I have been teaching for over 20 years and I have some things to say about how to learn English. I wrote these in 2010 and thought I should reprint them!
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| TESL class in 2009 |
Some of you readers are students in classrooms, some are just looking at how to improve their English. All of us are students, of some sort. When you want to improve your English you must find a way to actively work at it. Just being exposed to something doesn’t mean it rubs off on you. If you want to learn to drive a car you cannot just ride in a car and expect to be able to get behind the wheel and know how to drive. You have to take lessons, someone show you how the correct way to do it, practice in a controlled environment, and then take it on the road and practice on the actual street before you get your license to drive alone. What does a good student do? First, they study, they don’t just go through life, just sit in the class, just expect to be entertained. They asks questions, they participate in class, take risks and decide they will learn and study. In class when the teacher asks a question a good student will try to answer, during drills they participate, they do their homework. They know they won’t learn just by living or breathing in the classroom. Talk to the teacher outside of class, take advantage of their wisdom. During life talk to strangers, participate in discussions, don’t be afraid of taking a risk, most native speakers will enjoy helping you improve your English.
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| My class in 2005 |
I have often had students that will be talking to me in English, and then stop in mid-sentence and just stand there with their mouth open, thinking of what to say. It gets frustrating for me because I can’t help them with a word, or thought , if they don’t complete the sentence. Some students are so scared of making a mistake they would rather do nothing than taking the risk of making a mistake. Making mistakes, in fact, is how you learn. Think of it, when you learned Math you did something repetitively until you were able to make no more mistakes. The most important thing is learning from your mistakes and trying to avoid them in the future. When I lived in Korea I had to ride the subway often. I was surprised when I sat down and the people next to me would get up and sit on the other side of the car. I first thought that they were rude, but realized that it was Korea and most people in Korea are very polite and helpful. Then I had wondered why they were not wanting to sit next to me, I had taken a bath, I did brush my teeth, I had no idea what they were hesitant to sit next to me. After talking to some of my friends I realized that people didn’t want to sit next to me because they were scared they might have to speak English. What if I said, “hi”, and they had to answer me. They were so used to being graded on their English, they thought if they made a mistake they would be embarrassed and I would ridicule them, like their teachers had. That is why an ESL classroom has to be like a cocoon and risks had to be taken and students can’t make fun of other students. What if mistakes weren’t made, wouldn’t that mean that people didn’t try unless they were 100% sure they would never make a mistake. Mistakes are necessary to learn. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes when learning English. The most important thing is to continually trying to improve your English ability.
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| My class in 2006 |
How did you learn your first language? First you learned simple words to ask for things, then in school you learned a little grammar and then they had you learn to read and had you read simple books. Then discuss more difficult books. And, so on. If you are learning English, maybe the best way is to start slowly, even if you are an adult, think of your English as infant. Some people like to watch movies, and since the listening is difficult, they have the subtitles (the writing at the bottom of the screen) on. The problem is you end up reading rather than listening. If you want to turn the subtitle on, then watch the show 3 times, first time no subtitles, watch the action. Second time turn on the subtitles so you can understand what is being said, third time watch it without the subtitles, and you will be surprised at how much you understand. Remember you have to study listening just like you study reading, actually work at it and don’t think it will just happen. I used to manage a language school in San Jose, CA. All the students left early, so I wanted to make a change to the program. I got the first season of Smallville and downloaded all the scripts (what they say) and then made a book of the scripts. We had a class where the students would watch 5 minutes of the show, then read the script, then practice the script with their classmates, then watch the 5 minutes again. Next class we would watch that 5 minutes then work on the next 5 minutes. We did that through the whole show. They learned and had fun, you can’t learn if you don’t laugh! The best thing you can do is read books written for 3rd or 4th grade. The reason you want to read books for young children is because you will understand most of the vocabulary, the book is smaller, and the writing is bigger. It is best to be able to finish reading an entire book!! After finishing one or two books, try another. I used to have a friend from Taiwan, that was at a level 1 (beginning), she and I spent much time together, we spent evenings doing things like going to movies or going to libraries or just watching tv. On the weekends we would go on trips and go to cities near my city. After she spent so much time around me for 3 months she went to a different language school and they tested her for her level and she was a level 5 (advanced). She didn’t study English, she just used it. She didn’t study grammar, but her English improved 4 levels. Wouldn’t it be nice if every ESL student could spend all their time with me, or with anyone that is a native speaker, but it isn’t always practical. So, find something to do in English, not just sit and study. When I taught at night school I told my students they had homework, their homework was to go shopping! They didn’t understand until I told them to just sit on a bench in the mall and someone will come sit next to them. Americans are very open to others, someone would come sit next to them and talk, say hello and then tell them all of their problems. Maybe tell them about a fight they had with their girlfriend or their wife/husband. Maybe tell about the fight they had with had with their wife about their girlfriend. Then the person sitting next to them will get up and walk away. I think the most important thing about learning English is to do something, not just sit at a desk and study.
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| Playing baseball with class |
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| Scott as the pitcher for both teams |
I have been teaching ESL for almost 20 years and it is interesting how many students read with a dictionary next to them. I think about how often I have read with a dictionary. Even when I was learning German in high school and when I lived in Germany, I didn’t rely on a dictionary as often as some ESL students. It takes a long time to read anything if you try looking up every word you don’t know in a dictionary. I think of the times I read books and if I don’t know what a word means, if I ever use a dictionary to look that word up. Maybe once or twice a year I might do that. The best way for a person learning English to read is to read it straight through, underlining (or highlighting) the words that might be looked up in a dictionary. Then after finishing the paragraph, page, or essay if you feel the need to look up a word in a dictionary look up the words underlined (highlighted). If you do look up a word, then keep a list of those words. Make your own list of vocabulary words. Often you will realize there is no reason to look up every word, you can still understand what you read, even if you don’t understand every word. Isn’t that what the real reason you are reading? Think about the times you watch tv and multi-task. With the tv on you are on the phone, on the computer, running in and out of the room while cooking, or maybe doing homework. Think about not seeing everything on the show, but you still understand what the show is about. Reading is the same thing, you don’t understand every word, but you understand what the essay was about. I had a student a few years ago that came to class all excited. She was so happy she was able to read and ENTIRE book. She read the book HOLES, and it only took her six months. I was happy for her. She was really happy to read complete something. The book was written for middle school students, I know that she didn’t understand over 25% of the vocabulary when she started the book and probably understood over 80% when she finished. She understood the book, maybe not every word! So, when you read don’t read with a dictionary you are going to finish the reading more quickly, and gain more confidence.
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