Are you guilty of any of these erroneous practices in ELT or language teaching? Any one of them can easily derail the students’ efforts in language acquisition and learning or cause them grave problems. So, review these areas, make any needed adjustments to your teaching practice. Don’t you be a stumbling block to your learners’ progress.

1. Don’t adapt materials to the learning style and characteristics of the students.

Unfortunately, the learning style most reflected in the classroom is that of the teacher. It is paramount that concepts and material be presented in a way most suitable for the learners. Jack C. Richards, principal author of the widely popular Interchange textbook series said, “Student learning styles may be an important factor in the success of teaching and may not necessarily reflect those that teachers recommend.” Why? Because teachers use their own preferences in the class room, not necessarily those of the students. Do an analysis of your class group’s learning characteristics, then apply the results to your teaching.

2. Follow the course book

A course book is usually not intended to be a “bible”, but all too often teachers follow it “religiously”. They do nothing else, nor include outside materials in their teaching. If you read the teacher’s notes that typically accompany an English or language text, you’ll most likely note that the course book is intended to be a guide for teaching with supplementary materials widely used to expand, deepen or reinforce presented materials and themes. Use the course book sequence as a guide. Freely supplement its exercises and course materials with your own creations or at the very least with materials adapted from other sources. As mentioned in point number one, plan your lessons and materials to meet the needs, learning styles and characteristics of your learners.

3. Don’t encourage and promote language practice outside the class room

With an alarming number of schools and institutes decreasing student to teacher classroom contact hours per week it is essential for learners to receive additional practice and input. There are requirements of as little as four hours per week or even less in many publicly or government-funded educational centers. Can a student really learn a language in only 45 hours? Or put it this way, is it reasonable to expect mastery of any sort in a language after six or seven days in a foreign country where that language is spoken? Spread that contact intensity over a six-month period; does that make language learning and acquisition better or worse? Now, throw in the learners using their first language half of each day of language learning and you have a situation degraded to a nearly impossible state.

Finally, factor in class and semester breaks of several weeks per year and it’s certainly no wonder Jorge, Chen Shen or Efrosini can’t hold even a basic conversation after studying English (or another foreign language) under these conditions for two, three or even more years. Encouragement and promotion of foreign language practice outside the class room is absolutely vital to the success of the learners.

So again, don’t you be a stumbling block to your learners’ progress. If you are guilty of any of these erroneous practices in ELT or language teaching, make any needed adjustments to your teaching practice ASAP. Then watch your learners grow, improve and practice their new language like never before. Please feel free to contact me with your questions, comments or requests.

By: Larry M. Lynch

About the Author:

If you want to master a language naturally and effortlessly, the sensible thing to do is to live it. This simply means to incorporate the language into your everyday life. How? By listening, reading and speaking it, basically. But you don’t live in the correct country? Not a problem at all.

This is easier than you think, because the goal is to encourage passive learning by your brain. Passive learning simply means learning without consciously doing so. If you like the sound of it, wait till you see these ways to learn languages with little effort:

Watch Foreign Movies

If you are just starting out, I don’t recommend you to head straight to the cinema. Instead, rent a foreign language movie with good subtitles to help you understand. Switching the subtitle settings will provide the necessary translation for you to grasp its meaning, application and pronunciation.

Pause and rewind as you please. This method allow you to listen to the language being used in everyday manner. Plus, you get to pick whatever movie you want – be it romance, thriller, comedy or others. Who knows? You may end up liking certain actors or actresses and want to research on them later – more learning opportunities for you.

Listen To Foreign Songs

Sometimes we have difficulty in grasping lyrics even when the song is in our native language. So the first thing to avoid is listening to fast modern songs. Many will agree that modern music has less depth and lyrics that don’t necessary make sense, with a lot of repetition thrown in. Go for slower, classical hits that actually tell a story and is sang in a slower pace with less dominating music.

Children songs are great starting point and will be easily embossed in your mind as the tunes are usually very simple. Before you know it, you’ll be singing along too. Remember to go for famous hits so you can easily get its lyrics online.

Read A Foreign Book

This method is reserved for advanced learners because otherwise you will be reading from the dictionary instead of the book. You may even be bored or frustrated and never end up finishing the book. Reading is perfect by any means but amateurs are adviced to use the method below.

