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Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
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 Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 10:12 pm Post subject: Do you ever get told that you need to slow your speech down? |
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| I occasionally get that. It's just natural for me to speak in a certain way rather than speak very slowly. I don't have that problem with very advanced students, naturally. How do I get into the habit of really slowing myself down and ensuring that I have the right tempo for a certain class? |
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nathanrutledge
Joined: 01 May 2008
Location: Marakesh
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 10:35 pm Post subject: |
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No, I don't - BUT, I've been doing this a while so I naturally slow down my pace a bit.
I find that if you slow down your pace evenly across everything, you sound unnatural and condescending. If you notice though, we naturally speak in chunks - a verb phrase, a noun phrase, single ideas, etc, and if you simply say these chunks at a decent pace, and then have the pauses in between a little longer, then you sound more natural AND it's easier for students to pick it up.
Just my two cents. |
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schwa
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Location: Yap
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 10:42 pm Post subject: |
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| Tune into their eyes, check frequently for comprehension, repeat repeat repeat, dont get carried away with your own elocution. Do they laugh at your jokes? |
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Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 10:46 pm Post subject: |
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| schwa wrote: |
| Tune into their eyes, check frequently for comprehension, repeat repeat repeat, dont get carried away with your own elocution. Do they laugh at your jokes? |
I slowed very much down until I was sure my weakest students got it and clearly showed they got it. I repeated myself several times. Yes, we can get carried away when talking; I am guilty of it. I plan on repeating myself more and more. I think I need to work on their listening skills. I get a couple even with basic stuff giving me the deer in the headlights look over very simple vocabulary. It seems like there is a big gap between some students. Some students are a lot more advanced than others. Probably the deer in the headlights group said I was too fast for 'em. But that is my fault. They have a point. I could slow down a bit more to ensure the weaker ones are getting it. It's not their fault they're weak. They come with what they've got.
They seemed to be better today. I repeated a lot. I made sure to show pictures. I even used a few Korean words I knew. |
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Died By Bear
Joined: 13 Jul 2010
Location: On the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
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| Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 11:53 pm Post subject: |
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| OP how much do you use your hands when you speak to them? |
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12ax7
Joined: 07 Nov 2009
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 12:54 am Post subject: Re: Do you ever get told that you need to slow your speech d |
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| Adventurer wrote: |
| I occasionally get that. It's just natural for me to speak in a certain way rather than speak very slowly. I don't have that problem with very advanced students, naturally. How do I get into the habit of really slowing myself down and ensuring that I have the right tempo for a certain class? |
Practice. After a while it becomes second nature.
And don't take it as a personal attack whenever your students bring it up (not that I'm suggesting that you are). You're supposed to speak slower than normal when you teach. A slower rate of speech is one of the characteristics of teacher-talk, which is how teachers talk in order to be better understood by their students. The suggested optimal/typical rate of speech of teacher-talk varies (researchers measured rates of between 105-145 words per minutes, while most seem to range somewhere between 115-135 words/minute). I measured a rate of 115-120 words per minute used by a Korean English teacher while she was teaching little kids and a rate of 120-125 words per minute by a Canadian teacher while he was teaching middle-school kids. The following article mentions a rate of 130 words/minute:
http://eca.state.gov/forum/vols/vol37/no2/p10.htm
Heck, teacher-talk's become so ingrained in me that I'm sometimes at a loss of words when I talk normally. |
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Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 2:48 am Post subject: Re: Do you ever get told that you need to slow your speech d |
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| 12ax7 wrote: |
| Adventurer wrote: |
| I occasionally get that. It's just natural for me to speak in a certain way rather than speak very slowly. I don't have that problem with very advanced students, naturally. How do I get into the habit of really slowing myself down and ensuring that I have the right tempo for a certain class? |
Practice. After a while it becomes second nature.
And don't take it as a personal attack whenever your students bring it up (not that I'm suggesting that you are). You're supposed to speak slower than normal when you teach. A slower rate of speech is one of the characteristics of teacher-talk, which is how teachers talk in order to be better understood by their students. The suggested optimal/typical rate of speech of teacher-talk varies (researchers measured rates of between 105-145 words per minutes, while most seem to range somewhere between 115-135 words/minute). I measured a rate of 115-120 words per minute used by a Korean English teacher while she was teaching little kids and a rate of 120-125 words per minute by a Canadian teacher while he was teaching middle-school kids. The following article mentions a rate of 130 words/minute:
http://eca.state.gov/forum/vols/vol37/no2/p10.htm
Heck, teacher-talk's become so ingrained in me that I'm sometimes at a loss of words when I talk normally. |
The question is how to engage in teacher-talk while sounding normal.
I suppose one can pause more that way one has less words uttered during that time, and one can also repeat what was said. What do you think? |
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jmadtownweb
Joined: 13 Dec 2011
Location: Wisconsin
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 4:06 pm Post subject: |
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| nathanrutledge wrote: |
No, I don't - BUT, I've been doing this a while so I naturally slow down my pace a bit.
