If you want to learn how to speak politely in English, you will have to:
a) notice how proficient English speakers formulate their speech in order to communicate in a polite way
b) practise using these polite phrases in communication activities (inside and outside the classroom)
c) evaluate the success of using these politeness phrases in different situations
Learning how and when to use polite language takes time and practice. There are many questions to consider:
where is the conversation taking place?
who is your conversation partner?
why do you want to speak politely with them?
how will the other person feel if you use polite language?
what results do you want to achieve by communicating politely
Politeness is not always appropriate but it is common to adopt a polite approach when we do not know our conversational partner very well.
Modern English does not really have a polite form of address. We use the same personal pronoun ‘you’ to talk to a close friend or a stranger. This means that we have to use specific language in n order to demonstrate respect, deference and consideration.
Although these communicative strategies are varied and there are differences due to factors such as gender, age, nationality, region, cultural background, social class, professional background and so on, there are a set of general principles which apply to most communicative situations when it is appropriate to communicate politely.
Here are 6 general principles which I will look at in future lessons:
This is a lesson from my popular Master Polite English course.
Let’s imagine you have done something for somebody, you have helped them in some way and they say to you:
Thanks for your help.
How can you respond?
You’re welcome.
You’re very welcome.
Let’s imagine you’ve invited someone to your home or your office. They are standing in reception and would like to sit down. They say:
Can I take a seat?
How do you respond?
Go ahead. Be my guest.
You could also use this phrase in response to questions like:
Can I use your bathroom?
Can I borrow your pen?
Now, let’s imagine you’ve had a party or a social event and as they are leaving, one of the guests says:
Thanks for having me. (Thanks for inviting me to your party today).
What do you say?
Well, there are lots of things you could say but one of the most common is:
My pleasure.
It’s been a pleasure.
The pleasure’s all mine.
It’s been nice to have / having you.
Let’s now imagine you’ve had a business lunch with somebody – a potential client – and at the end of the lunch, this person says:
I’ll get the bill. (I’ll pay for the meal).
How would you respond?
That’s very kind of you. That’s kind of you.
Now, someone might offer you something. They may have bought something for you or helped you in some way. Here’s an example:
Happy birthday. Here’s a little something for you.
You could say:
Oh, you shouldn’t have (gone to all that trouble).
You’re not saying that it was a bad idea. It’s a common expression we use. Remember to thank them for the present.
That’s great. Thank you very much.
Alternatives (less common these days) include:
You needn’t have.
You didn’t need to buy me anything. Thanks very much.
Because, really, secretly, you’re very pleased they did something for you!
Remember: Native speakers will rarely pronounce the ‘h’ sound in ‘should have’. It often sounds as if we say shouldn’t of or needn’t of.In fact, many native speakers make this mistake and write should’nt of bought me a present instead of shouldn’t have bought me a present.
5 Very Common Polite Responses
You’re welcome.
Go ahead. Be my guest.
My pleasure.
That’s very kind of you.
You shouldn’t have.
If you want to become an expert on polite English take my popular course (50,000 students and over 1000 five-star reviews).Click on the image below:
It was really nice and fantastic course. Hope this all will certainly helpful to me to speak more politely with others. Thank you very much for making such a beautifull course. I really enjoyed throughout the course.
That’s amazing! I enjoyed listening to all your videos and I think they helped me understand some areas of your culture I haven’t been able to understand before. I think your videos will help me to improve my everyday communication with my English speaking colleagues. I will certainly recommend this course to my friends. Thanks very much again & good luck with teaching!
You may use a wide range of grammatical structures.
You may have an impressive vocabulary.
You may have clear pronunciation that everybody understands.
But, for some reason, you don’t seem to get the results you want when you speak in English.
Perhaps you haven’t mastered polite English and people think you are too direct when you speak to them.
Politeness exists in all cultures and languages, but the specific language and communication strategies you use to speak in your first language may not work as well in English.
In this video, you will learn about politeness, why we should be polite, the 3 golden rules of politeness, and why it is important to save face.
You can watch the video and / or read the lesson notes below.
What is politeness?
Politeness is having or showing behaviour that is respectful and considerate of other people. Oxford Dictionary.
So, basically it’s treating people with respect.
Politeness is very important in life.
There are many reasons why politeness is important in life but one of them is that if you’re polite, you are more likely to achieve your objectives and get what you want. Also, people are more likely to take you seriously and deal with you in a good way.
As the 19th century American writer Joss Billings said:
Politeness is better than logic. You can often persuade when you cannot convince.
And I think what he meant by that is that if you’re polite, people will listen and take your arguments, ideas, opinions seriously. They may even change their own behaviour and do what you’d like them to do!
Now, although politeness is expressed in different ways in different cultures, there is a general theory of politeness which can probably be applied to most – but maybe not all – cultures.
Here are the 3 Golden Rules of Politeness
Number 1: Don’t Impose
People have their own personal space.They don’t want their personal space invaded.They don’t want to be pressured into doing something they don’t really want to do.They want to be treated as individuals.
f you impose, invade their personal space, and try to get them to do things they don’t want to do, they might reject you. They might not want to deal with you and won’t respond to you in a positive way. So, don’t order or command.
Rule Number 2: Give Options.
When you ask someone to do something, give them options which they can refuse or accept. They have the choice to do what you want or to say ‘I’m sorry, I’d rather not do that.’ If you have a suggestion, give people the option to accept or refuse it, and give them the option to think of a suggestion of their own.
It’s really important to give people options so they don’t feel trapped.
Rule Number 3: Make the other person feel good.
Now, this does not mean that you have to make people feel really happy. It just means that most people want to feel positive and in control of the situation. They want to know that you respect their ideas and opinions and their status as an individual.
What do most people really want in life and how do they want to be treated?
First of all, most people want to be accepted.
They want to be accepted and respected as an intelligent, mature person, successful and professional person. They also want to be treated fairly and they want to think you are treating them as you would treat other people.
They also want to be independent and free to make them own decisions.
Free will, the ability to do what you want in life and choose what you want to do, is really important for most people.
So, if you treat them politely, that means you’re giving them the option to take their own decisions and to have some control over their own life and their own actions.
The concept of saving face and losing face
Saving face means that everybody has their own positive public image, they want other people to see them as a successful, intelligent and skilled person.Obviously,they want to keep that positive public image.
We feel better when other people look at us and say ‘I like this person, I respect this person’.
People don’t want to lose this positive public image. They don’t want you to think: ‘This person isn’t very intelligent, they’re not very successful, they’re not very professional. I’m not sure I like them very much.
If you’re polite, you save their positive public image .
So, when you are in a social situation, it’s a good idea to consider your answers to these questions:
What is your objective in each situation?
If you meet someone in a bar, do you want to build up a good relationship with them? Do you want to interest them in your business proposal? Do you want them to open up and relax with you so you can have a nice conversation?
What is the objective of the other person?
Do they want to do business with you? Do they want to relax with you and enjoy your company?
Will polite language help you achieve your objective?
This is a very important question. If we’re too polite, the other person may feel a little uncomfortable. If you’re in a café with a friend, do you really need to use polite language?
Will polite language have a positive effect on the other person?
Again, you have got to think about the situation. Do you need to be polite and formal or should you tell jokes, relax, and possibly make fun of the other person – because you know each other very well and being polite means you do not appreciate the fact that you have a close relationship.
Example of different situations
Let’s look at an example. If you are in a bar with friends, you can probably say more or less what you like. You don’t need to be polite. If you’re having a drink, you don’t need to say:
Would you perhaps be interested in having another beer?
You just need to say: Fancy another beer? How about another beer? Something very relaxed.
However, if you are in a business meeting, especially with people you don’t know very well, polite language here is more suitable.
So, is it OK to move onto point number 2? Would you like to say anything here? Would you like a few minutes to look at my proposal?
Let’s review the 3 Golden Rules of Politeness
Don’t impose
Give options
Make the other person feel good.
Remember:
People want to save face.
Politeness isn’t suitable for every occasion. When you’re in a social situation with people you know very well and don’t want to put them under pressure, it’s probably a good idea to be relaxed and more informal.
I hope you found this introduction to politeness interesting. My course on Master Polite English has been taken by over 50,000 students and has 1000 five-star reviews:
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Whoops! You’ve completely forgotten that Valentine’s Day is round the corner and you haven’t planned anything with a romantic theme for your classes.
Don’t panic – Here are 3 last-minute love lessons / activities for you to try which require very little preparation.
TIP: Not all learners feel comfortable talking about their private lives and relationships. In order not to invade their privacy, you might want to ask them to create roles based on pictures.
1. SPEED-DATING
Briefly introduce the concept of ‘speed dating’. It may be unfamiliar to some cultures.
Divide the students into men and women. If you have an unequal number, just ask some of the students to play a member of the opposite sex.
Arrange the seats in two lines facing each other, one line for the women and the other for the men.
Give each student a photo of a single man or a single woman (you could ask them to draw a face) and create a profile for their portrait (age, name, job, interests, favourite movies or music etc.).
Tell them they are single people looking for a partner and their aim is to find somebody who wants to go on a date with them.
Let them show the portrait/ picture to their partner.
Do a trial run by asking the students to chat to the person sitting opposite them for 2/3 minutes and try to charm them
Then, ask the men to stand up and move one seat to the right. Give them they 2/3 minutes to chat to their new partner.
Continue the activity until all the men and all the women have had a 2/3 minute chat.
To finish, ask the students to write down their first and second choice for a date.
Collect the slips of paper and see if any if any of the choices corresponded, if a man choose a woman as her number 1 and she also choose him as her favourite.
Great for: 2nd conditionals “If you were to go out with me, you’d have the night of your life.”
2. ROUND-ROBIN ROMANTIC STORY
Create a simple handout on an A4 sheet of paper. Draw a picture of a man and woman at the top. Write the following questions on the page. Leave enough space after each question so that students can write their answers. Tip: fold the sheet 3 times and you’ll have enough space for 8 questions
Who was the man?
Who was the woman?
What was he doing when they met?
What was she doing?
What did they say to each other?
What did they think of each other?
What did they do after they met?
What happened in the end?
Hand a sheet to each student and ask them to write their name at the top of the sheet and an answer to the first question.
Wait for all students to finish, ask them to fold the sheet below their answer. Tell them to pass the sheet to the person to their left. The next person can see the second question but not the first answer.
Ask your students to answer the second question, fold, pass the sheet to the next person.
Continue until all of the questions have been answered.Collect all the sheets and then hand them back to the person whose name is at the top.
Finally, let the students read the stories. Some of them will be nonsense but a few are bound to make sense.
Ask them to correct any errors.
Great for: Practising narrative tenses.
3. DATING COACH
Give each student a portrait photo. Tell them that the person in the photo is single and ask them to create a profile for the person in the photo.
Then, ask them to write down 3 reasons why this person is single (they have poor dress sense, terrible personal hygiene, embarrassing habits etc.
Put the students in small groups of 3 (make sure the groups are mixed in terms of gender) and ask them to discuss a series of dating-related questions such as:
What should people do to find a partner?
Where should they go on a first date?
What should men/women wear on a first date?
What topics should / shouldn’t they talk about on a first date?
What behavioural habits turn people off on a first date?
Who should pay the bill?
4.Get some whole class feedback and then move onto the role play.
5.Assign a role to each member of the group of 3: Man on a first date, woman on a first date, and dating coach
6.Rearrange the chairs/desks to make the classroom resemble a restaurant/bar/cafe and play some romantic music to get the students in the mood.
7.Ask the men and the women to act out the blind date (remind them that they should behave according to the profile they created) and tell the dating coach to observe the date and make notes about how each participant performed.
8.Give a time limit (I find between 5 and 10 minutes is fine for Intermediate level learners) Stress that they are to assess their dating performance not their English speaking ability: Were they polite? Did they listen attentively to their partner? Were the conversation topics appropriate?
9.When the ‘date’ ends, ask the dating coaches to provide feedback on the participants’ performance.
10.Change roles / groups and repeat the role play.
11.The teacher can monitor and note down errors and examples of good language which could benefit the whole class.
Great for: Modal verbs for advice, suggestions, warnings etc.
So, you’ve been accepted onto a TEFL course. How are you feeling?
Relaxed because you are a fluent English speaker with a good educational background.
Perhaps you feel a little trepidation as one of your friends took the course and said it was one of the toughest months of her life.
Maybe you’re worried that you’re not going to ‘cut the mustard’, ‘hack it’, ‘pass muster’.
TEFL courses are tough. We try to squeeze 5 weeks worth of input into a 4-week time period. Not our fault as it’s just the way the market has evolved. What can help is doing a bit of preparation before the course starts.
Here are 5 things you should do to prepare for a TEFL course:
In at number 5, read a book or two, some articles even, about TEFL. You’ll experience what it’s all about on your course but a little background reading won’t hurt. Remember that “to be forewarned is to be forearmed.” The Jeremy Harmer book shown above is a great primer and includes a DVD with real-life scenes from a classroom. A cheaper and shorter alternative is from the Teach Yourself stable of guides.
Jeremy Harmer. How to Teach English. Pearson Longman.
David Riddell. Teach Yourself: Teach English as a Foreign Language.
At number 4, find out what a phonemic chart is and familiarise yourself with some of the sounds and symbols in the English language. Why not go to the BBC British Council Teach English website and play around with it:
Straight on to number 3. Brush up on your grammar. Learn what a verb is, a noun, an adjective, a dangling subjunctive participle relative pronoun clause (don’t worry, I made the last one up). You don’t need to become an expert but knowing the basics will mean that you’ll hit the ground running when you start the course.
Michael Swan. Practical English Usage. Oxford University Press.
Martin Parrott. Grammar for English Language Teachers. Cambridge University Press.
Heading down the home straight now.
At number 2, ask the TEFL centre if you can come in and observe a class. If that fails, see if there are any English schools / academies close by and ask if they’ll let you sit in on a class. The most important thing is that you see a teacher and their class in action. The DVD accompanying the Harmer book will help too. You should watch demonstration classes on your course before you teach but the more exposure to the TEFL environment the better.
Finally, at number 1 with a bullet is….have a beer / red wine / coffee / tipple of your choice with some friends before the course. Let your hair down and relax. The course is intensive and you’ll probably have to do assignments and teaching preparation at weekends so partying during the course may knock you off your stride. Besides, once you start the course, you will alienate close friends and family with your endless references to eliciting, correction strategies and, most egregious of all, your constant correction and reformulation of their grammar!!
So, if you are embarking upon a TEFL course sometime soon. Do some preparation and you’ll have time and energy to enjoy it. Good luck.
Somebody asked me the other day if I had a philosophy about TEFL, a manifesto if you like, perhaps a mission statement, a set of general beliefs about teaching English to speakers of other languages. I laughed and said I didn’t really believe in grand statements. Besides, I was watching a football match and didn’t want to be distracted.
A couple of days later, I read a blog post and it got me thinking about creating my own manifesto for TEFL. I’m not for one moment suggesting that I have found the secret to successful English language teaching, but I’d like to think that I have found a set of guiding principles that I automatically follow when teaching or suggest that my trainee teachers consider when I am training.
1. Learners need to practise using English, not the teacher. When I started teaching, I loved being the centre of attention, making my students laugh and generally hamming it up. I feel like the actor-director in my own film with a particularly appreciative audience.
However, over time, I started noticing that the learners weren’t really improving at the rate I had expected. They seemed to be enjoying the classes but a few comments on the ‘anonymous’ feedback forms were ever-so-slightly critical. “He’s a very funny teacher but I am not sure I learn enough” wrote one. Another commented “Good energy but I don’t speak too much in class” added another.
2. The learners are your best resource. Let’s face it, most people like talking about one thing in particular: themselves! We all want to contribute in some way, to express our ideas, views, opinions and show the world who we really are.
Using too many published resources in the class results in an over-reliance on other people’s words and interests. Most course books are fairly general, and are often Anglo-centric, and don’t really mean much to your average student. The topics are often relevant due to their universality but the specifics aren’t.
Use these materials as a starting point for discussions about your learners’ lives.
3. Teaching doesn’t necessarily result in learning. Remember the idiom “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.” I believe the same applies to learners. No amount of explanation, explication and exposition can make somebody learn English, if they are not receptive.
