Students often need solid TOEFL scores to study abroad, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Naturally, this need – and ambition – often makes reaching a certain number on the TOEFL exam as the goal of their English studies.
Unfortunately, sometimes these imperfect standardized exams – all attempts to measure language ability of English language learners – become a goal in and of itself. Consequently, some students and stressed parents want all their English classes to primarily focus on test preparation. “We just need a good TOEFL score” mantra can lead to pressure on private high schools and language programs to exclude material unrelated directly to the influential ETS exam.
Let me suggest that this worshipping at the altar of standardized test scores can distort, even pervert, English language instruction. While excellent, specialized test preparation courses serve a vital purpose, they should be small parts of a larger English curriculum. The main focus of language programs, especially in high schools, should be helping students develop authentic language skills so they can actually read, write, listen, and speak English – both inside and outside the classrooms and away from multiple choice exams.
Edgar Allen Poe, Shakespeare, John Steinbeck, and Jack London may or may not appear on the next TOEFL test, but high school and older English students should be exposed to their writings. We do not want to throw away our humanistic cultural heritage and reduce our English and ESL classes into mere test training. The TOEFL exam is a means, not an end in and of itself.
Likewise, we need – as English teachers – to remember that ideas matter, celebrate our dynamic language, and avoid the temptation to become grammar fundamentalists or mere language technicians. Learning English, a global tongue, allows students to move beyond the narrow confines of their local language and more easily join the global village. Let’s keep those larger goals – and the humanities – in the English curriculum.
Like so many other English teachers, I begin teaching with student interests and habits in mind. Of course, I also want to take them from the old and familiar to new and unfamiliar while improving their English language skills. You Tube remains a powerful classroom tool to achieve that goal.
I’ve used YouTube to have students research job interview tips, stress patterns, pronunciation problems, and informational interviews. The results have been consistently positive as I have students write concise video reviews and email me their reviews for homework before the next class.
Then I slightly edit the reviews, watch the videos and add my own comments in blue ink, and combine the reviews into a single document that is emailed to all class members. “Use or lose” I say, but here are the reviews from your classmates. Result: almost every student watches every video recommended and spending far more time on the topic than I could allocate in class. It’s both popular and quite effective.
As English teachers, we are truly blessed to be working in the YouTube era.
My recent trip to Vietnam to meet English teachers and lead a professional development seminar at the American-Pacific University, Vietnam lead to many wonderful moments and a few surprising conversations.
Teaching English in developing countries always poses challenges, and Vietnam falls into that category. Lt me share a few selective details to provide a brief introduction to education atmosphere for English teachers who prefer a communicative approach to grammar drill and kill tasks. Consider the gap between a traditional teacher-centered education philosophy and modern student-centered approaches for teaching English.
- An English language magazine cover story proclaimed: “Let Students Ask Questions.” The two-page article presented the idea of students – even college students – asking classroom questions as an overdue reform.
-Vietnam, the world’s fasting growing economy, has embarked on a rapid expansion of English language classes. The official government ministry of Education and Training has even adopted a new slogan: Friendly School; Active Students. This new slogan presumably indicates that the old approach was something else!
- Several APU high school seniors, in long interviews, indicated that they were forbidden from even talking in their old public high school English classes. These same students informed me that English class in the public high school ranged between 50-70 students. Sometimes the English instructor was believed to be unable to actually speak English. As a result, the class focused extensively on grammar and fill in the blanket tests.
- A few APU students expressed gratitude that they could have actual classroom discussions because this was a new educational experience for them. “We ask questions, and the teacher responds,” laughed one senior. Imagine the possibilities!
These few glimpses into Vietnam’s evolving education system indicate an increasingly awareness that communication skills matter. They also confirm that students, parents, and teachers want better schools and more communicative English language classes.
So let me repeat two favorite themes. Good schools cultivate student curiosity, and English lessons should allow students to display their experiences and perceptions. Further, students who have been forced to take years of English class should be able to speak English – and I literally mean speak English. Conversation skills are not a bonus for excellent students; they remain an essential life skill for international students, entrepreneurs, and immigrants. Therefore, English teachers can and must allow students time and opportunity to develop their speaking skills in class. Why is this still controversial in 2009?
English reigns supreme as the international language for business, media culture, and academic research in 2009. Some experts even estimate that more individuals speak English as a second, third, or fourth language than as a native tongue. What are the practical classroom applications of this situation for English teachers?
Let me be more specific. Should British English or American English be the standard for English language learners? What about an International English with a focused vocabulary of perhaps only 3,000 practical words? Or are we drifting toward a wide diversity of different English dialectics, perhaps even separate languages that some scholars call World Englishes? Would the location of the classroom matter? Do the goals, ages, and perceived needs of the English language learners determine the answer? As TESOL members know, this topic has become a very hot debate in the field of applied linguistics, EFL, and ESL.
