First ESL Lesson Nerves
March 28, 2005 10:08 AM Subscribe
Any ESL 'graduates' out there? What did you love or hate about your tutors? What should I attempt, or avoid, in our first few meetings?
So I'm volunteering at my local library as an ESL tutor - I completed a 10-hour training and have briefly met with my student to set up our 1-on-1 meeting schedule. Our first meeting is tomorrow, for an hour. He has begun a formal English language immersion program and can read at a somewhat intermediate level but wants to work with me on basic conversation and speech. I have a lesson plan set for the week but I feel at this stage it's important to set the general goals of our work together than jump right into vocab lists, role-plays, etc. But hey, I could be off. Thanks.
So I'm volunteering at my local library as an ESL tutor - I completed a 10-hour training and have briefly met with my student to set up our 1-on-1 meeting schedule. Our first meeting is tomorrow, for an hour. He has begun a formal English language immersion program and can read at a somewhat intermediate level but wants to work with me on basic conversation and speech. I have a lesson plan set for the week but I feel at this stage it's important to set the general goals of our work together than jump right into vocab lists, role-plays, etc. But hey, I could be off. Thanks.
I taught last year. You sound like you have the right approach having both some preparation and intention to discuss goals.
If their spoken english is of lower int.-to-intermediate standard then perhaps emphasis ought to be placed on a topical approach rather than via book/board/grammar (I gather they will have more of that from their formal classes).
Thus the majority of each lesson can be spent actually speaking. And of course you are more encouraging of fluency rather than accuracy (as much anyway) - helping particularly with pronunciation rather than grammatical perfection & interruption.
Early on you might want to find out all about their background, likes/dislikes, family, hopes, interests by questioning.
That information might help you decide to use pictures, headlines, tapes of conversation (perhaps with English &/or Australian accents), stories or physical objects (show&tell items) and 'net ephemera etc that would be likely to generate conversation/opinions/discussion.
With 1on1's I used to have something specific (as above) for prompting for 1/2 the lesson and try to freeform the rest - and the latter could be discussing my life or films or fashion or drugs or sport or crime or computers or sex or politics.......the list is endless of course.
The best thing is to be flexible and respond to what your student wants - they'll be more comfortable and learn more successfully that way.
Alternatively you might need to follow a text book if you both feel that more structure would help / if they are not up to the level of freeforming conversation.
ESL teaching can be very rewarding and you're to be commended for volunteering. I'm still emailing/rewriting with/for some students from last year - we miss out on conversation of course but 2nd best is still enjoyable/educational.
[email me if you want any specific further info or if you want a list of useful ESL websites]
posted by peacay at 11:04 AM on March 28, 2005
If their spoken english is of lower int.-to-intermediate standard then perhaps emphasis ought to be placed on a topical approach rather than via book/board/grammar (I gather they will have more of that from their formal classes).
Thus the majority of each lesson can be spent actually speaking. And of course you are more encouraging of fluency rather than accuracy (as much anyway) - helping particularly with pronunciation rather than grammatical perfection & interruption.
Early on you might want to find out all about their background, likes/dislikes, family, hopes, interests by questioning.
That information might help you decide to use pictures, headlines, tapes of conversation (perhaps with English &/or Australian accents), stories or physical objects (show&tell items) and 'net ephemera etc that would be likely to generate conversation/opinions/discussion.
With 1on1's I used to have something specific (as above) for prompting for 1/2 the lesson and try to freeform the rest - and the latter could be discussing my life or films or fashion or drugs or sport or crime or computers or sex or politics.......the list is endless of course.
The best thing is to be flexible and respond to what your student wants - they'll be more comfortable and learn more successfully that way.
Alternatively you might need to follow a text book if you both feel that more structure would help / if they are not up to the level of freeforming conversation.
ESL teaching can be very rewarding and you're to be commended for volunteering. I'm still emailing/rewriting with/for some students from last year - we miss out on conversation of course but 2nd best is still enjoyable/educational.
[email me if you want any specific further info or if you want a list of useful ESL websites]
posted by peacay at 11:04 AM on March 28, 2005
One of the best things about my Français Langue Seconde tutors is that when I didn't understand a word, they would describe it in French for me instead of giving me an English translation. So, even if you happen to know any of your tutee's first language, don't use it when they're asking for definitions. Better to learn vocab through context.
