How to be a good teacher who teaches the beginners?
Moderators: Dimitris, maneki neko2, Lorikeet, Enrico Palazzo, superpeach, cecil2, Mr. Kalgukshi2
How to be a good teacher who teaches the beginners?
Now I am teaching a group of beginners in a school. They studied English as second language. so It is very hard for them to pronounce the words. and I spend a lot of time correcting their pronunciation. But their improvements is not obvious and they also feel very boring. now . I am in a dilemma. If I do not correct their pronunciation, I am afraid that they will get used to that. However, if i continue to correct their pronunciation. I am also afraid that they will lose interest in English. now. what i shuold do? so I need your some advice. Thank you!
I think pronunciation is the most difficult thing to learn. It is not necessary for students to have perfect pronunciation. It *is* necessary for them to understand when people speak, and to be understood when they speak. In addition, I don't believe it is wise to try correct all mistakes at the same time. What about concentrating on a specific problem that everyone has, (v/b, or i/I, or w/v, or l/r, etc. depending on the language background) at a special "pronunciation time" in the lesson? Then you could leave the rest of the time to practice communication, and only correct what interferes with understanding. Most of the time we can understand what someone with an accent means because of the context.
Listening is in my opinion the number one skill at this level. If they cannot hear it, they will not say it correctly!!
For pronunciation this can be done by asking students to choose between pairs of problem sounds, preferably within words. (This is known as using minimal pairs) For example, did they hear "ship" or "sheep".
However, it is important that the material within the lesson contains meaning. For this, techniques such as TPR (total physical response) and dictate and draw can be very effect listening comprehension building tools. I always like to do prepositions of place early as it lends itself to this.
First, teach some standard classroom vocabulary eg. book, pen, pencil, eraser, ruler, table. Then introduce some basic prepositions:- in, on, under, next to should be enough for genuine beginners. Basically, just show them what each one means. Then have the students place the objects where you say. Eg. "Put the book on the table. Put the pen under the book." While doing this go round to check they are getting it right. Students will have problems with words that sound similar based on their L1. I find Mandarin speakers sometimes initially have difficulty distinguishing on and under.
For drawing, teach them the vocabulary you want to work with. Try to select things where similarities in sounds will cause problems. Then dictate a picture to them which they draw.
These are naturally only a couple of ideas, but I wouldn't try to concentrate exclusively or largely on pronunciation first. I have had teachers try to do this with me. It does not work! The students will just get very bored, very quickly. There must be meaning within the classroom activities.
Good Luck!
For pronunciation this can be done by asking students to choose between pairs of problem sounds, preferably within words. (This is known as using minimal pairs) For example, did they hear "ship" or "sheep".
However, it is important that the material within the lesson contains meaning. For this, techniques such as TPR (total physical response) and dictate and draw can be very effect listening comprehension building tools. I always like to do prepositions of place early as it lends itself to this.
First, teach some standard classroom vocabulary eg. book, pen, pencil, eraser, ruler, table. Then introduce some basic prepositions:- in, on, under, next to should be enough for genuine beginners. Basically, just show them what each one means. Then have the students place the objects where you say. Eg. "Put the book on the table. Put the pen under the book." While doing this go round to check they are getting it right. Students will have problems with words that sound similar based on their L1. I find Mandarin speakers sometimes initially have difficulty distinguishing on and under.
For drawing, teach them the vocabulary you want to work with. Try to select things where similarities in sounds will cause problems. Then dictate a picture to them which they draw.
These are naturally only a couple of ideas, but I wouldn't try to concentrate exclusively or largely on pronunciation first. I have had teachers try to do this with me. It does not work! The students will just get very bored, very quickly. There must be meaning within the classroom activities.
Good Luck!
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mrandmrsjohnqsmith
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Wed Feb 23, 2005 12:56 pm
- Location: Japan
Accents are cool!
Lorikeet is absolutely right: It is not necessary for students to have perfect pronunciation. In most cases, that is. This raises a VERY important question:
What is their reason for learning English?
Are they studying English because they want to, or because they have to?
Are they fulfilling the requirements of a compulsory education?
Are they studying for some kind of exam (ie. Japanese university entrance examinations, TOEFL, TOEIC)?
Do they wish to actually use English, ie. for travel, or to climb some corporate ladder?
The answers should have a huge influence on what they learn and how they learn it.
If perfect pronunciation really is a necessity, for example, if they have aspirations of rubbing shoulders with elite nobility, I think it's important to answer this question honestly:
How is your pronunciation?
Stephen is right: what they're hearing will have the strongest influence on their pronunciation.
Other important quetions to consider, if pronunciation is really that important:
-Where are you located? (How much access to English do thay have outside of the classroom, and what kind of English is it?)
-What is your students' 1st language? (What particular problems does their 1st language pose?)
