Thursday, 5 May 2011
Tuesday, 12 April 2011
When is the right moment to teach pronunciation? Is there "a" right moment to do so?
more in www.howadultslearn.wikispaces.com
Earlier today I was telling Ester, my student who has written the "essential grammar" wiki around in my wikis, that I think that generally speaking, I find myself thinking that openly and explicitly teaching pronunciation can not be done until students/learners are ready for and open to it, much as this idea is wrong.This tends to happen when they have gained fluency enough to use English in a real life situation, and they themselves realise that yes! pronunciation matters. A lot. My adults were not open to learning (about) pronunciation when they started English with me, it was and is not until a couple of years have elapsed that now they truly understand and see for themselves the need for improving this often "scary" area of the language learning process. Now that they have gained confidence, have a better command of the language and actively use it in their day to day that they see how important pronunciation is. But then again, it's worth "playing with" it early enough to raise a consciousness of the different sounds, so dominoes and quizzes and words-with-the-same-sound competitions may be the way to go with the unacquainted students! By pronuciation I mean knowing how a word or a phrase or a sentence is pronounced, the sounds. Gaining an awareness of the different sounds of English, the distinction about the number of vowel sounds in particular and how using a different vowel sound or dropping the final consonant can affect the message when speaking to an uncooperative native speaker as some can be (or at least that's the students' perception!). You may add and argue to this, that pronunciation is pitch, intonation and all this hard-to-change aspects. Of course it is, but I am going to delve into this now, as i give it fairly little focus in class myself, much as it can hinder understanding or lead to misinterpretations of the message passed on! On how many occasions have I been told that Spanish sound as though they were angry and shouting at each there when speaking! Often I find that they know every single word of is said to them but still can not understand. They don't understand because in their heads there's "their" pronunciation of the words, which often doesn't match with the correct pronunciation. That's why they don't understand. It's obviously not as simple as that but I can vouch this is a very important part of their lack of understanding skills. In addition, there's some kind of mental blockage that prevents them from understanding, plus the sound simplification, the so-weak forms, of auxiliaries, prepositions, etc. To help them gain an understanding of these issues and to "train their ears to catch these little sounds" the teacher comes into play. It's hard for many to reach this goal overnight. Awareness of how slow this can be can be discouraging for some but it works. I can vouch for that. And, to go one step further, it's not only their understanding oral input skills but also their ability to produce understandable output. Before, they lacked to knowledge, they didn't use English. Now they use it, with native and non-native speakers. So it's now it's the right moment to go more in depth. I use a lot material from the bbc.co.uk learning english, as i said in How Adults Learn, a wiki I have, plus books and plus brainstorming and providing examples for them to discover some kind of rule.
Another issue that often takes them by surprise them is that spelling things out in English is so common between native speakers because pronunciation doesn't always correspond to what it may appear from spelling and the other way round. We teach them the alphabet and to spell when they start learning but again, we never put enough emphasis on how an essential and active part of the use of English in English-speaking countries this is. Eureka, now they understand! All those homophones which can be so confusing if they are different word categories! so and sew rite and right pear and pair The above takes to what i said in an earlier piece of writing of how helpful it can be to learn what other words the word goes with .. the rite of , it is right , our rights, you are right, a pair of.. the pear, I sew sth, etc. or the baffling pronunciation of -ough, our the different spellings for the sound of earn, and the different pronunciatins of the letters ea/ear, etc. No wonder our students get mixed up and mispronounce words! who wouldn't?! (will expand) Their own mis pronunciation of words they own -----------------> they don't understand the word when pronounced correctly (and fast and within connected speech) correct pronunciation= easier to be understood easier to understand Spelling is important in English because pronunciation is sometimes arbitrary and unreliable to pronunciation patterns.
Continue writing about:
Earlier today I was telling Ester, my student who has written the "essential grammar" wiki around in my wikis, that I think that generally speaking, I find myself thinking that openly and explicitly teaching pronunciation can not be done until students/learners are ready for and open to it, much as this idea is wrong.This tends to happen when they have gained fluency enough to use English in a real life situation, and they themselves realise that yes! pronunciation matters. A lot. My adults were not open to learning (about) pronunciation when they started English with me, it was and is not until a couple of years have elapsed that now they truly understand and see for themselves the need for improving this often "scary" area of the language learning process. Now that they have gained confidence, have a better command of the language and actively use it in their day to day that they see how important pronunciation is. But then again, it's worth "playing with" it early enough to raise a consciousness of the different sounds, so dominoes and quizzes and words-with-the-same-sound competitions may be the way to go with the unacquainted students! By pronuciation I mean knowing how a word or a phrase or a sentence is pronounced, the sounds. Gaining an awareness of the different sounds of English, the distinction about the number of vowel sounds in particular and how using a different vowel sound or dropping the final consonant can affect the message when speaking to an uncooperative native speaker as some can be (or at least that's the students' perception!). You may add and argue to this, that pronunciation is pitch, intonation and all this hard-to-change aspects. Of course it is, but I am going to delve into this now, as i give it fairly little focus in class myself, much as it can hinder understanding or lead to misinterpretations of the message passed on! On how many occasions have I been told that Spanish sound as though they were angry and shouting at each there when speaking! Often I find that they know every single word of is said to them but still can not understand. They don't understand because in their heads there's "their" pronunciation of the words, which often doesn't match with the correct pronunciation. That's why they don't understand. It's obviously not as simple as that but I can vouch this is a very important part of their lack of understanding skills. In addition, there's some kind of mental blockage that prevents them from understanding, plus the sound simplification, the so-weak forms, of auxiliaries, prepositions, etc. To help them gain an understanding of these issues and to "train their ears to catch these little sounds" the teacher comes into play. It's hard for many to reach this goal overnight. Awareness of how slow this can be can be discouraging for some but it works. I can vouch for that. And, to go one step further, it's not only their understanding oral input skills but also their ability to produce understandable output. Before, they lacked to knowledge, they didn't use English. Now they use it, with native and non-native speakers. So it's now it's the right moment to go more in depth. I use a lot material from the bbc.co.uk learning english, as i said in How Adults Learn, a wiki I have, plus books and plus brainstorming and providing examples for them to discover some kind of rule.
