Job Discussion Forums

[dyak]

Evening all,

Though any TEFL or CELTA course seems to prepare you for about 10% of the stuff you actually have to do; one thing I do remember is being told that if you walk into a classroom and say, �Today we�re going to do the 2nd conditional�, in that moment the students have already �mentally downed tools� and half of them won�t learn it.

As lajzar points out, the way forward is the covert teaching of grammar, it is abstract and it does need a context. I did find teaching grammar difficult at first and at the lower levels you have to know it inside out to be able to simplify it enough; but at the higher levels I always refer grammar questions (difficult or otherwise) to the rest of the group - not because I don�t know the answer (though sometimes I really don�t!) but because students love nothing more than explaining something to their peers. This works especially well in my multi-lingual classes where I have the Asian �grammar masters� and the South American / European students that are �grammar suspicious� and shun it for speaking anyway.

I think teaching is a process where you�re constantly refining yourself and your methods; the learning curve is sharp but it does get easier� and don�t forget the students! It is about them after all.

Cheers

[dmb]

In the past I have been involved with CELTA training and we used to start of the course with a grammar quiz. It's amazing how little native speakers know about grammar. Simple questions like 'write down a preposition' Learning grammar is like teaching. You learn it on the job and learn from your experience.

[NumberOneSon]

I'm a little surprised to hear that some teachers aren't familiar
with basic grammar. Surely, most teachers have heard of nouns,
verbs, and prepositions.

In China, most students study English grammar in their schools,
so they don't need me to drill them on that. I rarely use the
words "verb", "noun" and "preposition" in class. I usually have
a Chinese teacher nearby who can explain grammar in Chinese
when necessary using language they understand (like "mingzi"
for "noun"). About the only time I use those terms is when I
am introducing variations on new vocabulary to adults or when
there is a specific part of speech question about a word.

In fact, I usually avoid English technical jargon since I see no
need to teach the "language" of grammar when they are having
enough trouble with common English.

I usually correct grammar errors by providing a correct example
directly after the mistake, such as.

S: "Yesterday, I go home".

T: O.K., so, yesterday, you WENT home.

S: Uh, I went home"

If they don't catch it, I may ask them to repeat what I say, but
I don't always interrupt the flow of what they're saying if it is
mostly correct. I'll sometimes wait until they've completed
their thought.

I tell the students in advance that this is how I will correct their
mistakes, so they should listen when I repeat most of what they
say to see if they can tell what's different. Most of the time, they
catch on. If they continue to miss it, then I will stop to explain.

Also, another problem with grammar is that it seems the
terminology varies a bit once you get past the basics. So
someone who asks me whether I can give them an example
of an "X", will get a blank look because I have only seen it
referred to as a "Y". Maybe this is a difference between
American and British terminology or something.

In some of the books we use, the most difficult language
to understand is in the chapter names which contain words
like conditional, reflexive, and participle. I think that's silly.

It's "onomatopoeia every time I see ya".

[Capergirl]

[PanamaTeacher]

Do you consider participles to be advanced Son No. 1 (smile when you call me that--Owen Wister, "The Virginian")

I'm with Caper you sure waste a lot of energy trying to duck grammar on the past tense of irregular verbs (especiallly the past participles). If you used grammar more, your students would benefit much more (conditional). As Caper points out the mistake will resurface another day in another form. Remember "Give a man a fish, he eats for a day--teach him how to fish, he eats for a lifetime." I often chide myself for not having paid more attention to grammar when I was starting out as an ESL teacher (reflexive).

Good Luck Numero Uno

[Micro67]

Just a little prep-time and professionalism makes it easy. The hours are great, the pay is good and I get a sense of accomplishment from it.