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[struelle]

[cafebleu]

Good topic, but I don`t find my Japanese students to be like robots and speak in a monotone way. I think that what seems to be lack of character and interest, and a boring way of speaking, is actually a direct result of having to speak a foreign language in a classroom setting.

In fact, I find that when Japanese students are relaxed their voice tone is very natural. Sure, they don`t carry on the way they do when they are speaking their own language in the company of their friends, but nevertheless I find there is enough animation coming from at least some of them.

I think the lack of animation, etc, that the starter of this thread has observed is the natural consquence of having to speak a foreign language with a foreign teacher in a classroom setting. Add the fact that in Japan many English language schools teach in English (Japanese is used very little and only a word or two or a sentence or two if the students really can`t understand a point)only - very hard! When learning any foreign language, many students find it difficult to express in class what they could express if they were just talking to the teacher one on one.

While I have found few really good speakers of English in Japan, I have also found that when the students felt comfortable and could get over to some extent their inhibitions, the classes are enjoyable and the students have interesting things to say.

[Spigada]

[Roger]

I think I waqnt to add one dimension to the issue, and perhaps report how I feel teaching/learning English (or any other second tongue) could be done with more enthusiasm:

First, I agree with scott47 that the question whether studying English is fun enough is irrelevant; my Chinese students clearly expect too much in the way of entertainment, perhaps as a kind of compensation for the brain-damaging way of their dour Chinese teachers. And, no, even if it's fun to practise English - you won't become more proficient at it unless you study it, accept critical feedback and work on improvements. Just talking English faster is not necessarily an improvement - if the same amount of maimed structures occurs your English is still a foreign English.

But what I do feel could be done is to use English as the medium of instruction in other subjects that require less memorisation and more prompt responses. It works wonderfully well in maths, for example, which I often practise with my learners of every age.
I think the English class of the future would be held during geography lessons, PE and other subjects.

[scot47]

The idea of using English as the medium for other school subjects is not new. Until fairly recent times in Bulgaria there were specialist secondary schools where the students spent a Preparatory Year on a course in a foreign language (English, French, German or Spanish). Thereafter they continued theeir studies through the medium of that language. Sadly because of the change after 1989 this was too expensive and the Language Schools no longer function as they originally did.

Not all the changes that came about becasue of 1989 were positive !

[arioch36]

[scot47]

But in Britain people use "Asian" to mean someone from Pakistan, Bangladesh or India.

[scot47]

You mean soneome actually agres with me ? Really ? I am so used to having a barrage of furious criticism that I am overwhelmed.

My feeling is that the "Schooling must be fun" nonsense is one of the principle reasons for the imminent collapse of western civilisation.

Go and ask your average 12-year-old in Britain about Magna Carta. They will think it is a pop group or a fashion model.

The student-centered, education-is-fun, approach which has come into TEFLfrom mainstraem eduaction is a pernicious heresy.

[psychedelic]

Hello,
You made a lot of good points. "a strong culture of....in eastern cultures." Oh, yeah..a strong culture of xenophobia. Straight up.

[Wolf]

[arioch36]

Sorry, My computer froze, and it was a while before I could edit to myself.

Today we practiced sarcasm. I explained W O R K, writing it on the board, ClassWORK done...in clas HomeWORK...done at home. The thing is, I am the first oral english teacher that ever made them do homework. Guess what...so far most of them are happy about it, and do good work.

I make them write two pages for every week/ oral assignment. The writing english teacher (foreigner) has them write one page every two weeks. So I guess it is up to the teacher to set the tone. The thing is ...we have fun together..but this is secondary.

When I was in the Air force our motto was..don't reinvent the wheel, and

Work hard, play hard.

Student centered teaching, outcome based teaching, authentic assessment...So many new terms for the same things. I took educational pyschology eight years ago. Sorry, but to me all these terms and philosophies are gimmiks for grad students to write papers about (been there done that). Mom and Dad where teachers, Grandfather was a principal and teacher. Talking to the old coots you realize;

There's nothing new under the sun. Somebody wrote me about the term "pushing" believe...the old fashioned term was "integration" teachers reinforcing what each other do, coordinating. Doesn't happen much ij China, but is, and always has been a good idea

[Stephen Jones]

---"Go and ask your average 12-year-old in Britain about Magna Carta. They will think it is a pop group or a fashion model"---

That's exactly the last few Home Secretaries appeared to have thought.