Job Discussion Forums

vallillo1983 · Joined: 07 Apr 2005 Posts: 194

HEY guys! I am coming to Japan to Teach, I have a degree in ESL teaching and a CELTA. The trouble is, I do not know the English tense system off by heart and when they're used with out conslting a text book 1st! Is this a problem? I feel like It will affect my teaching!! Is there anyway of learing them off by heart or does this come with experience?

Cheers

tedkarma · Posted: Sun Mar 12, 2006 3:34 pm Post subject:

I find this quite hard to believe. For one, they aren't really all that difficult - about 15 minutes of serious study and you've got it. Second, how did you pass a degree and CELTA while not knowing these things?

If these things are true - spend the fifteen minutes and get it right.

Iam · Joined: 28 Oct 2004 Posts: 43

Tedkarma, I can assure you it's perfectly possible to pass a Celta without "knowing" the English tense system by heart ... I did it without knowing it, & I don't think anyone in my group of about 15 passing Celta trainees knew it any better than myself.

"Knowing" in this case, & as the OP meant it, I suppose, means being able to label the verious tenses plus give the (cough) rules concerning their use.

To the OP, don't panic Smile

You can at least learn the labels for the various tenses, pretty much off by heart, in yes, about 15 minutes ... get yourself something like "English Grammar & Usage" by G Leach (if you don't already have it), & do some swatting Smile

I presume you're either a native English speaker or very accurate in English if not, in order to have been allowed to take the Celta, so you do know whether grammar is correct without the aid of a grammar book. It's the rules for it that you need to learn.

That can, I suppose, be learnt by studying, though I believe most teachers pick it up during the course of their teaching, from the course books they use/the lessons they present.

Anyway, it's better to know them, but plenty of people start teaching without knowing the rules by rote. Before each lesson you'll know what grammar you'll be teaching, be sure to study up on it then, if you haven't before, & you'll soon find yourself far more comfortable.

Iam.

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

I can also assure you, TedKarma, that I earned my B.Sc. and my 4-week TEFL certificate without knowing -how to explain- the various tenses of English.

Could I understand the difference between the simple past and the present perfect if I heard both? Yes - but could I explain or teach the difference? Hell, no. "The what perfect?"

I never learned any formal grammar until the morning I had to write up my first lesson plan on any point ... and I suspect it is the same for the majority of TEFL instructors.

matttheboy · Joined: 01 Jul 2003 Posts: 854 Location: Valparaiso, Chile

Buy this book

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0521477972/sr=8-1/qid=1142197345/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-6081417-5803965?%5Fencoding=UTF8

Most people seem to like Swan but i can't work out why. Poor explanations, bad layout, total confusion; He's rubbish.

Hardly anyone knows English grammar before actually teaching it. The first 2 or 3 times you teach something you generally need to learn or revise it before teaching. After that you should be able to remember it all. It gets easier after the first year and your prep time will get shorter and shorter making life a lot more enjoyable.

tedkarma · Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2006 1:40 am Post subject:

Wow!

Sad to hear.

I have done a fair amount of teacher training - and am starting a teacher training job - today - in about 45 minutes!

I promise you wouldn't pass my course without knowing them! But, part of being a good teacher-trainer is finding a way to make sense of it all for the student-teachers.