Read Foreign Newspaper Articles

Some newspaper sites have different language versions and this is a great tool to improve your foreign language. Apart from updating yourself with the latest news, you’ll be on fastrack to mastering the language of your choice.

Join A Foreign Language Community In Your Area

There are many people just like you who lives nearby if you care to search. Language institutions are a good place to look. If you do join a language class, you’ll instantly be connected to classmates with similar interest. Speak only your target language with this group of people and you will become a fluent speaker in no time.

Having friends certainly make learning a breeze. Organizing related trips and eating sessions at foreign restaurants are also great activities that you can take part in.

Join A Foreign Language Community Online

Online communities are the ‘in’ thing and is a great channels to get to know more people who speak your target language from all over the world. They are the best source of information to do research should you wish to visit a country in the future.

Plus, native speakers love it when people are trying to learn their language and will do anything to help you out.

Get A Penpal / Join Posting Forums

The goal here is to encourage you to write in your target language. Writing to someone that lives far away and receiving feedbacks for your writing takes the monotony out of writing exercises in your room.

Visit The Country

Expensive as it seems, this is definitely a worthy investment. It may take longer to save up, and you may have to forgo shorter trips to make it there, but it makes your language learning journey complete, much like a pilgrimage.

Join An Immersion Course

Wish to visit a foreign country but don’t know where to start? Take up an immersion course! The course organizer will arrange a trip for you ranging from a week to a month to country that speaks your target language. You can even stay with a host family and learn language while enjoying your vacation at the same time. Perfect for busy people who want to do two things at once.

By: Steff X

About the Author:

It may be Farsi, the great Spanish, or the nasal French. It can be the rolling R’s of Russia; whatever you fancy to speak during the university days are now becoming a need, more than a three unit elective course to fill out the college curriculum. That is become the world has become borderless. Come to think of it; the Philippines’ next door neighbor is the newest super power who happens to be a great IT hub: India. Why is that? They both are the most outsourced countries in the world.

Why not learn Hindu then? You can if you want; you may have to start reading now what the national language of the Philippines is. That is how small the world can be since the US military started the technological phenomenon which led to the world being one global village. A global citizen then must be able to speak more than his own tongue if only to make him more intelligible if not adorable to people of other races who in one way or another may be a business partner, a consultant, a client, an employer, or simply a confidante for all your business transactions or what have you.

You can’t strike a thorough conversation with just a Guten Abend, if you are dealing with an equally language deficient German-speaking source for a Japanese news agency. That is why you need to polish your English and look for a true blue German-speaking translator who can prolong more the interview than by merely preparing your questionnaire with a German-English dictionary in tow. You can also do a thorough self-study on the language by staying indoors for three days, poring over a German-English book, if only to understand the basic level of German language, to tide you over for next day’s activity, which is going to a German-speaking supermarket.

But if you are wise enough, you would see yourself going to a language school and frantically looking for a short term Russian course to enroll in, for you to have a brush up with your rolling tongue for the sake of closing a deal with a Russian prospect for an online business venture. At the end of the day, you would more likely find an old lady whose Russian is that of the time when the USSR was in its early formation. The worst part is she makes you read after her, thinking the best means to learn the language is through child-like repetition.

Then you discovered somewhere that it would be better to have a self-directed language training done by honing your association skills as you make yourself widely available for a Spanish Opus Dei priest who would talk straight in Spanish the whole day you are together every day. That is because you made him stay in your flat for two weeks straight, thinking he would make a better language learner out of you.

The truth is that the chances you have for learning a foreign language with these strategies are more like getting into a conservatory of music when all you know about it is Britney Spears. That is why there are language learning audio books to help you in your foreign language learning. You won’t have to do all these outlandish if not preposterous ideas to learn a foreign language of your choice. Pimsleur language learning audio books are here. They would allow you to learn the language while you are jogging, walking the dog, taking a leak, or whatever routine you have. Pimsleur makes it possible for you to learn the language and speak it as if you are a native speaker. You can get this great language aid from an online audio book vendor like The Talking Bookstore.

Say goodbye in Japanese without poring over your electronic Japanese-English translator now.

By: Jim Oneil

About the Author:

Spain observed by foreign reporters; more cultural diversity in one book is sheer impossible.