Another issue that often takes them by surprise them is that spelling things out in English is so common between native speakers because pronunciation doesn't always correspond to what it may appear from spelling and the other way round. We teach them the alphabet and to spell when they start learning but again, we never put enough emphasis on how an essential and active part of the use of English in English-speaking countries this is. Eureka, now they understand! All those homophones which can be so confusing if they are different word categories! so and sew rite and right pear and pair The above takes to what i said in an earlier piece of writing of how helpful it can be to learn what other words the word goes with .. the rite of , it is right , our rights, you are right, a pair of.. the pear, I sew sth, etc. or the baffling pronunciation of -ough, our the different spellings for the sound of earn, and the different pronunciatins of the letters ea/ear, etc. No wonder our students get mixed up and mispronounce words! who wouldn't?! (will expand) Their own mis pronunciation of words they own -----------------> they don't understand the word when pronounced correctly (and fast and within connected speech) correct pronunciation= easier to be understood easier to understand Spelling is important in English because pronunciation is sometimes arbitrary and unreliable to pronunciation patterns.
Continue writing about:
Explain how brain and phonological system work, ages...
If they don't hear it they don't use it, etc.
Add ted videos (see newer entries).
Extension: on 21 April 2012, months after writing this, I went to an Oxford seminar and Robin Walker gave a talk named Pronunciation Matters. Fab. Eye-opening, inspiring and realistic. I was glad to see what I am doing well, and go home with ideas on how to continue tackling this issue with my learners! Thanks Robin.
Thursday, 7 April 2011
I set up a wiki a month about teaching and a half ago as a way of familiarising myself with the tool as I don't use the blog too much. http://howadultslearn.wikispaces.com/ There I have developed a piece of text that i started a while ago here in blogger about how adults learn English according to my experience, then I went on putting info about what i think are good ways to improve the students listening skills as well as speaking and other ideas and experiences from my teaching.
Thursday, 25 November 2010
està incompletoooo!
Hay que dejar de estudiar y hablar palabra a palabra. Es mucho más rapido y a la vez parecereis más naturales si os aprendéis el vocabulario junto a otra/s palabras:
ejemplo: cuando aprendais que make significa hacer, aprendedlo con todo lo que podéis "make", make a call, make coffee, make a mistake, make a change, make a difference, make me do sth, I can't make it, etc
Otro ejemplo muy interesante es con el verbo meet. Yo lo que recomiendo que no os miréis las palabras como "una palabra, un significado" para los que no podéis evitar traducir. Una palabra se puede traducir de muchas maneras.
I first met him at a party a while ago but i started to get to know him better when we happened to be in the same English class. Now I have known Micheal for a few years and I can say that he’s a great guy to meet up with!
(First) meet somebody – se usa para describir la situacion en la que hablas con alguien por primera vez.
Get to know somebody – Start to become friends with someone, by speding time or doing things together, more personally.
Know someone – conoces (des del momento que os conocisteis/ hablastéis por primera vez a menudo). Sabes bastantes cosas de él, quizás hablais a menudo (no necesariamente), quizás soys compañeros de trabajo, amigos, ...)
Meet somebody – quedar con
I am meeting my friends for a drink at 7pm
I meet my friends on the weekend cos i work till late during weekdays
I first met Peter a few years ago. Since then, we've met a few times but we've never had the chance to get to know each other.
When i went to Romania, my friend met me at the station.
Know se traduce:.. (incompleto)
Know somebody- conocer
Know something- saber
Ojo! Meet tiene muchas traducciones segun lo que lleve detrás!
Tambien tenemos el meet sth, as oposed to meet somebody, como veíamos arriba.
Meet your deadlines, meet the need for... , meet the demand, meet my objectives, meet the target, meet the expectactions, meet the standards, etc....
Cumplir o satisfacer ....
Wednesday, 24 November 2010
I have been discussing fluency with one of my students today. She felt confident that her speaking skills were becoming better, and they are but at such a slow pace that i would hardly call that progress. How do you react when a learner wants to hear positive feedback when it's not that positive? Well, I have acknowledge that there is indeed some progress but I have also said there ws a long way to run still as she pronounces each single word as clearly and as "isolated" as she does in Spanish. She says she feels very confident when she is with me but when it comes to speaking to others she regards as having a higher level or better command, she goes very shy and gets things wrong. Others are in the same boat! But they find it reassuring to hear that not everybody has as high level as they (the students) think they (others) have.
Friday, 19 November 2010
Yesterday i decided to post stuff which tends to pose some kind of difficulty to Spanish speakers learning Englihs. I bet that if you follow my advice you'll surely make a step forward or at least become more realistic and less frustrated if progress in your learning curve is not as quick as you would expect. As I always say to my students the teacher or trainer feeds you with the language but it's you who has to chew it and digest it!
Yesterday I published stuff on presentations skills for those brushing up their business English and the never-properly learned present perfect and the often hated conditionals. In older postings there's info on the use of say and tell and similar verbs, which i am sure you'll find very very helpful! Enjoy your learning!
Yesterday I published stuff on presentations skills for those brushing up their business English and the never-properly learned present perfect and the often hated conditionals. In older postings there's info on the use of say and tell and similar verbs, which i am sure you'll find very very helpful! Enjoy your learning!
Thursday, 18 November 2010
Confident presentations
Now I am going to post a compilation of links and phrases i have found which give very interesting advice on giving presentations. This is going to be of use for those whose confidence is a bit shaky when having to prepare for and give presentations.
The piece of advice i, as a teacher, would give you is that preparation is the key to success and that it's normal to be nervous, very few people do not get nervous when having to speak in public. The other big piece of advice is not to panick when you you find yourself in a sticky situation, like not remembering how to say something in English or if you realise you've forgotten to say something important or any these little glitches and problems. These can happen to absolutely every person on earth, ok some more often than others but hey!, whether it is giving presentations in a foreign or in your own language. The key is to be prepared. This posting will give you the resourses for many of the potential situations you may face when presenting.
Good reading and watching!
The following is taken from:
http://www.effective-public-speaking.com/starting/menu.php
More links below
In modern English, presentations tend to be much less formal than they were even twenty years ago. Most audience these days prefer a relatively informal approach. However, there is a certain structure to the opening of a presentation that you should observe
If I could have everybody's attention · If we can start. · Perhaps we should begin? · Let's get started
Welcome them
Thank you for coming today. · Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. · On behalf of our company, I'd like to welcome you.