We are starting to realise that we teach ourselves to a large extent. Also, we often learn more from our peers than our teachers. Have a look at this TED talk and wonder if we haven’t got it wrong for the last couple of millennia: How kids teach themselves.
4. If there was a magic pill to help learn a language, everybody would take it. Learning a language can be a slog, you feel like Sisyphus, pushing a boulder up a hill only to watch it roll down again. Yet, I find myself thinking that our belief that learning a language is a challenge, and not a particularly enjoyable one, leads to it becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.
We set ourselves unrealistic targets and compare ourselves to our peers, usually the strong ones, and berate ourselves for our failures rather than celebrate our, often incremental, achievements. Learning a language is a tour not a quick trip.
5. Knowing how a car is built doesn’t mean you are a good driver. The other day, I observed a trainee teacher giving a grammar lesson to a group of Advanced level learners.
During feedback, he complained that the learners didn’t even know what the present perfect was so had spent 20 minutes giving a detailed explanation of when, why and how we use it. When I pointed out, that they had used this tense successfully in his opening activity and less successfully in his final activity, he was lost for words. I asked him if he had known what the present perfect was before he had enrolled on the course and he shook his head. I asked if he was able to use it in oral and written communication before he had enrolled on the course and he laughed as the penny finally dropped. He offered an interesting analogy, comparing learning a language like driving a car.
Certain actions become automatic over time, you do them naturally, without thinking about the mechanics. Isn’t that what language learners aspire to? To have tacit knowledge (knowing how to do something through experience and practice) rather than explicit knowledge (knowing how to describe this knowledge / ability).
6. Learning a second language is like building a house to live in. When I explain the concept of interlanguage to my trainee teachers , we discuss what happens when you build a house. You lay the foundations, construct a framework, add walls, floors etc, do some internal fitting and then get round to decorating it.
Of course, most house owners don’t stop there, they make constant adjustments and modifications as time passes. In other words, a house never reaches a state of perfection, it is in a perpetual state of evolution. I then asks when the construction becomes a house? This is not an easy question to answer.
Some trainees think that the construction is recognizably a house when the framework has been erected. Others prefer to wait until the 3D TV has been installed and there is wifi in every room. My own belief is that each individual has the right to build their own construction and they determine when they think it is fit for living in.
7. Speaking and writing are like two nations separated by a common language. When I worked as a Director of Studies at a school in London, one of my teachers asked me if she could move a student down a level. I knew this student – but had never taught him – and mentioned that I felt he was a fluently, confident speaker and almost ready to move up a level. “Oh yes, he’s very good at speaking, but his writing’s terrible and his spelling is atrocious,” she replied. Learners are rarely balanced in terms of the four skills, just like native speakers.
If you have the gift of the gab. does that make you a great writer? Are expert novelists captivating conversationalists? Communicative competence (a learner’s ability to use language to perform communicative acts) needs to be taken into consideration as well as the learner’s specific needs.
A ‘one size fits all’ approach to dealing with categorising learners rarely works; they have their own strengths and weaknesses and we have to try to deal with them on an individual basis.
8. Make grammar presentations as simple as possible but no simpler. Many adult learners believe that formal, explicit grammar study helps them learn a language. As mentioned above, they might gain explicit knowledge of grammar rules but there is little evidence to suggest that explicit learning of grammar results in tacit knowledge, which can be applied in communicative situations.
This is an age-old discussion in the field of language learning so I don’t want to dwell on it. But, my experience convinces me that simple, contextual analysis if language works far better for most students than lots of complex detail. You may impress your learners with your infinite knowledge of the English language but how much of it will they retain?
When I watch trainee teachers drowning their learners in linguistic analysis, I think of the book ‘A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawkings. It has sold over 10 million copies but how many people have actually read it? And, of those who have, have many actually understood it?
9. Base your lessons around your learners’ needs and interests not your own. A no-brainer this one. Find out what they need and what they like and use this data as the basis for your classes. Over time, you might be able to introduce them to topics that interest you but the bottom line is they will be more engaged, motivated and responsive if they feel that their needs are being addressed.
If they trust and respect your judgement, you can make suggestions about what you feel they need and they will be willing to follow your advice.
10. An empty room with 2 people and something to write on can be the best way to learn. If I had to nail my colours to the mast, I’d define myself as a Dogme / Teaching unplugged teacher. Learning is communicating and communicating is learning. Everything else ( course books, technology etc.) can be defined as learning aids but they are not indispensable. Let your learners express themselves, respond appropriately to the content (what they said) and form (how they said it) and work on improving their language.
So, I seem to have inadvertently created some kind of manifesto. I’m off to have a cup of tea and a quick nap!
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with any of the commandments? Would you like to add or modify any? I’d love to hear your ideas.
Over the years, I’ve interviewed about 50 TEFL teachers. Some people walked through the door and I automatically knew they weren’t appropriate for the job: stinking of alcohol, 3 hours late with no explanation, tattoos all over their face when they were applying for an in-company position…..little things like that.
Other applicants seemed fairly normal and then made certain comments which made me think twice about employing them.
1. I don’t like teaching grammar. I like my students to chat and play lots of games
Does this comment suggest a professional approach to teaching?
2. My favourite coursebook. Well, that would be Face2Head, no, I mean Facehead, wait, I meant to say Faceway, Cutting Head, Cutting Face, New English Face, way, head…..
Does this teacher have a memory ravaged by heavy drug use or alcohol abuse?
3. How would I describe myself as a teacher? I like to be their friend, go out to bars with them, maybe date some of the cute ones. Ha ha, only joking! I don’t do that much now.
This teacher clearly has an ulterior motive!
Did you just say that?
4. Well, I don’t want to stay in teaching very long. Is it a problem if I sometimes miss classes or arrive late? I have a lot of interviews to go to. Teaching English to foreigners is not a proper job, is it? This teacher will disappear very soon.
5. I believe in correcting every single tiny mistake my students make. It’s the only way they learn.
This teacher is going to scare students off.
6. Sometimes, I tell my students to sit cross-legged on the floor and close their eyes. Then, I put on some Bach and read them some of my poetry.
For every student who loves this approach, 10 others will go straight to the Director of Studies and complain.
7. I prefer to teach Beginners. Higher- level students ask some really difficult questions.
This person has no idea about the difference between a noun and a verb.
8. I prefer to teach Advanced levels. Lower level classes are really boring!
This person has no patience.
9.Most days, I show my students a movie. For homework, I get them to write reviews of the films. Then on Friday, I get them to vote for their favourite and we watch it again.
Do the students do anything else? Practise speaking or learn grammar for example.
10. Well, I’ve taught students from lots of different countries. The (insert nationality here) were the worst – really lazy. And the (insert other nationality here) were just as bad, they just sit there, staring at me like cows in a field, really stupid people.
This person probably doesn’t like anybody who is from a different country to his or her own.
Welcome to TEFL
WHAT KIND OF TEFL TEACHERS DO WELL IN JOB INTERVIEWS?
Trained teachers who can actually remember what they did on the TEFL course
New teachers are fine if they show they are willing to learn and develop their skills
Friendly and enthusiastic personalities
Professional teachers who will be reliable and flexible
Teachers who actually respect their learners and consider their needs
Have you said anything in an interview that you later regretted?
This is a source of constant debate in the TEFL world. Here in Spain, many Spaniards (employers and students) request native speaker teachers. They hold beliefs, or prejudices, such as:
British speak proper English not like Americans
My German / Dutch /Spanish teacher of English knows grammar but speaks with a terrible accent
I want to speak proper English like my British / American/ Australian / teacher
This is a complex and controversial topic and I don’t presume to know the answer. In fact, I’m not exactly sure how we can define native speakers anymore. What I’d like to do is present both sides of the argument and let you make up your own minds:
Native Speaker Teachers are better because….
They provide accurate pronunciation models for learners
They can explain lots of idioms and colloquial phrases
Students will use their English to communicate with native speakers
They can show me how to use the grammar in the way it is actually spoken / written
Non-native Speaker Teachers are better because…..
They use an international form of English that can be understood by everybody.
They don’t use these idiomatic English. They can communicate clearly and unambiguously.
Students will use their English to communicate with people from all around the world. English is now an international language.
They had to learn it as a second language so they know how to explain it in a clear and accessible way.
What do you all think?
What other reasons can you think of why native speakers or non-native speakers make better teachers.
We love to know what you think so please add your comments.
Throughout human history, the number three has been seen as something magical.
Stories have a beginning, a middle and an end
Presentations and essays have an introduction, the main body, and a conclusion.
Even humour uses the rule of three structure: I’ve met a woman. She’s beautiful, she’s intelligent and her name is James. (Sorry for the terrible joke).
After thinking some more about the rule of three, I realised that it also applies to many elements of teaching and learning languages.
ARC – Authentic use, Restricted use, Clarification and Focus
It would seem that most lessons follow a similar three-stage-process:
STAGE 1: The context is created
STAGE 2: The context is used as a platform for using, experimenting and practising language
STAGE 3: Feedback occurs in which teachers and learners discuss what they have learned.
Summary: In essence, most lessons can be imagined as having a beginning, a middle and an end. My ‘rule of three’ theory is working so far.
Presenting new language (grammar and vocabulary)
Many of the major grammar structures in English can be presented with a positive form, a negative form, and a question form.
Present Perfect Simple
I have visited New York POSITIVE FORM
I haven’t visited New York. NEGATIVE FORM
Have I visited New York? QUESTION FORM
Now, I know it is common to think of the form and function of grammar. However, when I train teachers, they often focus exclusively on the written form. If we agree that knowing the spoken form of a grammatical structure is essential, I think the rule of three works here too:
Meaning/ Function: We can use the Present Perfect to talk about life experiences
Form: The Present Perfect is formed with the subject + have + Past Participle (written form)
Pronunciation: The Present Perfect is pronounced in the following way (spoken form)
You may be familiar with the term MFP (Meaning, Form and Pronunciation) and this seems to be an effective way to present new language and you can use it as a model for presenting new vocabulary too.
The English language seems naturally suited to the rule of three. Examples include:
Present / Past / Future
Three aspects of verbs: simple, continuous and perfect
Verbs (1 part), phrasal verbs with two parts, phrasal verbs with three parts. Are there any four-part phrasal verbs?
First / Second / Third Conditional: Why isn’t there a fourth conditional?
Working on Pronunciation
When we want our students to pronounce new language correctly, I’m sure many of you use three steps to do so:
1) Model the pronunciation
2) Choral drills (get all of the learners practising together)
3) Individual drills (ask learners to practise by themselves)
Correction and Feedback
I don’t know about you but I often use a ‘rule of three’ technique for correcting oral and written errors as well.
1) See if the learner can self-correct (Self-correction)
2) See if another learner can correct the error (Peer-correction)
3) I correct the error and provide the correct form (Teacher-correction)
Reviewing / recycling language
1) I give an example of the language item in context
2) Students explain what it means in this context
3) They create their own sentence using the language item
Role-plays / Discussions
1) Set the scene
2) Play the roles
3) Feedback on the performance
Testing
1) Prepare for the test
2) Take the test
3) Give feedback on the performance
Needs Analysis
1) Assess the learner (What can they do now)
2) Identify their needs (What do they need to do)
3) Plan a strategy for meeting their needs (How can we help them)
Learning Styles
1) Visual learners
2) Audio learners
3) Kinaesthetic learners
The rule of three approach may seem simplistic to some of you. Learning and teaching are complex processes with an infinite number of variables and reducing everything to a three-part formula won’t suit all tastes.
However, I’d like to remind you of these words from Albert Einstein:
As educators, we plan, deliver and reflect upon our lessons (the experiential cycle) and this rule of three helps us become more effective educators.
What do you think? Does the ‘rule of three’ apply to any other aspects of teaching and learning?
Roy Peter Clark, author of Writing Tools, suggests that we use:
one item for power
two items for comparison and/or contrast
three items for completeness
Here are 3 examples of completeness:
Stop, look and listen.
Peace, love and understanding.
The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost.
What other ways can we use it?
We can also use the rule of 3 when we want to highlight the most important item in a set:
A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play.
Notice how the use of ‘and’ prepares the reader or listener – they know that the final item is the key to the message.
Sometimes the item is repeated three times to demonstrate how important it is:
Location, location, location.
Our priorities are education, education, education.
The rule of 3 can be used in the same way to surprise the reader / listener (and the element of surprise makes the message more memorable.
Stand up, speak up and shut up.
The first two verb phrases are neutral so the listener relaxes. The final verb phrase ‘shut up‘ surprises the listener and forces them to pay attention.
It’s common to use alliteration in the rule of three. Alliteration is when a series of words have the same sound, for example, stand up, speak up, shut up.
hip! hip! hooray!
Cool, calm and collected.
Going, going, gone.
Rhyming words are frequently used but we often change the pattern for the final item (the element of surprise again).
Ready, steady, GO!!
Mad, bad, and dangerous to know.
In fact, the final element is often different to the first two items (different sound, longer or shorter, change of idea) and leads to memorable results:
Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Seen it, done it, bought the T-shirt.
The rule of three is also used with longer phrases or complete sentences.
One popular tip for planning a presentation is:
Tell them what you are going to tell them. Tell them what you are telling them. Tell them what you have just told them.
I’m feeling very happy because the sun is shining.
Do you ever feel you should be using other words, apart from happy, sad etc?
If you want to speak better English, you need to expand your vocabulary and one of the best ways to expand your vocabulary is by talking about how you are feeling.
It’s human nature to express and share how we are feeling.. One of the most common questions in any language is ‘How are you?’ which we use because we want to tell people how we feel and because we want to know how other people are feeling.
This is a great chart for expanding your vocabulary to describe emotions and feelings. This is particularly suitable for students who have a B2 (Upper-Intermediate) level or above.
Start in the inner circle where you can find 6 basic emotional states:
happy / sad / disgust / anger / fear / surprise
The middle circle shows you different types of happiness, sadness, disgust, anger, fear and surprise, ranging from mild emotions (not so strong) such as bored to intense emotions (much stronger) such as despair.
The outer circle provides you with two synonyms (words with a similar but not exactly the same meaning) for the emotional states in the middle circle.
A simple way to start learning some of these words is to choose a basic emotion, such as happy.
Look at one of the words in the middle circle relating to a specific type of happiness and check the meaning in your dictionary. Don’t forget to practise the pronunciation and check which syllable is stressed.
Then, write your own example sentence using the new word. In order to make the example sentence memorable, write a sentence about yourself or somebody you know personally.
I was optimistic about my chances of passing the English speaking exam because I had studied hard for it.
Don’t try to learn too many new words everyday: 5 should be enough.
After learning a new word, make sure you review the meaning an hour or two after learning it. Then, review it again the next day. See if you can produce a sentence without referring to your example.
When you have learned a few of these words for each emotion, choose an emotion at random and ask yourself the question:
Why am I feeling …………… today?
By creating reasons for each emotion, you will be creating a memorable context, which will help transfer the word from your short-term to your long-term memory.
When learning new vocabulary, we need to store the word in our short-term memory first. We can do this by repeating the meaning several times (make sure you create a memorable context).
Short-term memory: repeat to remember
However, this word will soon disappear from our short-term memory so we need to transfer it to our long-term memory. we can do this by reviewing the meaning at regular intervals after we have first learnt it.
A few hours after learning it.
The next day.
A few days later.
A week later.
A month later.
Long-term memory: remember to repeat.
So, next time somebody asks you how you are feeling, you can have this type of conversation:
How are you feeling today?
I’m feeling happy.
What kind of happy?
I’m feeling positive.
Why are you feeling positive?
I’m feeling positive because the sun is shining and I’m learning new words in English every day.
I’m feeling very happy because the sun is shining.
Do you ever feel you should be using other words, apart from happy, sad etc?
If you want to speak better English, you need to expand your vocabulary and one of the best ways to expand your vocabulary is by talking about how you are feeling.
It’s human nature to express and share how we are feeling.. One of the most common questions in any language is ‘How are you?’ which we use because we want to tell people how we feel and because we want to know how other people are feeling.
This is a great chart for expanding your vocabulary to describe emotions and feelings. This is particularly suitable for students who have a B2 (Upper-Intermediate) level or above.