“Vaya Pais,” the original title is coordinated by a Swiss journalist (Werner Herzog) and portraits the country and its people by means of eighteen short stories. Written by the same number of journalists from nine different countries (The UK, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, the US, France, Mexico, Italy and The Netherlands). The book is presented by a journalist from El Pais, under the title; eighteen pairs of eyes and a single “Amor”…

IT is the same “AMOR” – does it need a translation? – that recently has been elected as the most beautiful Spanish word. (http://www.escueladeescritores.com/modules.php?name=Actividades&file=tienes-la-palabra).

“Amor” or not, this book is a jewel for everybody interested in Spain or culture. You will read about Spain as a country full of controversies, but you are also given insight in the culture of each of the author. One of the most striking details is that a few journalists wrote their article in their own language, whereas most wrote in Spanish. And language is where it starts with if you are to understand any country.

This (language) theme is written by Herzog himself and deals with the so-called “egocentrics” of the language. Where in most languages we say – “I’m coming or I’ll be with you in a moment,” this viewpoint is switched in Spain; where they utter the same in a different way – “I’m going to you”. Now or shortly. So it’s not the other person who gets the center of attention, but the subject who is expressing the phrase – mentioning that he will leave soon. (You just have to wait for him).

In fact this is not only a Spanish issue, but equally true for most South and Middle American dialects.
Spaniards do not get drunk. That is also interesting, more if you know who raised this topic. One of the brilliant habits is that people in Spain eat nearly always when they drink. First they eat and alcohol comes second. Ok, I can tell you that there are these minor exceptions, but it does seem true most of the time.

Most people who dwell on this territory for some time know that it is one of the most noisiest countries in the world, after I think lead by Japan. And it is just Masako from Japan raising this topic. But she mentions the difference with the inward drawn Japanese where Spaniard are much more outgoing, not only in frequenting restaurants, cafes and bars, but also referring to being more extraverted. It is nearly impossible to find nobody on the street during whatever hour during the day.
Catalunya is mentioned a few times in the book, together with the struggle for independence. And about the special relation between Catalunya and Holland in this (soccer) area, due to the influence of Johan Cruyff. Who is also very fond of the Catalan Community, but this love didn’t influence him to learn the Catalan Language.

The book is full of short precious anecdotes and other contributions for example from Portugal; about the Iberian Peninsula “that seems to stop at the Portuguese border.” About the demonstrations that “do not exist here. In France, we raise our voice about anything we do not agree with.” Its about solidarity “up to a certain level.” About information – “sometimes there is just not any available,” very annoying if you are used that it is there. About the Spanish patience when there is a roadblock. And about the soap you can write down when you have lived in an apartment for some time; never a dull moment. And about the talk shows where you should really try hard figuring out who is talking; all at the same time…

Indeed; what a country. It’s hard to understand this country, the people. But this book gives you some more clues. Con Amor…

- Vaya Pais, Werner Herzog (coord.) Aguilar 2006 -

]]> http://www.bayareasomali.org/about-spain-what-a-country/feed 0 http://www.bayareasomali.org/foreign-women-how-to-avoid-international-dating-disasters-while-finding-the-foreign-lady-you-love http://www.bayareasomali.org/foreign-women-how-to-avoid-international-dating-disasters-while-finding-the-foreign-lady-you-love#comments Thu, 27 Jan 2011 16:37:56 +0000 admin http://www.bayareasomali.org/foreign-women-how-to-avoid-international-dating-disasters-while-finding-the-foreign-lady-you-love

Men who seek to meet foreign women are looking to fulfill their dreams of love and romance through international dating. However most men fear the foreign ladies they get to know are only looking to trick them out of money or score a free ride to a richer country.

These fears are preyed upon by mainstream media which hypes and over sensationalizes stories of ill-fated foreign love affairs with the purpose of selling more newspapers and T.V. ad space.

How To Avoid International Dating Dangers

In reality the danger of fraud is not nearly the monster the news makes it out to be nor is it complicated to spot and avoid.

Leaping over the pitfalls and dodging the dangers of international dating is simple and only a question of common sense. Over ninety-five percent (95%) of the foreign women who are looking to date and marry men from other countries are honest ladies with sincere intentions; they are looking for love, friendship and affection just like the guys are.