Introduce yourself
My name's Jane Shawre. I'm responsible for travel arrangements.
My recommendation is to learn the couple of expressions in each section you fell more comfortable with by heart.
You'll notice or have noticed that Let's and I'd like to, I am going to... come up very often, these are what you want to start using!
The piece of advice i, as a teacher, would give you is that preparation is the key to success and that it's normal to be nervous, very few people do not get nervous when having to speak in public. The other big piece of advice is not to panick when you you find yourself in a sticky situation, like not remembering how to say something in English or if you realise you've forgotten to say something important or any these little glitches and problems. These can happen to absolutely every person on earth, ok some more often than others but hey!, whether it is giving presentations in a foreign or in your own language. The key is to be prepared. This posting will give you the resourses for many of the potential situations you may face when presenting.
Good reading and watching!
The following is taken from:
http://www.effective-public-speaking.com/starting/menu.php
More links below
In modern English, presentations tend to be much less formal than they were even twenty years ago. Most audience these days prefer a relatively informal approach. However, there is a certain structure to the opening of a presentation that you should observe
1. Get people's attention
2. Welcome them
3. Introduce yourself
4. State the purpose of your presentation
5. State how you want to deal with questions
Get people's attentionIf I could have everybody's attention · If we can start. · Perhaps we should begin? · Let's get started
Welcome them
Thank you for coming today. · Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. · On behalf of our company, I'd like to welcome you.
Introduce yourself
My name's Jane Shawre. I'm responsible for travel arrangements.
· For those of you who don't know me, my name's Tom Strwotter.
· As you know, I'm in charge of public relations.
· I'm the new Marketing Manager.
State the purpose of the presentation
This morning I'd like to present our new processor.
· Today I'd like to discuss our failures in the Japanese market and suggest a new approach.
· This afternoon, I'd like to report on my study into the German market.
· What I want to do this morning is to talk to you about our new mobile telephone system.
· What I want to do is to tell you about our successes and failures in introducing new working patterns.
· What I want to do is to show you how we've made our first successful steps in the potentially huge Chinese market
State how you want to deal with questions.
· If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them as we go along.
· Feel free to ask any questions.
· Perhaps we can leave any questions you have until the end?
· There will be plenty of time for questions at the endMy recommendation is to learn the couple of expressions in each section you fell more comfortable with by heart.
You'll notice or have noticed that Let's and I'd like to, I am going to... come up very often, these are what you want to start using!
http://www.business-english.com/signposting/exercise1.html
GIVING PRESENTATIONS: USEFUL LANGUAGE
1. If you get your facts wrong.
I am terribly sorry. What I meant to say was this.
Sorry. What I meant is this.
2. If you have been going too fast and your audience is having trouble keeping up with you.
Let me just recap on that.
I want to recap briefly on what I have been saying.
3. If you have forgotten to make a point.
Sorry, I should just mention one other thing.
If I can just go back to the previous point, there is something else that I forgot to mention.
4. If you have been too complicated and want to simplify what you said.
So, basically, what I am saying is … this.
So, basically, the point I am trying to get across is this.
5. If you realize that what you are saying makes no sense.
Sorry, perhaps I did not make that quite clear.
Let me rephrase that to make it quite clear.
6. If you cannot remember the term in English.
Sorry, what is the word I am looking for?
Sorry, my mind has gone blank. How do you say ‘escargot’ in English?
7. If you are short of time. Time is running out.
So just to give you the main points.
As we are short of time, this is just a quick summary of the main points.
8. When you want to make your next point, you ‘move on’.
Moving on to the next point.
I’d like to move on to the next point if there are no further questions.
9. When you want to change to a completely different topic, you ‘turn to’.
I’d like to turn to something completely different.
Let’s turn now to our plans for next year.
10. When you want to give more details about a topic you ‘expand’ or ‘elaborate’.
I’d like to expand more on this problem we have had in Chicago.
Would you like me to expand a little more on that or have you understood enough?
I don’t want to elaborate any more on that as I’m short of time.
11. When you want to refer back to an earlier point, you ‘go back’.
Going back to something I said earlier, the situation in Chicago is serious.
I’d like to go back to something Jane said in her presentation.
12. When you want to refer back to an earlier point, you ‘go back’.
Going back to something I said earlier, the situation in Chicago is serious.
I’d like to go back to something Jane said in her presentation.
13. To just give the outline of a point, you ’summarize’.
If I could just summarize a few points from John’s report.
I don’t have a lot of time left so I’m going to summarize the next few points.
14. To repeat the main points of what you have said, you ‘recap’.
I’d like to quickly recap the main points of my presentation.
Recapping quickly on what was said before lunch, ……
15. For your final remarks, you ‘conclude’.
I’d like to conclude by leaving you with this thought ……
If I may conclude by quoting Karl Marx …….
I always recommend taht you learn the expressions and phrases you feel more at ease with and that you personalise them, study them by using your name, your company's name, etc.
Links and resources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/business/talkingbusiness/unit3presentations/1opening.shtml it has several links within the same tab
http://www.business-english.com/signposting/exercise1.html
http://www.effective-public-speaking.com/
www.Ted.com as examples of fantastic presentations: visuals, warm-ups, jokes, tone of voice, emphasis…
English 365 (CUP) purple and bluish book both have material and listenings
In company (MacMillan), unit 12
Business Vocabulary in Use (CUP) written by Bill Mascull has also material on that.
Videos on www.youtube.com :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmjGz4PS6sI&p=CBC9B0E3479C39F4&playnext=1&index=44
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV-z_yBrS3s&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdGgDEjmGhM&NR=1
speak slowly video (not only for presentations):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ttDTszXG4M
among many others…
I think i have provided references of all the material i have used. Any question, leave a comment and i'll get back to you.
The Infamous Conditionals
Lots of people seem to have problems with conditionals. I think it's because the basic tenses have never been learned properly, students have never been told how to really really use them so it drags to the conditional use. So it's not your fault if you still have problems using them. The not exhaustive posting here should help you have a clearer idea on how to use the infamous conditionals!