Start in the inner circle where you can find 6 basic emotional states:
happy / sad / disgust / anger / fear / surprise
The middle circle shows you different types of happiness, sadness, disgust, anger, fear and surprise, ranging from mild emotions (not so strong) such as bored to intense emotions (much stronger) such as despair.
The outer circle provides you with two synonyms (words with a similar but not exactly the same meaning) for the emotional states in the middle circle.
A simple way to start learning some of these words is to choose a basic emotion, such as happy.
Look at one of the words in the middle circle relating to a specific type of happiness and check the meaning in your dictionary. Don’t forget to practise the pronunciation and check which syllable is stressed.
Then, write your own example sentence using the new word. In order to make the example sentence memorable, write a sentence about yourself or somebody you know personally.
I was optimistic about my chances of passing the English speaking exam because I had studied hard for it.
Don’t try to learn too many new words everyday: 5 should be enough.
After learning a new word, make sure you review the meaning an hour or two after learning it. Then, review it again the next day. See if you can produce a sentence without referring to your example.
When you have learned a few of these words for each emotion, choose an emotion at random and ask yourself the question:
Why am I feeling …………… today?
By creating reasons for each emotion, you will be creating a memorable context, which will help transfer the word from your short-term to your long-term memory.
When learning new vocabulary, we need to store the word in our short-term memory first. We can do this by repeating the meaning several times (make sure you create a memorable context).
Short-term memory: repeat to remember
However, this word will soon disappear from our short-term memory so we need to transfer it to our long-term memory. we can do this by reviewing the meaning at regular intervals after we have first learnt it.
A few hours after learning it.
The next day.
A few days later.
A week later.
A month later.
Long-term memory: remember to repeat.
So, next time somebody asks you how you are feeling, you can have this type of conversation:
How are you feeling today?
I’m feeling happy.
What kind of happy?
I’m feeling positive.
Why are you feeling positive?
I’m feeling positive because the sun is shining and I’m learning new words in English every day.
Conversation is interactive, spontaneous communication between two or more people. As language learners, you will certainly need to develop good conversation skills so you can interact in a natural way with other speaking partners.
In conversations, we use a combination of questions and responses. That is why it is so important to practise forming questions and learn how to use those questions as the foundation for your responses.
Of course, you cannot be exactly sure about what will happen in a conversation – they are nearly always unpredictable. However, you can anticipate general themes and even questions you may be asked.
That’s why I recommend that you practise asking questions and giving responses. If you were going to have an interview and saw a list of the questions, I’m sure most of you would prepare and rehearse your answers. In fact, I’m sure many people anticipate conversations in their head before having them. You can do it when you alone and can even do it out loud. I even advise recording yourself so you can give yourself feedback.
So, here is a list of questions for you. The questions are formed using lots of different tenses and structures so you can also use them to identify areas of grammar you need to study. They will also be useful if you have to take a speaking exam or have a job interview.
Here are some suggestions about how to use them:
If you have a speaking partner, why not take turns to interview each other?
It might be a good idea to note down some answers to the questions before speaking aloud. Research suggests writing things down in note form produces better quality responses.
Record yourself answering the questions. Then, listen back and try to identify your errors.
Highlight the question words and the auxiliary verbs or main verbs that follow them.
Identify which tenses are used in the questions.
Identify verb and preposition combinations, such as like about or need for.
Make sure you understand any phrasal verbs and use them in your responses.
Think about how you could extend and expand your responses.
Consider how the questions could be phrased differently.
Identify which words are stressed in the questions and then practise asking them.
With a partner, play a game in which the first person answers a random question and the second person has to guess which question was answered.
Answer the questions as if you were a famous person (this challenges you to be more creative)
Ask and answer the questions in the third person as if you were discussing another person.
Use the questions as a basis for creating your own questions. For example, what were you like as a child? could be changed to what were you like as a teenager?
Growing up
What’s your full name?
How do you spell it?
Where were you born?
Where did you grow up?
What were you like as a child?
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
What’s your earliest memory?
What hobbies did you have as a child?
Who were your heroes / role models when you were a child?
Who was your best friend as a child and what did you like about him/her?
Professional life
What do you do for a living?
What are some of the things you like and dislike about your job?
What qualifications or training did you need for your job?
Tell me about a typical working day.
Do you prefer working alone or in a team?
What are your professional ambitions?
What qualities do people need in order to do your job successfully?
If you could do any job, what would you choose?
Free time
What do you like doing in your free time?
At weekends, do you get up early or do you prefer to stay in bed?
Describe your perfect weekend.
What do you like reading?
What kind of music do you like listening to?
Do you watch much TV and if so, what programmes do you like?
What is your opinion of social media such as Facebook or Twitter?
If you could invite 5 people to your home for a dinner party, who would you choose?
Learning English
How long have you been learning English?
Do you think you have a talent for learning languages?
Why do you think some people pick up languages easier than others?
Do people from your country have a reputation for being good at learning languages? Why? Why not?
Have you ever been to an English-speaking country? How was the experience?
Rank the 4 skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking) in order of importance.
Do you think you are primarily a visual, auditory or kinaesthetic learner?
Do you think you are a global or analytical learner?
What, in your opinion, are the characteristics of successful language learners?
What are the characteristics of effective teachers?
How do you like learning? What teaching methods or activities do you dislike?
If you were the teacher, how would you teach a class with you as the student?
A few years ago, I was observing a teacher giving his class. He was an experienced teacher and most of the students liked his lessons because he was fun and knowledgeable. However, he had one extremely bad habit: he talked too much during the class. He used to tell stories that turned into epics and sometimes he would enjoy telling the story so much that he forgot that the students were looking at him with blank looks on their faces!
On this particular day, he had been talking at (not to) his students for nearly 10 minutes, when I noticed one of the students waving their hand at him, trying to get his attention. But, he didn’t notice and continued speaking. The student coughed politely to get his attention. Nothing. He continued speaking. Finally, the student stood up and clapped his hands as loud as he could. At last, the teacher stopped talking and looked at him.
“Teacher, your trousers!“, he shouted.
The teacher laughed nervously and turned bright red as he realised he had been standing in front of the students and had forgotten to do up the zip on his trousers!
Sometimes we need to interrupt. This can be because the speaker is talking too much or has gone off topic (talking about something that is not connected to the original conversation). Other times, we need to interrupt because we need to say something, express our opinion or make a suggestion.
The problem is that interrupting politely can be difficult in your first language and can be extremely difficult in your second language. Sometimes we interrupt and we sound rude. Sometimes we interrupt and we sound nervous. Sometimes we hesitate and the person continues speaking.
Practising how to interrupt is a useful activity for language learners here are some common phrases we can use to do so:
Can I just say something here?
Can I stop you there for a moment?
Can I just butt in for a second?
Can I just mention something?
Can I just add something here?
Do you mind if I come in here?
Before you move on, I’d like to say something.
Before you go on, I’d like to say something.
Excuse me for interrupting but……
Excuse me for butting in but…..
Sorry for interrupting but….
Just a moment, I’d like to….
If I could just come in here. I think….
Here is a video on interrupting politely taken from my MASTER POLITE ENGLISH Video course.
Remember, if interrupting politely doesn’t work, you can always interrupting rudely by using these phrases:
Will you let me speak?
Can’t you be quiet for a moment?
Will you just shut up for a minute, please?
So, next time, you feel the need to interrupt, try using one of the polite phrases above. If that doesn’t work, try being rude!
If you want to learn how to speak more politely in English, you might like my video course: MASTER POLITE ENGLISH.
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Imagine you woke up one morning and discovered you could speak perfect English.
What would you do if you spoke perfect English?
Listen to the audio here:
Would you use your perfect English to get a better job?
Would you use your perfect English to study for an MBA at Harvard or Oxford?
Would you use your perfect English to travel to the UK or another English-speaking country?
Would you use it to become a world-famous pop star or actor?
Would you read classic literature in the original language? Shakespeare? Dickens? Harry Potter?
Would you sit down and watch your favourite TV shows in the original language? Game of Thrones perhaps?
Would you set up your own business and deal with international clients?
Let me tell you a secret.
Nobody speaks perfect English. We all make mistakes with grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation.
Sometimes we use the wrong word to express our thoughts or feelings.
Sometimes we use a British word when we are speaking to somebody who understands American English.
Sometimes we change our mind while we’re speaking and have to correct what we have just said.
Sometimes we say the right word to the wrong person. Or the wrong word to the right person. Or the right word at the wrong time.
Do you think perfect English really exists?
Languages are incredibly complex and are constantly changing and evolving. Grammar rules were created after people had been speaking languages for hundreds of years. Do native speakers always follow these rules when they speak? New words are appearing everyday. Do we use the same words when we speak to our boss or our friends? Do we use the same words in a bar as we do in a classroom?
Let’s look at the question I asked at the beginning of this post:
What would you do if you spoke perfect English?
You could express this question in many different ways and you would still be understood.
What would you do if you could speak perfect English? What would you do if you could speak English perfectly? What could you do if you spoke perfect English? What would you do if your English was perfect? What would you do with perfect English?
So, my advice is the following:
Don’t try to speak perfect English
Try to speak better English.
Have your say and make your voice heard.
I’ve been speaking English all my life and I try to find new words every day. I try to use my words to express myself as clearly as possible. But, I often make mistakes and I try to learn from my mistakes.
Language is about sharing ideas and feelings. When words leave my mouth, you (the listener) interpret them in your own way and create your own response and your response may surprise me!
Sometimes we need to complain. We need to express our negative feelings about something and tell somebody how we really feel about things.
When we do this, we ‘get things off our chest’.
Maybe, you are having problems at work and you think your boss is an idiot.
‘What really annoys me about him is that he thinks he is more intelligent than anybody else in the office!
Perhaps, you are having relationship problems:
‘What really irritates me is when my girlfriend arrives late and doesn’t apologise’.
You might want to complain about the English language:
‘What really frustrates me about English is that words are never pronounced as they are spelt’.
What drives me crazy about learning English is the amount of phrasal verbs. There are so many and I can never remember them’.
I think it’s good to ‘get things off your chest‘ and express your feelings about things. If you ‘bottle things up‘, you keep your feelings inside you until one day, you have to express them and they explode out of you!
So, when you feel like complaining, you can use this structure:
What + verb + about something / somebody + is /are……….
What annoys me about London is the traffic!
What irritates me about teaching English is when students speak their first language in class!
What frustrates me about learning English is when native speakers use slang so I can’t understand them!
Over to you, what annoys you , frustrates you , irritates you, gets on your nerves, drives you crazy about learning English?
Spend a few minutes getting things off your chest. You’ll feel much better after doing so.
On December 8, I ran my first marathon. It was absolutely exhausting but I somehow managed to cross the finishing line and was over the moon (extremely happy) when I received my medal.
Learning a language can be like running a marathon – we should plan for a long duration not a short one. At first, we may think it’s an impossible task but if we train, we get better and better every day. As we improve, we set ourselves different targets, 5 kilometres or 5 new words, 10 kilometres or 10 minutes of listening a day, a half marathon (21kms) or half an hour of grammar study, until finally, we are ready to attempt a full marathon (42 kms).
The key to learning a language is consistency, routine and a gradual increase in work rate and complexity. Build your knowledge gradually and make sure you take frequent breaks so your mind can refresh what you have learnt.
Set yourself realistic goals. If you try to do too much too soon, you are unlikely to reach your goals and how will you feel? Probably frustrated and demotivated. By setting realistic learning targets, you will increase the chance of meeting them and you will feel a sense of achievement and ready for the next challenge.
So, as this is a post about running idioms, here are 15 useful ones to learn. Read the sentences below and try to guess the meaning from the context.
1. The criminal escaped from prison a week ago and has been on the run ever since.
Does this idiom mean that the criminals were trying to avoid being caught or doing exercise?
2. Manchester United are playing well this year but Arsenal are giving them a run for their money.
Does this idiom mean that Arsenal are playing better than the champions or almost as well?
3. The business will lose money at first but will be successful in the long run.
Does this idiom mean that the business will make money in the near future or in the far future?
4. Trains are often late in London but they run like clockwork in Tokyo.
Does this idiom mean that the trains run exactly as planned or very quickly?
5. He’s a playboy. When he realised that his new girlfriend wanted to get married, he ran a mile.
Does this idiom mean he really wanted to get married or really didn’t want to get married?
6. The teacher has no control over his students. He lets them run wild in the classroom.
Does this idiom mean the students can do whatever they want or that they are always fighting?
7. At first, she was really motivated and studied English for several hours a day. However, after a while, she ran out of steam.
Does the idiom mean that she lost energy/interest in English or she became too busy?
8. The President of the company runs a tight ship and makes decisions about every aspect of the business.
Does this idiom mean that the President is organised and effective or takes many risks?
9. His father is really funny and his uncle is absolutely hilarious. A good sense of humour obviously runs in the family.
Does this idiom mean that a good sense of humour is common or uncommon in this family?
10. Before moving to France, the family decided to have a trial run and spent a week in Paris to see if they enjoyed being there.
Does that mean that they tried something before deciding to do it or they did it without trying it first?
11. On the surface, he seems quiet and boring but he’s far more interesting than he first appears: still waters run deep.
Does this mean that people are who they seem to be or that people can be more surprising than they appear?
12. Make sure you visit the doctor before you go to India. If not, you run the risk of catching some disease.
Does this idiom mean that the person will definitely catch some disease, such as malaria, or possibly catch some disease?
13. I hate my new job. I spend all day running around in circles but I don’t get anything done.
Does this idiom mean that the person does very little or does alot?
14. Everybody says my business idea is a good one but I run into a brick wall when I try to get somebody to invest in it.
Does this idiom mean that the person is not making progress or making progress?
15. I’ve no idea why all my friends love that new movie. I thought it was run-of-the-mill.
Does this idiom mean that the film was ordinary or special?
Listen to the answers now. You can read them below:
1. The criminal escaped from prison a week ago and has been on the run ever since.
The criminals were trying to avoid being caught by the Police.
2. Manchester City are playing well this year but Arsenal are giving them a run for their money.
Arsenal are playing almost as well as Manchester City.
3. The business will lose money at first but will be successful in the long run.
The business will make money in the far future.
4. Trains are often late in London but they run like clockwork in Tokyo.
The trains run exactly as planned.
5. He’s a playboy. When he realised that his new girlfriend wanted to get married, he ran a mile.
He really didn’t want to get married.
6. The teacher has no control over his students. He lets them run wild in the classroom.
The students can do whatever they want.
7. At first, she was really motivated and studied English for several hours a day. However, after a while, she ran out of steam.
She lost energy/interest in English.
8. The President of the company runs a tight ship and makes decisions about every aspect of the business.
The President is organised and effective.
9. His father is really funny and his uncle is absolutely hilarious. A good sense of humour obviously runs in the family.
A good sense of humour is common in this family.
10. Before moving to France, the family decided to have a trial run and spent a week in Paris to see if they enjoyed being there.
They tried something before deciding to do it.
11. On the surface, he seems quiet and boring but he’s far more interesting than he first appears: still waters run deep.
People can be more surprising than they appear.
12. Make sure you visit the doctor before you go to India. If not, you run the risk of catching some disease.
The person will possibly catch malaria.
13. I hate my new job. I spend all day running around in circles but I don’t get anything done.
The person does a lot and is busy but doesn’t achieve what they want.
14. Everybody says my business idea is a good one but I run into a brick wall when I try to get somebody to invest in it.
The person is not making progress.
15. I’ve no idea why all my friends love that new movie. I thought it was run-of-the-mill.
The film was ordinary. It was nothing special.
Do you know any more idioms with the word ‘run’? I’d love to hear them.
Click below to get my course on Business English idioms.
Finding interactive and communicative speaking activities for one-to-one classes can be difficult.
Here is an ebook (download as a Word Document or as a pdf) which contains 30 fun activities which require very little preparation and no resources apart from a pen and paper and, most importantly, the imagination and creative abilities of you and your learner.
