EnglishClub ESL Forums

Hello

I have just entered and would like to exchange ideas and opinions about anything is linked with English language, cultures and traditions.

I am Italian and teach English to 11-14 - yo - students in a school near Florence.


Andrea

hello andrea,
Glad to see you here.I will become an English teacher next time.I hope we can change some teaching meathods here.
Have fun with the forum !:)

_Arale_

Hey, English teachers! hehe

Hello Andrea, welcome to the club! Like Arale just said, we'd love to get to know you and exchange some teaching ideas. Welcome!

Hey, English teachers! hehe

Hello Andrea, welcome to the club! Like Arale just said, we'd love to get to know you and exchange some teaching ideas. Welcome!

Dixie,great!!!
Do you often use music to improve listening skill ?Students like music much but in my town, using music is still rare. I'd like this method ! :(

_Arale_

Students love music, and I think it's a pretty good teaching resource. Pick a song you know they like, and their interest will increase! :D

Hi Dixie and Arale! :)

Well, i like to use music in my lessons, but i have found it a bit exhausting up to now. I have often had to cope with something which didn't work, and it's even difficult to find something whic could completely satisfy the class.

But i sometimes try with music, yeah.

thanks for your welcome! :D

Andrea

... And you're welcome! :D

I often listen music,But i don't think it will do help for English.Music is an background.
I am a student.

GreatJim, music is really useful in order to teach a foreign language. Students are more open to songs than to theory. They learn more rapidly with songs, since it's much easier to study something (grammatical structure, for instance) if you sing it.

Hi Dixie abd GreatJim :)

i think you're both right.

Music can be useful to learn English - in it you can analyze several grammar structures, enrich your vocabulary, learn about common or particular phrases. I find out it is useful especially thanks to the rhythm, and rhyme, as in poetry.

i must also admit that you can not make music as a starting point to learn (and to teach) English, at school.
Our duty is to teach the language starting from a standard basis (as we do for italian), helped by specialized text-books.

If we keep faithful to this reference point, then we can add examples taken from several sources such as everyday life, press, poetry, music.

The fact is everything is useful to learn a language. I depends on what you consider as the best way.
In my opinion (led to it through experience as an ESFL) is to overcome a certain shyness, a psychological difficulty, when someone has to speak a language that is not his/her mother tongue.


Andrea

i think the music is good to one's spirit.
But in the real life,it seems language is more like literature.
Anyway, music is active.

But i don't think it will do help for English.Music is an background.

Greatjim, I don't agree with you.Music helps learners improve their listening much.It is my experience.How to design a suitable listenning lesson by English songs is very important. The result depends much on this step.

_Arale_

Yeah you're right, Arale. There you go! ;)

Is that really?
OK,you are all teachers.YOu decide.
One truth is i ever met a teacher,she really like english song.Since the song was something about the western culture.But,who cares?
Sometimes I think movie is more persuasive.But unfortunately,I hadn't seen enough when I was a student.
And one another truth is,music can make person mad.

Music can make a person mad if he thinks music is mad !!!!! Is that right?
It is right if you have to listen to some kinds of music you are not fond of.

_Arale_

Hi

hey, Dixie, Arale, GreatJim.

Please, could we also add , there may be place for music, for movies, and for other ways to learn English?

Varying is better, don't you agree?

Andrea

Of course!! Movies are also a good source. I remember, when I was in High School, I took an optative subject called "Welcome to Hollywood". It was an advanced English subject where we were shown some movies such as Beauty and the Beast, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, or Aladdin. I remember we first were introduced to the movie by learning some of the new vocabulary we would encounter there. We worked on its vocabulary or new grammatical structures for two or three sessions, and then finally we watched the movie, which besides being in English was also subtitled in this language. After watching the movie, the following sessions would be focused on what we had learned. So it was fun and interesting. I remember the first time I heard the expression to make a dream come true was in that class :D I don't remember the movie though, but it might have been Aladdin... I don't know... Also "The X marks the spot" from Indiana Jones :D:D:D:D hehehehe.

Really, music and movies are good teaching materials too. Kids get easily bored with theory, as well as the teacher. So it's good to vary.

Arale wrote:Music can make a person mad if he thinks music is mad !!!!! Is that right?
It is right if you have to listen to some kinds of music you are not fond of.

_Arale_

No,Arale,that's you teachers' thought,you know what is the students' thought?
the music can make them mad,they know it,but they just love it.
sometimes i really hate music.
But you teachers really can't feel that.

GreatJim.

you are making interesting statements about music and stundents likes and dislikes.

Now, please, don't generalize saying teathers can not feel anything about your needs.

I don't agree.

Andrea

Sorry for my mistakes:

students'

teachers

andrea

English teacher, so coooooooooooooooooooooool!

I love you!

Hello, Andrea!!! :D

Hey RedRose :D

i have got but give you a :) :P RedRose!!


Take care
:D Andrea

Hi Jonrey10 :)


how are you

what's that your'e smoking.... a cigar? :D

Andrea

It's just a picture, for "art's sake" that is...

Hi, Jon :D

Jonrey, welcome back! what about your vacation?

Hi, Redrose! :D

Dixie wrote:Hi, Redrose! :D

I am here! honey, u'd better post your pic with short hair here as your avatar, then all guys will get crazy!

Dixie wrote:Hi, Jon :D

Hi, Ms. Dixie Chix! It's nice to be back after being sick. I was downed by flu last week.

RedRose wrote:Jonrey, welcome back! what about your vacation?

I'm fine. I wasn't on vacation, I got sick last week. Nice picture, I'm getting crazy right now...

jonrey10 wrote:

RedRose wrote:Jonrey, welcome back! what about your vacation?