(Below you'll see the word likely, what does it mean? something is likely to happen= es probable que ...)
Something that is very important to bear in mind when choosing what conditional type to use is what you have in mind , what you want to convey/express. Think about:
How likely is it?
a. it’s always like this!
b. it’s very likely (if the condition happens and it probably will)
c. not likely / impossible (that's why we always give the example of the lottery, cos it's almost impossible to win the lottery!)
d. impossible now because you are going to say something about / in the past
and When , the moment in time it happens/ will happen / would happen…
a. I am talking about sth that is always like this
b. Refers to now , It will likely happen in the future
c. It refers to now, a present situation (but hypothetical condition)
d. It refers to the past (recent or far)
Each of these options will , or should, help you choose between a combinations of tenses to for the most suitable conditional type depending your message.
Besides, the tense combination can not be altered.
____________________________________________________________________________
The so-called first conditional:
It’s not a true conditional, because the IF is not exactly a condition. It’d be better to use WHEN instead.
The two events happen. It’s a FACT, A UNIVERSAL TRUTH, SOMETHING GENERAL.
The present simple tense is the one which describes facts and truths and permanent things. So it makes sense that both clauses are present simple.
If present simple > present simple
If you heat water to 100º C , it boils.
when i finish early , i (always) go to the libary for a little while.
It refers to likely events in the (near) FUTURE if the condition is met (if sth happens).
VERY LIKELY TO HAPPEN.
If / unless / providing … present simple /, future
If I finish early , I will pick you up.
The second:
It refers to unlikely / impossible or almost impossible situations NOW. It’s an unreal current situation.
This is where the I wish could come into play… (Remember: I wish SVO … means “Ojalá”)
If past simple , conditional (would , could…+infinitive)
If I finished early , I would come and pick you up
If I could ski, I would go skiing often.
The third conditional:
It refers to a completely hypothetical situation because you are saying it now but it refers to PAST condition and past outcome. There is nothing you can do about it now. You can not change the past. So it’s unreal too.
If past perfect , would have participle
If I had known this (but i didnt know it), I would have asked to lead the project (now it's too late).
And there's still the mixed conditionals, to be posted later!
Present perfect and Past Simple for Spaniards
Learning a foreing language as an adult is like learning to drive a car. There's lots of different little but important actions to take into account: sit on the seat, fasten your seatbelt, check the rear-view mirrors, the ignition key, wait till the light goes off, turn the key, push the clutch and the gas pedal, you release the handbrake, and long etc of little actions that first are a list of things that little by little become mechanical. By repetition, we stop thinking what and how to do them. Learning English is very similar, from my way of understanding the process. When we build a sentence we have to "think" what we are going to say: present or past, finished or unfinished, is it a he or she or an it or a there or is it plural? is there a time reference, was this for a finished or unfinished action, the object goes immidiately after the verb, not after the time reference, etc. But it all should become more unconscious step by step.
Again, like in many other verb structures in English, we not only have to look at whether the action is finished or unfinished but also if there is any kind of time reference. A finished action does not necessarily refer to a recent past, as many of you often think.
So let’s look at what should be considered:
- finished or unfinished?
- is there or am I using a time reference (adverb or adverbial phrase)?
- is there an impact on the now, the present?
- Is when important? Are we saying when something happened?( = if the action, what happened is the relevant thing to get across, not when it took place)
These are clues to help us choose what verb tense to use, present perfect or past simple.
Let’s look at them in more detail:
a. Finished/over or unfinished/not over action or event or situation:
Time references like for , since, how long, so far, until now, over the last few weeks, recently, these last few days if the action started in the past and it is still valid now, you are still doing it.
The tense here, Has worked, have known, indicates that she stills works for XXX . And that she still know Sara (Sara nor I have died and there’s some kind of relationship) That, if now is 2010, she started to work for XXX 9 years ago. *
Starting is one specific moment in the past, from the moment you start, you are/ you work.
The idea of working in a certain place can be expressed in a number of ways DEPENDING ON THE TIME REFERENCE and the TENSE you use.
Do we know when she started to work there?
Do we know if she still works there?
Finished action, she doesn’t work there anymore because we use the verb in past tense, which means the working there is finished. Then, what’s the “for 9 years” if we’ve seen that for is commonly used in the present simple? For expresses duration of an action or situation or state. Many Spaniards would say “during”.
The most appropriate answer is .. I have been…. For a few hours/a few days/ a week/ two months/ a long time/ ages…or since Monday last week/ 2001, I was a university, etc the specific moment in the past the action/situation started
So we can see that for to express duration can be used for a finished action and for an unfinished action! That is a lot of information here!! So watch out.
b. Past (=finished) action is there an impact or results on the now, the present?
I have washed my hands (so now I can cook, now they are clean and ready to touch food), I have sent the email (so this is done, we can now forget about this)
It’s usually a recent past, but not necessarily. Here we can also use time references like just and already or yet or today, this morning (if still in the morning), this afternoon (if still afternoon),etc
c.
d. Is when important? Are we saying when something happened?( = if the action, what happened is the relevant thing to get across, not when it took place)
I have studied at university and I have done many different jobs so I have acquired many skills. I have also travelled a bit and I have studied photography to make the most of my trips. I have lived in a few countries…. IN MY LIFE and my life is not finished so present perfect, when I did all this is not important, if when was important, I would use the past simple. You can also use before here to justify your experience in sth.
I first went to England as a young teenager, when I completed my secondary school, in 1994 I went to university and after that I moved to Scandinavia to learn Swedish. In 2005 I studied photography. AS soon as I finished, I started to work for an art gallery.
You are talking about your life experiences, and your life is not finished! There’s plenty more to do and experience, isn’t there?
Sample sentences:
Llevo días haciendo...
Hace mucho que…Hice (past) / Hago...(present perfect) Watch out, do not "trust your spanish present simple of hago)
Hace muchos días que no vengo a clase.
Hace mucho tiempo que no hablo en inglés
I haven’t spoken in English for a long time /for many days.
Anna has been to Rome. She went there a few months ago (different from Anna has gone to Rome!)
She has worked with msf for over a year
She has just started her English class
Carla and Eric have known each other for years/since they worked together in the field.
etc
As you can see Spanish often uses the time reference at the begining of the sentence, whereas in English we tend to put it at the end (depending on how we word the sentence).