Click on the link below to get the ebook in Word format:
I’ve worked with and trained recent graduates who were able to manage classes without raising their voices and middle-aged former project managers who went blank in front of a group of expectant students. Most TEFL training courses will not accept trainees younger than 18 but there is no upper age limit. However, the demands of the job probably rule out all but the sprightliest of octogenarians. Basically, anyone who is old enough to work is probably capable of being a TEFL teacher. Sally, who I mentioned earlier, was in her early 60s and used her wisdom and experience to great effect.
On the other hand, it is also true that some students may prefer teachers of a certain age. Teenagers may respond well to younger teachers at first but can change their attitude if you try to be their friend. Mature students may feel dissatisfied with teachers who are substantially younger than they are. Older businessmen, for some bizarre reason, often like to learn from young women who think a hedge fund is the money you save up to buy a new lawnmower. I think it’s fair to say that first impressions do count and younger and older teachers might find themselves victims of prejudice in certain contexts. On thw whole though, competent professional teachers should be able to overcome any initial student scepticism after delivery a few solid lessons.
The nationality of a TEFL teacher is more problematic and revolves around the native versus non-native teacher debate. I have trained Brits, Americans and Australians and some of them were excellent teachers while others struggled to spell their own names correctly on the whiteboard. I’ve also trained Spanish, Italians, Brazilians, Germans, Dutch, Danes, Hungarians, Japanese and other nationalities. And you know what? Some of them were excellent while others struggled. To become a TEFL teacher, you need to have an excellent command or spoken and written English (C1 /Advanced level and above). Beyond that, your personal qualities and teaching skills are what really matter.
Unfortunately, the industry – influenced to a large extent by students – seems to prefer native speaker teachers. This means that excellent non-native English speakers are overlooked in favour of mediocre native speaker teachers of English. I know of a number of non-native teachers who are less than 100% honest when it comes to revealing their nationality to their employers and students. It’s amazing how many of them suddenly discover English, Welsh, Scottish or Irish parentage!
My advice to novice teachers is simply to do your job to the best of your abilities. Your students will probably learn to accept and respect you if they feel they are learning from you regardless of your age and nationality. But, you might have to tell a few white lies to get employed.
Sometimes I think the ideal one-to-one class is just two people talking about things that matter to them. No distractions, no course books, no technical gadgetry, no fancy materials……and most of all….no gap-fill exercises!
Can we actually teach English with nothing more than a pen and something to write on?
“By reducing the amount of material that is imported into the classroom, the teacher frees the learning space for the kind of interactive, talk-mediated learning opportunities that are so crucial for language development.”
I’ve been in the business since 1996 and I’ve watched a wide range of people enter a classroom and teach. I’d like to present a few of my favourites – names have been changed to protect the innocents.
Bob was a favourite of mine. In his late forties, he had worked in publishing for years. After being made redundant, he took a TEFL course and started working in a small language school in central London. Something of a pedant, he was known for his insistence on correcting every minor grammatical error and abhorred Americanisms, which to him included such inoffensive terms as ‘cool’, ‘how are you doing?’, ‘wanna’ and ‘gotta’, and the insertion of ‘like’ in phrases such as ‘I am really like confused by your explanation of like the present perfect man’.
The funny thing was that a minorityof his students, mainly graduates from countries as varied as Brazil and Russia, really appreciated his classes as he fitted their preconceived idea of what a teacher sounded and looked like. His classes may not have been as much fun as those of other younger and hipper teachers but they felt that his hour-long lectures on dangling participles (sounds painful, doesn’t it?) would help them improve their English. However, although they learned the terminology for complex grammar structures, their speaking skills actually deteriorated while studying with him! They always paused for two minutes to analyse some fiendishly complex common phrase such as ‘How are you today, Vladimir? When they were finally ready to respond, the person asking the question had invariably got fed up of waiting and walked off.
Sally was a ray of sunshine in a dark and dingy school in smoggy East London. Unlike the other teachers, she was rarely hung-over, had no hygiene issues and didn’t view her lessons as an excuse to watch her favourite gross-out comedies over and over again. Instead, she was unusual in that she prepared her lessons the night before, learned her students’ names, gave them homework – which she actually corrected – and was generally able to answer their grammatical questions without a) providing Byzantine explanations which sound impressive until you actually realise that the future present perfective passive active noun doesn’t exist in any language or b) glaring out the student in the style of Lee Van Cleef in Spaghetti westerns before spitting out the phrase ‘That’s how we say it in English’, thus ensuring that student would be so traumatised that they would never dare to ask a question in class again. Her students adored her and the transformation in their level of English was astounding. Most impressive of all was that the most timid of students started smiling and speaking in English after a couple of weeks of her classes. The grey haired lady with the infectious smile was able to work wonders.
Andy was an actor. Times were hard and his swarthy looks were rarely required by casting agents. He did a nice line in voiceovers but needed a more regular income. He couldn’t work full-time but was able to arrange his working hours around his auditions. He made an ideal cover teacher and proved a hit with private students (those who prefer to have individual classes). While his knowledge of the intricate details of English grammar may have been less than comprehensive, his strength was assisting students with their pronunciation issues. You could always recognise one of his students because they invariably used mellifluous intonation to massacre syntax (word order) and tenses.
The bottom line is that good people skills and a modicum of intellect will probably be enough to make someone a capable teacher. You need to be patient of course, especially if you are teaching low level classes. Some teachers are extroverts but they can overwhelm students with their energy. Indeed, some great teachers I’ve worked with have been fairly introverted and many learners respond to their ability to create a calm atmosphere in the class and listen to rather than talk at the students.
There is no archetypal TEFL teacher. The great ones have a great passion for teaching, communicating and a love of English and have developed a style which keeps them and their learners motivated.
YouTube is a wonderful resource for language teachers and learners. When I mention this to trainee teachers, many of them assume I am only talking about YouTube clips which have been specifically created for language learners. When this happens, I’ll show them a few simple ways to use authentic YouTube clips for speaking practice. These activities can be used if you have access to interactive whiteboards, desktop projectors or only video cassettes and a TV.
Remember the old adage: a picture tells a thousand words. Well, a quick and simple way to use YouTube clips with your learners is to turn the sound off and focus on the images. This means that your learners create the audio! These activities should work with young learners and adults and could even be used in one-to-one lessons.
1. Silent movie
Type of video: Any clip with physical movement and actions.
Language focus: Tenses and questions using tenses
Film is primarily a visual medium. At the beginning of the 20th century, movies were silent and the viewers were able to follow the story by watching the images on the screen. This activity requires the learners to describe what they have seen, what they are looking at, and make predictions about what will happen next.
Watch the clip with the sound turned off and pause at regular intervals. Practise past tenses by stopping suddenly and asking the learners to tell you what they saw. Practise present perfect, especially with ‘just’ by pausing and asking them what has just happened. Practise the present continuous by asking your learners to provide a running commentary about what they are watching (like a sports commentator). You can practise future forms by pausing and asking learners to predict what is going to happen.
Let your learners take control of the pause button so they can practise asking questions in different tenses.
2. You write the script
Type of video: Scene between 2-4 people with lots of dialogue. Scenes from soap operas or movies.
Language focus: Natural sounding, conversational English. Fixed and semi-fixed phrases, exclamations. Focus on sentence stress and use of intonation to convey emotions
Tell the learners that they are scriptwriters and their job is to create a script based around a short scene from a soap opera or dramatic movie.
Watch the clip with the sound turned off and ask your learners what they think is going on, who the people are, what they are talking about etc. Ask your learner to create a thumbnail character profile of the characters (She is Mary, she’s married but is in love with her brother-in-law. He is Bill, he is Mary’s brother-in-law and wants to take revenge on his brother for inheriting the family business).
Play the clip again and ask your learners to improvise a conversation based around the events that are happening on screen. What is great about this activity is that the situations are generally really familiar for learners (most cultures seem to watch soap operas) and even low-level students are able to produce appropriate dialogue.
After improvising the dialogue, your learners might like to write some dialogue and perform it in front of the class.
3. Advertising agency
Type of video: Commercials / adverts
Language focus: Business English phrases, slogans and language of convincing and persuading
Find a short commercial on YouTube (or let your learners choose one) and ask them to watch it a couple of times then ask them to create the script for an advert. As well as being good fun, many learners find it a useful exercise for improving their pronunciation (especially intonation and stress patterns) because they are aware of the need for an exaggerated, dramatic delivery. This activity is particularly good for Business English learners and you can analyse how slogans and jingles are used in ads and also linguistic features of commercial language such as alliteration and repetition.
4. Voice-over artists
Type of clip: Movie trailer
Language focus: Present simple used in narration
This is a similar activity to the previous one. However, rather than use an advert, find a promotional trailer for a film. Again, our learners are familiar with the exaggerated and dramatic delivery of the actors employed to promote the movies. It’s probably a good idea to listen to a few first and let your learners notice and even imitate the sentence stress and intonation patterns. In terms of the language practised, you could use this activity to demonstrate how we use the present simple for narrating anecdotes, telling stories and jokes, and generally involving the audience in the events of the story.
Then, let them find a trailer (or choose them yourself) and tell them they have to create a promotional trailer based on the images only. Make sure they turn the sound off! If possible, let each group choose a voice-over specialist and let them rehearse it. Then, turn the lights off (to make the classroom seem like a movie theatre/cinema) and let the student narrate their trailer while the clip is playing.
5. Memory Test
Type of clip: Anything with visual details which may not be noticed on first viewing
Language focus: Question formation
Find a YouTube clip with lots of visual details such as a scene from a movie, a documentary or a promotional video. Write down a list of quiz questions about the clip, for example, what colour tie was the man wearing? How many people were sitting at the table?
Tell your learners that you are going to watch it together and they have to remember as much as they can from the clip. Some learners might like to write notes but others may prefer just to watch. Then, put them in pairs or small groups and ask the questions about the clip. Check the answers by watching the clip again with the class.
Follow-up activity
Find another clip and show it to the learners. This time, ask each group to note down 5 or 10 details about the clip. Using these notes, each group writes their own memory quiz and then let the class watch the clip again. Encourage them to focus on the details. Then, ask each group to give their quiz sheet to another group who have 5 minutes to write the answers. After 5 minutes, each group hand back their answer sheet and the group who wrote the quiz mark it. When all the quiz sheets have been marked, watch the clip again and let the students identify the correct answers.
Can you think of other ways to use YouTube in class with the sound turned off? I’d love to know your ideas.
Asking a series of questions to a new private student has many benefits as you get some idea of:
their listening skills
how fluent they are
their ability to produce extended speech
range of grammar and vocabulary
common errors they make
gaps in their knowledge
pronunciation difficulties
personal interests
learning experiences
ideas for future lessons
With higher-level learners, I use a set of questions which I have tried and tested over the years. Rather than a scripted interview (one in which you only ask the questions you have prepared), I prefer to give a semi-scripted interview in which I follow most of the questions in order but may modify some, omit others and even add some, if I feel they are suitable.
Here’s a list of questions you might find helpful (you certainly don’t need to ask all of them):
Growing up
What’s your full name?
How do you spell it?
Where were you born?
Where did you grow up?
What were you like as a child?
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
What’s your earliest memory?
What hobbies did you have as a child?
Who were your heroes / role models when you were a child?
Who was your best friend as a child and what did you like about him/her?
Professional life
What do you do for a living?
What are some of the things you like and dislike about your job?
What qualifications or training did you need for your job?
Tell me about a typical working day.
Do you prefer working alone or in a team?
What are your professional ambitions?
What qualities do people need in order to do your job successfully?
If you could do any job, what would you choose?
Free time
What do you like doing in your free time?
At weekends, do you get up early or do you prefer to stay in bed?
Describe your perfect weekend
What do you like reading?
What kind of music do you like listening to?
Do you watch much TV and if so, what programmes do you like?
What is your opinion of social media such as Facebook or Twitter?
If you could invite 5 people to your home for a dinner party, who would you choose?
Learning English
How long have you been learning English?
Do you think you have a talent for learning languages?
Why do you think some people pick up languages easier than others?
Do people from your country have a reputation for being good at learning languages? Why? Why not?
Have you ever been to an English-speaking country? How was the experience?
Rank the 4 skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking) in order of importance.
Do you think you are primarily a visual, auditory or kinaesthetic learner?
Do you think you are a global or analytical learner?
What, in your opinion, are the characteristics of successful language learners?
What are the characteristics of effective teachers?
How do you like learning? What teaching methods or activities do you dislike?
If you were the teacher, how would you teach this class?
What other questions might you ask a new private student?
I’m sitting here, drinking a cup of coffee and eating a chocolate biscuit and thoughts pop into my head:
As a kid, I adored chocolate biscuits. I reckon I had eaten hundreds of biscuits by the age of 5.
An an adult, I have drunk more than my fair share of cups of coffee.
By the age of 50, I will have drunk thousands of cups of coffee and eaten hundreds of biscuits.
Every day, all over the world, millions of cups of coffee are drunk and millions of biscuits are eaten.
I finish my coffee and brush the final crumbs of biscuit off my hands and a couple of thoughts pops into my head.
Why do we use the past participle to talk about future actions?
Why do we use the past participle when we use the passive voice to refer to present actions or future predictions?
The answer is probably that the term was adopted from descriptions of Latin grammar (Click here for a fuller explanation) but I’m more interested in the next question that enters my mind:
Why don’t we make things easier for our learners by talking about verbs 1, 2 and 3?
Imagine, instead of using present simple, past simple and past participle (eat / ate / eaten), why don’t we just say:
Verb 1 Verb 2 Verb 3
eat ate eaten
Wouldn’t it just make it simpler and less confusing for everybody?
Then, we could avoid telling our students things like: “We use ‘will’ and ‘have’ plus the past participle to refer to actions which will have happened before a specific time in the future?
When we use terms which trigger confusing thoughts in our learners’ heads, we are making grammar more confusing and mysterious than it should be? Surely our job as teachers is to clarify language.
Let’s get rid of the term ‘past participle’ and replace it with something more logical!!
What does everybody think? Have you tried talking about verbs 1,2 and 3? I’d love to hear your views.
Do you ever despair of your learners and wonder why they can’t understand your explanations of grammatical structures?
You can’t understand it. You studied the grammar diligently until you knew everything about the structure you were going to teach.
And yet, when you shared your knowledge with your learners, they looked at you in that way, with confusion written all over their faces. And then the questions started, first a trickle, then a flood.
You left the classroom deflated thinking ‘What’s wrong with them? Why didn’t they get it?
Well my teaching friend, you may have fallen victim to the curse of knowledge!!!!
What is the curse of knowledge?
When we know something, we find it very difficult to remember a time when we didn’t know it. We find it even more difficult to put ourselves in the position of somebody who doesn’t know what you know now.
Do you want to know why many parents are the worst people to teach their children how to drive?
Simple. For them, the act of driving is so natural, so internalised (they have probably been doing it for 30 years) that they can’t imagine what it’s like not to be able to do it. Maybe that’s why friends or older siblings do a much better job. They are not yet experts and remember what it was like to be a novice.
So, how can we make our grammar presentations more effective?
One thing you can do is avoid abstraction and make things concrete. In the book Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath (watch a video here)say the following:
“The difference between an expert and a novice is the ability to think abstractly.”
We are the experts and have insights into language which have come about through years of experience. We have a higher and more abstract level of understanding.
“Trying to teach an abstract principle without concrete foundations is like trying to start a house by building a roof in the air”.
One of my trainee teachers was asked to teach the past continuous to a group of Elementary learners. She hit the grammar reference book and prepared an incredibly detailed presentation.
When she taught the class, I watched the learners’ faces: first, confusion then despair. I swear one lady was about to burst into tears! They were frustrated with the teacher and themselves, thinking they were stupid for not grasping the concept.
I did something I rarely do: I stopped the lesson and asked the trainee to sit down and let me take over.
I took a clock down from the wall and asked the learners what the time was.
“7.25”
“What are we doing NOW?”
We are learning English.
What day is today?
It is Wednesday.
What day was yesterday?
Er…Tuesday.
What were you doing at 7.25 (this time) yesterday Pepe?
Er…I am…was watching television.
Suddenly, a collective sigh of relief echoed around the classroom.
Pepe, ask Patricia the question.
For the next 10 minutes, the learners threw questions back and forth at each other. They started changing the time, the day and responded perfectly using the target language (past continuous).
That’s all it took. The clock changed everything: it made everything concrete and sticky.
