English as a foreign language
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Words tripping off the tongue
Panicky about speaking in public or for an exam? If not, you probably know somebody who is. If you teach, ask people you have in class why public speaking, or simply oral expression, is so difficult for them. I did. They didn't mention fluency or accuracy. They said : "I don't like my voice." They said : "I am afraid of speaking in public." How can we use comments like these to create new teaching options? Let's help learners find a new connection with oral expression.
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English father tongue
So what sort of English did Ken, our dad, speak and where did it come from? There are things I can see now that were invisible when I was growing up. Particularly, that there were multiple Irish undertones to it all. He didn't speak foreign languages but he had a good ear and an ability to tune in to the language being spoken around him that was uncanny. A language chameleon.
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English mother tongue
I have been teaching my mother tongue as a foreign language most of my life. But what sort of English did my mother speak and what was the language-model she encountered at home and at school? How did she become a so accent aware? And where did she learn to be such a stickler for linguistic accuracy?
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English – familiar or foreign language ?
I have no memory of learning to speak English. It is my mother tongue and was there as a given in a family where it was the only language we all spoke. After all these years, it has become an object which I can now also contemplate as a foreign language, a medium which I can visit, explore, use, leave, then come back to as required. Unless - unknown to me - it was simply foreign right from the beginning? How can English change from being a familiar to a foreign language?
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On being an invisible foreigner
Migrant, immigrant, foreigner. I have been all of these things. I have also learnt that there is foreigner and foreigner. Many of us have stories to tell about how our nationality or appearance affected a passage going through a border control, travelling abroad or simply when interacting with locals as tourists when visiting another country.. However, in society as a whole, the frequency with which migrant and immigrant in particular have become increasingly associated with conflict, rejection and even death, incites me to reassess who I am and take a fresh look at my status as a foreigner in this chilling new world. A tale of experience.
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Foreign is such a strange word
I've lived as a foreigner and taught my mother tongue as a foreign language most of my life. In fact, foreign started early for me. I discovered the word foreign when I was 5 or 6 years old and immediately found it odd. I remember this encounter distinctly : the lead pencils we learnt to write with at primary school all had the word foreign written on their dark green barrels near the top in gold letters. Want to know more? Read this tale of innocence.
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Mario Rinvolucri, Master Teacher
Mario Rinvolucri, master teacher, passed away this week at the age of 84. He opened the door to teaching English as a Foreign Language for me. Then, once inside, he showed me how to open the windows and let in the light. He loved nothing more than a noisy classroom humming with conversation. He was one of a kind.
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So what is the Subjective Classroom?
Once it is up and running, the subjective classroom is a busy place in which everybody is invited to contribute actively. The focus is on developing skills applied to meaningful content. Individual contributions are essential to the construction of what goes on, and people participate once they understand their voice matters. This is by no means simple for people more familiar with a more directive, objective classroom, but helping them change their perspective, even partially, is a mutually enriching process.
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Slow down, teacher, enjoy the journey
As a beginning teacher, I regularly had uncomfortable moments in class when I suddenly realised that everyone was listening to me. I could command people's attention in such moments, but was slightly overwhelmed by being the focus. I didn't exactly panic. However, I did feel myself reel a little as a rush of energy caused a slight dizziness to the head, coupled with a sense of a sudden stuffiness in the room. It was like being caught in a traffic jam of my own making. The flow was gone. All I could do was pull over to the side of the road for a moment and let the flow pick…