This is not an exhaustive explanation but sorts some of the problems you might have.
hope it's useful!
Again, like in many other verb structures in English, we not only have to look at whether the action is finished or unfinished but also if there is any kind of time reference. A finished action does not necessarily refer to a recent past, as many of you often think.
So let’s look at what should be considered:
- finished or unfinished?
- is there or am I using a time reference (adverb or adverbial phrase)?
- is there an impact on the now, the present?
- Is when important? Are we saying when something happened?( = if the action, what happened is the relevant thing to get across, not when it took place)
These are clues to help us choose what verb tense to use, present perfect or past simple.
Let’s look at them in more detail:
a. Finished/over or unfinished/not over action or event or situation:
Time references like for , since, how long, so far, until now, over the last few weeks, recently, these last few days if the action started in the past and it is still valid now, you are still doing it.
Mary has worked in XXX since 2001
She has worked in XXX for 9 years
I have known Sara since we were at university
since I started to work here
for many years.
She has worked in XXX for 9 years
I have known Sara since we were at university
since I started to work here
for many years.
The tense here, Has worked, have known, indicates that she stills works for XXX . And that she still know Sara (Sara nor I have died and there’s some kind of relationship) That, if now is 2010, she started to work for XXX 9 years ago. *
Starting is one specific moment in the past, from the moment you start, you are/ you work.
The idea of working in a certain place can be expressed in a number of ways DEPENDING ON THE TIME REFERENCE and the TENSE you use.
Now compare it with:
Mary worked in XXX for 9 years
Mary worked in XXX for 9 years
Do we know when she started to work there?
Do we know if she still works there?
Finished action, she doesn’t work there anymore because we use the verb in past tense, which means the working there is finished. Then, what’s the “for 9 years” if we’ve seen that for is commonly used in the present simple? For expresses duration of an action or situation or state. Many Spaniards would say “during”.
So when you want to know the duration of a certain thing you use:
How long have you worked…?
How long did you work…?
(how long are you going to…?)
How long have you worked…?
How long did you work…?
(how long are you going to…?)
The most appropriate answer is .. I have been…. For a few hours/a few days/ a week/ two months/ a long time/ ages…or since Monday last week/ 2001, I was a university, etc the specific moment in the past the action/situation started
So we can see that for to express duration can be used for a finished action and for an unfinished action! That is a lot of information here!! So watch out.
b. Past (=finished) action is there an impact or results on the now, the present?
I have washed my hands (so now I can cook, now they are clean and ready to touch food), I have sent the email (so this is done, we can now forget about this)
It’s usually a recent past, but not necessarily. Here we can also use time references like just and already or yet or today, this morning (if still in the morning), this afternoon (if still afternoon),etc
c.
d. Is when important? Are we saying when something happened?( = if the action, what happened is the relevant thing to get across, not when it took place)
I have studied at university and I have done many different jobs so I have acquired many skills. I have also travelled a bit and I have studied photography to make the most of my trips. I have lived in a few countries…. IN MY LIFE and my life is not finished so present perfect, when I did all this is not important, if when was important, I would use the past simple. You can also use before here to justify your experience in sth.
I first went to England as a young teenager, when I completed my secondary school, in 1994 I went to university and after that I moved to Scandinavia to learn Swedish. In 2005 I studied photography. AS soon as I finished, I started to work for an art gallery.
So when you ask about
Have you ever been…? (in your life)
No I have never been
The most fascinating person I have ever met…
Have you ever been…? (in your life)
No I have never been
The most fascinating person I have ever met…
You are talking about your life experiences, and your life is not finished! There’s plenty more to do and experience, isn’t there?
Sample sentences:
Llevo días haciendo...
Hace mucho que…Hice (past) / Hago...(present perfect) Watch out, do not "trust your spanish present simple of hago)
Hace muchos días que no vengo a clase.
Hace mucho tiempo que no hablo en inglés
I haven’t spoken in English for a long time /for many days.
Anna has been to Rome. She went there a few months ago (different from Anna has gone to Rome!)
She has worked with msf for over a year
She has just started her English class
Carla and Eric have known each other for years/since they worked together in the field.
etc
As you can see Spanish often uses the time reference at the begining of the sentence, whereas in English we tend to put it at the end (depending on how we word the sentence).
This is not an exhaustive explanation but sorts some of the problems you might have.
hope it's useful!
Thursday, 16 September 2010
words words words in our brains!
Adults, at least mine, store words in their brains as opposed to storing preffixes, suffixes, roots and then playing with them to form new words, to help them understand "new" lexical terms. Much as I encourage and help them work out the meaning of derivates, they only get there if you help them break down the word into smaller bits of meaning. With help. They don't do it autonomously.
I have noticed too that their brains take the words the know of something they are familiar with but is not a cognate. Let me give you an example:
I was doing a listening to Susana and the man said " trusting staff to..." and my student said "she says something about confidence" as in trust in Spanish is confianza, a cognate but a false friend somehow. Another example is Carmen understood strange when the listening man said strain. The word strain is not part of their active, nor passive in her case, vocabulary so their brains searched for whateve was most similar to the sound of strain that she knew. So the more active vocabulary and their very correct pronunciation or at least familiarity of how the word sounds in English is important if they want to improve their listening skills. In one word, input input input. Repeated input, revision, revising, rereading, listening, etc.
I have noticed too that their brains take the words the know of something they are familiar with but is not a cognate. Let me give you an example:
I was doing a listening to Susana and the man said " trusting staff to..." and my student said "she says something about confidence" as in trust in Spanish is confianza, a cognate but a false friend somehow. Another example is Carmen understood strange when the listening man said strain. The word strain is not part of their active, nor passive in her case, vocabulary so their brains searched for whateve was most similar to the sound of strain that she knew. So the more active vocabulary and their very correct pronunciation or at least familiarity of how the word sounds in English is important if they want to improve their listening skills. In one word, input input input. Repeated input, revision, revising, rereading, listening, etc.