So, that’s my tip for today:
get away from abstract concepts (like grammatical structures) and use the classroom environment to make everything as real, as concrete, as ‘sticky’ as possible.
Would love to hear some other ideas for ‘sticky’ grammar presentations.
If any of you are teaching FCE (First Certificate), you will need to give your learners lots of exam training practice. Part 1 of the exam (the interview) is a good place to start because the learners have to talk about everyday topics, such as their home town, what they do in their free time and work and study.
Here is a list of about 50 questions (most of which have been used in FCE exams in the last 10 years). Feel free to share them with your learners:
In the first part of the exam, the interviewer will ask you and your partner several questions about everyday topics. Here is a list of questions arranged by topic:
Area where you live or used to live
Is there anything you would like to learn about your country?
Which area of your country would you like to get to know better?
What’s the most interesting place you’ve visited near ….?
Could you tell me something about the area where you grew up?
Could you describe your family home to me?
Sports
Are you interested in sport?
Is there a sport you’d really like to try?
What sports do people play most in your country?
How much exercise do you take each week?
Do you like to be physically active or do you prefer relaxing?
Leisure
How much TV do you watch in a week?
Tell us about a TV programme you’ve seen recently?
Do you have a favourite newspaper or magazine?
What do you spend your time doing?
Do you enjoy reading?
What sort of books do you read?
Does anyone you know have an interesting hobby?
What’s the difference between reading the news in the newspaper and watching it on TV?
Who do you spend your free time with?
Do you prefer to be outside or inside when you have free time?
Work and study
Do you find it easy to study where you live?
Do you use the internet to learn new things?
Do you prefer working on your own or with other people?
What kind of work would you really like to do in the future?
Are you happier doing mental or physical work?
Can you remember your first English lessons?
What do you think were the most important things you learned at primary school?
Would you prefer to work for a big or small company?
Family and friends
Who do you spend your free time with
Who are the most important people in your life?
Do you and your friends share the same ideas?
Tell me about your best friend?
Do you normally go out with family or friends?
Travel and holidays
Have you ever used your English on holiday?
Where would you really like to go on holiday in the future?
Do you like to plan your holidays carefully or do you prefer to just go?
How do you prefer to travel? by train or by plane?
What’s public transport like in your country?
Entertainment
Do you ever go to concerts?
Where do you like listening to music?
Do you like going to the cinema?
Do you enjoy playing computer games?
Do you enjoy shopping?
Do you like going to parties?
Daily life
How much time do you spend at home?
Tell us about a day you’ve really enjoyed recently?
Do you like cooking?
What’s your favourite food?
Have you got any plans for this weekend?
What’s your favourite day of the week?
Are you planning to do anything special this weekend?
What’s your favourite part of the day?
A great follow-up activity is to get learners writing their own questions. If you can think of any other likely questions, please share and we can create the ultimate list.
All you need for these fun speaking games are some dice. I recommend you buy a few sets and carry them around with you all the time.
This blog won a British Council award in September 2013.
Dice are a great resource for TEFL teachers because they are portable and suitable for adults and kids
What I love about dice is that the options are endless, only limited by your imagination and creative ability. Let’s look at a few ways to use them.
Tense reviews
Choose which tenses you want to practise (Advanced learners can practise all 12, Elementary learners could practise 2 or 3).
Assign a number to each tense, for example, 6 is Present Perfect simple. Students roll the dice and have to create a sentence using the tense that corresponds with the number.
Experiment with different variations such as positive, negative, questions, active, passive, correct & incorrect, subject & object pronouns etc.
Question formation
Choose a question word for each number on the first dice: 1 = Who, 2 = Why, 3 = Where, 4 = When, 5 = What, 6 = How.
Choose a topic for each number on the second dice: 1 = Food, 2 = Sport, 3 = Hobbies, 4 =Jobs, 5 = Clothes, 6 = Travel.
If a student rolls a 3 and a 1, they have to create a question such as: Where did you eat dinner last night? You could use a third dice roll to determine who answers the question.
You can adapt this with other words used in questions, such as modals (could, should, must etc.)
Great for Business students who can practise interview scenarios and students preparing for speaking exams.
Conditionals
The first dice represents the ‘If’ clause and the second shows the result.
Let students choose verbs for each number on both dice. Choose a topic like Crime to practise verbs:1 = burgle, 2 = steal, 3 = murder, 4 = mug, 5 = deceive, 6 = lie. The second dice (the results), could be possible punishments such as 1 = 10 years in prison, 2 = community service, 3 = stand in the corner etc.
Students can play judge and jury, a roll of 1 and 6 could produce sentences such as: If you burgled my house, I would force you to stand in the corner of the room for 10 minutes.
OK, it sounds ridiculous but the students will have a lot of fun and activate lots of vocabulary. Can also be used for creating superstitions, threats, promises, regrets etc.
Story building
Create stories using the dice. Get students to create 12 characters, 12 locations, 12 verbs.
Each roll of the dice continues the story. Before long, they’ll be generating dozens of ideas and plot lines.
Practising phonemes
Choose some phonemes you want your students to practise and assign them a number from 1 to 12 (vowels), 1 – 24 (consonants).
They get points for finding words which have these sounds.
Functional language
The first dice shows the context such as relationships, work, travel, health.
The second dice can be used to practise functions (regret, giving opinions, apologising) and their exponents (I wish I hadn’t, In my opinion, I’m awfully sorry).
Before you know it, students will be creating fantastic mini-dialogues, peer-teaching, discussing meaning etc.
General vocabulary game
Match a letter to a number. For instance, p is 4. A student rolls the first dice to identify the letter.
The second dice dictates how many words they have to say with this letter.
This requires no preparation and great for recycling / activating vocabulary. Also, the categories game works with dice and students can play it in groups.
Phrasal verbs
The first dice indicates the verb (put, give, take, stand, look, get)
The second dice is used for the preposition / particle (up, away, in, out, under, over).
Students win points for creating real phrasal verbs and using them in sentences (2 and 1 might result in a sentence such as:He gave up smoking after he visited the doctor.
Tip: Make the games competitive by having different scoring systems. Two I like are:
The Dice Bomb: If students complete the task or use language correctly, they roll the dice to determine how many points they’ll receive. Get the other team to choose a bomb number, e.g. 3. If the first team roll 4, they’ll get 4 points; if they roll the bomb number (3), they lose all their points.
Dice Gambling: Teams or students can choose to get 3 points for correct answers. However, they can gamble and roll the dice again and this new number will give them their points.
Finally, use dice to nominate students to answer questions or do certain tasks. This random element keeps them engaged and on their toes.
Let me know if you have any other dice games to use with your English students.
Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc., The Incredibles, Up, Ratotouille and Brave (The winner of the best animated film at the Oscars in 2013).
All of these movies were made by Pixar, the animated film studio linked with George Lucas of Star Wars fame and the late founder of Apple, Steve Jobs. Pixar has in less than 20 years become the most successful animated film studio since Disney. These films have been critical and financial smashes but why has this company succeeded where so many others have failed?
In his new book, To Sell is Human, Daniel Pink talks about pitches – concise verbal or visual presentation of an idea for a film made by a screenwriter or director to a producer or studio in the hope of attracting financial backing – and how Pixar have created a simple but incredibly effective template.
The Pixar Pitch Template uses the following sequence adverbs to create a basic storyline.
Once upon a time….
Every day…
One day….
Because of that…..
Because of that….
Until finally….
Reading this part, I realised that it could be adapted to create a simple but effective integrated skills lesson for EFL students:
For this lesson, I have used a simple Engage, Study and Activate plan based on the Harmer model. Follow the link below to read more: ESA method.
ENGAGE – Tell the students briefly about the last good film you saw. Put them in pairs / small groups and ask them to tell each other about the last good film they have seen. You could board these 3 questions:
What was the last good film you saw?
What type of film was it?
What happened in it?
STUDY
(You might have to prepare this part before the lesson).
Read a short pitch for a movie you think the students will have seen. Here is an example. As the students if they can you guess which film it is?
Once upon a time, there was a teenage boy called Peter who lived with his aunt.
Every day he went to school where he was often bullied and made fun of because he was a science nerd.
One day he went to a science expedition where he was bitten by a radioactive spider.
Because of that, he developed superhuman powers which meant that he was incredibly strong and fast, could climb walls and could sense danger before it occurred.
Because of that, he started to use his powers to take revenge on people who had made his life unpleasant and realised he could use his new powers to become rich, famous and successful with women. However, he made many enemies and they wanted to destroy him.
Until finally, he realised that with great power comes great responsibility. Instead of trying to become rich and famous, he had to use his powers to become a force for good.
Look out! It’s Spiderman
Simple isn’t it! With this simple template, you can create a simple and concise plot description. Provide the students with this template and briefly analyse the sequence adverbs and pronunciation features.
In order to provide students with a suitable model for a pitch, the teacher should ask them to identify key pronunciation features here such as word stress, intonation, and rhythm. Drilling each component of the pitch might be an effective way to do this and you could provide a simple handout on which they could note down phonological features and practise delivering the pitch in pairs.
ACTIVATE
You have a range of options here. You could:
Ask each student to prepare a pitch for a well-known movie. Then, do a mingling exercise in which the students pitch to each other and try to guess the movie.
Give the students a series of genres (horror, romance, comedy etc) and perhaps a location (New York, a language school, an office, a small village) and ask them to create a basic story on their own.Then put them in pairs and give them roles. Student A is a screenwriter and Student B is a producer. A pitches to B and then change roles.
Do the above but divide the classes into screenwriters and producers and do a mingling role play. Change roles so everybody has the chance to pitch and listen to a pitch.
Put students in small groups and give them a few ideas or pictures to create a story idea. Give them time to create a collaborative pitch and ask them to choose somebody to deliver the pitch in front of the whole class.
I hope you can try out this lesson with your students and I’d love to hear how it goes.
Back in the old days of TEFL, learners could count themselves lucky if their teacher used a course book that had pictures in. They could count themselves really blessed if the classroom was equipped with a cassette player to play audio materials, usually performed by impoverished drama students intoning phrases such as ” The fat cat sat on the mat” with unintentionally hilarious received pronunciation – did people ever really talk like that?
In many teaching contexts nowadays (those with easy internet access) there is a glut of audio materials and written texts for our learners to use in order to gain exposure to English.
The digital revolution and globalisation have proved to be game changers – English teachers are no longer the only people who have access to written and spoken English. We are no longer the high priests of arcane, esoteric grammar structures and vocabulary definitions. Our learners have the product (the English language) so they don’t need to buy the raw materials off us any more.
Does that mean that English teachers are on the way out?
I doubt it. There is still and will continue to be a huge demand for English teachers because we are now in the improvement business.
Do you find it hard to keep your students interested and motivated?
Do you get the feeling that they are not really satisfied with your classes?
Do you and they feel they are not making progress?
If your answer to any of the above questions is YES, maybe you should stop teaching and start coaching.
What is teaching?
Many of us feel that teaching is related to the transference of imparting of knowledge. The teacher is an authority who knows all the answers.
What is coaching?
Coaching is unlocking people’s potential to maximise their own performance. Timothy Gallway. The Inner Game of Tennis (1975).
Coaching adopts a different approach. The learner already has the resources to find out the answers. The teacher’s (or coach’s) role is that of a catalyst – an instrument of change.
The other key difference revolves around the nature of the questions.
In traditional teaching, the teacher asks the questions, the learner answers correctly, incorrectly or fails to answer, and so the teacher corrects or provides the answer.
But, in coaching, the teacher may begin by asking leading questions which motivate the learner to discover what questions to ask and answer their own questions. In short, the learner not the teacher sets the agenda.
But, I hear you ask, what does all this have to do with one-to-one classes?
Well, I believe that we do our private students a great disservice if we assume the role of an authority figure who knows exactly what they need. It is not our job to tell the learner what they need – they should be telling us!
Private students, in my experience, know what they need and what they want…..the irony is that many of them don’t know that because they see themselves as passive consumers rather than active participants in the learning process.
This is why the teacher’s leading questions are so important and there are really only 5 of them:
What do you want from these classes in the long-term?
What do you need from these classes in the long-term?
What do you need right now?
What do you want right now?
How do you think we should begin then?
Just by asking these five questions, we can make that switch and put learners in the driving seat.
One-to-one teaching is like being a co-driver: we may read the map, change a tyre, keep the driver’s spirits up, but we are not the ones with the hands on the steering wheels and we certainly don’t decide upon the destination.
In coaching, clients are ultimately responsible for their learning and actions. Maybe we teachers need to relinquish some control.
As Socrates said: “I cannot teach anybody anything – I can only make them think.”
Although they may not be great for the environment, the humble ‘post-it note’ is one of my favourite teaching resources. They follow me into every class I teach (along with their less eye-catching cousin, scraps of used paper) and they are always on hand, to help me engage and activate my students’ English.
Post-it notes, those little squares of brightly-coloured sticky paper, are a simple and cheap addition to your teaching tool-kit.
Here are some ways you can use them with your classes:
Ways to Use Post-it-Notes to teach English
1. The Rizla game
I first came across this in a pub and originally played it with cigarette papers (hence the name). Each player writes the name of a famous person on the non-sticky side of the post-it. Then, they stick it on the forehead or back of the player on their left. Make sure that everybody looks at the names on the other players’ post-its – you can’t see the name on the post-it stuck to your own forehead or back. Finally, you play a version of 20 questions, asking closed questions such as:
Is this person a man?
Is he an actor?
Does he have dark hair?
The great things about this game are a) it’s fun b) it’s great for questions with auxiliaries / modals and c) it’s adaptable as you could use it to review any vocabulary topic. For example, if I were teaching fruits, the students might ask questions such as :Is it round? Is it yellow? Do monkeys eat them?
2. Word jumbles
Great for spelling practice. Write a letter on each post-it, stick them on the board, table or around the room and ask the students to reorder them to form a word.
3. Sentence jumbles
Great for syntax (word order). Write each word in a phrase / target structure on a separate post-it, stick them on the board, table, around the room, and ask the students to reorder them to form the phrase. Get them doing their own later.
4. Running dictation
Write short pieces of text on each post-it then stick them around the room / school. The students have to read them, remember them, then rush back to the scribe / secretary and dictate what they read. Practises all 4 skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking).
5. Matching activities
Packs of different coloured post-its are helpful here. Write a word on the yellow post-its and the definitions on the pink ones. Stick them on the board and ask students to come up and match them. Better for kinaesthetic learners than writing words and definitions on the board and then connecting them with arrows.
6. Word stress
When analysing the pronunciation of longer words, write each syllable on a post-it and then ask students to identify the stressed one by sticking it on the board a little higher than the others.
7. Sentence stress
The same activity but with phrases rather than words. Great for identifying how meaning changes according to which word is stressed.
8. Connected speech
Write each word on a separate post-it an get students physically moving them closer to the next word as a tangible demonstration of elision, assimilation and linking sounds.
9. Phonemic symbols
If you have a big poster of the phonemic chart in your classroom or on your IWB, write a word on a post-it, underline a particular syllable and ask students to stick it next to the phonemic symbol. Alternatively, if you want to get students practising writing the symbols, write a word on the board and ask them to write the symbol on their post-it and stick it above/below the word. Make it into a board race!
10. Peer-correction of writing
If you ask students to write something, ask them to peer-correct. Post-its are great because the students don’t have to write on the text itself. They write their comments on the post-it instead. Not as messy as asking students to write directly onto the text.
11. Brainstorming / mind-mapping / spidergrams
If you have a regular whiteboard but only have one or two markers, getting students to come up to the board and add examples / ideas can take too long. With post-its, students can all contribute at the same time (which also means individual students don’t feel so exposed). The other great thing about doing it this way is that you can ask the learners to categorise their ideas easily just by moving the post-its around.
12. Grading and organising language items
When you want learners to grade pieces of vocabulary, for example,adjectives describing weather (cold, hot, cool, freezing, boiling, mild, warm), you can use a cline to determine the hottest to the coldest . By using post-its, learners can physically move the words around, discuss and experiment, before finding the right order. http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/knowledge-database/cline
13. On-the-board gap-fills
Gap-fills can be dull but they are useful. Write sentences on the board with gaps. Write the missing words on post-its then ask students to come up to the board and stick them in the correct gap – make it more fun by making it a board race. Open cloze activities can also be done this way if you ask the students (in pairs/small groups) to write their answers on post-its.