I find that if you slow down your pace evenly across everything, you sound unnatural and condescending. If you notice though, we naturally speak in chunks - a verb phrase, a noun phrase, single ideas, etc, and if you simply say these chunks at a decent pace, and then have the pauses in between a little longer, then you sound more natural AND it's easier for students to pick it up.
Just my two cents. |
Spot on. |
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Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 7:51 pm Post subject: |
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| jmadtownweb wrote: |
| nathanrutledge wrote: |
No, I don't - BUT, I've been doing this a while so I naturally slow down my pace a bit.
I find that if you slow down your pace evenly across everything, you sound unnatural and condescending. If you notice though, we naturally speak in chunks - a verb phrase, a noun phrase, single ideas, etc, and if you simply say these chunks at a decent pace, and then have the pauses in between a little longer, then you sound more natural AND it's easier for students to pick it up.
Just my two cents. |
Spot on. |
Well, today, I
1)paused for a little bit longer than I usually do.
2)I, then, checked for understanding amongst several students
3)Sometimes uttered my utterances again...
4)I typed up some things I said on screen, so they could see the spelling and would say them again....
That worked well....And during listening exercises, I have them listen more than once, checked what they heard, and if some students couldn't answer, I played it again, and I asked again, and I would go back after continuing and rewind and see how well they could answer questions based on what was heard. |
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Yaya
Joined: 25 Feb 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 7:58 pm Post subject: |
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| Since I don't teach English, I never slow down my speech. If they can't understand, tough luck. |
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chrisinkorea2011
Joined: 16 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 9:04 pm Post subject: |
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| Yeah i get told it alot. But when I speak korean or japanese I talk super fast too. So i have to willingly slow it down lol |
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ArgentineDreams
Joined: 09 Sep 2011
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| Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 5:09 am Post subject: |
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Yes, when you are fluent in a language you just talk, without thinking. This can cause you to speak very quickly. In my experience, most often times students, or friendly Koreans you talk to are still doing the translation of what you are saying in their head. They simply aren�t used to using English day in and day out with that fluent speed. Hence you need to slow down your speech and not cut up words, use too much slang, etc.
I get told to speak slower all the time in Korea. I was told this even before I came, when I had interviews over the phone. |
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Dodge7
Joined: 21 Oct 2011
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| Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 5:30 am Post subject: |
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I didn't even read the responses nor the OP, just the title.
OP: If you are told you have to slow down. SLOW DOWN.
It's all about thinking before you speak. If you consciously make this adjustment a priority, you should have no problem. |
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12ax7
Joined: 07 Nov 2009
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| Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 5:46 am Post subject: Re: Do you ever get told that you need to slow your speech d |
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| Adventurer wrote: |
The question is how to engage in teacher-talk while sounding normal.
I suppose one can pause more that way one has less words uttered during that time, and one can also repeat what was said. What do you think? |
That's pretty much it.
Teacher talk is not really that slow. It's just more controlled.
This is what 120 words per minutes sounds like.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MnEPZDd5S4
I talk more fluidly than she does (more practice, I guess). I also take the time to enunciate every syllable. I'll also stretch out the pauses more (it allows me the chance to see if the class is following). If they look like they aren't following, I repeat or I rephrase.
There are other techniques you can use, like checking to see if you still have their attention by uttering "OK?". |
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Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 11:55 pm Post subject: Re: Do you ever get told that you need to slow your speech d |
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| 12ax7 wrote: |
| Adventurer wrote: |
The question is how to engage in teacher-talk while sounding normal.
I suppose one can pause more that way one has less words uttered during that time, and one can also repeat what was said. What do you think? |
That's pretty much it.
Teacher talk is not really that slow. It's just more controlled.
This is what 120 words per minutes sounds like.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MnEPZDd5S4
I talk more fluidly than she does (more practice, I guess). I also take the time to enunciate every syllable. I'll also stretch out the pauses more (it allows me the chance to see if the class is following). If they look like they aren't following, I repeat or I rephrase.
There are other techniques you can use, like checking to see if you still have their attention by uttering "OK?". |
I just watched half the video. Her speed is good, but she needs to have her voice fluctuate. I have no problem with that.
Anyway, for an update, I've been working on their listening. I've added materials from a rather basic listening book, and I am going slowly with it. I type things using the technology I have, so they can see what they just heard, and I have them use what they've heard when engaging in speaking activities. I make sure to pause long enough when I'm speaking to them to spend more time checking for what the students understand. The students have been participating a lot more. Well, part of the reason is I've been tougher on them and insisting on participation, and I have slowed down, and I have repeated a lot of what they've seen in the semester and review a lot. I am trying to make sure they master as much of the vocabulary that they've seen so far while only slowly adding more vocabulary.
As far as slang, they've seen a lot of slang (Australian slang that is), but I review a lot of what they've seen. I haven't really added more recently. I will get to that later. I think the main thing is that people have hard time with the speed of a native speaker when they don't know the vocabulary, so I am focusing somewhat on also building up their by working on having them retain a lot of the vocabulary i.e. working on vocabulary reception much more than production, but they produce plenty. I am slowing down, but also working on their skills in a way to where it won't be such an issue when I don't always slow down, but I am pausing a lot. |
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