Also, one of my French profs loved to teach us expressions for things that don't translate well -- things like "It's raining cats and dogs out there," or "I'm feeling kind of down." Weather, sports, emotions, any of those phrases that you'll run into but just don't make any sense if you translate it word for word, those make for invaluable lessons.
posted by heatherann at 1:29 PM on March 28, 2005
Also, one of my French profs loved to teach us expressions for things that don't translate well -- things like "It's raining cats and dogs out there," or "I'm feeling kind of down." Weather, sports, emotions, any of those phrases that you'll run into but just don't make any sense if you translate it word for word, those make for invaluable lessons.
posted by heatherann at 1:29 PM on March 28, 2005
I sometimes tutor private students in ESL, and it's always a lot more fun when it's a situation similar to what you describe, instead of exam tutoring. My advice would be to have a plan ready, but be prepared to revise or drop it. I always teach directly in response to the needs and weaknesses of the student (which is the great thing about 1 on 1), and I always try to style our work to appeal to their interests and goals. Some notes:
I think it's best not to hit too hard on high-level vocabulary. Words will crop up that require definition, but when it's a term that not even most native speakers are that familiar with, try not to waste much time on it. You'll probably need to exercise some restraint on this, because I bet you love words, and it's compelling to delve into nuances and usage - but don't. This person is being bombarded with new words, and only the ones that are used with some frequency will really stick at this point, so you'll only be wasting precious time.
It wasn't until I started to teaching that I realized that I seem to have a bent for the theatrical, and if you do too, definitely use it! I never have a lesson in which I don't end up acting out phrases, showing the difference, let's say, between a smile, a grin, and a smirk, for example, or a limp, a shuffle, and a stride. The more you can enliven the experience, the more enjoyable it will be for both of you (especially if your student is willing to join in), and the more memorable certain phrases will become for them.
Anything that I can turn into play, I do: I use my own books, ESL texts, internet, and my own imagination to make up games, quizzes, small puzzles, silly role-playing, tongue twisters, riddles, and all sorts of funny wordplay to keep things interesting, and to try to establish the whole experience, as much as possible, as something lively and encouraging instead of plodding and overwhelming.
I lavish praise, but I'm also very demanding about some things. For example, I won't allow "mealy-mouth". It is common for just about every student trying to learn a foreign language to mumble or mutter or "cheat" on the enunciation of words, letters, or letter combos that they are uncertain of, or to voice statements with a questioning lilt, and I always make them go back and repeat these words strongly, clearly articulating the "T"s or "S's or whatever was fading away. My own personal experience of trying to speak a foreign language is that if you voice the word(s) in a doubtful fashion, even if you've actually pronounced them perfectly correctly, no one will understand you. So I make them speak out boldly, even if they are unsure, and demand that they hit all the pronounced consonants.
I don't know if it's good or bad practice on my part, but I'm not whiny about homework; almost nobody does it, and for me there's too much psychic drain in dealing with the issue every time there's a lesson. (Of course, in my case, my students are paying, so if they choose to neglect work that will make the process more efficient and less time-consuming, it literally comes out of their wallet...)
As heatherann said, it's better to describe the words in English, I think, than to give the equivalent phrase, but you should judge this by your student's results rather than a set standard, and also, as she suggested, idioms are very important and helpful — but please, for the love of the gods, don't teach similar idioms together as so many textbooks prescribe! Teaching several idioms at the same time that happen to use the word "dog" or "hand" is horribly confusing. Ptooie!.
I am now completely unselfconscious when teaching, and will do and say all kinds of wacky, crazy things, which seems to be pretty effective and very popular, but when I first started I thought I should have more gravitas — as an "instructor", and all. I was wrong. Just as you can "get into a zone" in sports or music or websurfing, so can you achieve this state while teaching, but, of course, that "zone" will be different for everybody; the point is not to discount your intuition.
Finally, if I ever had a student with whom I simply couldn't relate (hasn't happened yet), I would cut off the relationship, to be fair to them. Somebody who doesn't feel comfortable outside of a very rigid format, for example, would not do well with me (or rather, I wouldn't do well for them), so there's no point in prolonging the agony, I say.
posted by taz at 12:55 AM on March 29, 2005 [1 favorite]
I think it's best not to hit too hard on high-level vocabulary. Words will crop up that require definition, but when it's a term that not even most native speakers are that familiar with, try not to waste much time on it. You'll probably need to exercise some restraint on this, because I bet you love words, and it's compelling to delve into nuances and usage - but don't. This person is being bombarded with new words, and only the ones that are used with some frequency will really stick at this point, so you'll only be wasting precious time.
