Teacher Discussion Forums

Hello all,

I'm a first-time one-on-one teacher, currently teaching in France. One particular student is giving me a headache. He is an elderly gentleman who wants to practice his English for travelling, and who has a strong English when he has time to think - his writing is very good, maybe level B1 in the CE framework. But when we speak, he spends almost half the time searching for the exact word and building structures in his head before speaking. I'm trying to encourage him to be spontaneous, to dive in, to explain a word if he can't get it in his head, but it seems that a lot of our lesson time is wasted on silence while he's struggling for words.

His listening skills are also a challenge - I need to speak unnaturally slowly for him to follow, even when he knows all the words and grammar I'm using.

Do you have any tips on how to encourage fluency and improve listening skills in a case like this? He does not want to work on grammar or vocabulary, just conversation.

Just be patient. That is a legitimate way to learn. Some people need to think about what they are saying and the words will stay with them longer in the long run. It is awkward for you because conversations don't work that way but it does work for the student to learn new words and which words work. Sometimes you can supply a word and just keep the conversation moving but don't do it too often if this is his style of learning.

It is great that you are aware that you have speak more slowly and very clearly for him to understand. Of course, he won't get that courtesy in normal conversations but you can lead him gradually through to listening you as you speed up a bit. You can say it slowly at first and then again more quickly.

I used to tape the conversations and edit them so the conversation was more natural and play it to them the next lesson.

Thanks for your advice Sally! I hadn't considered that it might be a style of learning. It's a really good idea to say things slowly at first, then more quickly.

He is getting better at "explaining around" words instead of searching for the exact one, so there's been some improvement. Maybe some games where you essentially drill phrases would be a good idea - something like "have you ever", for instance. If you have any more ideas, I'd love to hear them!

Great. Adults seem to need to think things through when learning and often want explanations even though they don't remember them or use the explanation to improve their speech. Adults have to stick the information to something they already know it seems which takes much longer and doesn't always work.

It is good to teach things in groups that go together - doctor, hospital, nurse, medication. I try to get an article that the student is interested in and have them read that, go through the vocabulary and pronunciation they don't know, then have a bit of discussion of the topic, get them to talk about the situation and write it down while they talk or write down what they said on the tape recorder for the next lesson (with corrections so they can hear and see where they went wrong.) Then read another article with the same vocabulary and have them put down the difficult vocabulary in a telephone book with translation to their language. I buy small telephone address books that fit in a pocket and they can practice vocab wherever.