and skill. Sometimes my dear students answer to my question for defining a word by using the word in Spanish, our mother language. And I tell them Okay, that’s right, but in English it is… Both I and my students try to create an atmosphere where English is the vehicle for our mutual communication and I don’t like much that a very few of them would say the word to define in Spanish… I was thinking of that some days ago, and today I’ve read in Lynne Cameron (2004) Teaching Languages to Young Learners that...

  I’m concerned and a bit worried. As you know I try to create immersion in the classroom. Immersion in English, my students’ and my own target language. Well, you know, sometimes, not very much anyway, I use our common native language, namely Spanish. I utilize it to reinforce what I’ve just said in English. But most of the lesson is in dear language English. Should I not shift into Spanish at all? Sometimes I say something small or rather small in Spanish to reinforce what I said and I think it needs clarification. Yet I should set “a nice example”, as a former teacher trainer, and maybe say all in the target language… What to do? You know, there’s immersion in English but… there would be more immersion if I said all in that tongue. Tomorrow morning I could try to say all or 99% in our target tongue, couldn’t I? Ok, I will do it… and see what happens with my students. Also I had written in my diary that also there’s communication in the target language, English. A...

  We English language teachers can raise our students’ curiosity about how we say some common Spanish phrases in English. For example “How do we say such and such expression in English?” And you may think of phrases like “¿¡De verdad!? ¿Lo dices en serio? Despedir del trabajo. ¡Me pones de los nervios! No me extraña. ¡Por supuesto! ¡Ánimo! ¡Sírvete tú misma!” I’ve worked out on this issue with my senior students and has turned out nice: they were curious about how we say certain things in English. If any of you are interested in learning some common phrases in English (or in Spanish), let me know, and I will post 2 worksheets! Anyway I can give you the previous idioms as a tip right away: “Really? Are you serious? To get fired. You’re driving me crazy! No wonder! Sure! Cheer up! Help yourself!”/ Photo from: www bikeroar com. the pic is just an illustration

We can teach English or another language in immersion mode, which is okay, and so it facilitates communication in the target language, which is the main goal, right?  However I also use translation, but with also a communicative purpose. After having worked on a story of a worksheet, sometimes I tell my students “How would you say… in English?”, and I tell them an expression in Spanish, which is our mother language.  In this way I make them turn a useful expression or sentence or phrase into the same one in English, with the convenient changes, because it isn’t literal translation. / Photo from: skiing-with-family donationtravel com. the photo is an illustration

While teaching and telling things to my students (retired people) sometimes I feel the temptation to say something in Spanish, but I aim at English, I let them know I was going to say something in Spanish, and I explain an anecdote (for example) in English.  I try all the class be in English, alike when they participate. They sometimes say things in Spanish but more and more they’re saying things in English.  Yesterday, Wednesday, a male student talked in English for 2 or 3 minutes. That was communication in English! They’re understanding English more and more. I speak rather slow and use the whiteboard to help my explanations, for example by writing some words, even more if those words are cognates to words in Spanish. / Photo from: window cleaning www photo-dictionary com

In our English classes we try to only use the target language, like for example English. However, as expert H. D. Brown puts “[…] we’re pretty well stuck with [our] native language system that we automatically use as a reference system, or map, for the foreign language.” / Photo from: aero-news net. Super Constellation airplane      

One day teacher of English A said to teacher of English B, “One way of making the students communicate in the target language has to do with the functional methodology. The teacher has to provoke saying something in English, the target language. The teacher describes in the first language a situation, a realistic one, where the student has to use English to communicate about what this latter one needs, or wishes, or demands, protests, shows gratitude, just says a statement, etc. For example, ‘María, ¿cómo expresarías en inglés la necesidad de que tienes que cambiar los pañales al bebé, en el aeropuerto?’, which is ‘María, how would you show the necessity you have to change your baby’s diaper?’. And t he student could say, ‘Excuse me sir, where can I change my baby’s diaper?’ Like you see, I used translation: sometimes it is necessary and helpful, but use it not too much.” / Photo from: chagrinvalley times com. By Joan Demirjian us. police officer on duty

I recently received three comments. Their contents are below. As well those comments are attached to the posts they refer to. Thank you, german english translator and asnhuman, and Private Schools Victoria. I copied and pasted the comments because the tag for comments beneath my posts is rather small-sized, so this way you can read them right below more easily; anyway, like I said you can also see them by clicking on Comments – for those specific posts: # 811, 792, 804. / Photo from: allatsea net. South Grenada Regatta 2011 Various learning methodology applied for grasping pronunciation at a particular age. german english translator By anshuman on 811. Adult learners' pronunciation of English on 3/21/12 Really you given some solid advice here.This is very nice one and gives indepth information By Private Schools Victoria on 792. English as a bridge of communication on 3/21/12 Thank you for this very useful information. I find it very interesting post... By Private Schools Vic...