It wasn't until I started to teaching that I realized that I seem to have a bent for the theatrical, and if you do too, definitely use it! I never have a lesson in which I don't end up acting out phrases, showing the difference, let's say, between a smile, a grin, and a smirk, for example, or a limp, a shuffle, and a stride. The more you can enliven the experience, the more enjoyable it will be for both of you (especially if your student is willing to join in), and the more memorable certain phrases will become for them.
Anything that I can turn into play, I do: I use my own books, ESL texts, internet, and my own imagination to make up games, quizzes, small puzzles, silly role-playing, tongue twisters, riddles, and all sorts of funny wordplay to keep things interesting, and to try to establish the whole experience, as much as possible, as something lively and encouraging instead of plodding and overwhelming.
I lavish praise, but I'm also very demanding about some things. For example, I won't allow "mealy-mouth". It is common for just about every student trying to learn a foreign language to mumble or mutter or "cheat" on the enunciation of words, letters, or letter combos that they are uncertain of, or to voice statements with a questioning lilt, and I always make them go back and repeat these words strongly, clearly articulating the "T"s or "S's or whatever was fading away. My own personal experience of trying to speak a foreign language is that if you voice the word(s) in a doubtful fashion, even if you've actually pronounced them perfectly correctly, no one will understand you. So I make them speak out boldly, even if they are unsure, and demand that they hit all the pronounced consonants.
I don't know if it's good or bad practice on my part, but I'm not whiny about homework; almost nobody does it, and for me there's too much psychic drain in dealing with the issue every time there's a lesson. (Of course, in my case, my students are paying, so if they choose to neglect work that will make the process more efficient and less time-consuming, it literally comes out of their wallet...)
As heatherann said, it's better to describe the words in English, I think, than to give the equivalent phrase, but you should judge this by your student's results rather than a set standard, and also, as she suggested, idioms are very important and helpful — but please, for the love of the gods, don't teach similar idioms together as so many textbooks prescribe! Teaching several idioms at the same time that happen to use the word "dog" or "hand" is horribly confusing. Ptooie!.
I am now completely unselfconscious when teaching, and will do and say all kinds of wacky, crazy things, which seems to be pretty effective and very popular, but when I first started I thought I should have more gravitas — as an "instructor", and all. I was wrong. Just as you can "get into a zone" in sports or music or websurfing, so can you achieve this state while teaching, but, of course, that "zone" will be different for everybody; the point is not to discount your intuition.
Finally, if I ever had a student with whom I simply couldn't relate (hasn't happened yet), I would cut off the relationship, to be fair to them. Somebody who doesn't feel comfortable outside of a very rigid format, for example, would not do well with me (or rather, I wouldn't do well for them), so there's no point in prolonging the agony, I say.
posted by taz at 12:55 AM on March 29, 2005 [1 favorite]
Ah... I should add that much of the above may sound as though I'm teaching children, which I don't. My current student is a physicist and musician, but the advice still stands.
posted by taz at 1:04 AM on March 29, 2005
posted by taz at 1:04 AM on March 29, 2005
Okay... Forgive me for rambling some more, but some of this stuff may actually prove helpful to someone, somewhere. A couple more thoughts:
When I first began, I found the textbooks I had access to lacking, boring, etc., and, in my enthusiasm, I spent hours and hours coming up with completely original lessons that I would print out and use in place of the textbook stuff. This was fine, but exhausting and unsustainable, so that was when I began to explore and adore the idea of improvisation... And the more I trusted my knack for improvisation, the more great stuff I found I could just sort of pull out of "thin air" during the course of a lesson. So, while I've never entered a lesson without some sort of fallback material, these days I most often let the specific direction take it's own course. My point here is to use the greater part of your creative energy during the lessons, instead of preparing for them, and as the lessons progress, you will find it easier to locate the sort of material you want and need as a flashpoint from which the interaction evolves, and you will feel less of a compulsion to try to plan the lesson down to the last detail.
