Jose Martin, Mexico
I've been teaching English in Mexico for five years, and I've found that the thing that matters is not speaking and sounding like a native, it is true that the closest our pronounciation is to that of natives the best we are going to make ourselves understood, but the most important thing is to be able to communicate in the other language.

I have shown to my students through video interviews that they can actually interact with natives even when their pronounciation is not as "good" as that of a native. It's really rewarding when you see students talking to natives without worrying about their pronounciation, and making their best to learn and practice the language.

Tjang Kian Liong, Bandung, Indonesia
Dear Reza Sa'ee Dehghan in Iran,

You ask how we can make our students speak purely English spontaneously. What about through simple but interesting games? If we play a competitive game - in which all instructions, questions, and scoring are conducted in English, and if the game is interesting enough for students, then in no time the students will focus on the game and forget that they are doing a lesson. And, if we do this quite often, the students will gradually get used to doing things in English. After that, through different simple activities, we can gradually drive our students to unconsciously move towards simple dialogs or even simple group discussions, for example, starting from very simple data collecting, and aims at more difficult brainstorming in the future. At last, the students may hopefully be ready to be introduced to more serious group discussions, role plays, or even presentations. Of course it will take some time.

Olga, Mexico
One activity you can do in order to improve, what I think you call "natural" English is; Set your classroom as if it were a traditional american store ( HEB,WAL MART K-MART ETC). Asign rolls example; the cashiers, custumers, bakers. Etc. The purpose of the activity is that your students really feel the enviroment of a store. There they will know if they are able to ask for something they need, offer a product or just sustain a conversation. Tell your students they need to speak English because people there speaks only English (dialogues are not necesaries "LET THEM BE" ) If you haven't done this activity try to do it. I know that as a good teacher you will find the way to make it better.

Luu Thi Kim Nhung, Vietnam
I'm interested in your question since it is also the case in most institutes in Vietnam. As far as I'm concerned, it's hard work for non-native teachers to create a really native context. Also, students tend to communicate with their teacher in their native language when they fail to find the right vocab and structures to express their ideas.

So, what could we, teachers, do to encourage our students to make the best use of their time in class? I do believe that we can use such simple equipments as video tapes, CDs, etc. to create a native-like environment. Of course, the teacher should act like a native, that is, s/he should be more more dynamic (trying to imitate native speakers' actions). One important factor, in my opinion, is the teacher's pronunciation. If it's near native-like, the students will be more motivated to speak English. In short, an English class of non-native speakers can be made more live with the native contexts provided by the extracts from the tapes, CDs
and an active teacher.

Regarding the students'lack of vocab and structures, the teacher should explain to them that they should form a habit of "making good use of what they have". More often than not, the students try to find ways to express their opinions in the way they think in their mother tongue. Surely their vocab and structures in their mother tongue surmount those in English. If we tell them to think in English, all their ideas will be formed within the Englis vocab and structures they have acquired. Thus, it's much easier for them to say what they think in English, stimulating their participation in the conversations in English in class.

In summary, a good utilization of equipment available plus the teacher's dynamics and students' thinking in English can help make a non-native class of English more "natural". I hope my comments can be of some help to you. Success in your career of teaching!

Jacinta Ewuzie, Nigeria
Teaching natural English may be the same thing as a wild goose chase. As far as my knowledge of English language is concerned nobody speaks the recieved pronounciation which is the phonetic standard core. What should should be encouraged is the use of audiovisuals to facilitate teaching and learning but that does not mean the teachers of English who are non-native speakers of English should not try to improve themselves on the acceptable accent/pronounciation of English language.

Habib, Pakistan
I think for learning natural English we should give more and more attention towards the listening skill. First improvement in listening skill will really be helpful in learning to speak natural English. But the listening extracts should be taken from the native speakers. because the laguage spoken by native speakers is the real madel or pattern to b followed. This listening will help us to store every sound and pronunciation in our minds. And after having a lot of practice in listening we will be able to speak natural English.

Inez Rufus, India
Teaching 'natural' English is indeed a challenge. I find that the main problem is that learners of ESL don't have the vocabulary to put thoughts into words, so they think in their mother tongues, translate the thought and the result is incorrect syntax and 'vague' vocabulary. I tell my students that spoken English uses simple words. This breaks down 'fright' barriers. I have mini presentations in class, record them, play them back and suggest alternative ways of sying the same thing. Over a period of time, with more words in their vocabulary bank, they begin to use better words and phrases. I also have rewards: Green sweets=Well done!, Yellow=Getting Better, Red=Need to work harder.

