13.08.09
I think I enjoy working with adults in an in-house context, doing bits and pieces of business English because it keeps me connected to the office world, prevalent in most of conventional people's lives. It's like being a bit of an insider from the outside. Or is it the other way round? It pushes me to keep up with my business English language, it's like learning different jobs by doing mine. Plus the fact that this office is not a conventional office of a big company, not even a small family-run one but an international charity. I get to know people from different backgrounds, countries and cultures and conflicts, gives a different prespective to governments, plus I am not contributing to the top boss getting rich with my bit.
Take the example of giving presentations. Never the thought of teaching this formal way of communicating , when I never had given one myself, did cross my mind and now, simply and just by attending a number of them in congresses and conferences and workshops for teachers of English has provided me with training or ability to teach this myself. Obviously, not only listening to what the trainer explained but also by keeping a very active and open attitude to more than just the contents of the session I was attending. A strong focus on what keesp me engaged and motivated, on how the speaker presents him-or herself.
And the need for training, the need to be after challenges, and be open to learn all the time, be willing to improve your performance. Not that i always have this mood (more than attitude) cos sometimes at work, i don't bother enough to do my best.
It's improtant to keep up with changes in the teaching world by reading, taking courses or speaking to other teachers. the latter is good to see different prespectives, different areas of teaching. I'm quite hapy with myself because despite working "alone" i keep up with it, i find relevant training courses...
Tuesday 6 April 2010
I think the best way to help students understand when to use certain tenses and what they mean and the difference in meaning of similar forms (must have done sth must have sth done) is just purely and simply by contrast, translation and contrasting them with their own L1 as well as to provide to the tools to focus on the "general or specific" and the time references they are using. The time reference (for ... since... nowadays,.. every ...)helps us know what tense to use.
Where do you go on holidays? USUALLY (GENERAL)
Where are you going on holidays THIS YEAR? (SPECIFIC)
Where have you been?
where did you go?
..unfinished...
Where do you go on holidays? USUALLY (GENERAL)
Where are you going on holidays THIS YEAR? (SPECIFIC)
Where have you been?
where did you go?
..unfinished...
Monday 5 April 2010
Gaining fluency in English
What do you need to be fluent in another language? The one million dollar question many would like answered. Doing so is not as easy as providing an answer to it. I'll dare to say it's as little difficult as trying not to think in your own language and translating word by word! No need to say that in the first place would be having vocabulary enough and the speed to retrieve and use this when you need it. And if you are not quick enough to use what you know you know, having enough strategies, resources to keep speaking coherently while you are digging for the right expression/word. Yes! expression: it's much effective to learn in chunks. try no to learn one word at a time, but the word with the preposition it goes with or the word it usually goes with, ...i'll give you examples later.
and in my opinion, unless you have an ok command of the language, exposure to real life, authentic and native speed delivery usually frustrates one! Exposure to stuff you feel you understand most of it, it's pointless to have lots of native input if you have no idea of the words used, pronunciation and the effect of mispronunciation!
It's true that much as pronunciation is important it's not a matter of sounding like a native speaker, as long as your speech is understandable, it should be fine! there's really no need to speak native-like! specially if you communicate with other non-native speakers. Plus you'll find it a lot more encouraging if you speak to other learners with slightly higher levels than you.
More later...
And how do you evaluate speaking?
- with the range of structure and vocabulary they use now as opposed to xyz ago
- how quickly they understand what's being said/asked and if they respond accordingly
- how fluent they've become
- what mistakes have been tackled / corrected
- how much self-correction there is / awareness of mistakes
how to become more fluent:
- speak more, listen to real english, meet native speakers and good users (and get corrected). listen and write to help you remember things. take a notebook with you to write down words.
-listen to what native do..: insert expressions, stress words / patterns..
-think in english
-speak to yourself in english
-read out loud
-the more vocab you know and pronounce correctly (therefore can identify at normal speed delivery) the more quickly you'll learn it. the more confident they'll get and as a result eventually more fluent.
-have very clear patterns of use of confusing words (ie. manage to / sth)
-dictations and write expressions they hear.
What Frank and many others say that the ability to improve your skills at speaking a certain language is gained by speaking may be true for some but I'd dare to say that with the right feedback and corrections and motivation from the teacher (to me, there's nothing like having a teacher up to a certain level). Correction and understanding why structures are the way they are, having the right word or expression for the right context so as long as there is relevant previous exposure to English and correction, in this case ...
yet some learn to speak by taking a very active role in listening. (it worked well as just by listening for contexts in which a certain word that caught their attention - even if they had never came across the word or expression - you learned it. I think dictations are a good way of learning to speak, reading may be too, although i am in the process of testing this.
I also helps being familiar with sth, knowing sth exists or sth is said this way or that, and being reminded of it (often). Then identifying it in a utterance, spotting it again and again (as a word, an expression, a phrasal verb..) and associating this words with a meaning according to context (be quick enough to put together the words and the meaning according to where it appears in and the final stages of learning (and at last acquiring it hopefully) using it, and being corrected if not used appropiately.
More later
and in my opinion, unless you have an ok command of the language, exposure to real life, authentic and native speed delivery usually frustrates one! Exposure to stuff you feel you understand most of it, it's pointless to have lots of native input if you have no idea of the words used, pronunciation and the effect of mispronunciation!
It's true that much as pronunciation is important it's not a matter of sounding like a native speaker, as long as your speech is understandable, it should be fine! there's really no need to speak native-like! specially if you communicate with other non-native speakers. Plus you'll find it a lot more encouraging if you speak to other learners with slightly higher levels than you.
More later...
And how do you evaluate speaking?
- with the range of structure and vocabulary they use now as opposed to xyz ago
- how quickly they understand what's being said/asked and if they respond accordingly
- how fluent they've become
- what mistakes have been tackled / corrected
- how much self-correction there is / awareness of mistakes
how to become more fluent:
- speak more, listen to real english, meet native speakers and good users (and get corrected). listen and write to help you remember things. take a notebook with you to write down words.
-listen to what native do..: insert expressions, stress words / patterns..
-think in english
-speak to yourself in english
-read out loud
-the more vocab you know and pronounce correctly (therefore can identify at normal speed delivery) the more quickly you'll learn it. the more confident they'll get and as a result eventually more fluent.
-have very clear patterns of use of confusing words (ie. manage to / sth)
-dictations and write expressions they hear.
What Frank and many others say that the ability to improve your skills at speaking a certain language is gained by speaking may be true for some but I'd dare to say that with the right feedback and corrections and motivation from the teacher (to me, there's nothing like having a teacher up to a certain level). Correction and understanding why structures are the way they are, having the right word or expression for the right context so as long as there is relevant previous exposure to English and correction, in this case ...
yet some learn to speak by taking a very active role in listening. (it worked well as just by listening for contexts in which a certain word that caught their attention - even if they had never came across the word or expression - you learned it. I think dictations are a good way of learning to speak, reading may be too, although i am in the process of testing this.
I also helps being familiar with sth, knowing sth exists or sth is said this way or that, and being reminded of it (often). Then identifying it in a utterance, spotting it again and again (as a word, an expression, a phrasal verb..) and associating this words with a meaning according to context (be quick enough to put together the words and the meaning according to where it appears in and the final stages of learning (and at last acquiring it hopefully) using it, and being corrected if not used appropiately.
More later
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