Another possibly valuable small detail is that I almost always have at least one brief interlude in every lesson during which my student teaches me about something in his/her native language. I didn't come up with this cynically — it originated in genuine curiosity on my part — but I recognize it as a useful element in establishing the fact that this person could probably just as easily be my tutor as I am theirs. There is something incredibly humbling about trying to learn another language as an adult, so these small reminders to my students that, although I am, in some mutually agreed-on terms, an "authority figure" for them, I am also, linguistically, little more than a child when it comes to their own language, and I think this helps to render the relationship in its proper perspective and keep their morale up.
posted by taz at 2:12 AM on March 29, 2005
When I first began, I found the textbooks I had access to lacking, boring, etc., and, in my enthusiasm, I spent hours and hours coming up with completely original lessons that I would print out and use in place of the textbook stuff. This was fine, but exhausting and unsustainable, so that was when I began to explore and adore the idea of improvisation... And the more I trusted my knack for improvisation, the more great stuff I found I could just sort of pull out of "thin air" during the course of a lesson. So, while I've never entered a lesson without some sort of fallback material, these days I most often let the specific direction take it's own course. My point here is to use the greater part of your creative energy during the lessons, instead of preparing for them, and as the lessons progress, you will find it easier to locate the sort of material you want and need as a flashpoint from which the interaction evolves, and you will feel less of a compulsion to try to plan the lesson down to the last detail.
Another possibly valuable small detail is that I almost always have at least one brief interlude in every lesson during which my student teaches me about something in his/her native language. I didn't come up with this cynically — it originated in genuine curiosity on my part — but I recognize it as a useful element in establishing the fact that this person could probably just as easily be my tutor as I am theirs. There is something incredibly humbling about trying to learn another language as an adult, so these small reminders to my students that, although I am, in some mutually agreed-on terms, an "authority figure" for them, I am also, linguistically, little more than a child when it comes to their own language, and I think this helps to render the relationship in its proper perspective and keep their morale up.
posted by taz at 2:12 AM on March 29, 2005
--establishing the fact that this person could probably just as easily be my tutor as I am theirs--
That's a good point. For me: I purposefully avoided using the local language during a lesson - more from the point of view that it took my mind away from the work at hand (and I had my own language lessons elsewhere) - and I wasn't so experienced that I could 'work' the room to the same advanced level Taz seems to have reached, but each to their own. By comparison I would always seek more information about their interests/work or the local culture but I think it serves a similar purpose - reinforcing the fact that their opinion is similarly valid and interesting. [Although, once the lesson was over I would revert to Englo-Viet speak...1/2 and 1/2 which I think was appreciated.]
But I certainly 2nd the improv' approach and imbuing the lessons with a sense of fun/life/craziness. I found it very constricting and frustrating early on - learning just how inadequate texts and the internet are - the job always requires much more immediate examples or demonstrations to fit the person/class in front of you. One of the greatest difficulties for me, in a way, was discovering games and puzzles (my 'party tricks') and the like that I was comfortable adapting to various grammatical nuances - being able to 'play' and moulding it is very important and I certainly never realized that when I did the 4 week course. (nor did I realize how bereft of basic gameplaying skills I was!! But it all changed slowly for the better over time)
posted by peacay at 7:47 AM on March 29, 2005
That's a good point. For me: I purposefully avoided using the local language during a lesson - more from the point of view that it took my mind away from the work at hand (and I had my own language lessons elsewhere) - and I wasn't so experienced that I could 'work' the room to the same advanced level Taz seems to have reached, but each to their own. By comparison I would always seek more information about their interests/work or the local culture but I think it serves a similar purpose - reinforcing the fact that their opinion is similarly valid and interesting. [Although, once the lesson was over I would revert to Englo-Viet speak...1/2 and 1/2 which I think was appreciated.]
But I certainly 2nd the improv' approach and imbuing the lessons with a sense of fun/life/craziness. I found it very constricting and frustrating early on - learning just how inadequate texts and the internet are - the job always requires much more immediate examples or demonstrations to fit the person/class in front of you. One of the greatest difficulties for me, in a way, was discovering games and puzzles (my 'party tricks') and the like that I was comfortable adapting to various grammatical nuances - being able to 'play' and moulding it is very important and I certainly never realized that when I did the 4 week course. (nor did I realize how bereft of basic gameplaying skills I was!! But it all changed slowly for the better over time)
posted by peacay at 7:47 AM on March 29, 2005
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Since conversation fluency is a goal, you might try occasionally recruiting a friend to join you and your partner. It helps a lot to have confidence talking to people who have different accents speak at different speeds. Similarly, take the person out to stores or businesses and go through a typical transaction. Or ask him to teach you something--maybe explain how to cook a traditional dish from his culture or present a simple lesson about how verb tenses work in English.
When I was a math tutor I would sometimes get frustrated at the fact that my partner, while very bright, did essentially no practice on his own outside of our sessions. But the reality is that he had a job and a family and was trying to make ends meet--it was an important thing for me to keep in mind.
posted by handful of rain at 10:29 AM on March 28, 2005