Naresh, India
As far as my knowledge is concerned, any teacher who teaches English should have a distinct view about natural English. Non-native teachers can improve their accent and pronunciation to a great extent by listening to BBC. Unless the teacher himself is a persistent learner, he can never teach better.

Inés, Argentina
I will answer back with another question: should our goal in teaching be helping students speak as native speakers do? I think this is quite a far fetched objective. We are not natives and neither is the environment where we teach. Shouldn't we try to help our students become "intercultural speakers" instead? Speakers who are able to communicate in a foreign language, but who also are conscious about -and try to shorten- the cultural gap that exists among speakers?

Anuradha Sudharsan, India
Natural English to me is the variety of English spoken by educated speakers in your country. It is the variety of English accepted and respected by educated people of your country. This variety will be definitely different from the native varieties. I think we as teachers should have a realistic and achievable goal in teaching English, and not waste our efforts in teaching a variety which is not used by people in our country.

Simtang, South Korea
Well, I have a different opinion on the natural English. As far as students are non-native English speakers, they don't have to be all spontaneous and natural in speaking English. I mean why do all the people speak English spontaneously? If the meaning and intention of their communication are alright, everything is acceptable. Things that needed to students are the constant interest and confidence in learning English.

Sabine, Germany
I agree with those saying there are several Englishes in our modern world. In a way there are all natural, and only very few of them are really perfect. Of course, everybody learning a foreign language automatically tries to "imitate", or "copy" native speakers. On the other hand, telling your students they have to speak or write like native speakers shouldn't be the primary goal of an English lesson - as it is very difficult to achieve.

The primary goal is communication. We as teachers should try and create a learning environment encouraging fluency and - most importantly - a self-confident usage of the language. Therefore, we should interrupt our students' speech only if their mistakes really disturb communaction. They should learn that their speech doesn't have to be perfect to be understood.

A very good way of showing them how much they are able to do in the language is a little game called "Just one minute", which works with all levels perfectly well (and which some of you very probably know). Have your students work in pairs and give them a topic, (such as "Shopping", "Watching TV", "Mobile phones", "Walking through the desert", ...) and have student 1 speak about it for one minute. Stop the talk and give the next topic for student 2. This can be repeated for 4-5 times. Try not to interrupt your students. The only person who is allowed to do so is the second partner of the pair if she/he doesn't understand. However, monitor your students - but again not too closely not to restrict their "feeling of freedom". Note down major mistakes and discuss them in class after finishing the activity.

The main aim of this activity is to overcome the fear of mistakes (which is a typical German problem). Students realise, "I can speak English on a lot of different topics and I'm understood!"

Another important point is to tell your students that learning English doesn't finish after the lesson is over. Explain them how to use the Internet or other media to constantly improve their command of English. Listening to authentic English is very important (in class and outside). And of course grammar is important - but not as an aim in itself. Classical gap filling exercises can be only the very first step. After explaining the rules and drilling the forms, switch over to communicative grammar activities as soon as possible. Also, take time to always listen carefully to your students' linguistic problems and needs and structure your lessons accordingly. Have fun teaching English and convey your enthusiasm to your students. This is how the most natural English is produced!

Flora Zhang, China
Try you best to use genuine English in class, from the tape, TV, DVD. e.g. Natural English --when your students can think and express in 'natural' English way, they have grasped English.

Najwa Ibrahim, Lebanon
Actually I think the purpose for teaching English is communication and not pronunciation. It is not a big problem if a student speaks English in an African or Lebanese accent but what matters is the fluency and understanding. I would like to add that it is impossible for a student to become like a native English speaker unless he lives in an English speaking country.

Divya Mehta, India
Natural English is the way you speak using standard English with the right pronunciation.A phonetic drill could be made as an activity. Accent is secondary and should not be imitated.

Kulnicha Butterfield,Thailand
First of all, teacher should speak natural English themselves because student can learn from that. One more thing teacher should be fun with teaching. You can bring a lot of activities for teaching in the class such as movie, cartoon, and music. Student can get use to with listening and can improve their speaking as well.

G Steed, Poland
NN Teacher; prepare real English conversation scripts, have students read them. If possible, record and play them back. Have students write real English conversation scripts. Again, have students read them. Scripts should be in 'informal style'. If possible bring in native English speaker to criticise and demonstrate.

