TIPS FOR TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
(BEGIN BY CHOOSING THE RIGHT TEFL/TESOL CERTIFICATION COURSE!)
In an effort to provide potential teachers as well as those who are already teaching English (as a Foreign, Second or Additional Language) we at
Paradise TEFL are dedicated to providing our clients with more than just theoretical knowledge and impractical methods or outdated approach.
We aim to make our participants as successful as possible by providing them with information they can really use, as well as maximizing the amount of hands on teaching practice they get during the certification and observed teaching portions of our courses. By focusing on a
practical approach our graduates walk away better prepared, more confident with more strategies of how to reach and convey English language learning in a variety of settings and contexts.
If teaching English is something a person is interested in doing it may be helpful to keep in mind some of the following observations and suggestions when considering the kind of experience the course one selects might provide. Read on for a closer look!
TIPS FOR TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN, SECOND OR ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE-
In an effort to improve the overall skills of English Language learners certain techniques and methods seem to prove effective strategies for increasing the fluency and accuracy of elementary students when implemented on a regular basis in the classroom and homework practices.
VOCABULARY (AND WORD/LETTER RECOGNITION) AS A FOUNDATION
Vocabulary is of course the basic building block of a language because it is necessary to know the correct word before at student can use it with correct plural form, correct tense (if it is a noun) and correct use of pronouns, prepositions, and irregular verbs. Without enough basic vocabulary students cannot express themselves accurately, or find out answers to questions to things which they need or may want to know. Teaching basic question words and how to use them correctly, like “who, what, where, when, how, why, etc” allows students to get answers to things they need and want to know, thereby making their use of English much more applicable and useful overall. This is called “inquiry based learning.”
SPEAKING AND LISTENING (Conversational English an Active Process)
Many students are familiar and comfortable with reading and writing of English because they do not require the learner to “actively participate” in the language acquisition process, instead students who are shy or afraid to try and speak in public are not required to do so unless speaking and listening activities are the center of the classroom experience so key parts of the language use such as pronunciation and correct grammar (usage/syntax) often remain under-developed. Most students are already exposed to the written forms of English in everyday contact such as advertising and the media, therefore, it is important that speaking and listening activities are the main focus of the classroom class and activity time, in order to maximize the amount of actual speaking and listening practice students get as part of their daily English lessons.
Reading and writing are “passive” activities and are better given as homework or project based work where students can focus independently on important aspects such as reading comprehension and writing for specific purposes, often initially without the distraction of their peers.
When the teacher asks questions to individual students or to the entire class as a whole, usually only a few more eager students are confident enough to speak in public, therefore it is important to use “cooperative learning “(or small student groups of three or four students) to facilitate conversational English and maximize the amount of time students spend speaking English in class.
Increased student talking time and decreased teacher talking time are essential elements to improving the usefulness of English both in and out of the classroom. Teachers should strive to facilitate a minimum of 60 percent (or greater) student talking in each of the classroom lessons whenever possible. If you think about a Native English speaker and how they learned English, it was not by studying grammar, vocabulary or reading and writing. They developed their skills by listening to others and mimicking or copying what they heard. Ideally the amount of teacher talking time (including verbal instructions) should not be more than 40 percent of the time dedicated to English class.
When students are afraid to speak in public “choral drilling” (like reciting verses songs, poems or stories) is useful in order to allow the students to speak out loud as one, rather than individually in order to build confidence and practice without feeling they are being put on stage or “on the spot.”
Listening is usually the first modality which a new learner has to develop in order to become successful in another language, therefore not only is it important for students to have regular listening practice, but that the purpose for listening to be clearly identified. In other words identifying “what will they be listening for” is key, whether it is the main idea a speaker is trying to get across, specific details such as time and place, or the inflection of the speech which indicates feeling (sad, happy, angry, hurt, etc.) when they are speaking and listening out loud.
Listening to native English speakers with a variety of different accents or dialects is helpful to acclimatize the English Language learners to the various forms and patterns of the language worldwide in many English speaking nations around the globe. This can take some practice, depending on where the native English speakers are from. People speak very differently in the UK than they do in America for example, so it is helpful to let them hear multiple dialects (American, British, Australian, South African etc. on a routine basis in order to become familiar with the number of different ways English can be used and expressed depending upon the culture using the language).