Ongoing fraud investigations are showing that many of the cases initially thought to be master-minded by foreign women are run by men posing to be women. Many of the scams actually operate from inside the U.S. where con artists pretend to be women living in a foreign country. Beating these crooks at their own game only requires a touch of logic and good judgment.

There is one hard and fast rule which is guaranteed to protect your heart and your money one-hundred percent (100%) of the time you use it. The rule is, never send her any money. The reason for this may seem too simple to believe but it is the absolute reality.

A real woman from any country has too much pride to ask a man she only knows via online or postal letters and phone calls for financial support. No matter the reason, a lady who cares for you won’t ask you to help her with a telephone bill, internet payment, groceries or to cover the medical expenses of a sick or dying relative when she has not been with you.

She won’t ask you to pay for her visa or plane ticket to come see you until you have first traveled to go see her. If she is hinting at or requesting financial support before you meet her, it is highly advised you let her go.

If you communicate with a woman online who agrees to marry you before you meet her face-to-face, get away from her. Foreign women are passionate and affectionate but they are not Martians from outer space.

They don’t fall in love with men they have never kissed, they don’t ask for money from guys they just met and they won’t travel thousands of miles to visit with someone who has never visited them.

If you notice anything strange or out of place, mark it as a warning sign. When you have enough warning signs it is time to get away from her. And no matter what she says, do not send her money.

Do not let your sound judgment get glazed over with false promises of paradise. There is an infinite supply of fine foreign ladies all looking for the right man, all you have to do is make yourself available and don’t get caught up on one single girl you have never met.

This is why meeting several women from the same region is important, because travel is a huge part of discovering your foreign love. You need to set yourself up with options from which to create opportunities.

Where The Real Sharks Swim

The sharks who are looking to eat you alive are not the foreign ladies you may meet but rather the online dating sites and marriage agencies who promise to deliver you the girl of your dreams for a small fee of course.

Unfortunately most sites and agencies are more interested in suctioning money out of your pocket than pumping your life full of love.

Do not join agencies and paid sites which fail to offer at least a 30-day money back guarantee. Compare services and prices for introductions, some businesses demand insanely high prices just for the email and basic information of one woman.

If you pick 2 or 3 foreign women from a site’s profile options you find attractive but the agency does not have their information on hand or cannot offer proof they delivered your message to her, get your money back right away! They are in all probability paying models for pictures to hook you in and then switch to real women who are available but you have no interest in meeting.

If a company tries to force you or applies pressure for you to sign up for their “romance tour” leave the site and get your money back. To spot a good agency is not easy. Some positive signs you can check for are customer testimonials, affordable prices, validation of message delivery and well maintained websites.

Foreign Women At Your Feet

Now that you know the fundamentals to beating scams it is time to meet the foreign women you are looking for.

The first thing you want to do is make sure you know the country and city or cities you will be traveling to. It can become easy to meet real head turning girls from all over the World but it can get complicated trying to visit with the ones you like most.

Remember do not get caught up on one woman at first. So make sure you know for certain the fist city and country you will be traveling to. Get online, there are great free social sites like MySpace, Hii5, Facebook etc. where you can meet foreign women. Look for ladies who live near where you are going and who match your tastes.

Don’t waste your time on women who are gorgeous but you have nothing in common with. There are tons of women to meet and you want to focus on the ones that share deeper interests with you.

Over the weeks and months you will find women who become your friend and introduce you to other women who become more than your friend. You will meet women who turn you off completely and you will meet some women who make your heart stop.

When you have a list of ladies who are looking forward to your arrival… book a flight. About two weeks before your departure start making first dates. If you are going for ten days it is recommended you have a minimum of 3 first dates for the first 4 days. The rest of the time you can spend it with the one or two or three girls you hit it off with the most. Or you can continue filling your days and passing your nights with fresh new dates.

Either way, make sure you have a great time and slow down to smell what makes a foreign culture unique. Enjoy your time with all the women you meet, do not force a marriage, allow it to happen naturally (and only after spending some time with each other). Follow your dreams bravely and discover your own personal success with a foreign woman. May your love grow beyond borders.

By: Carlos M Duran

About the Author: