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Teaching GuidesVolunteering in ESL |
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Teaching GuidesVolunteering in ESL |
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Teaching Other English SkillsEnglish communication encompasses much more than the 'four skills' and grammar rules. An exhaustive list is beyond the scope of this teaching guide, but the following areas deserve at least brief attention. SpellingEnglish is not a phonetic language, meaning that pronunciation cannot be reliably predicted by spelling and vice versa. In the sentence 'Her first nurse works early,' the /er/, /ir/, /ur/, /or/, and /ear/ are all pronounced the same, whereas in 'Jim brought rough dough through the door,' the /ough/ is pronounced four different ways. English has a lot of spelling rules, and a lot of exceptions to the rules. The good news is that generally in adult ESL, with the exception of advanced students and those who need to write on the job, spelling can take a back seat to overall communication. If words are recognizable and don't obscure the meaning of a sentence, e.g. 'My gread-granmother made noodles evry sunday,' you may choose to focus on the content and let the spelling go. You will probably see your learners' spelling improve as they read more, and you can encourage them to use a dictionary for words they're unsure about.
A single vocabulary word can carry a lot of meaning, and all other factors being equal, enlarging vocabulary will increase a student's communicative ability. Consider that even at a survival level, communication can occur with a string of vocabulary words independent of grammatical form. Make time to teach and practice new words, associating them with a meaningful context. Bilingual dictionaries, especially easy-to-use electronic ones, can become a crutch that doesn't aid students in internalizing the meaning of a word, so discourage overuse. Instead, try to help students guess the meaning of unfamiliar words from context. If they can't figure it out, encourage them to ask in English what it means. You can provide simple definitions or drawings, but be sure not to use equally challenging vocabulary in your answer. If students are trying to express an idea and are lacking an English word, teach them to try to describe it before reaching for a dictionary. For example, a student who is speaking and wants to say 'hammer' but doesn't know the English word could say 'what is nail-hit-thing' while gesturing as if hammering and perhaps even providing sound effects.
A great deal of communication takes place at a non-verbal level. This encompasses symbolic gestures (shoulder shrug, nod, crossed fingers), polite behavior (hand shake, pointing), facial expressions (smile, scowl), posture (tired slouch, personal space), and even mime (hammering a nail) or gift-giving. These vary between cultures, sometimes quite dramatically. For example, the American 'okay' symbol (thumb and index finger form a circle) is very similar to a Japanese gesture meaning 'money.' In Bulgaria, a side-to-side head shake means 'yes' and a nod means 'no.' You should spend some time discussing American non-verbal communication, especially symbolic gestures and polite behavior. You can probably think of many physical gestures Americans use. Demonstrate them and ask your students what they think the gestures mean. They can also teach you gestures from their own cultures. There is a growing trend in adult ESL to focus on specific life skills, also referred to as competencies, as the context for practical English instruction. These include such things as filling out medical history forms, giving or following directions in the workplace, and comparison shopping. They extend beyond English language skills in that many require critical thinking as well as some knowledge of American culture. Over 200 competencies are listed at the site below. You can use these as ideas for selecting useful teaching topics.
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