Israel Jayakaran, Madras, India
The learners from Non-English speaking countries need a different method altogether. In my opinion, this should be through a sentence formula. Once the students understand the struicture of a sentence and the various slots in it and what kind of words would go in each, they would be able to construct their own and speak or write. There's nothing known as Natural English for these students. All they need to know is how to put their ideas/thoughts in a sentence form through the structural method.

J.Manjula, India
English can be taught in a very natural way by means of short questions and answers . Grammar is introduced in an informal way without defining it . Teaching an universal language is made simple certainly through conversational mode.

Bilal Qashou, Poland
You are absolutely right when asked what natural English was. In today's world where non-native speakers outnumber native ones 3 to 1, is it possible to identify natural English? Is there one standard English which should be taught, or there are "whether we like it or not" many Englishes. So, it's the communicative role of the language which should be considered in the process of teaching. We should provide our learners to that degree of being fluent, understood, and accurate. In conclusion, it is impossible to reach the degree of fluency of a native speaker.

Rebecca, China
I think the key is to think about what is natural English for them. Often students will say, "I want to speak exactly like you". Vocabulary is an important issue. Students at slightly higher levels often want to use idiomatic expressions and proverbs. While these things are interesting for them to learn and good for them to be able to recognise, it should be stressed to them that if they start forcefully using these sorts of phrases, the last thing their English will sound is natural.

I personally believe that these things only come naturally after spending a long time in an English-speaking country. I once had a group in London who, because I'm from East London, insisted on me teaching them some Cockney rhyming slang. I kept telling them that it was something they would never be able to use naturally (especially considering a lot of British filmmakers can't get it right) but they were insistent. Luckily, after an hour's lesson, they were so scared by it they never asked again!

I agree with some of the above comments that listening is a useful tool. There is so much authentic material available now that we don't have to rely on old listening cassettes with inaccurate native accents talking about strange or boring subjects. In my current job I also use a lot of role-plays (pre-teaching key vocabulary and phrases beforehand), which focus on situations the students may actually encounter. For Chinese students, even asking people personal questions in a natural manner is something they have to be taught so I try to create situations where they would have to do this.

I think if you make what you're teaching relevant to the students, expose them to the right amount of vocabulary, and, where possible, encourage them to read and listen to English outside the classroom, they will learn natural and effective English.

Jamie, Dominican Republic
1.Find a better school, think about starting your own. 2.Stop telling them 'to think in English', tell them that your aim is develop the spontanaeity that they already have as e.g they already spontaneously reply to 'How you are you?' with 'Fine/Very Well..' I've never had a student who was formerly taught by a non-native speaker, who had not been told to 'think in English'. Such an approach makes students ask them selves, 'how do I do that' and so places another barrier. I also speak Spanish, but never 'think' in it. As in English, I sometimes have to 'search for a word', that itself is spontaneous.

Eric, Thailand
What a great topic! In both Thailand and China, I've taught students who have been studying English for 8-10 years. They have been taught English as an academic subject (e.g., there's a "right" and a "wrong" answer) with most of the emphasis on grammar and vocabulary. Most are incapable of hearing natural spoken English because they've not been exposed to it (audiotapes are scripted and, worse, transcripts are relied on).

My students desperately needed to be taught listening skills. But first, they had to be weaned away from L1-L2 dictionaries in which English words are transliterated. Both languages are tonal and so, when transliterated, tones are forced on English words. I forbid L1-L2 dictionaries and transliteration in class notes and lexical notebooks. Second, several phonemes, especially terminal consonants, and many consonant clusters don't exist in L1. Their native teachers have difficulty with these sounds, so they have "mistrained ears," so to speak. For example, when I say "He slipped straight down the stairs," they cannot hear it. If I said to my Thai students, "He sa-lip sa-tray dow da sa-tai," they understand. So, I have to do a lot of modeling and drilling. Again, my goal is less to get them to pronounce these as does a native speaker, but to correctly hear them.

I applaud you for your emphasis on spontaneous speech. Isn't self-expression the point of spoken language?

Getting my students to express themselves in English has been very difficult because they are terrified of making mistakes (it is a matter of face, actually). So, I enthusiastically praise any attempt to speak, regardless of errors (I save most error correction for the last 5-10 mintues of class and I studiously avoid grammar discussions unless absolutely necessary). Often, I find myself saying, "I understood what a student was trying to say when he said, '_____', but we usually say it '________'."

