Job Discussion Forums

[some waygug-in]

Another problem with listen and repeat exercises is that it's so easy for some students to fake it.

There are usually 1 or 2 students who actually repeat the phrase, but most of the boys will mumble something without actually trying to repeat the phrase.

Usually the girls are better at this, but not always.

Ex:

Target phrase : He wants to see Mercury, let him look.

The girls : He want to see a Mercury, let him rook.

The boys: He want to ee a uglery, et im roog.

It's not that they can't do it right, they just refuse, because it's ..........
.......well..........BORING!

Another problem is that they may be copying the sounds, but comprehension is very low.

When I first started at my present job, I was impressed with the students'
level of English as the previous teacher had them doing a lot of listen and repeat things. But then as I started asking some questions of the students I found that by an large, not many have much idea what they are saying. They are being pushed through the books too fast without doing enough comprehension type exercises to back up the speaking drills. Some of them can't even read sufficiently to say the phrases on their own, they just have followed along behind their classmates or waited for the teacher to "say it first".......

I can see I have my work cut out for me if I am going to make any kind of a difference here.