I am not sure the whole teaching situation around this work, but I find the English language teaching here in China is, more or less, distorted due to the Chinese-featured situation - not all students can continue their further education - that makes teachers and students have to face pass the different exams instead of real use of English language in the real world.
Based on this, I have tried to encourage my students to speak more though there is no big part in the exam, but I have found that my students can improve their English language really. What's more they can also get high score when they sit for different exam.
Here, I would like to present one question hovering in my mind:
Can the students acquire the languge at the same time get the ability to pass different written exam?
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l am teaching English in a secondary school, as a third language, but while teaching l found many problems concerning speaking English in class as 90 percent of the student can't understand me thus, l found my self obliged to use translation to make them understand what l am doing.
l need tips to make my job easier and make my students more motivated to learn English
I have taught English to first generation literates over a decade in the hilly regions of North East India. I used to face similar problems. One simple measure that can be taken is to use the native language too during the English class. Of course translation is a strict no-no. When you use the local language students get more motivated to learn English.
Again you may introduce them to a few nuances of English language every now and then, in terms of spellings, grammar, syntax etc. Even common errors committed by local English speakers! This will again motivate them to learn English.
Remedial teaching is another method where an individual is given special attention. One important point about Remedial Teaching is that the student feels that he is wanted, that he is liked by the teacher and that he will be able to improve his language if he tries. Thus this boosts his ego as well!
To top it all, the teacher should be friendly with the students. There are teachers who take out all their personal frustrations and irritations on students. That should be avoided. Even a small improvement shown by a student should be praised so that he feels he can do it.
I guess such an approach will go a long way in teaching English to non-native speakers.
This is a common problem faced by teachers all over, where English is the second or third language. You have mentioned that your students are motivated and pick up the English Language fast. It is here that you need to get across the importance of the English Language from a career perspective.
As a trainer with close to over 8 years of experience in India, I find students from good backgrounds also taking a backseat as far as the English Language is concerned. They have a feeling of superiority which creeps in more because the teachers brand them as intelligent students. The learning process stops here. It is only when they start their careers, do they realize, that they have a long way to go as far the English Language is concerned.
Also bear in mind, that most of the learning happens at the secondary level. You have a very critical role to play and you need to keep on reiterating the importance of the English Language for shaping up their career.
Coming to the methodology, you can use a mix of individual and group activities, role plays, games, quiz, and gradually take the whole class with you.
Yeah, it is true that we are teaching English to those treat is as their second or third foreign language. We also realize that many young children whose parents speak different languages can acquire a second language in circumstances similar to those of first language acquisition, the vast majority of people are not exposed to a second language until much later. Moreover, for most people, the ability to use their first language is rarely matched, even after yers of study, by a comparable ability in the second language. There is something of an enigma here, since there is apparently no other system of 'knowledge' which one can 'learn' better at two or three years old than at fifteen or twenty-five. A number of reasons have been put forward to account for this enigma, and a number of proposals have been made which might enable learners to become as proficient in a second language as they are in their first language.
First, let's focus on the difference between acquisition and learning
The term 'acquisition', when used of language, refers to the gradual develpment of ability in a language by using it naturally in communicative situations. The term 'learning', however, applies to a conscious process of accumulating knowledge of the vocabulary and grammar of a language. For example, mathematics is learned, not acquired.