From the beginning, I tell my students that the minute they walk into my class, they are in the USA (I'm American). They get new identities (they choose English names). I clearly define that the goal in class cannot be that they speak like a native speaker (as most of my Chinese students expected), but to communicate. They are relieved when I explain that there are many "errors" that don't cause communication problems anyway. It is very important that I earn my students' trust by creating a relaxed and enjoyable environment in which mistakes are seen as part of the learning process.

My Chinese students really blossomed. Most expressed themselves impressively on a variety of topics (including the forbidden ones, like politics!). My Thai students, however, have to battle a social taboo against giving their opinion. Role-plays (e.g., "you're a British businessperson....") and games that require fast thinking work best with Thai students . I have to teach that in Western democracies, good citizens are expected to express their opinons on a range of social and political issues. I have to teach this because Thai people are often offended by how straightforward Westerners can be.

The goal, I think, should not be to get the students to speak "natural English," but to get them to hear it. With improved listening skills comes better pronunciation and students are able to acquire better oral grammar skills.

Since most of my students are most likely to be interacting with English-speaking foreigners from many countries, exposure to a variety of accents seems important (not that there is a lot of audio-visual material available). I use both British and North American material and anything else (Australian, Indian, etc.) I can find.

Thanks for stimulating this discussion. It helped me clarify some of my thinking.

Paola Lo Cicero, Italy
what I teach is of course non natural English,is just a language which allows to communicate with as many people as possible and to make yourself understood by English native speakers

M A Shaikh, India
There is no such thing as standard English.There are several Englishes now.One should take care of sounds and stress of English and continue with the variety available.

Buhari Zurmi, Saudi Arabia.
Standard English,as spoken by the natives,should be the goal of any ESL/EFL class.This can achieved through listening to a lot of English spoken by native speakers. How- ever, in making our students speak natural English, we must consider a number of factors. For example, how much time do they have for listening and practicing the language? Is the environment condusive? Do we have available resources? Natural English is the delight of all ESL/EFL teachers and those who are resourceful try to ensure this using the best possible means.

Ahmed Imam
Dear Raza, in todays era of global village, one of the best way is to use audio and video aids to help the students how to utter words in the same manner of native speakers. secondly reading stories to them in the way that you use expressions in the same manner will automatically develop interests in them for the language and also they will try to speak in the similar way of native speakers. last but not the least is that students should always be encouraged to speak as much as in english even if they speak wrongly in the first try.

Guadalupe, Argentina
In order to have your students talking natural English, the first thing you have to do is speak natural English yourself. The key is to create an ESL context, i.e. speaking English in all possible classroom situations. If you teach beginners, what you can do is tune down the words you choose, but never give up speaking in the foreign language. It can be hard at the beginning, but try and see, you'll have very good long term results.

María José Hernández, Spain
Dear Reza Sa'ee and all readers, It is a key question which may have several answers. Mine was given to me four years ago by a colegue and, I can assure you, works quite well!

I establish from the beginning of the year that in the classroom there is a golden rule: "Speak English". I even have a poster with it on the wall! If a student speaks Spanish, I throw them a fluffy soft toy parrot called Mr Parrot. This student passes it on to the next student who does the same. At the end of the class, the last student who has Mr Parrot must prepare a 1 or 2 minute oral presentation about a topic we agree on. The topic is chosen by the student out of a list of 100 I have. Students do not know which number corresponds to which topic. The topics can be adapted to the level of the class.

Students are highly motivated and eager to learn tools to express themselves in English. In order not to put to much stress on the students, they need tools, such as, "How do you say...in English?", "What's the meaning of...?", "Can I go to the toilet?", "Can I borrow your pencil?", "Here you are", and so on.

The amount of vocabulary and structures they learn is huge, besides, they learn it because they need it.

There is an added benefit: the noise is reduced to the minimum, and disruptive students are discouraged from disturbing the class, because everybody is trying to find ways to say "it" in English.

I have been using this resource for 4 years and my students have made a huge progess and they are very happy of the learning.

I do another activity as a warmer. We have a soft toy frog, Froggy, who is much loved by children. They ask questions as they throw Froggy to other students, who have to answer. The round of question-answer continues until all of them had a chance. You can do the activity more challenging by setting rules: they cannot repeat the same question, you can decide the tense of the question or the topic, etc. The activity provides excellent practice on fluency.

I hope you like them! Good luck!