14. Storytelling activities
Paraphrasing skills can be practised effectively with post-its. For example, you could read a story and ask students to write down keywords on post-its. They can then use these post-its as a series of cues for retelling the story. Alternatively, you could write a set of keywords from a story then stick them in random fashion on the board. Read out or tell the story and ask the students to listen. Then, ask them to order the post-its on the board according to how they were used in the story. They can then practise retelling the story to each other using the post-its as prompts. Finally, get some words on post-its and stick them on the board. Get the learners in a circle in front of the board and ask them to tell a group story in which each learner has to keep speaking until they are able to use a word on a post-it. When they have, they remove the post-it from the board and the next student continues the story.
15. Texting simulations
Post-its can be used for texting practice if you don’t permit learners to use mobiles in class. They write their text on the post-it, then send it (hand it) to the recipient who, in turn, responds. Get students doing this in pairs or small groups then collect the texts (post-its) and stick them on the board in random order. Ask another pair / small group to put the messages in order to reform the text dialogue.
I’m sure there are hundreds of other activities you could do with post-its. What’s great about them is they can be used to get students out of their chairs and moving around, encouraging them to interact with the language.
Can you think of any other ways we can use post-it notes in class?
The other day, I came across my old Trinity TESOL certificate. After leaving university, I took a 4-week training courses and learned how to teach English as a foreign language. I say learned, but really, the course just allowed me to dip my big toe into the world on language teaching. Many years later, I’m still working in this field although now I prefer to introduce myself – rather more pretentiously – as an English Language Teaching Professional!!
Back in April 1996, however, I thought the TEFL certificate would be nothing more than a useful skill I could use to find work abroad, a way to fund my travels. But, being a TEFL teacher can be more, much more, than just a job to do during your gap year.
So, without further ado, I’d like to present my list of 10 reasons why you should teach English as a Foreign Language – as a special bonus , at the end of the post, you’ll find my list of 5 reasons why you shouldn’t become a TEFL teacher – attached with the aim of providing balance.
1. EVERY CLOUD HAS A SILVER LINING – Despite or perhaps due to the economic crisis, many people all over the world need to upgrade their skills and maximise their chances of finding employment. One of the most valuable skills people can have nowadays is the ability to communicate in English. This means that English teachers are still in demand and that proficient English speakers, with a minimum of training and experience, can find work.
2. THE WORLD IS YOUR LOBSTER – One of my favourites students, Juan the Colombian, was infamous for his malaproprisms – unintentional misuse of the wrong word – and confused lobster with oyster to create the expression: The world is your lobster. English teachers can ply their trade anywhere in the world, from Azerbajan to Ankara, Berlin to Buenos Aires, Cairo to Cusco. If you have ever wanted to live in a particular location, you can do so by becoming an English teacher.
3. TRAVEL BROADENS THE MIND – Learn new ways of thinking, experience different ways of living, discover inspiration from different cultures. Teaching English allows you to immerse yourself in a different way of life and interact with the locals much more than travelling around with a guide book in your backpack
4. SPEAK THE LINGO – As well as looking good on your CV, learning a new language keeps the mind in tip-top condition, a mind gym if you like. If you can avoid going out to ex-pat bars with your teaching colleagues every night, you should be able to learn a new language by living in the country where it is spoken. Some language schools even offer free classes in the local language for their teachers.
5. MAKE A DIFFERENCE – How often can you say you have made a difference to somebody’s life? Well, in my umpteen years of teaching, I can genuinely say – with my hand on my heart – that I have helped people learn a skill which has transformed their life by opening up new opportunities to them. Many of my learners needed to pass exams to enrol on university courses or to increase their job prospects and were genuinely grateful for my assistance.
6. SEE THE FRUITS OF YOUR LABOUR – As well as seeing long-term goals achieved, English teachers can also observe daily improvements in the English skills of their learners. I still get a warm feeling when a learner successfully uses a phrase or grammar structure that I’d recently taught them. Especially with beginner learners, the improvements can be striking.
7. WE ARE THE WORLD – Over the years, I have had genuine friendships with a number of my adult learners. Even if you are not comfortable about making friends with your (adult) learners, you’ll still make useful contacts which could help you later in life.
8. PRESENT LIKE STEVE JOBS – Standing in front of a group of expectant learners who struggle with understanding your accent, intonation and diction is fantastic training for becoming a skilled public speaker. TEFL is not about lecturing but you will learn how to deliver your message concisely and clearly.
9. BRUSH UP ON YOUR GRAMMAR – At school in the UK, I wasn’t taught much about the English language system. Apart from knowing that a verb was a ‘doing’ word and a proper noun was the name of somebody, I had no idea about English grammar – despite graduating with a degree in English literature months before doing my TEFL training . After years of teaching, however, I can discuss linguistic concepts with the best of them. That may make me a pub bore but now people ask me which private school I attended!
10. FREESTYLE TEACHING – One of the great joys of working as an English teacher in the private sector is that, on the whole, you aren’t as restricted as teachers working in the state education system. That means we are still able to design many of our own lessons and activities. In other words, we can let our creative juices flow a lot more in a TEFL classroom than in many other teaching contexts. In fact, I’ll let you into a little secret: many of my most successful classes have been those in which I’ve discarded the lesson plan and have responded to what the learners needed at that particular moment. Adopting a coaching / training role rather than a traditional teaching one seems to be an effective way of meeting the needs or your learners.
However, it’s not all flowers and chocolates. If you’re feeling warm and fuzzy about the thought of teaching English abroad, stop reading now and pour yourself a glass of wine or a nice cup of tea. Then, come back and finish reading.
For those of a more stoic disposition, read on…
5 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULDN’T BECOME A TEFL TEACHER
1. FAR FROM THE LAP OF LUXURY – While you might be able to earn a decent local salary, you are unlikely to make much money teaching English. Conditions can be tough, wages often have to be squeezed out of your employer’s tight fist and you might wonder why you didn’t take that job in the insurance company after all.
2. HOME COMFORTS – It’s easier than ever before to keep in touch with friends and family, favourite TV shows, news from home etc. However, you’ll still feel homesick and no matter how well you speak the local language, you’ll often feel like an outsider. Many people teach English for a couple of years before returning to their homeland and finding alternative employment – which usually pays a lot better!
3. PAYING PEANUTS, GETTING MONKEYS – Unfortunately, the ELT industry is not as regulated as it should be in certain countries. This means you might be offered jobs at schools with a less than professional working environment: few – if – any materials and resources, ineffective academic management, and teaching colleagues who should probably who should have a warning sign attached to their forehead. As a new teacher, you might find your professional aspirations are not immediately met but may have to gain experience in such places before moving on.
4. NOBODY BACK HOME UNDERSTANDS WHAT YOU DO – If people back home have heard of TEFL, they’ll probably see it as something that young people do during a gap-year. If you are over 30, people may not treat your job with a great deal of respect so expect comments such as ‘When are you going to get into proper teaching, then? Many of my friends think I teach Spanish in Spain for some reason!
5. KNOW YOUR STUFF – Many teachers make a decent living abroad teaching local people English. Some of them have never done any training and do not teach effectively but are offered jobs purely because they are native speakers. Don’t be like them. Many highly-skilled and knowledgeable local teachers of English cannot find work despite being far more capable and knowledgeable. If you think that teaching English as a foreign language to local people is a quick and easy way to make a buck, think again! You need to learn your trade, study the language, and refine your teaching skills.
Thanks for reading. If any of you are thinking of teaching English as a foreign language, why not pick up a copy of my reasonably-priced ebook: A Short Guide to TEFL by D P Gates. Currently available on Amazon or free from this website.
The other day, I came across my old Trinity TESOL certificate. After leaving university, I took a 4-week training courses and learned how to teach English as a foreign language. I say learned, but really, the course just allowed me to dip my big toe into the world on language teaching. Many years later, I’m still working in this field although now I prefer to introduce myself – rather more pretentiously – as an English Language Teaching Professional!!
Back in April 1996, however, I thought the TEFL certificate would be nothing more than a useful skill I could use to find work abroad, a way to fund my travels.
But, being a TEFL teacher can be more, much more, than just a job to do during your gap year.
So, without further ado, I’d like to present my list of 10 reasons why you should teach English as a Foreign Language – as a special bonus , at the end of the post, you’ll find my list of 5 reasons why you shouldn’t become a EFL teacher – attached with the aim of providing balance.
1. EVERY CLOUD HAS A SILVER LINING – Despite or perhaps due to the economic crisis, many people all over the world need to upgrade their skills and maximise their chances of finding employment. One of the most valuable skills people can have nowadays is the ability to communicate in English. This means that English teachers are still in demand and that proficient English speakers, with a minimum of training and experience, can find work.
2. THE WORLD IS YOUR LOBSTER – One of my favourites students, Juan the Colombian, was infamous for his malaproprisms – unintentional misuse of the wrong word – and confused lobster with oyster to create the expression: The world is your lobster. English teachers can ply their trade anywhere in the world, from Azerbajan to Ankara, Berlin to Buenos Aires, Cairo to Cusco. If you have ever wanted to live in a particular location, you can do so by becoming an English teacher.
3. TRAVEL BROADENS THE MIND – Learn new ways of thinking, experience different ways of living, discover inspiration from different cultures. Teaching English allows you to immerse yourself in a different way of life and interact with the locals much more than travelling around with a guide book in your backpack
4. SPEAK THE LINGO – As well as looking good on your CV, learning a new language keeps the mind in tip-top condition, a mind gym if you like. If you can avoid going out to ex-pat bars with your teaching colleagues every night, you should be able to learn a new language by living in the country where it is spoken. Some language schools even offer free classes in the local language for their teachers.
5. MAKE A DIFFERENCE – How often can you say you have made a difference to somebody’s life? Well, in my umpteen years of teaching, I can genuinely say – with my hand on my heart – that I have helped people learn a skill which has transformed their life by opening up new opportunities to them. Many of my learners needed to pass exams to enrol on university courses or to increase their job prospects and were genuinely grateful for my assistance.
6. SEE THE FRUITS OF YOUR LABOUR – As well as seeing long-term goals achieved, English teachers can also observe daily improvements in the English skills of their learners. I still get a warm feeling when a learner successfully uses a phrase or grammar structure that I’d recently taught them. Especially with beginner learners, the improvements can be striking.
7. WE ARE THE WORLD – Over the years, I have had genuine friendships with a number of my adult learners. Even if you are not comfortable about making friends with your (adult) learners, you’ll still make useful contacts which could help you later in life.
8. PRESENT LIKE STEVE JOBS – Standing in front of a group of expectant learners who struggle with understanding your accent, intonation and diction is fantastic training for becoming a skilled public speaker. TEFL is not about lecturing but you will learn how to deliver your message concisely and clearly.
9. BRUSH UP ON YOUR GRAMMAR – At school in the UK, I wasn’t taught much about the English language system. Apart from knowing that a verb was a ‘doing’ word and a proper noun was the name of somebody, I had no idea about English grammar – despite graduating with a degree in English literature months before doing my TEFL training . After years of teaching, however, I can discuss linguistic concepts with the best of them. That may make me a pub bore but now people ask me which private school I attended!
10. FREESTYLE TEACHING – One of the great joys of working as an English teacher in the private sector is that, on the whole, you aren’t as restricted as teachers working in the state education system. That means we are still able to design many of our own lessons and activities. In other words, we can let our creative juices flow a lot more in a TEFL classroom than in many other teaching contexts. In fact, I’ll let you into a little secret: many of my most successful classes have been those in which I’ve discarded the lesson plan and have responded to what the learners needed at that particular moment. Adopting a coaching / training role rather than a traditional teaching one seems to be an effective way of meeting the needs or your learners.
However, it’s not all flowers and chocolates. If you’re feeling warm and fuzzy about the thought of teaching English abroad, stop reading now and pour yourself a glass of wine or a nice cup of tea. Then, come back and finish reading.
For those of a more stoic disposition, read on…
5 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULDN’T BECOME A TEFL TEACHER
1. FAR FROM THE LAP OF LUXURY – While you might be able to earn a decent local salary, you are unlikely to make much money teaching English. Conditions can be tough, wages often have to be squeezed out of your employer’s tight fist and you might wonder why you didn’t take that job in the insurance company after all.
2. HOME COMFORTS – It’s easier than ever before to keep in touch with friends and family, favourite TV shows, news from home etc. However, you’ll still feel homesick and no matter how well you speak the local language, you’ll often feel like an outsider. Many people teach English for a couple of years before returning to their homeland and finding alternative employment – which usually pays a lot better!
3. PAYING PEANUTS, GETTING MONKEYS – Unfortunately, the ELT industry is not as regulated as it should be in certain countries, such as Spain. This means you might be offered jobs at schools with a less than professional working environment: few – if – any materials and resources, ineffective academic management, and teaching colleagues who should probably who should have a warning sign attached to their forehead. As a new teacher, you might find your professional aspirations are not immediately met but may have to gain experience in such places before moving on.
4. NOBODY BACK HOME UNDERSTANDS WHAT YOU DO – If people back home have heard of TEFL, they’ll probably see it as something that young people do during a gap-year. If you are over 30, people may not treat your job with a great deal of respect so expect comments such as ‘When are you going to get into proper teaching, then? Many of my friends think I teach Spanish in Spain for some reason!
5. KNOW YOUR STUFF – Many teachers make a decent living abroad teaching local people English. Some of them have never done any training and do not teach effectively but are offered jobs purely because they are native speakers. Don’t be like them. Many highly-skilled and knowledgeable local teachers of English cannot find work despite being far more capable and knowledgeable. If you think that teaching English as a foreign language to local people is a quick and easy way to make a buck, think again! You need to learn your trade, study the language, and refine your teaching skills.
What do you think? Do the pros of TEFL outweigh the cons?
First of all, it is common in ELT to establish a difference between an error and a mistake.
An error is when a learner uses language incorrectly because they are a) not aware of the correct form or b) unable to use the correct form or c) they have misunderstood how the form is used.
In other words, errors tell us that our learners are not able to use the form correctly.
A mistake is when a learner uses language incorrectly because they are a) tired and under pressure to perform in real-time communication (native speakers often make these mistakes too) or b) able to use the correct form but have used the incorrect form due to carelessness or lack of attention.
In other words, mistakes tell us that the learners are just like me or you and are not perfect
This leads us to the key question: How do we know when a learner has made a mistake or an error?
One technique we can use is to see if the incorrect language can be corrected.
Firstly, see if the learner who made the mistake can produce the correct form – SELF-CORRECTION.
Secondly, see if another learner can produce the correct form – PEER-CORRECTION
Finally, if nobody can produce the correct form, you will probably have to correct- TEACHER-CORRECTION
If the learner who made the mistake can self correct, they probably made a mistake.
If a peer needs to correct, the learner who produced the incorrect form might have made a mistake or an error. We should see if they can now produce the correct form.
If nobody can correct, this might mean that the learners are not aware of the form or use it erroneously. You might try to teach then the correct form on the spot or decide to come back to it at a later time.
Back in the good old day, teachers would stand in front of a blackboard with a piece of chalk in their hand and start imparting information to their learners. The learners would make notes, copy down what was written on the balckboard, and feel blessed to be in the presence of a master educator.
Well, this ‘chalk and talk’ approach is generally frowned upon in the ELT classroom in which learners are expected to take more of an active role. Most ELT teachers I know agree with the maxim that ‘the learners need to practise English, not the teacher.’
One way to maximise STT (student-talking-time) is to elicit information and language from the learners, to get them to give you information rather than you providing it. Eliciting refers to a set of procedures or techniques to get learners to actively produce speech or writing. It is based on the premise that learners possess knowledge of the language and the world which needs to be activated in the classroom.
In order to elicit information from our learners, we need to provide some input or stimuli. We might show them a picture and ask them questions about it. These questions could be factual (What do we call this animal?) or responsive (Do you like these animals? Why? Why not?).