Tuesday, 14 September 2010
grammar grammar grammar
Three out three people i have asked, so far, agree on what helped them most in their learning in class was that they learn best when doing grammar classes dealing with one grammar area: ie present perfect and past simple. Pure grammar, comparing, talking, correcting, translating, contrasting... They need to understand and contrast. They want to understand the rules. This goes a bit against the sort of teaching some methods encourage: eliciting, integrating grammar in a given situation, etc. According to their feedback, I reckon they think they will be able to integrate this whereever it is needed if they know how to produce the sentece, if they know the equivalent: in Spanish we say xxx whereas in english to communicate this idea we say yyy or xxx. It's important to know when translating word by word can be done and when can not.
Monday, 13 September 2010
How Adults Learn
What i am putting together here is a compilation of my ideas of how my adults learn. From my wide but at the same time limited experience I have come to realise a few things. But first let me explain the wide but limited adjectives here: wide because I've been in teaching English for many years now, six years teaching adults in companies and limited because this experience has been in this one organisation and mostly one-to-one or in pairs, so what is limited is the range of situations or groups I have dealt with.
These are just thoughts collected here so that i can develop them sometime.
Now what I've made myself aware is that some are quite free and
some want to really understand the theory, without really enjoying a class with a given LP. Many if not all want to be corrected on the spot, some with just the corrections others stopping their speech altogether to deal with whatever issue has come up (ie grammar or understanding a vocabulary term, however long it takes, leaving aside what the teacher has planned...is that bad class management? To a certain extend it may be but with adults you cannot leave them unsatisfied, feeling your explanation has not met their needs/demand just because you want to stick to your LP, so yes, with some you just use the whole class to explain meanings, uses, collocations, even origins of whatever may have come up).
Many want to self-direct and have a clear idea of what the want whereas few still rely on the teacher to assess their needs and don't get too involved in their teacher's job to set their objectives and plan their lessons and/or chose materials. Bear in mind it's adults we are speaking about here. They complain or show boredom or just simply stop coming to class if they don't like the classes! Keeping them motivated is essential and I think the key thing to do so is to prove they are making progress more than actually always present with new materials, which is also important. Yet as soon as they can see what you do is helpful in their day-to-day, they see the relevance of something they just something even if it's not super engaging. (am i a bad teacher cos i dont always use super engagin activities?)
It motivates many of them to have a project to work on. They question what you do or what you say and those more analytical or reasoning won't give up or just take your word for sth until they fully understand.
Critical but also praising if something is very good. Exceedingly enjoyable/engaging/useful.
Helping them to connect new info to old existing inforamtion and experiences they have, you can make use of their knowledge, by referring to their own experiences using examples which are relevant to them, use their kids names, situations they are familiar with, places they have seen. show them that xx applies to them.
Reassuring for them to be coached on what's normal or not in their learning process, to let pressure off them somehow ... help them accept mistakes / failed attempts to integrate sth new (not necessarily mistakes depending on the teaching/learning stage)
They have to be and encouraged to be involved intheir learning proces by encouraging them to choose relavant topics for them/for their objective to learn E... Many will but many others just go on by saying "you are the teacher, teach me everything"
when it comes to involvment outside the class. They set English a priority in their life, but often is not a real top priority so they'll do little homework and take revision not seriously enough, slowing down their learning process. Even if you try to make them understand that if they do hw they'll learn more quickly. (I feed them, they have to chew and digest) it doesnt seem to work. They are busy, they have family, commitments, or just tired after a hard day's work and much as they play along saying they will do hw, they won't.
they get bored easily. they need variation. The idea of repetition (of a topic, of the same content) does not appeal to them.
hard to change their ideas on how to learn (collocations), or get them to think about space and time in a different way from tehir mother tongues/culture, that's why some tenses prove difficult to acquire.
W
These are just thoughts collected here so that i can develop them sometime.
Now what I've made myself aware is that some are quite free and
some want to really understand the theory, without really enjoying a class with a given LP. Many if not all want to be corrected on the spot, some with just the corrections others stopping their speech altogether to deal with whatever issue has come up (ie grammar or understanding a vocabulary term, however long it takes, leaving aside what the teacher has planned...is that bad class management? To a certain extend it may be but with adults you cannot leave them unsatisfied, feeling your explanation has not met their needs/demand just because you want to stick to your LP, so yes, with some you just use the whole class to explain meanings, uses, collocations, even origins of whatever may have come up).
Many want to self-direct and have a clear idea of what the want whereas few still rely on the teacher to assess their needs and don't get too involved in their teacher's job to set their objectives and plan their lessons and/or chose materials. Bear in mind it's adults we are speaking about here. They complain or show boredom or just simply stop coming to class if they don't like the classes! Keeping them motivated is essential and I think the key thing to do so is to prove they are making progress more than actually always present with new materials, which is also important. Yet as soon as they can see what you do is helpful in their day-to-day, they see the relevance of something they just something even if it's not super engaging. (am i a bad teacher cos i dont always use super engagin activities?)
It motivates many of them to have a project to work on. They question what you do or what you say and those more analytical or reasoning won't give up or just take your word for sth until they fully understand.
Critical but also praising if something is very good. Exceedingly enjoyable/engaging/useful.
Helping them to connect new info to old existing inforamtion and experiences they have, you can make use of their knowledge, by referring to their own experiences using examples which are relevant to them, use their kids names, situations they are familiar with, places they have seen. show them that xx applies to them.
Reassuring for them to be coached on what's normal or not in their learning process, to let pressure off them somehow ... help them accept mistakes / failed attempts to integrate sth new (not necessarily mistakes depending on the teaching/learning stage)
They have to be and encouraged to be involved intheir learning proces by encouraging them to choose relavant topics for them/for their objective to learn E... Many will but many others just go on by saying "you are the teacher, teach me everything"
when it comes to involvment outside the class. They set English a priority in their life, but often is not a real top priority so they'll do little homework and take revision not seriously enough, slowing down their learning process. Even if you try to make them understand that if they do hw they'll learn more quickly. (I feed them, they have to chew and digest) it doesnt seem to work. They are busy, they have family, commitments, or just tired after a hard day's work and much as they play along saying they will do hw, they won't.
they get bored easily. they need variation. The idea of repetition (of a topic, of the same content) does not appeal to them.
hard to change their ideas on how to learn (collocations), or get them to think about space and time in a different way from tehir mother tongues/culture, that's why some tenses prove difficult to acquire.