THE IMPORTANCE OF PROPER PRONUNCIATION
Many times, if a student can read a word, even if they understand the meaning, it does not mean they can say the pronunciation correctly. This therefore become of little practical use. Students and their teachers need to use pronunciation correctly, especially if a student will be required to use the language in a native English speaking setting in order to be properly understood and appear intelligent. This in turn can also affect the ability of the student to be employed or not employed in a field where English comprehension and fluency is necessary. If the student cannot speak with correct pronunciation, there is a good chance they may miss out on some kind of economic or employment opportunity.
Pronunciation mistakes which do affect the speaker’s ability to be understood must be acknowledged and drilled for correct pronunciation many times until it is correct. For example many Asian students struggle with specific sounds which are not easy for them because they is not a "mother tongue" equivalent. They also struggle with the changing of the “R” sound to an “L”, double consonants where they want to add a vowel sound, or the difficulty with the “sq” sound. Many EAL speakers also have difficulty with familiar sounds like “ch,” “sh” and the changing of the ‘v’ sound to a “w” sound. The most common errors for Asian speakers learning to speak English seems to be the correct pronunciation of words, verb tenses, verbs conjugation, the consistent and correct use English plural forms, and the ability to expand their vocabulary.
ERROR CORRECTION (use a gentle and changeable approach)
Speaking should not always be corrected each and every time when an error is made. Depending upon the reason for speaking or listening, it is not always necessary that the speaker speaks English perfectly 100 percent of the time in order to understand what they are trying to say. Instead of telling the student they are wrong and running the risk of hurting their confidence and desire to try and speak publicly “gentle correction” is often the best method to employ. Again you must identify the purpose for speaking first to determine how much to correct the non-native speaker. For example, who are they listening and speaking too? This will help to determine how much to correct any errors they make in their speaking practice.
Often a simple “recasting” of what they were trying to say with correct vocabulary and pronunciation is all that is necessary to get them to self-correct and speak the word or phrase correctly on their own merit. For example as teacher asks, “what did you do today?” The student may say, “I go town.” Rather than tell the student they said it wrong, it may be more helpful to just say it back correctly to them instead, for example, “Oh, you went to town earlier today?”
TEACHING GRAMMAR (IN CONTEXT)
Teaching grammar rules out of context by themselves is often not an effective way to get the students to remember how to speak correctly. Grammar points are best talk in context to the greater lesson (meaning as they come up in the class). For example rather than have the students try and remember a list of irregular verbs, it is better to let them discover what the correct verb form is in the use of the language directly. (Today I take, yesterday I took). A teacher can ignore grammar errors unless they affect the listener’s ability to understand what they are trying to convey to the listener.
If basic communication is not possible due to the poor grammar,or to fulfill the academic or job related requirements an individual finds demanded of them, it becomes necessary to teach the grammar which will help them be easily understood. However, if their meaning can be understood, it may be better to ignore their errors and try and get them to listen to the correct way to say the word so they can gradually improve over time. If too much of any one class period is spent on learning grammar entirely, many times the students will get bored and lose interest and motivation to learn the language as a result. (Usually a grammar point should comprise no more than 20 25 percent of any given class.)
If a student learns the correct use of grammar, by seeing and hearing it in context, usually they will understand and retain it to a higher degree than simple memorization of a grammar rule or many random exercises on worksheets. In the process they will understand not only the importance of using grammar correctly in the real world, but being able to identify when and where their own grammar needs to be corrected in order to be more fully understood.
TEACHING READING
When Reading and Writing are taught students need to be given the purpose of what they are reading and writing for in advance. The samples and selections teachers give their students is very important and should be useful in daily practice as well as culturally relevant in order to allow for maximum increase in ability and usage.
Therefore it is necessary to give them reading assignments from “real everyday life” materials such as written instructions, newspapers, bus schedules, recipes, and other everyday media sources. The need to understand what they are expect to read for, main idea, details, author’s opinion, to be entertained etc. is extremely necessary and important.