I'm fine. I wasn't on vacation, I got sick last week. Nice picture, I'm getting crazy right now...

you should take care of yourself, Jon! I am sorry to know you got sick(flu). I hope you recover earlier!

and thank you for your appreciation

RedRose wrote:

jonrey10 wrote:

RedRose wrote:Jonrey, welcome back! what about your vacation?

I'm fine. I wasn't on vacation, I got sick last week. Nice picture, I'm getting crazy right now...

you should take care of yourself, Jon! I am sorry to know you got sick(flu). I hope you recover earlier!

and thank you for your appreciation

no problem... :D

No,Arale,that's you teachers' thought,you know what is the students' thought?
the music can make them mad,they know it,but they just love it.
sometimes i really hate music.
But you teachers really can't feel that.

No greatjim,students now are very active.Teachers and students are equal.What teachers do is students'wish.What we have tought are required by our students.The student is the centre of teaching activity. We are just guiders.

_Arale_

Hi teachers and not -

i'd put aquestion:

do students in your own countries happen to choose the topic to work at? I mean, do you have an amount of hours (per week) to teach English, among which, there are some hours at your disposal to develop your planned activities, and other hours that students may choose to have or not?

I'm asking this, beccause our Minister, Mrs Moratti, made a change according to which, i teach English 2 hours per week carrying on the Ministerial Programme, with a text-book, then there is a 3rd hour that is called "facoltativa"; it means that the students may choose not to have English - it depends on the topic and teacher's skill to attract, excite, entertain them.

This change has caused a chaos among English teachers in Italy (and not only English)

I hope i gave a quite good explanation.

Anybody could make comparisons, or could suggest anything?

thanks

Andrea

I don't think I ever heard of such a thing. But if they do not take English, what do they take?

Ehm .... ehm.... Dixie, I feel ashamed for my beloved Minister

Well, there's more!
This year we had the introduction of a second foreign language (compulsory) - i'm talking about Media-school (lower-intermediate? maybe? i don't know exactly - 11/14 yo students, anyway).
However, The introduction of a new subject didn't mean increasing teaching hours.
Some subjects had a reduction of time.

Such a mess!

Yes, what would the students take, and, what would teachers do in that empty hour?

Andrea

andrea wrote:GreatJim.

you are making interesting statements about music and stundents likes and dislikes.

Now, please, don't generalize saying teathers can not feel anything about your needs.

I don't agree.

Andrea

Yes,basically teachers are good.Sometimes they compromise to students' need .But unfortunately.the chance is very little.
But maybe that's just ok.For you can't expect too much.
I am not a student now.when i say to myself.what i learned when i was a student,I just can't give myself a good answer.
for example,i learn the english language almost by myself in these years.because the lessons can meet my need.
One truth is they worry to lose control about the class.So they can't stimulate the student's original thought.
So for the teacher ,I shall say,one need them,but they can't give you something.And you can't rely them.
Nice to meet you.anyway.
My parents are both teachers.They instruct me many things,But they also have many problems themselves.And they just couldn't solve them well.

GreatJim

it's interesting what you are writing about. I find it interesting. And it's true: teachers are much worried about keeping the class quiet. If you have20/25 students in front of you you have to attract their attention in order to explain concepts and look for a feedback (that's important for me).

And even more true: teachers have problems, as they are human beings.
The fact is, we should collaborate with students to find out good topics and ideas. Collaboration is the best thing, i think, and young people have creativity, fantasy, they are spontaneous and quick - some elements that any human being is bound to lose in part, or at all, while getting older.

It's a pity that you have not a good memory of school-time and teachers, but trust me, a lot of people (me inclusive) have such memories. There a re only few teachers that i can save from the clam. And now, I am struggling in order not to keep stuck in there for a long time.

Nice to meet you GreatJim.

Andrea

I don't care much about silence in the class.It is ok if my students are acting much.I 'd like to create a comfortable and friendly atmosphere in the class.So students should do more effectively.I am fond of group-working method that causes noise much but is a wonderful one.

_Arale_

Arale, I agree with you.
Teaching a language means teaching to communicate, so group-work is very helpful, even if it causes noise in the classroom.
Anyway, I have found some classes which were strictly organized according to quitness, I mean each student was matched in his/her desk with another student he/she didn't like or who was very different in behaviour, opinion, etc. In such a way teachers prevented them from talking during the lesson, but proposing pair/group work was impossible without changing the whole layout of the class and a lesson time is too short for organizing couples and moving seats.

I use music a lot to help students listen and understand, I remove certain words from the lyrics of a song and they have to write them back in while listening to the song. Good fun and I use short songs (3 minutes).

Same method as one my E teachers applied when I was still at college and took an E class two years ago.

Butler wrote:I use music a lot to help students listen and understand, I remove certain words from the lyrics of a song and they have to write them back in while listening to the song. Good fun and I use short songs (3 minutes).

I use exactly the same method. Maybe we could share some song titles and the grammar used in there :P

My teacher played "Creep" by Radiohead, "Another Day in Paradise" by Phil Collins, and many more.

I always use (don't laugh) dream a little dream by Mama Cass, short song and easy to understand her. I also use sometimes a song that nobody knows so they get to hear something fresh and have no chance of remembering the lyrics, I use it only for some of the advanced students.

Asep wrote:My teacher played "Creep" by Radiohead, "Another Day in Paradise" by Phil Collins, and many more.

Wow I got that one, Another Day in Paradise. I was just listening to it a while ago on my way back home. So your teacher used it in your class? That's interesting Kind of a sad song though :D

Yeah, and guess what! This could've been the very first song I heard of Phil Collins. I like his "You'll Be in My Heart", too, Dixie. :) This song can never fail to remind me of someone out there....


Here's a pic of this bald man. Hehe....

You'll Be in My Heart, that song makes me cry!!!!!!! It's so beautiful.

And romantic as well.