We also use eliciting after modelling new language. We may tell them an anecdote or present a short dialogue and ask students to identify and notice the new target language. We can then elicit the form (Is it a verb or a noun?) and the function (Are we talking about the past?) by asking questions which require the learners to work out meaning from the examples provided. They may have been exposed to this language previously so eliciting can be used to prompt access of stored knowledge.
In essence, by eliciting from our learners we can involve them in the learning process. We can use elicitation to activate their knowledge of the language and the world, encourage them to respond to stimuli, and to work out meaning from context.
Warning: Eliciting can be overused by teachers. We shouldn’t try to elicit language students don’t know and won’t be able to work out (flogging a dead horse). Also, eliciting should be used to challenge our learners but not to trick them. If we try to elicit language which is too simple for them, they may feel patronised and bored. Equally, eliciting simple language can confuse learners who may provide an incorrect answer because the answer their teacher is looking for is far too obvious. Finally, learners from certain countries are not used to eliciting techniques and may wonder why their teachers is asking them questions when they already know the answer.
Once we have instructed our learners, they can begin doing the task or activity we have set them. We may feel inclined to breathe a sigh of relief at this point and put our feet up.
Unfortunately, we shouldn’t take our eyes off the road at this point. We need to check that the learners are able to progress with the activity. We do this by moving around the class and making sure that all the learners are on task. In a big class, we might have to walk around, briefly looking over the students’ shoulders to check. In a small class, we might just have to raise our head and check everybody is OK.
Once we are confident that they are able to start doing the task and have cleared up any queries regarding the instructions, we can probably relax a little and give our learners time and space to immerse themselves in the activity without worrying about the teacher. If we over-monitor and continue checking our students, they might feel they are being micro-managed.
Keep yourself available at all times though. I like to position myself in the centre of the room so students can easily get my attention if they need help. Sitting back behind the desk may put a barrier between you and them. After a while, walk around the room again and check that the students are doing the task appropriately. You might want to have a quick look at their written work or listen to their conversations to assess how they are doing. In fact, you might want to provide assistance or correction at this point, especially if they are doing an activity focused on accurate use of specific language. With more communicative activities focused on developing fluency, you might prefer to note down errors and examples of good language the learners are using.
Finally, you should monitor to make sure you know when to end the task. Don’t wait until all of the students have finished as the early finishers will feel bored. On the other hand, finishing the activities when the early-finishers are ready will frustrate the others.
To review, monitoring performs several functions:
We monitor to make sure the students can start the activity
We monitor to provide assistance while they are doing the activity
We monitor to know when to end the activity
Also, monitor actively and note down errors and examples of good language so you can provide feedback on how the learners have done the task.
As well as presenting, explaining and defining new language, teachers also have to give students plenty of activities so they can practise the language. We may ask them to do these exercises or activities individually, in pairs, in small groups, or with the whole class working together.
Before they start doing the activities, our learners need to know exactly what to do. Therefore, teachers must instruct clearly and concisely. If we make our instructions too vague and wordy, our students will get confused.
After we have instructed, we need to make sure our learners have understood. We can do this by asking them instruction check questions.
Example Task Instruction
Teacher: I want you to work in pairs and write 5 questions about holidays.
Example Instruction Check Questions
Teacher: Do I want you to work in groups of 3?
(If students say yes, they haven’t understood the instruction)
Teacher: Do I want you to write 5 questions about food?
(If students say yes, they haven’t understood the instruction)
Instruction Check Questions should be simple and it is often a good idea to use a combination of right and wrong questions. For example, Do I want you to work in groups of 3? In small groups? In pairs?
Warning: ICQs can be overused in the classroom and some learners might feel the teacher is making fun of them or patronising them. An alternative way of checking that instructions have been understood is simply to ask a student to repeat the instructions back to you.
Maybe the best way to check understanding is simply to ask:
Concept check questions, also known as CCQs, are used extensively in English language teaching. They are used when teaching new lexical items, phrases, and grammatical structures.
On all the TEFL courses I have worked on, the trainers have made sure that the trainee teachers include CCQs in their lesson. Some trainers even go so far as penalise trainees for NOT writing them down in their lesson plans!
When a teacher introduces a new piece of language (lexis or grammar), they may present it first in context and then define or explain how and why it is used. Now, explaining or defining something to a person who shares the same mother tongue as you can often be tricky. Imagine doing it to a speaker of a different language.
So what CCQs do is they enable the teacher, and perhaps the student, to confirm that understanding has taken place.
I hear you say, what’s wrong with asking students if they have understood?
Well, think about what we do when somebody explains something complicated to us. We often nod thoughtfully, add comments such as ‘I see’ or ‘That’s interesting’ to make the speaker feel good about themselves. We don’t want to tell them that they are making no sense whatsoever. Also, we might not want to appear to be a bit slow on the uptake and often fake understanding to save face. Go on, admit it! You’ve done that haven’t you? You might even be faking understanding right now as you’re reading this blog post.
To ensure, as much as possible, that our students have understood our definition or explanation, we can ask them CCQs.
Let’s imagine that you’ve defined the word ‘banana’ to your student – naturally, you would only do this were you not able to magically produce a banana out of thin air or draw a recognisable banana on the whiteboard. You may have talked about fruits, shapes, peel, favourite food of chimpanzees etc.
But, how do you know the student has understood?
You could try asking them directly if they had understood but they may lie to save face or say they had understood but you’ve only got their word for that. They may have completely misunderstood the meaning of banana and confused it with an apple.
You could interpret their body language and facial expressions. Might work but I remember teaching three young guys from Sri Lanka who spent the whole lesson shaking their heads. I was devastated and assumed they would go straight to my boss and complain about their dreadful teacher. A fellow teacher sympathised with my plight and cheered me up no end when he informed me that Sri Lankans shake their heads to register agreement and understanding.
Anyway, I digress. Back to CCQs.
A CCQ is a question we ask the student to ensure they had understood our definition or explanation.
If I have just taught the word ‘banana’, I can ask the student the following questions:
Is a banana red? (If he says ‘yes’, he hasn’t understood)
Are bananas hard or soft? (If he says ‘soft’, I can assume he hasn’t confused a banana with a stick)
Are bananas eaten by monkeys or tigers? (Do tigers eat bananas? I hope not)
If the student answers the questions correctly, we can assume that they are not completely confused by my banana definition.
When my advanced students tell me they want to improve their listening skills, I always tell them to listen to PODCASTS!
Podcasts are a fantastic way for your learners to improve their understanding of spoken English.
They can listen to them WHEN YOU WANT and WHERE YOU WANT
They don’t have any visual clues so they HAVE TO FOCUS ON WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING NOT WHAT THEY ARE DOING
YOUR LEARNERS SHOULD FIND A PODCAST THAT INTERESTS THEM
If they are not interested in the topic of a podcast, they will find it more difficult to listen to so MAY THINK THEIR LISTENING SKILLS ARE GETTING WORSE but they are probably JUST BORED!
Listen to podcasts about subjects which are INTERESTING, RELEVANT and USEFUL for them.If they want to be successful in the business world, listen to business podcasts. If they love football, they can listen to football podcasts.
(You can download 25BBCPodcasts as a pdf document here)
PODCASTS ARE GREAT FOR STUDENTS PREPARING FOR LISTENING EXAMS
Exposure to authentic English is essential for students who want to take advanced qualifications, such as the CAE, CPE or IELTS, and these podcasts will help you prepare for the listening parts of these tests. Pause and repeat to check your understanding.
PODCASTS ARE GREAT FOR STUDENTS PREPARING FOR SPEAKING EXAMS
Good podcast presenters are skilled speakers so listen to their pronunciation as a good model. Your learners can note down some of the phrases and expressions the presenters use to express ideas, give opinions and agree and disagree with other speakers.
Some of them are produced for an international audience so you can hear interviews with non-native speakers of English. These are usually found on the BBC World Service channel.
Other podcasts are produced for a UK audience. These are ideal for those of you living in the UK or who want to live in the UK. Listening to British English speakers will make understanding English which is spoken in the UK easier. These are produced by BBC Radio 4 or Radio 5.
Here is a list of podcasts which may be useful for higher-level English learners.
So, if you want to really improve your English, listen to a podcast in the gym, when you go for a run, while you’re doing housework, on the bus, train or in your car.
Summer is on its way here in Southern Spain but the 10 teachers on the TEFL in Spain Introduction to Teaching Business English course managed to stay focused and upbeat last Saturday in Malaga. For the final seminar, or workshop as we will call it next time, they had to present a game or activity that they might use with a group of Business English students.
1. Answerphone Dictation– Put the students in pairs and ask them to sit back-to-back. Give each student a short answerphone text with numbers, fractions, percentages, dates etc.For instance: Sales increased by 24% in the last quarter of 2012 peaking at 21,003 in December. Student A reads out their answerphone message to their partner who has to note down the key data. Simple and adaptable. This could also be used to practise talking about trends and the students could represent the data in chart or graph form.
2. Sentence Swap Needs’ Analysis – A quick icebreaker in which you’ll get to know what your students need and want from the course.Ask them to write down their needs for the course on post-its. Collect them in then redistribute them, making sure that no student receives the post-it they wrote on. Ask them to read out what’s on the post-its they picked up and everybody guessing who wrote what. This could then lead into a discussion about needs and expectations for the course as a whole and could be compiled as a document that could be referred to throughout the course.
3. Hotel Negotiations – Two of the trainees chose to present a hotel role-play in which the two parties had to negotiate over room rates. In the first role-play, the students had to divide into 2 groups: the clients and the hoteliers. The clients have been reserving rooms in the hotel for a number of years as they attend a yearly conference in this particular city. They feel they are due a special price as they have been loyal customers. The hoteliers are in the tricky position of wanting to keep these valued clients but need to ensure profits are still made.
4. Hotel Holidays – The second hotel role-play was based on a negotiation between a Human Resources Manager and a Company Director. The company has recorded strong yearly profits and the CEO has offered to pay for a weekend break for all the staff. The conflict arises because the Human Resources Manager knows the staff are expecting a luxury hotel in some exotic location but the management want to offer a cheap city break in a cheap and cheerful resort town like Blackpool.
5. Battleships, Bingo, Blockbusters – One trainee drew up a grid on the board and demonstrated how competitive games can be used in the classroom to practise all sorts of Business vocabulary. These games are commonly used in TEFL classes but can be easily adapted for Business English students.
6. The Hands of Hans – The most bizarre moment of the whole 2-day course happened when one of the trainees, a qualified Physical Education teacher, presented one of his favourite team-building exercises. We were all required to form a circle and join hands. Then, we had to twist around so we become a tangled web of interlinked arms. Our task was to reform the circle without letting go off anybody’s hands. Perhaps not the greatest activity for recycling financial terminology but a great energizer.
Buying a lemon
7. Selling lemons – In British English, we can talk about buying a lemon,, which means we have purchased something broken or worthless. For this activity, we were shown pictures of ridiculous gadgets and asked to prepare a sales pitch to impress potential investors. We had to do a lot of lateral thinking to work out what the products could be used for, which was great for developing our creative muscles. A challenging and fun activity for viewers of The Dragon’s Den.
8. Rumours of Cutbacks – The next activity was based on an all-too-real scenario. We were split into two groups and given role cards as employers or employees. The staff had heard rumours of staffing cutbacks and were afraid they were about to lose their job. An emergency meeting had been called to find out the truth. For the employers, this was an exercise in putting a positive spin on an unfortunate situation. For the employees, it was an exercise in weeding out the truth. Not sure I would do this activity with a group of students from the same company though!
9. Spot the Lies – There is an old BBC TV show named Call my Bluff which is played in many TEFL classrooms around the world. This game works extremely well with Business English students who know or need to learn some specific job-related vocabulary. Students are given an unusual word with three definitions: one true and two false. They read out these definitions to the rest of the class who try to identify the correct one. Great for practising how to keep a poker face and it can be made more challenging if you ask the students to choose their own words and create their own false definitions.
Mrs Smith, your husband is the worst boss I’ve ever had! More wine, please.
10. Small Talk Circles – The final activity got us all out of our chairs again. We were asked to form an inner and an outer circle with the inner circle people facing outwards and the outer circle facing inwards so we had to look another person straight in the eye. The trainer then asked us to imagine we were sitting or standing next to the person we were facing. Then, we were presented with a scenario, such as The person facing you in the inner circle is the boss’s wife, make small talk with her, and asked to improvise a conversation. We only had 30 seconds to interact before the teacher clapped her hands and the inner circle revolved, meaning we were facing a new partner.The teacher then gave us a different scenario in which we had to quickly strike up a conversation. An excellent activity for developing fluency in social interactions.
Hope you get the chance to try some of these activities with your General English or Business English students. Maybe you have some other ideas you’d like to share.
My ebook A Short Guide to TEFL is available from Amazon for the price of a cup of coffee!
When you have been teaching Spanish learners for a while, you realise that many of them have the same problems when speaking English.
Sometimes it feels as if you’re banging your head against a brick wall. No matter how many times you tell your Spanish students to say: “She has blue eyes” they continue to say “She has eyes blues.”
Blue eyes or eyes blues?
What’s wrong with them? Don’t they ever listen?
Before you start blaming THEM, think about your own second language learning history for a minute.
What about all the mistakes you make when you speak a second language?
How many times have you been corrected? Why do you still keep making the same mistakes over and over again?
It’s patently clear that the way we communicate in our second language is always influenced by our native tongue. Experts debate whether we should call this L1 interference or transfer, but whichever term you prefer, it’s the reason for many of these fossilised errors which we find almost impossible to shed.
In this blog, I’m going to point out 10 reasons why Spanish speakers make certain errors. Knowing about these problems may help you and your students find ways to resolve them.
1. How many vowel sounds are there in Spanish? How many in English?
Spanish has 5 vowel sounds and English has….12. The other problem is that the length of the vowel sound is not an important feature which leads to classic misunderstandings such as: In Spain, there are many hot bitches!
2. Consonants also cause problems for Spanish speakers. Some English phonemes have equivalents in Spanish but others are distinctive sounds.
Ζ /∫ / ð / ν / ʤ / ʒ / h have no real match in Spanish.
How many consonant clusters can you spot?
3. Consonant Clusters are far more common in English than in Spanish. A simple word (for native English speakers) like ‘breakfast’ is tough for Spaniards who will often pronounce it ‘brefas’ and omit the ‘f’ and the final ‘t’ because they are attached to another consonant. They also need a run-up to manage names like ‘Stephen’ and insert a vowel sound before the first cluster of s / t and will often say ‘Estephen’.
4. The relationship in English between pronunciation and orthography (sound and spelling) is a nightmare for Spanish speakers because these two aspects are joined at the hip in their language. Words sound as they are spelled and are spelled like they sound. This is clearly not the case in English.
5. Whereas English is generally categorised as a stress-timed language, Spanish is usually considered to be a syllable-timed language. In English, we would put the beat on the content syllables in this sentence:
The Beatles were bigger than Elvis.
A Spanish speaker might pronounce each syllable equally and this might sound robotic to English speaker ears and we might struggle to identify the key content.
The / Beat / les / were / big / ger / than / El / vis.
6. The Spanish language doesn’t really have contracted forms in the same way as English. This means they can’t always hear them (I’ll see you tomorrow: Yes, I see you tomorrow) or they misuse them (Are you Pedro? Yes, I’m).
7. In English, an adjective comes before a noun (black cat) but the noun generally comes before the adjective in Spanish (cat black). The other problem is that we talk about ‘black cats’ in English but ‘gatos negros’ in Spanish. In other words, the adjective has a plural form which it doesn’t in English.
8. Asking questions with auxiliary verbs is a minefield for Spanish speakers. They often omit them and just use an affirmative form:
You are happy?
Sometimes they remember the auxiliary but put the main verb in the past tense to make sure they are understood:
Did you went to the party?
Question tags are also problematic due to the fact that there is a one-size fits all tag in Spanish (You are hungry, no?) unlike English which is far more structurally complex.
9. Subject personal pronouns (I, You, She, He, We, It, They) are often unnecessary in Spanish as the form of the main verb identifies the subject. This is why you’ll hear Spanish speakers say things like:
‘Is Bob here?’ ‘Yes, is here.’
‘It is possible to pass the exam?’ ‘Yes. is possible.’
Friends for real?
