Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[kresearch]

Hello students!

I am a teacher in the United States, and am conducting research in one area of English study. I hope you will be able to help me.

I want to know what you remember about your first classes or experiences learning English. I am interested in where you studied (country, school, grade) and who taught you (male/female, teacher's first language). If you learned English by traveling to another country or from English-speaking friends, tell me that, too.

Most importantly, I wonder what materials or exercises you found most useful. Remember, I am interested in the first days of study when you enter a classroom with little or no knowledge of English language or culture. In this situation, what do you remember most? What helped you to learn? What methods did your teacher use to motivate you or increase your skills? What teaching materials helped you to begin understanding English?

Finally, if you could create an English study program, what would you include? How do you think students learn best, and what do you think is a waste of time? Please be honest.

I am looking for as many responses as possible, so please respond if you have the time. There is no correct answer, so please do not be shy. If you prefer, you may resond to me directly instead of posting your response here for others to read. ([email protected])

Thank you for your time! I know this is a lot to think about, but your answers are very important. I really appreciate learning about your experiences and opinions about learning English!

Have a great day!
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Kay Huxford
Wisconsin, US

[above star]

hi there...i am a student from the national university of malaysia. i am doing my degree in english language studies and linguistics. well, i am in the final year now.. as for us in malaysia, english is our second language. i can say that it is as important as our own language. u know..to secure a job, to further studies..and so on..we learn english since we are in 6/ 7 years old and even in some family english has become the language which they use to communicate and don't be suprised if the children don't know how to speak in thier mother tongue.

well my family speaks so many languages at home. as my father and mother are from different races. i remember the first time i learn english, my english teacher was very strict. however i can't remember clearly since when i love the english language..the teacher used to drill us in learning the language. correcting us immediately and we learn a new word everyday, we had spelling test too! we use the dictionary most..however i think it's kind of boring when you have to look up into the dictionary by yourself. i prefer the teacher to explain it to me or i love to guess the meaning.

the teacher uses pictures a lot. she uses gestures, action to explain to us.sometime she translate the meaning to our native language. i started to learn english from zero..no knowledge at all about the language but now i feel like i'm dreaming doing an english course in the uviversity. what a miracle.

i hope we can share more next time. there a lot of experiences that i would like to share with you. i am interested in teaching english as a second language too and i'm doing a research about code-switching. if you have anything to share please don't hesitate to do so. thank you.
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abovethestar