Teacher Discussion Forums

Hopefully the teacher's giving up is not the cause of the lack of motivation. I've seen teachers misjudge students, label them, and consequently damage their motivation and confidence as a result. Sometimes teachers just don't understand their students needs. Alot of teachers don't do rigorous needs...

Perhaps she hoped that you would use the vocabulary assigned for that lesson and your answer went beyond? It might be that she is a practical person and even in her own life doesn't dream like you did in your answers. If you could find out how she thinks about life and why, you will understand her ...

Wow what interesting things have come out of my posts... Not blaming the students at all. But it is the responsibility of the student to ask questions and do their homework. Indeed the teacher has a lot of responsiblity also, and indee dhave clear objectives. I am not arguing that at all. Yes, it i...

Juan I found your post really useful.

Thank you for posting it.

I don't want to give the wrong impression, I am not lazy. I understand that students want to know, but how they ask sometimes makes me feel that they do not have the motivation to really learn, they just want it handed to them, they don't want to come to class every week, they don't want to study a...

Agreed.

No logic in sight.

Sheila Collins wrote:The general rate of language-acquisition for children, and for adults who move to another country and immerse themselves in the language, is about 5 to 6 years for complete fluency. If one is limiting one's "study time", you can expect it to take much longer.

Should be 'one'.

Hi guys, I am looking for some articles in well known publications that put an end to the question(s) How long will it take to learn a langauge well, or how long will it take to be fluent in English, or why can't I learn faster, etc. Especially if the student is not taking classes everyday, some of...

I teach British and Amercan Literature to high school students. My students are not native speakers although they are immersed in English like native speakers. For juniors we do the following texts: Brave New World, Lord of The Flies, Macbeth, The Quiet American, Great Gatsby, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hy...

It is colloquial.

Just let him know that now he has learnt correct grammar that no-one actually speaks like that.

Tell him about poetic license, creativity and style.

I think six years.

I am an English Literature teacher before all. One of the values I hold is that using the imagination, in creative writing for example, is important for the development of language skills and the intellect in general. A well developed imagination and imaginative writing skills are extremely valuable...

How long would it take a Fenchman/woman who has absolutely no prior learning of English (unlikely I know, but suspend belief for awhile) to attain fluency in the English Language working in the following conditions: Starts at A1/A2, with above average intelligence Studies specifically English langua...

Sally Olsen wrote:It might be that the Dutchman or lady already knows a considerable amount of Spanish.

Unfortunately this one only knows Dutch.

How long do we think it would take the studious Dutchman to get to fluency?