Need help teaching English

[Mouzafphaerre]

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Hello mates,

They taught us how to comprehend and use it, not how to teach it. A group of close friends, whom I cannot refuse, plead me to tutor them. I'm trying my best but the whole process is becoming a trial/error roundup...

I can just fetch a set of textbooks and follow it but there is a big problem: There are way too many of them in the market and I can't know which one to choose. What do you fellow speakers, native or not, suggest?



I prefer the English dialect btw...
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[SwordsMaster]

The Big Oxford Dictionary. Make them learn 2 pages a day. And they´ll be done in just 1200 days.

Seriously now, it depends. Do they have any idea? If they don´t just make them learn the irregular verbs and some vocabulary before thinking of following any book.

[Byzantine Prince]

Anything made in Cambridge. That's how my parents learned English.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

I myself love the Irish, English and Scottish slang and accents, unfortunately do not have one........ All the textbooks we use in school are bad, do not buy the books used by American schools, they suck.
Good luck!

[Togakure]

Have you done a Google search on "teaching" "learning" "English"? Usually, when I have a question like yours, I just start searching for things. If I don't find useful information immediately, I almost always find links that lead to other links, etc. A very useful resource that you can happen upon when searching is a forum relating to the search topic. When you find one, you find others engaged in doing what you are interested in doing. They, more often than not, can recommend useful resources if you post and ask them.

Another method is searching Amazon and the like for books on the subject, identifying the authors, and then searching the Internet for the authors' websites. You can usually find lots of useful information on their sites, which might help you to determine which books or teaching CDs are right for you.

Just some ideas ... good luck in finding what you need.

[Marshal Murat]

American books (I know ugh) are very non-offending in any way.
Get something from Cambridge.
Or a cheap American imitation hehehe

[BalkanTourist]

A great book that might be of use to you is the Murphy Grammar. It starts with A and Be and gradually gets complicated. Also a small but good dictionary for each of them. Children's books will be great for reading and writing practice.

[Papewaio]

4 skills reading, writing, listening (underated) and speaking. Mix and do as many of them as possible. Most learners can practice writing by themselves and reading the real key is social converstation where you should immerse yourself with other speakers (learners with learners and a single fluent is okay).

If they are adults then it is normally fear of getting the words wrong in a social environment that holds them back. Guys particularly feel like they have to be right 100% of the time.

So tell them that they have to try saying the words. Getting it wrong is expected and that it is a matter of getting used to the words. First words should be Thank You in whatever language you learn.

Get them to relax and talk. So make sure they feel free to make mistakes, don't tolerate fooling around (making mistakes on purpose and purposely slowing down a class) but more importantly do not tolerate people who do not even attempt to speak (unless they are clearly shy in their native language). But do try and have fun, if you learn in a tense and boring environment it will be much slower then a fun, relaxed and interesting one.

Use plenty of pictures, TPR (overact body language... Total Physical Response)... so use verbs and do them (jump so jump etc), play games and be competitive, reward good behaviour, ignore bad behaviour, expel students who bring down others learning.

If all else fails take them to a pub full of English speakers, get them drunk and practise... it worked for my manager.

[Mouzafphaerre]

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LOL! Thanks Papewaio (and others).

Re: Google... I'm yet to see an internet search help in something useful. That's why I'm asking around in my communities, to get an idea from whom I know.

Re: Amazon... Every bookstore is an Amazon here. The problem is, you can't know what to pick. There are hundreds of versions of any type and they are all fiercely marketed. (I can't imagine Amazon or any other bookstore trash a book even if it's really bad.)
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[Shadow]

You can try singapore textbooks they work well for me & Longman Dictionary is quite good.

[dessa14]

we'll i learn't how to read with a combination of really thin childrens books and dr seuss.
thanks,
dessa

[Louis VI the Fat]

Check this out:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/le...sh/index.shtml

It's English English, it's from the BBC, it has ready-made courses, and has programmes and links for teachers.

[Mouzafphaerre]

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[InsaneApache]

It's English English, it's from the BBC

personally I always thought that 'American English' was a bit of an oxymoron

[Uesugi Kenshin]

America loves to warp everything it touches..... Not always in a bad way but often enough...