10. False friends. Your Spanish students may surprise you with the depth and complexity of their vocabulary. However, these words are often cognates (similar words in two languages such as intelligent and inteligente) and derive from Latin. This can be beneficial to Spanish students who can often understand complex authentic texts in English. On the other hand, just as English speakers often change English suffixes to Spanish ones to form words (apparently to apparentemente), Spanish speakers often try to use a Spanish word only to find that it has a very different meaning in English.
This is a topic I’ll be returning to in a future post but I’ll leave you with one of my favourite excuses for missing a lesson:
Pedro: ‘Sorry professor, I couldn’t assist the class because of my strong constipation.’
So, next time, you groan inwardly or outwardly about a repeated error made by your Spanish students, cut them some slack but explain why they are wrong.
Bibliography: Swan, M & Smith, B. Learner English. Cambridge. 2001.
Are there any other major differences between Spanish and English which cause problems?
Here they are…..the answers to last week’s quiz about Spanish titles of famous English language movies.
1. Casarse esta en Griego – My Big Fat Greek Wedding I think you’ll agree that the Spanish title is far less likely to offend than the original.
2. Milagros inesperados – The Green Mile ‘Unexpected Miracles’ is probably a better title than the original. I saw the film a few months ago and can’t remember seeing a mile…and it certainly wasn’t green!
My poor little angel
3. Mi pobre Angelito – Home Alone The Spanish title sounds far too latino for a film starring Macauley Caulkin, probably the palest actor ever to grace the silver screen.
4. Experto en Diversion – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off I’m sensing a theme here. The Spanish titles are bland and far more literal than their Anglo-American counterparts.
5. Secreto en la Montana – BrokebackMountain. There’s a mountain and it’s got a secret.
It’s got a secret!!
6. Que paso ayer – The Hangover ‘What happened yesterday?’ is a succinct plot summary if nothing else. Somewhat lacking in inspiration these Spanish titles, don’t you think?
7. Vaselina – Grease
All together now, sing along with me:
Vaselina is the word
Vaselina is the word, that you heard
It’s got groove it’s got meaning
Vaselina is the time, is the place is the motion
Vaselina is the way we are feeling
8. Muertos de risa – Shaun of the Dead It’s a comedy about dead people. Mmm, well it does what it says on the tin, I suppose.
He died laughing you know!
9. Amor y Desafio – Jerry MacGuire As neither Jerry nor MacGuire are familiar names to the Spanish, I understand the change. Why not call it something like Jose Martinez though?
10. Perdidos en Tokio – Lost in Translation A sensible choice, marketing the film directly at the many Japophiles in Spain.
So, how many did you get right? If you know any other amusing film titles in Spanish or English titles of Spanish movies, I’d love to hear them.
The other day, my Spanish ‘suegra’ starting talking to me about one of her favourite musical called ‘Sonrisas y Lagrimas’ (smiles and tears). I hadn’t heard of the film but she insisted that it was a Hollywood classic. Finally, she started to hum a tune from the movie and it became clear that she was talking about:‘The Sound of Music.’
As well as dubbing films into Spanish, the Spanish film distributors also feel the need to modify or completely change the titles of movies. Here are a few, translate them into English and then see if you can work out the original English titles
(Feel free to comment and I’ll reveal the answers in my next post)
1. Casarse esta en Griego
2. Milagros inesperados
3. Mi pobre Angleito
4. Experto en Diversion
5. Secreto en la Montana
6. Que paso ayer
7. Vaselina
8. Muertos de risa
9. Amor y Desafio
10. Perdidos en Tokio
Watching movies is an excellent way to learn a language. Cinema is primarily a visual medium: we can understand much of what is happening by focusing on the moving images and the facial expressions and gestures of the actors.
This leaves us with plenty of cognitive energy to deal with interpreting what is being said……
In Spain these days, our students have easy access to English listening material just by choosing to watch films in their original language.
However, many of my Spanish students don’t do that, claiming it to be too difficult. I always mention they have a range of options:
Watching a film in Spanish with English subtitles will help them compare and analyse lexical and structural similarities and differences in English and Spanish with a focus on the written form
Watching a film in English with Spanish subtitles will help them compare and analyse lexical and structural similarities and differences in English and Spanish with a focus on the spoken form
Watching a film in English with English subtitles will help them compare and analyse the written and spoken forms of individual words, phrases and grammatical structures in English
Watching a film in English with no subtitles will help them deal with listening in real time when the listener has little choice but to interpret the utterances of the speaker based on their understanding of the context and situation, their reading of the paralinguistic clues being offered, and their functional knowledge of linguistic forms being used.
So, next time a student tells you that watching movies in the original language is too difficult, why not discuss this range of options with them? Mention that they can turn subtitles on and off and switch languages throughout the film depending on their cognitive energy levels.
Use the analogy of training for a marathon: at the beginning, people do lots of walking and brief bursts of runing but the ratio changes as running becomes habitual until finally they don’t need to walk to finish the race.
By training themselves to watch films in English, our students will progressively improve their listening skills and before long they will be able to understand individual scenes and eventually entire films with little or no recourse to Spanish subtitles.
Don’t forget to guess the titles of the original films. Some of them are as ridiculous as the American version of Abre los Ojos. What does Vanilla Sky mean anyway?
I’ve recently participated in an online discussion about “corruptions in the English language”. Here are a few of the “corruptions” which raise the ire of some of the contributors and some from discussions I’ve had with teachers over the years:
“innit”
“should of” instead of “should have”
the insertion of “like” into every utterance
the word “irregardless”
confusion over less and fewer
I’m loving it
saying advertisement rather than advertisement
gotten instead of got
Incorrect English drives me crazy
Now, I don’t consider myself a complete linguistic libertarian but I am surprised when:
Some people (mainly Brits, talk about some of the disgusting Americanisms that have entered our wonderful rich English (belongs to the English right!) tongue.
Some people work themselves into a frenzy about the heinous use of less when fewer must be used. I wonder if communication has ever broken down because of this confusion?
Some people mutter darkly about how young people are degrading the language with their new expressions and how this is symptomatic of the end of Western civilization as we know it. I’m sure these people never used expressions like “cool” or “groovy” or “hip” when they were young. It would be scandalous of me to suggest that they spoke anything other than the Queen’s English when they were spotty, hormonally imbalanced teenagers.
Excuse the heavy-handed sarcasm. It’s just that I get worked up by other people getting so worked up about the way other people choose to express themselves.
10 items or less….aaarrrggghhhh!!!
In his fascinating read The Unfolding of Language, Guy Deutscher talks about how language change results from three tendencies:
economy – the tendency to save effort
expressiveness – our tendency to strive towards achieving greater effect and meaning for our utterances
analogy – our craving for order and regularity in the language.
English is an International Language
So, if we look at the corruptions mentioned earlier, we might be able to discover why they are used:
‘Innit’ seems to me to represent an attempt to be economical. Many languages have simple equivalents to question tag such as ‘yes’ or ‘no’. How much easier is it to say ‘You will come to my party, yeah?” than “You will come to my party, won’t you?”
‘Should of’ instead of ‘should have’ in spoken English surely derives from our tendency towards phonological economy. Pronouncing the ‘h’ in ‘have’ after the modal verb ‘should’ requires a lot more effort than eliding it (I do agree that it’s absolutely wrong, if understandable, to use ‘should of’ in written communication).
Using ‘like’ probably derives from our attempt to be more expressive: to engage the listener and prepare them for our next utterance A discourse marker used to inform the listener that we are about to say something of importance.
It was… like… absolutely awesome, bro’.
Irregardless, a blend of irrespective and regardless, probably results from analogy. The fact that this word is so frequently used suggests that the two original terms are semantically similar and we are not always sure about which one to use. We hedge our bets by using ‘irregardless’. It’s better to be partially wrong and partially right than fully wrong.
I wonder if the confusion over ‘less’ and ‘fewer‘ is also a result of our tendency towards analogy. I’ve been teaching countable and uncountable nouns to English language students and trainee teachers for years and nobody ever fully gets it. He eats less chocolate than his brother but his brother ate fewer chocolates last night. Using one word (less) and keeping the other (fewer) in the last century is an option I would seriously consider.
‘I’m loving it’, a phrase which irritates the hell out of me , does offer a more immediate and dynamic option than the present simple stative form. A classic case of expressiveness.
Advertisement and advertisement is probably a combination of economy and analogy. I’d imagine that the verb ‘advertise’ has grown in popularity in the last few decades and this has influenced our pronunciation of the noun form. Not to mention the influence of those pesky Americans and their economical use of English.
British English
American English
The final item, ‘gotten’ instead of’ got’, often gets up the noses of us Brits and we fume about how our cousins over the pond have corrupted our language. Well, most linguists agree that English had two past participle forms of the verb ‘to get’ and the American kept both and the Brits discarded the gotten form. So, it appears that we ‘corrupted’ the language due to our tendency to economise (or is it economize) it.
Well, that brings me to the end of this post. I’m the same as everybody else and get irritated when people use English in a way I think it should not be used. I do think that we have to be alert to the use of corruptions in the language if meaning is not conveyed successfully. On the other hand, non-standard forms are used among members of different social-linguistic groups for reasons we may not be aware of.
Young people can’t speak English these days!
As Henry Hitchings writes in ‘The Language Wars’:
People who use standard English allege that those who fail to do so lack linguistic ability, but in reality people using stigmatized forms of English may have complex abilities as speakers – incomprehensible to many observers but powerful among their peers.
As ’tis the season to be jolly‘, I’d like to begin this post on a positive note:
Actually, Spanish are or should be good at learning English for the following reasons:
Roots of English
Firstly, many words in English and Spanish share etymological roots. In other words, there are masses of Spanish and English cognates (maybe 40%). Spaniards have a fairly good chance of correctly guessing the meaning of a new lexical item for this reason. Sure, there are lots of false friends but they are not as numerous as the number of cognates or near cognates. Grammatical structures in the two languages – such as time and aspect – are not as dissimilar as between, for example, Hungarian and Thai, so communicative breakdown due to incorrect or inaccurate grammar can generally be resolved through reformulation.
Jobs for English speakers
Secondly, Spanish need to learn English. They are highly motivated (instrumental and increasingly integrative) and not only to pass exams. Young Spanish do not see their short-term future in Spain and are increasingly looking to go abroad to find work. In order to do so, they realise a good level of English is a major advantage and are opting to gain internationally recognised qualifications such as the FCE or CAE in favour of local exams which are not acknowledged abroad. Furthermore, in order to study at universities in Spain, it is now necessary to have a B1/B2 level in English. More money for the Cambridge coffers! The other point to mention here is that – perhaps for the first time ever – lots of Spanish speakers are able to communicate effectively in a second language from outside the Iberian peninsula. Positive role models are everywhere!
Thirdly, Spanish can now watch TV shows in the original language. OK, this is not really an intrinsic quality that Spaniards possess but their love of ‘the idiot box’ means they can use it to improve their English. Lower level learners can listen to English and read Spanish subtitles if they wish and advanced students can challenge themselves and listen without a safety net. Constant exposure to the sound of English can only have a positive effect on speaking and listening skills, areas which were -until recently – neglected in the teaching of English in Spain. Online or on TV, English is everywhere. As mentioned in a previous post, many Latin Americans have a better phonological awareness of English than most Spaniards. Well, watch this space – Spanish will catch up in no time.
Spain – still number 1 destination for Brits abroad
Next reason, Spain is still an extremely attractive location for native English speakers. The country is full of Brits living it up in the sun and Americans living out their Hemingway fantasies. There are lots of English speakers in the big cities, a smattering in smaller towns, and, due to books such as ‘Driving over Lemons’, lots of older Brits living in the country. So finding teachers or language exchange partners is fairly easy. It’s a lot easier to have a beer with a Brit in Alicante than Algiers.
Finally, Spanish love to talk. Quickly, loudly, enthusiastically, forcefully. Once they have overcome their fear of embarrassment (el miedo al ridiculo), they love to converse in English. Remember the tertulia (a social gathering to discuss anything and everything) is an important feature in Spanish social and cultural life (just watch TV in the morning) and Spanish students, in my experience, really enjoy discussion activities, role-plays and giving presentations. You’ll find the most challenging part of setting up a speaking task will be ending it! Buy a Klaxon.
Can you think of any other reasons why Spanish should actually be successful learners of English?
There I was, having a copa (Rum and Coke) on Sunday evening with some Spanish friends and a chap from Chile. There were a couple of smokers in the group so we huddled around a table with a heater when one of them asked me how to say ‘Bufanda‘ in English.
Before I could respond, the Chilean calmly uttered the word ‘scarf‘. His pronunciation was clear, there was no attempt to insert an ‘e’ sound before the ‘f’ and, unlike most Granadinos, he managed to form the consonant cluster ‘rf’ at the end of the word. The locals laughed and, buoyed by the alcohol in their bloodstream, attempted to say this new word in English.
After 2 long and painful minutes of listening to repeated versions of ‘escar’, I had to stop them, write the word on a serviette and teach them how to say it. They gave up immediately and reverted to Spanish but used the incident as a launchpad for an extended conversation about the reasons why Spanish are bad at English.
According to most studies, there are fewer English speakers in Spain than in most other European countries. This survey suggests only 18% of Spanish speak 2 languages (compared to the EU average of 25% but better than us Brits with 14%) http://ec.europa.eu/languages/languages-of-europe/eurobarometer-survey_en.htm
Reason 1: Most of their English classes were taught in Spanish by Spanish speakers. A few of them had attended classes taught by native speakers and groaned about how difficult it was to be immersed in an English speaking environment. However, they all agreed being forced to communicate in English was a good thing to improve their speaking and listening skills but didn’t remember doing much, if any, unscripted conversation in class.
Reason 2: Native speaker teachers couldn’t answer their grammar questions. Learning about the finer points of English grammar was considered essential by a couple of people around the table. One was adamant that English grammar had to be explained by comparing and contrasting it with Spanish grammar. She really didn’t see how it could be learned any other way. When I mentioned (in Spanish of course) that people learn languages without formal grammar tuition, she looked at me as if I had suggested that we finish our drinks and go off and smoke some crack. Then again, I know some native speaker English teachers here who think a relative clause is Father Christmas’s aunt!
Reason 3: El miedo al ridiculo. After the next round of drinks arrived, my Spanish friends started to get a bit maudlin. They were ashamed of their poor English and didn’t want to look foolish in front of their peers. They identified this as a uniquely Spanish psychological trait. I got to thinking about the Spanish people I know who profess to have excellent English and wondered why they rarely speak to me in English. Indeed, they generally ask for tips about improving it but always speak in Spanish.
Reason 4: The ‘Oposiciones’ mentality. We were all now starting to shed our inhibitions. One of the group started to rage about oposiciones (public exams you need to pass to work for the state) and how the Spanish educational system encourages rote learning and memorisation of factual knowledge at the expense of developing critical thinking skills. She said that the main obstacle was getting Spanish people to see English as a tool for life and not just something to be used in order to increase your chances of being a funcionario (civil servants but this includes state school teachers, nurses and judges).
Reason 5: Version original (V.O). Remember the Chilean chap with the excellent English. Well, I asked him how things had changed in Chile because I went there in 2001 and don’t recall meeting any English speakers. He informed us that although Chileans studied English at kindergarten, he felt the main reason why Chileans spoke better English than Spanish was that films and TV shows were subtitled but not dubbed in Chile. He had grown up hearing English. The intonation, phonemes and stress patterns in the language were not unfamiliar to him. Unlike Spanish political leaders from Franco onwards…
All of us were fairly drunk by now, cheered by the beers and copas and the festive spirit in the air. Surprisingly, when I wished them ‘Feliz Navidad’, they were all happy to respond in English.
OK, they said ‘Merry Chrimas’ and avoided the ‘st’ consonant cluster, but at least they tried.
So, what do you think? It would be good to hear from you.
What other reasons might there be for Spanish struggling with English?
dylangates.com 
That’s amazing! I enjoyed listening to all your videos and I think they helped me understand some areas of your culture I haven’t been able to understand before. I think your videos will help me to improve my everyday communication with my English speaking colleagues. I will certainly recommend this course to my friends. Thanks very much again & good luck with teaching!