Talking to students about English(ee), learning/teaching it

[Admin]

After I became more comfortable as a teacher and after studying more about SLA and World Englishes, I started talking to my students about the idea of Englishes and teaching & learning English. I did not always have this freedom (i.e. when teaching test prep I had to stick to test tasks and it was quite a rigid class from a language standpoint, very form-focused and emphasizing standard-English) but when I did, I relied particularly on 2 TED Talks in order to introduce them to some concepts. One was by a lexicographer who encouraged making up new words and so we had a follow-up activity in which students created their own words through different approaches like borrowing from their L1 (which they loved) or backformation, compounding etc. They really enjoyed this activity and came up with very creative and fun vocabulary. I told them to never let anyone tell them "that's not a word" and to feel free to play with language and make it their own. They seemed to love this and were quite surprised that a teacher was telling them this.

The other talk I use focuses on using language with confidence instead of focusing on accuracy and for the purpose of getting your idea across. After we discuss the talk in depth, my last question for them is related to a quote from the speaker: “English is not an art to be mastered, it is a tool to use to get a result. And this tool belongs to you” - I ask if they agree and what this means to them. Opinions always seem to be divided and many cannot get behind the idea that even though the person in the examples form the talk managed to make themselves understood, they did so very grammatically incorrect. Like the teacher from Japan said in the course, for Japanese learners of English it is simply inconceivable not to follow the rules of grammar or vocabulary. The teacher is expected to be a lecturer you listen to and who is always right. If I tell my students to read more and not necessarily believe what I say, I get these gigantic eyes staring back at me in disbelief, haha! It's difficult to introduce the concept of Englishes when all their life they were made to memorize this one set of rules and apply them (I learned in the same way!) and that the rest is a mistake. I want to explore this more in the classroom but in academic contexts we are expected to zero in on the kind of English the students will use at university, so I think this is where the idea of teaching for their purposes comes in.

[sameerco1971]

It is very useful to raise the students and teachers awareness of the different Englishes. However, I might face some challenges. When I try to focus on fluency rather than accuracy in speaking activities, some students may correct their peers mistakes which may cause interruptions and embarrassment to the speaker. Some students make fun of their peers who have different dialect of English. Only one teacher can do nothing about it. It is a phenomena in my country and it needs all the teachers to unite and embrace the belief of diversity of English language.

[Kunlong Jin]

I have already introduced the multi-dimensional view of English, English learning and English teaching to students in my class. I found quite interesting that some students are more acceptable to others. I started to drop the traditional way of teaching, like rote learning, drilling activities. However, I introduced other teaching methods which do not quite widespread in China at the moment, like CLT. Quite a few students like it and feel more relaxed and comfortable to learn a language and culture at the same time but without too much burden. However, there are still several students felt a bit boycott this method because they are getting so used to the traditional learning methods. They are really the exam-oriented type. The exam mark is the only criterial to be valued. It is, honestly, quite hard to change dramatically now in China because exam-oriented education policy is the top one that students and parents pursue.

[Daniel Palmer]

I have introduced other varieties of English to my more advanced students, usually by using YouTube videos which compare the differences between 'standard' US or UK English and other regional varieties. I've often found that students are willing to accept other varieties from within the inner circle (if they are somewhat perplexed by them...I'm looking at you, Scouse English!), but still hold the old preconceptions that outer circle Englishes are somehow lesser.

[andrea scabbia]

I talk about their natural language, Italian. There are Italians, not only an Italian language. Language is something vital, it changes with the society. And if there is no only ONE Italian, can you figure out about the English language? Italian is a drop, English is an ocean.

[evarojo]

One of the activities I do with them is an oral presentation project in groups about any cultural aspect of the angl-speaking world. I first do a presentation about Diwali and Bollywood(I used to watch Bollywood films with one of my friends when I lived in England and love them to pieces) and introduce them to World Englishes.
I have shared with students that they own the language and not viceversa but haven't had a good response from them, in Spain Standard English is a winner in secondary schools and among parents, a good business as well.

[Ulla]

Many of my students are future teachers of English, and I often try to get them to think about what their own English is like and what influences have shaped it (they are all non-native speakers of English, like me). We also talk about what model of English they intend to present in the classroom. Interestingly, many of them had teachers in secondary school who insisted on British English (or less commonly American English) in terms of pronunciation and spelling. I never encountered this attitude in my own school career (late 80s, early 90s). We talk about how realistic such an approach is for a non-native speaker teacher of English, and what the motivation of those teachers might be.

I have found that my students are very reluctant to challenge the idea of one correct standard English. I think there are psychological reasons for this - they have invested a lot of time and energy into becoming proficient users of standard English, and they don't want to be told that this achievement is somehow irrelevant!

Still, I think I have made some progress in challenging the English-only classroom model, and my next goal is to learn more about translanguaging and make that a focus of my class discussions.

[tony]

Every English has its right to exist, however I still believe that an ‘English-only’ classroom environment serves as the most effective means of preparing learners of English to be working, studying or living in an English-speaking country, i.e. in a classroom, teachers attempt to make a simulation of such an environment, in which participants are unbale to speak learners’ mother tongue, thus preparing them to communicate meaning using English as a tool. For that reason, standard English seems to be a feasible solution, because it allows teachers to ensure that their students will be able to avoid misunderstanding caused by ‘incorrect’ grammar or some other irregularities. Nonetheless, I think that with more advanced learners of English, it is exceptionally instructive to delve into world’s Englishes, and open their minds to different variations of English.

[miabae]

I teach adults so we do discuss learning English with them. They often bring up the use (or rather no use) of L1 in our classes, and say they are happy with the "only English" policy. We don't have that many classes a week so we all feel speaking L1 would be a waste.

[Rachel Dry]

My students are young learners and are naturally inquisitive about language learning and the differences/similarities between English spoken in their country to their peers. I often highlight features of English use which are common the Mandarin/Cantonese speakers in comparison to Spanish/Japanese for example. I explain how their first language heavily influences the English they speak from the use of articles to the difficulty they have with specific phonemes. However, i think i should celebrate these differences more and not recognise them as typical errors, and think of them more as unique features of their own English.

[Anita]

I would be teaching a new module named ''Varieties of English''. This is one of the reason I am doing this course. I would be talking to students about the international varieties of English.The content is dense and it could be overwhelming for students, hence I will be selective in customizing the content as its going to be Online due to the pandemic. I would preferably show show them videos of English spoken in different countries and initiate a discussion and draw their own conclusions on how spoken English differs.This would feed into the topic on Standard English and English as lingua franca.
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