Teacher Discussion Forums

Oh, yes, I agree, of course, language learning is not merely grammar study. The anecdote came from a class on English structure and its place in ESL/EFL, so naturally it was a grammar-related topic. Not every learner wants or needs prestigious grammar, but some do, especially those on an academic or...

I know a lot of folks opt for a total ban on translation dictionaries. I don't go quite so extreme. The translator, like everything else, can be useful, as long as people realize that it's only one tool in a set, that it's imperfect, that it can't do everything, that there are often no direct trans...

I'm from the U.S. and am therefore a "native speaker." I taught in Japan for 3 years and am now pursuing a master's in TESOL. In Asia there is huge demand for "native" speakers and they (we) get the lion's share of the jobs. Many schools won't even hire a "non-native," or if they do, they pay them ...

Interesting. I'd never heard that one. Then wouldn't that indicate tenacity rather than persevereance? Like stick to your guns? Screw as in affix , attatch , Like having eyes or ears glued to sth, or being rivited? The sticking point? What on Earth is that? Oh, don't answer that. It'll just lead to...

My student from Beijing looked up the phrase "screw up" using some kind of translation software she has on her PC. In addition to "blunder," the translator also said that it can mean "to persevere" or to recover from some dire circumstance "by unconventional means." Unfortunately I can't recall if ...

The "sh" sound exists in Japanese and your student CAN say it. Listen to Japanese people speak; they use "shi" ALL THE TIME. I bet she says it when you're trying to teach her: "muzuka shii !" "sha," "shu," and "sho" also occur regularly. There's no "she," though. I'm talking in terms of the Japanese...

Apparently, binding of reflexives provides an area of debate for/against the Universal Grammar theory. Hamilton published a mind-bending study on this, and the literature refers to several other relevant studies as well. It's a little over my head (understatement), but basically her findings support...

Sigh... OK, class, once again, repeat after me: "There is no standard English, there never was any standard English, there never will be any standard English, ever, ever, ever , there is no standard English, there never was any standard English, there never will be any standard English, ever, ever,...

> Teaching American English Pronunciation by Peter Avery and Susan Ehrlich (Oxford University Press 1992) has sections on a wide variety of nationalities and their specific English pronunciation problems. A great deal of evidence exists supporting the idea that good pronunciation is best achieved wh...

In a 1993 study published in Language Quarterly, Melva E. Underbakke points to "a considerable amount of research [that] supports the contention that listening without speaking leads to improved speaking abilities." In the article she describes separate studies by Neufeld (1978), Henning (1966), DeB...

Here's wishing for lasting peace from here on out. ...and an end to ignorance. I dare say I'll miss it; ignorance has been good for some laughs. It's kind of like a crazy friend: amusing until things turn ugly. That's our line of work, though: dispelling ignorance, or facilitating the dispelling of ...

Bugil has covered the basics; those are good rules of thumb. I have no idea what Metal56 is talking about, maybe I've had too much sake tonight! The reason I'm piping up is to interject something about "planning to..." I'd discourage you from saying that "planning to" is equal to "going to..." "Plan...

Lorikeet is absolutely right: It is not necessary for students to have perfect pronunciation. In most cases, that is. This raises a VERY important question: What is their reason for learning English? Are they studying English because they want to , or because they have to ? Are they fulfilling the ...

Casting a broad net, you know.
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