One day teacher of English A said to teacher of English B, “On post # 660 I told you about the difference between the learning of rather old students (from some fifty to seventy-something) and the learning (even I’d say, acquiring) English by a kid of 8 years. Now I simply would like to add that after thinking about this latter student’s case I realized that he in the classes listens and speaks in English directly, I mean, not by translating the heard and spoken messages into Spanish, his mother language. From the way he used English in the class, both listening and speaking, I think I can assure he used English as something of his own, as something natural, as something acquired. He has been taking classes of English since he was a baby, at his school. One thing I should point out anyway: his communicating in English is at a very basic level, yet.” / Photo from: portalfruticola com. A farmer laboring in a field of wheat in Spain.

One day teacher of English A said to teacher of English B, “I knew about this, obviously, but I’ve experienced this phenomenon more clearly lately. Adult learners of fifty-something and older tend to learn English by translating into Spanish, their native tongue – in general terms, with regard to those ages, and as false beginners. Also by translating from L1 to L2. In relation to kids aged 8 – this is the youngest student I have now in the summer course – and up to 12, they use the target language as something natural. All the class is in English. They hear and listen a lot in English, assisted with body language by me. In the classes, they ‘know’ I ‘only’ understand English, and when they speak in Spanish I make faces. The class is a context when English is the only language used. This hearing and listening in English for long – I’d like to keep being their teacher for longer, but it’s not possible – reminds of me of the ‘Silent Period’ that Krashen used to refer to. Someone told me ...

One day teacher of English A said to teacher of English B, “I tell my students to play with the dictionary; that the dictionary is like a private teacher, at disposal at any time. Also I’m referring now to online dictionaries. To play with the dictionary I said. To read and memorize words and their meanings, expressions within the entrance of a word, to find interesting meanings, also to use those words in fanciful sentences, alike as when writing an essay I set as homework. My students so build up a useful stock of words, which come up when writing, sometimes being unaware that they have learned those words. No words, no communication in English.” / Photo from: westchesterlibraries org

This is chapter 28 from my book on TEFL, TESL, ELL. Photo from www tribuneindia com 28. Cómo aprender palabras nuevas Leyendo. Entre otras fuentes, que ahora veremos. La lectura es una fuente de modos de decir peculiares del inglés, de palabras, de enriquecimiento. Van creando un depósito, del que el hablante no nativo extrae las palabras adecuadas a tal momento. Sin palabras no hay comunicación. Y se recuerdan las palabras que se practican, que se usan. Si llega un término nuevo al cerebro y se queda solitario, se aburre y se va. La memoria , además, es como un chicle: se dilata. Una amiga que tengo lee un vocablo nuevo, y es capaz de recordarlo, al primer vistazo. Fotografía cada palabra nueva, su spelling , si me permites un término inglés de no fácil traducción: es la cadena de las letras de la palabra, tan diferente de la pronunciación. También corrige y aumenta su depósito de combustible al oír a un angloparlante utilizar tal frase idiomática. Y como da clases de ese idioma, se l...

Some learning/teaching strategies I have learned from my work with my kids. I gave you some of them a few posts below. Begun on April 2, 2009 Translating sentences by all. In their tests they have translations. The student makes up a test as though he was the teacher. Just 4 questions. It is the “opposite side” of their desks – they are now the “teacher”. And they make some metacognitive learning: they see what someone may expect from their learning. All the class makes up a test on the WB. The teacher proposes one question. What do you have to study to prepare a test? The teacher helps him. And the How do you study the test. The teacher asks them questions to elicit vocabulary. Or grammar. The student writes one sentence with a new word, in a practical use. Better: 2 sentences. The student adds one more sentence, similar to the ones of a given exercise. The student reads a specific text, not set as hw, and the teacher asks him question. In this way, the teacher may convince him of th...

Here you have something I began composing April 2, 2009. About learning strategies I have made up from my students or have invented from everyday assisting and teaching my students in their process of learning English. 1. Translating sentences on the whiteboard among both pupils and me. In Spain quite often students have translation in their tests, both ways. 2. The pupil makes up a test as though he was the teacher, on a piece of paper. Just 4 questions, no more. This makes him be more aware and conscious of his personal learning. 3. All the class make a test, to be written on WB. The teacher proposes one question. Picture: a view of Beijing, thanks to www uvm edu.

Oh, silly me. The correct word is "consent" [kon'sent]; there appears not to exist "consenment", like I posted in # 294. It was a mistranslation of Spanish "consentimiento". On the photograph, more about my lovely Ireland. A hurling match. It is a mix of hockey, football, rugby. There is a national league in Eire, and international championships among some former British Empire countries. bettingsnews boylesport com. A match in Cork, south of the island.

One day teacher B said to teacher A, "So, as a summary of what I try to do in my class-periods is aiming toward communication . Some teachers implement too much translation from English into Spanish, for example, with the text or stories that are in the students' coursebooks. Translating is ok, yet it's only one more activity, not the only one, or plus few more. On the other hand, translating is a good activity, by the way - because this process with texts entails applying diverse techniques and fields (particular expressions in L2, translation more focused on the meaning than a mere translation word by word, and so). Some days ago we achieved authentic communication in the classroom , with the thing of the interview to the kids, you may remember. As well we do fun games, and I guess the learners see something practical in the subject of English. Just one other thing: you must help the learners become their own volitive motors ; otherwise, nothing achieved. They must bec...