Category: Topics

Practicing any language outside the classroom has never been easier. I have used this comic graph before but it is worth repeating it here.  Most students need little encouragement to use English outside the classroom. They just need to be reminded of the opportunities that are out there, and to echo the message of my previous post on this blog, to get meaningful homework tasks.

My methods for learning English

As the graph quite humorously and succinctly suggests, we need to harness the amazing power of learning outside the classroom. Song lyrics, rather than being vulgar and meaningless representations of a world we as teachers do not inhabit, provide a wealth of practical language.  Similarly, not all computer games are virtual terrorist training camps, and we should definitely not eschew these for a round of pointless time wasted playing Hangman.

Blocking the use of social networks at schools under the guise of student protection is counterproductive.  Instead, we should help them to learn the rules of safe engagement, and exploit social media for all the learning opportunities it provides.  Showing films that students enjoy and trying to find value in what they watch  will also help them to learn. It’s time to be less judgemental and a bit more accepting, so that we can have better communication with the new generations than our parents and teachers used to have with us.

What English is there in an average central European teenager’s life these days, and how can teachers take advantage of this?

The typical teenager will:

–  Wake up to music, 90 percent of which is in English. Task: Describe the kind of music you like waking up to.

– Check Facebook. Half of the posts from their friends are cartoons, videos or music, with the occasional article, all in English. Task: Choose the best video or comic your friends have posted this week and choose the group top list.

– Go to school by public transport, and listen to music during the journey. Task: Talk about the soundtrack to your daily journey, and why you choose this music.

– Have English classes, in a group of 15-36 others. They get input that’s irrelevant, uninteresting, not engaging, and alien to their everyday life.

– Finish school for the day and listen to more music,  and share videos and jokes with friends – again, mostly in English.

In my opinion, the time they spend in class is the least significant contributor to most students’ language learning. Of course, there are great schools and great teachers who use classrooms as a workshop and language learning as a 24/7 activity rather than something they have to take sole responsibility for. Letting English out of the cage and the world into the classroom is the way.

There is English all around our students these days.  We should acknowledge and actually embrace the value this has for both the students and us as teachers.

I remember my teacher’s face when I told her I had spent the weekend translating Iron Maiden lyrics, only to realise that it was the adaptation of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7zk4as9kzA) I was translating. There is value in whatever our kids do in English and we should encourage them to do more and more until they find something to fall in love with. Once we manage to achieve this, there will be no stopping them from exploring and experimenting with their English and the English lesson will become a source of inspiration for further investigation and a synthesis of learning.

Our students are with us every week for a number of hours – some of us have them for a good number of hours, some of us for a limited number of hours. It is great to use that time as much as possible for the development of their English language skills, especially speaking. But what happens when they leave class? How can they use English outside the classroom?

We certainly do not want them to restrict themselves to using English only in class. We want them to get as much practice as possible. Especially these days, with the advent of technology, there is a multitude of ways to help them practice their English:

• In this world of smart phones and tablets, there are literally thousands of applications which can be used by students. For younger ages, there are English word games with instant feedback. For older students, there are listening and pronunciation apps that can help them tremendously.
• For those who have limited access to technology, books are a great way of developing language skills. Very often, I take my young students to the library and let them wander through the books and pick up the ones they like. With older students, I have taken them to kiosks to look at English magazines on any topic that interests them, or even a visit to a library or bookstore could help. We can help find the kind of book they want with recommendations.
• Writing with pen pals – there are so many ways to do that: either the good old-fashioned way, with letter writing (that I really love and is even more personal) or via safe chat rooms. That way they can practice their English with people worldwide.

There are so many ways to help our students use English when they are not in class – it is up to us to show them and motivate them to take their learning even further!

I believe I’m lucky to be a non-native teacher of English. I live in the same language environment as my students, I know where problems can lie because I could have (and indeed, I have) faced them myself. I’m a just learner who is given a chance to teach. From my viewpoint, that is such a winning position! So my main take on this post is: share what you know works for you. They’ll get the hint and find their own way.

The activity that I’m keen on including during one of the very first classes of the course is all about encouraging students to see English beyond our classroom. We draw two simple mind maps and brainstorm ideas for ‘formal’ and ‘informal’ ways to learn a language. The input we usually have as a result is astounding. The informal map is filled with ALL the kinds of things you’d recommend them to do to get involved with English outside of class. What’s been my personal eye-opener about this activity is that I do not have to utter a single word. To quote Chuck Sandy,  “a teacher can totally step back”.

They already know where English is around them and how to get the most of it. Some play computer games on international servers, others watch favourite cartoons and TV series in English. Some remember that they most often have to read user guides to devices in English, others note that they can pick a free English newspaper in cafes. Songs, TV channels, films with or without subtitles, books, airport signs, brands, podcasts – ideas pop up from all students in the classroom and everybody learns something new. We then critically look at what we’ve come up with and discuss which of these ways are best for each one of them.

Yet, I have my own special favourite that I like to share. I advise my students to switch all the gadgets they have into English. That is, I advise them to change to operating system of their phones, ipods, computers and whatever else they might have into English. By doing so they turn their immediate surroundings into English. It’s so easily done and the effect will not leave you waiting for long. A phone which operates in English becomes your English-speaking friend. A Google search conducted in English gets new results.  There’s a whole new world of the Internet instantly open through this one-click door. English becomes your reality and with it come confidence, knowledge, and a broader mind!