-What is their age?
Since you said your students are bored, I'm tempted to assume that they are in primary or secondary school, and that they're learning English because they're being forced to learn English, not because they have a genuine curiosity and interest in language. Therefore, I'm further tempted to assume that perfect pronunciation is something for which they have absolutely no need.
So forget the iron fist. Have fun! Kids already have the natural desire to acquire 2nd language: think of all the secrets, the scavenger hunts, the decoder rings!
I'm going with Lorikeet again: being able to understand and be understood should be the goal. People all over the world achieve this without perfect pronunciation. Just look at Henry Kissinger, Arnold Scwarzenegger, and George W. Bush!
But, golly, those are all scary right-wing war machine guys. Who else we got? Um...Arianna Huffington! She's not scary! Well, she couldn't get a job in the U.K., but hey, that's their loss! (They got Greg Palast and Jimi Hendrix, though. Lack of vision on our part. We managed to get Jimi back, though.)
Even His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama makes himself understood just fine, all over the world! Nobody's bothering him about his pronunciation.
Or here's a case-in-point: who in their right mind would want Antonio Banderas to lose his accent? A catastrophe! The very idea of it! Tragic!
Accents are cool, Lina123. In a perfect world, all English classes would be taught by Italians!
.
What is their reason for learning English?
Are they studying English because they want to, or because they have to?
Are they fulfilling the requirements of a compulsory education?
Are they studying for some kind of exam (ie. Japanese university entrance examinations, TOEFL, TOEIC)?
Do they wish to actually use English, ie. for travel, or to climb some corporate ladder?
The answers should have a huge influence on what they learn and how they learn it.
If perfect pronunciation really is a necessity, for example, if they have aspirations of rubbing shoulders with elite nobility, I think it's important to answer this question honestly:
How is your pronunciation?
Stephen is right: what they're hearing will have the strongest influence on their pronunciation.
Other important quetions to consider, if pronunciation is really that important:
-Where are you located? (How much access to English do thay have outside of the classroom, and what kind of English is it?)
-What is your students' 1st language? (What particular problems does their 1st language pose?)
-What is their age?
Since you said your students are bored, I'm tempted to assume that they are in primary or secondary school, and that they're learning English because they're being forced to learn English, not because they have a genuine curiosity and interest in language. Therefore, I'm further tempted to assume that perfect pronunciation is something for which they have absolutely no need.
So forget the iron fist. Have fun! Kids already have the natural desire to acquire 2nd language: think of all the secrets, the scavenger hunts, the decoder rings!
I'm going with Lorikeet again: being able to understand and be understood should be the goal. People all over the world achieve this without perfect pronunciation. Just look at Henry Kissinger, Arnold Scwarzenegger, and George W. Bush!
But, golly, those are all scary right-wing war machine guys. Who else we got? Um...Arianna Huffington! She's not scary! Well, she couldn't get a job in the U.K., but hey, that's their loss! (They got Greg Palast and Jimi Hendrix, though. Lack of vision on our part. We managed to get Jimi back, though.)
Even His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama makes himself understood just fine, all over the world! Nobody's bothering him about his pronunciation.
Or here's a case-in-point: who in their right mind would want Antonio Banderas to lose his accent? A catastrophe! The very idea of it! Tragic!
Accents are cool, Lina123. In a perfect world, all English classes would be taught by Italians!
.
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mrandmrsjohnqsmith
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Wed Feb 23, 2005 12:56 pm
- Location: Japan
more evidence of the "listening before speaking" a
In a 1993 study published in Language Quarterly, Melva E. Underbakke points to "a considerable amount of research [that] supports the contention that listening without speaking leads to improved speaking abilities."
In the article she describes separate studies by Neufeld (1978), Henning (1966), DeBot and Malifert (1982), and Postovsky (1974), which showed that students who were given listening training, during which they were specifically made not to speak, significantly outperformed students who were given pronunciation training. Underbakke writes that "The results support the contention that early stages of language learning should consist largely of listening to spoken input, and that speaking should be delayed. It also appears that there is a high degree of transfer from listening to speaking."
from Underbakke (1993). Hearing the difference; Improving Japanese students' pronunciation of a second language through listening. Language Quarterly, 31, 67-89.
In the article she describes separate studies by Neufeld (1978), Henning (1966), DeBot and Malifert (1982), and Postovsky (1974), which showed that students who were given listening training, during which they were specifically made not to speak, significantly outperformed students who were given pronunciation training. Underbakke writes that "The results support the contention that early stages of language learning should consist largely of listening to spoken input, and that speaking should be delayed. It also appears that there is a high degree of transfer from listening to speaking."
from Underbakke (1993). Hearing the difference; Improving Japanese students' pronunciation of a second language through listening. Language Quarterly, 31, 67-89.