W
Tuesday, 6 April 2010
self-development in teaching
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...
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...
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
Thursday, 27 November 2008
say tell talk speak explain
SAY TELL TALK
SON VERBS QUE ES REGEIXEN PELS COMPLEMENTS QUE PORTEN , NO PER TAL COM ELS TRADUIU DEL VOSTRE IDIOMA.
SEGONS QUÈ DIGUIS AL DARRERA DE CADA VERB, UTILITZAREM UN O L'ALTRE
"EM VA DIR ALGO" O "VA DIR ALGO"
SAY SOMETHING (TO SOMEBODY) va dir hola,
va dir que no podia venir
vaig dir que allo s'havia de canviar
he said hello
she said she couldn't come
i said (that) that had to be changed.
fixa't que no dic mai he said me that..
amb el say no diem a qui diem xxx normalment
quan ho volem dir utilitzem el TELL (ENCARA QUE en català utilitzem el DIR a vegades I us hagin dit que TELL VOL DIR EXPLICAR !!!! ) OK?
tell, told told
TELL SOMEBODY SOMETHING= dir o explicar algo a algu
pq per lo que en català diem dir a vegades es tell i a vegades es say en angles? pq no esta ben clar ? doncs pq traduiu del catala i en català les coses es diuen d'una manera i aixo no vol dir que ens les altres llengües es diguin igual.
look:
em va dir que no podia venir
ens va dir que allo era impossible de canviar
els diré que no puc anar-hi
he told me (that) he couldn't come
he told us (that) that was impossible to change
i will tell them (that) i can not go.
tell me the time
to tell a lie
TALK ABOUT STH = parlar de...
TALK TO SOMEBODY ABOUT SOMETHING
In the meeting we will talk about the new policy
andreu and I talked about my students
Have you talked to your manager about your new position?
AQUESTS VERBS S'HAN D'UTILITZAR D'AQUESTA MANERA, AMB AQUESTA ESTRUCTURA.
L'EXPLAIN es com el SAY (O SIGUI QUE RES DE EXPLAIN ME O SAY ME)
EL COMENTAR en catala o castella es el MENTION
COMMENT ON STH = FER UN COMENTARI SOBRE...
SON VERBS QUE ES REGEIXEN PELS COMPLEMENTS QUE PORTEN , NO PER TAL COM ELS TRADUIU DEL VOSTRE IDIOMA.
SEGONS QUÈ DIGUIS AL DARRERA DE CADA VERB, UTILITZAREM UN O L'ALTRE
"EM VA DIR ALGO" O "VA DIR ALGO"
SAY SOMETHING (TO SOMEBODY) va dir hola,
va dir que no podia venir
vaig dir que allo s'havia de canviar
he said hello
she said she couldn't come
i said (that) that had to be changed.
fixa't que no dic mai he said me that..
amb el say no diem a qui diem xxx normalment
quan ho volem dir utilitzem el TELL (ENCARA QUE en català utilitzem el DIR a vegades I us hagin dit que TELL VOL DIR EXPLICAR !!!! ) OK?
tell, told told
TELL SOMEBODY SOMETHING= dir o explicar algo a algu
pq per lo que en català diem dir a vegades es tell i a vegades es say en angles? pq no esta ben clar ? doncs pq traduiu del catala i en català les coses es diuen d'una manera i aixo no vol dir que ens les altres llengües es diguin igual.
look:
em va dir que no podia venir
ens va dir que allo era impossible de canviar
els diré que no puc anar-hi
he told me (that) he couldn't come
he told us (that) that was impossible to change
i will tell them (that) i can not go.
tell me the time
to tell a lie
TALK ABOUT STH = parlar de...
TALK TO SOMEBODY ABOUT SOMETHING
In the meeting we will talk about the new policy
andreu and I talked about my students
Have you talked to your manager about your new position?
AQUESTS VERBS S'HAN D'UTILITZAR D'AQUESTA MANERA, AMB AQUESTA ESTRUCTURA.
L'EXPLAIN es com el SAY (O SIGUI QUE RES DE EXPLAIN ME O SAY ME)
EL COMENTAR en catala o castella es el MENTION
COMMENT ON STH = FER UN COMENTARI SOBRE...
Monday, 2 June 2008
a trick to always answer your questions right is to listen very carefully to the question, identify the auxiliary being used and if it brings -ing or a participle.. and when answering, try to use this same auxiliary (if possible) using the same words the person has used and then, if you like, expand.
Wednesday, 23 April 2008
International Day of Aids, International Day of you name it and today is the International Book Day, uncoherently only in some countries. A quick browse on the net and surprisingly the first website I click on and it's 6th March they state as the World Book Day in UK and Ireland(I wonder if is it the same as the Int'l Day of Books?) What makes it international? What does 'international' refer to?
23rd of April was so declared by the Unesco a few years ago, in 1995, in honour to Shakespeare and Cervantes, who both died on this date and it is just in a few countries which do give it some kind of relevance to this fact.
Has St Jordi's day become too commercial? It is the typical statement about Christmas, about Father's and Mother's days and a long list of you name it Days. But why aren't we questioning this today? It may be because it is a good idea to encourage reading. It may well also be because it is good business for publishers and so, it feeds the industry on grounds of a culturally positive thing, too. Yet, what I would love to know is whether the thousands of books that are sold today in the outdoors stalls the bookshops set up on the streets and "paseos" are actually read at some point. Maybe they just sit on the bookshelves as a contribution to the industry, an unwanted title, just the expected token of love, the giver aware that it may never be read.
As opposed to the the price of roses, books are sold with a 10% discount. However, roses, the other token of love on this day, are sold at an extortionate 3.5€ at least. Make long-lasting culture, expensive as it is, more affordable and withering roses more expensive.
To me, unromantic as I may be, it is more like a celebration of spring time. Flowers, green, and books to read sitting down on park benches under a pleasant warm sun. The date, regardless of Cervantes' death, is just a suitable spring date to celebrate it.
23rd of April was so declared by the Unesco a few years ago, in 1995, in honour to Shakespeare and Cervantes, who both died on this date and it is just in a few countries which do give it some kind of relevance to this fact.