Exposure to different genres /styles of reading should be made available, such as the internet, magazines, poetry, sports, informational reports/ reference materials or encyclopedias are also important. Not every student will go on to study English beyond conversation, therefore the use of English literature should be carefully scrutinized and well chosen before it is assigned in order to make sure it is appropriate and meaningful to a Thai learner. A teacher should always begin with the end goal of a reading (or any lesson) in mind before assigning work to their students.
TEACHING WRITING
Writing must be taught as a process, in other words as a series of drafts so that students can get their ideas down on paper before worrying about their grammar, syntax or spelling in order to aid them in the initial stages of writing. Graphic organizers such as Vehn diagrams, mind-mapping and columns can be useful in order to help them create ideas and put them in the proper category in order to determine what to write about. Allowing students use their native or mother tongue to intitiate the writing process is also sometimes helpful.
Models of similar articles in similar genres should always be given so that students have the opportunity to see specific examples before they attempt to do replicate them or create more original work. The writing process is often aided by lots of peer/student feedback, proofreading and appreciations and suggestions on how to improve the work. This takes some of the burden off the teacher and allows them to see that they can help each other to become better writers and in turn identify their own mistakes with the help of their classmates.
WORKING WITH MIXED ABILITIES AND MULTIPLE ENGLISH LEVELS- (THE IMPORTANCE OF DIFFERENTIATION)
The ability for a teacher to differentiate between advanced and less advanced learners is extremely important in order to aid them by providing work that is not too easy and/or not too difficult. By placing students in an appropriate level whether it is low or high can also help to maintain student motivation and allow them to learn more effectively.
There will be times when it helps a student to have them working with a group of students at the same level of ability as well as pushing them to work with more advanced learners in order to challenge them to keep up and push themselves in order to grow their skills accordingly. By providing different assignments, groupings and tasks, the students can either be challenged or given an opportunity to work at a slower pace than the rest of their classmates, which in turn my help them to feel less threatened, or more engaged depending upon how the teacher wants to challenge them. It is important to have multiple levels of materials even if all the students are of the same age and a similar ability in order to allow times of comfort and difficulty which in turn help them to grow and expand their skills.
SCAFFOLDING LESSONS
By structuring lessons that build upon previous lessons learned, be it parts of speech, vocabulary, grammar, or usage the students can recall what they have learned before and use it as a ground floor from which to add to existing skill sets as their curriculum advances. This technique commonly called “scaffolding” helps students to remember what they learned before and then add on to pre-existing knowledge as a building block for further, more advanced achievement.
AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT
In terms of assessment or testing students it is important that they be given regular forms of traditional assessments like quizzes and exams, but also given “task based assessments” such as following directions to the completing of a task, like giving directions or assembling a model in order to see if they can “think in English” and act upon those thoughts rather than just memorize specific information necessary to study to pass a test.
Another effective form of assessment is to have them present information to another group of their peers (perhaps another grade level) or some kind of production or project based learning in order to determine how much they not only can remember, but how much they can convey what they have learned and apply it to everyday life. (For example following a simple recipe.) There is nothing like having to teach a topic to someone else to make a person think about how they learned the information and the best way to share that information so that others can learn from them in the most effective ways possible.
Whatever plan of action an unemployed educator decides to take, in general, the more advanced certifications a TEFL or TESOL Teacher holds, the more opportunity they possess in terms of their marketability and increased number of employment options. The advanced course provides additional English Language teaching certifications and is offered in tandem with our site courses in Hua Hin and Chiang Mai Thailand, as well as China, and Mexico or as a complete series of online modules some with a virtual practice teaching option. In order to become a TEFL Trainer, you should have already completed a TEFL, TESOL or CELTA course first in order to be eligible and teaching experience is necessary. (Our Basic TEFL on-site program provides 2 to 3 weeks of hands on observed teaching practice to help our teachers to effectively develop their skills). All courses are certified and you will receive a certificate of completion, which is internationally recognized and accepted when you graduate from the course. Many of those who already have experience as TEFL instructors are finding that becoming a certified TEFL trainer is another opportunity and feather in their cap in terms of meeting the demand of TEFL instructors (who are leaving their home countries and working abroad) by teaching others how to teach TEFL effectively. Graduates with these additional certifications have the advantage of substantially increasing their marketability and employment status. Improve your chances of getting a good job with a higher level of pay by enrolling today!