Has St Jordi's day become too commercial? It is the typical statement about Christmas, about Father's and Mother's days and a long list of you name it Days. But why aren't we questioning this today? It may be because it is a good idea to encourage reading. It may well also be because it is good business for publishers and so, it feeds the industry on grounds of a culturally positive thing, too. Yet, what I would love to know is whether the thousands of books that are sold today in the outdoors stalls the bookshops set up on the streets and "paseos" are actually read at some point. Maybe they just sit on the bookshelves as a contribution to the industry, an unwanted title, just the expected token of love, the giver aware that it may never be read.
As opposed to the the price of roses, books are sold with a 10% discount. However, roses, the other token of love on this day, are sold at an extortionate 3.5€ at least. Make long-lasting culture, expensive as it is, more affordable and withering roses more expensive.
To me, unromantic as I may be, it is more like a celebration of spring time. Flowers, green, and books to read sitting down on park benches under a pleasant warm sun. The date, regardless of Cervantes' death, is just a suitable spring date to celebrate it.
Friday, 18 April 2008
success, or not
You know when you get very enthusiastic about something and you kind of build up your expectations and get excited and all and it all falls through? Well, this does not seem to be the case with the idea taken from the IH workshop on new technologies from a few weeks ago.
I am rather chuffed with the relative success of inicitate taken on recently of creating the blogs with and for my students. Sara and Raquel seem to be keen writers producing an average of an entry every couple of days, which is not bad.
Useful and fear-overcoming and a solid two-hour session as it was the last one on technology, today's been never-ending and boring. Too theoretical, detailing different three-letter acronyms designating approaches and methodologies applied in teaching languages: AAA, PPP, ARC, suggestopedia and others. I think Roger and other speakers manipulate us, saying certain information is or not relevant (or whatever word is more suitable here) to suit their needs. Or is it the trends in the market? I didn't buy certain things he's tried to sell us today.
I am rather chuffed with the relative success of inicitate taken on recently of creating the blogs with and for my students. Sara and Raquel seem to be keen writers producing an average of an entry every couple of days, which is not bad.
Useful and fear-overcoming and a solid two-hour session as it was the last one on technology, today's been never-ending and boring. Too theoretical, detailing different three-letter acronyms designating approaches and methodologies applied in teaching languages: AAA, PPP, ARC, suggestopedia and others. I think Roger and other speakers manipulate us, saying certain information is or not relevant (or whatever word is more suitable here) to suit their needs. Or is it the trends in the market? I didn't buy certain things he's tried to sell us today.
Wednesday, 16 April 2008
feeding off companies
It's 8.30 am, I am already in the office checking out my emails. I am in early today because at 9 am we have this presentation skills workshop for the office staff, in the company I work for. Another training session! Again! Not that I am against whatsoever, but there are so many that it's becoming ridiculous.
Working has become a very competitive area of our lives. We compete for job places we'll complain about later which take long periods of recruitment processes. We compete with ourselves and other canditates to get this or that job and mantain it and be the best at it. The constant need to be brushing up and refreshing our skills in whatever job we are doing; learning new computer programmes which in theory speed things up has becoming a very energy and time demanding aspect of our daily lives if you really want to keep up with this constantly changing job market. But is this that cost- and time- effective? Does the time and effort we "put in" in this pay and actually improve our performance? Training courses which repeat the same old theories and communication strategies make it telling and retelling and rephrasing what we have been told and repeated a number of times in the past.
In a way, this so-called on-going education is part of this capitalist system we are in and can not scape from of creating jobs places and of companies feeding off other companies and feeding other companies at the same time, keeping the dynamics of economy moving and flowing. Recruitment agencies, training providers, experts in managing whatever area and/or problem you can stumble upon in an office, communication experts, stationary and serigraphers and a long list of jobs which very much depend on one another.
Yes, I am talking about office jobs. I am pretty sure that this also applies to a wide range of jobs from plumbers with new more ecofriendly central heatings and how to instal them and hairdressers and new techniques to dye or cut our hair and shop assistants to learn how to deal with difficult customers to managers and directors to learn how to cope with stress and all the new IT systems, the latest way to negociate and overcome culture clashes when dealing with say, foreing investors, etc.
That applied to teaching is basically down to the so-called teacher development courses to get new ideas, to welcome and embrace the use of technology, to learn from others' experiences, to overcome fears ...nothing new really, but now, lots of money flow with this.
We are all constantly learning how to operate new tools, items of technology from a simple DVD player to the latest more time efficient way of carrying out our tasks at work. It is the world we live in, constant taking in and some cashing in on it too.
Working has become a very competitive area of our lives. We compete for job places we'll complain about later which take long periods of recruitment processes. We compete with ourselves and other canditates to get this or that job and mantain it and be the best at it. The constant need to be brushing up and refreshing our skills in whatever job we are doing; learning new computer programmes which in theory speed things up has becoming a very energy and time demanding aspect of our daily lives if you really want to keep up with this constantly changing job market. But is this that cost- and time- effective? Does the time and effort we "put in" in this pay and actually improve our performance? Training courses which repeat the same old theories and communication strategies make it telling and retelling and rephrasing what we have been told and repeated a number of times in the past.
In a way, this so-called on-going education is part of this capitalist system we are in and can not scape from of creating jobs places and of companies feeding off other companies and feeding other companies at the same time, keeping the dynamics of economy moving and flowing. Recruitment agencies, training providers, experts in managing whatever area and/or problem you can stumble upon in an office, communication experts, stationary and serigraphers and a long list of jobs which very much depend on one another.
Yes, I am talking about office jobs. I am pretty sure that this also applies to a wide range of jobs from plumbers with new more ecofriendly central heatings and how to instal them and hairdressers and new techniques to dye or cut our hair and shop assistants to learn how to deal with difficult customers to managers and directors to learn how to cope with stress and all the new IT systems, the latest way to negociate and overcome culture clashes when dealing with say, foreing investors, etc.
That applied to teaching is basically down to the so-called teacher development courses to get new ideas, to welcome and embrace the use of technology, to learn from others' experiences, to overcome fears ...nothing new really, but now, lots of money flow with this.
We are all constantly learning how to operate new tools, items of technology from a simple DVD player to the latest more time efficient way of carrying out our tasks at work. It is the world we live in, constant taking in and some cashing in on it too.
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