My recent visit to Vietnam – and intensive interviews with over 20 English language learner at an international high school – have certainly clarified some of the faultlines. For instance, if a Vietnamese high school senior wants to study in Australia, Britain, Canada, or the United States, they clearly must meet a much higher standard of English competency. High academic standards remain essential, especially for ambitious students seeking admission to competitive universities.
Yet, as Kirkpatrick notes, the vast, vast majority of Vietnamese studying English will never study or work abroad. Nor is the typical Vietnamese English student likely to immigrant to an English speaking country. What standard of English should the typical Vietnamese worker aspire to speak? Why? Context, as ever, seems essential. Perhaps, as Kirkpatrick argues, Vietnamese will develop a distinct version of English to meet their needs – and word endings are dropped.
My TEFL.net book review outlines the Kirkpatrick’s controversial thesis, his principal examples, and central arguments. It also includes my perceptions of the limits and difficulties with his increasingly influential perspective. Naturally, I hope you read it – and share your reaction with me.
We need, it seems to me, to motivate English students more out of choice than duty – and tailor our ESL and EFL material as much as possible to our individual students. The web allows teachers to individualize instruction to an astonishing degree, but teachers must be prepare flexible, student-centered materials and lead by example. We set the standards, and students will follow their interests as they develop their reading and speaking skills. What does that mean?
Here is an example of a worksheet that I’ve used with considerable success in intermediate and advanced ESL classes.
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Talking About Your Own Hometown!
Student Name:
Class:
Teacher:
School:
Date:
Please find an article about your hometown in English that you would like to share with your classmates. Read the article, clip the article, and be prepared to talk about the article.
Write down 5 new vocabulary words, idioms, or expressions.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
How would you rate the article 1-10? Why?
Why did you choose this article?
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English students search the web, select an article, fill out the form, and share their articles in small groups of 3-4. Then I ask for “brave volunteers” to give us a brief presentation to the class. Although only a few students may volunteer at first, soon everyone wants to share their article and hometown stories. This simple technique, putting more emphasis on student speaking than instructor talking, helps create a lively ESL classroom. (Obviously, the activity works better in a genuine international classroom with students from many countries like in many American summer language programs.)
Communicative activities remain under-appreciated in many English language classrooms, especially in Asia. But seeing is believing. I’ll soon be visiting Vietnam, observing several English classrooms, and looking for examples of effective speaking exercises. What will I find? I don’t know.
Vietnam, the country with the fasting growing economy in the world in 2008, has embarked on a huge social development campaign. The education ministry wants to dramatically improve their current English language education programs, urging the study of English to improve trade, and mandating the study of English for high school students. Therefore, Vietnam has attracted thousands of English teachers from the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom in recent years. “It’s a huge laboratory for teaching methods,” notes an English teacher who lives in Hanoi.
EFL teachers continue to bring communicative techniques and direct learning methods to more and more Vietnamese students. Yet another exceptional educator working in Vietnam has also warned me that preparing for standardized testing and drill-and-kill grammar exercises remain the rule in most English classrooms. Quality EFL and ESL materials – especially for student-centered, communicative classrooms – apparently remain relatively scarce. Naturally, I will learn more during my upcoming trip to Vietnam where I will observe teachers and lead a workshop on creating more student-centered conversation materials.
It’s also the type of activity that has made Compelling Conversations popular. So far, student word of mouth, popular CATESOL conference workshops, and satisfied English teachers have lead to Compelling Conversations being used in English language classrooms in over 40 countries. ESL author Hall Houston, in long English Teaching Professional review noted, “In sum, Compelling Conversations is a recommended resource for teachers who want to make their conversation classes more learner-centered…It reflects both authors’ considerable professional experience, and would be a notable addition to any English teacher’s bookshelf. ” Hall Houston, the book reviewer, is also the writer of The Creative Classroom: Teaching Languages Outside the Box.
We live in a wonderful time to teach English, and somehow I suspect that Compelling Conversations will soon find an audience in Vietnam.
Learning English, on your own and according to your own wishes and needs, has never been easier. Everyone with internet access can become autotelic, or self-directed, in creating their own educational program. Naturally, innovative ESL educators and EFL schools have embraced these possibilities to enrich their English classrooms.
The endless web continually offers pleasant surprises. This weekend I found new more exceptional free websites for English teachers, tutors, and students: USA Learns, BBC Learning English, and YapPR. I strongly recommend you explore them.
USA Learns – www.usalearns.org This U.S. Department of Education website for adult immigrants and future American citizens combines video lessons and clear written ESL materials. Launched in November 2008, this site has rapidly developed an international audience of English language learners worldwide.
BBC Learning English http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/newsenglish/ An outstanding website with audio, transcripts, and sometimes video of the world news written for English language learners. This excellent resource works for English students, ESL teachers, and EFL tutors.
YapPR – www.en.yappr.com – This innovative public relations site highlights short music videos, amusing commercials, and AP news stories with English transcriptions for English language learners. An accessible, clean videosharing site designed for ESL/EFL students. Does the public relations element bother me? Not really. The transcription feature provides valuable information for students which outweighs the apparent “pay to play” selection bias.
This is the best time – so far – to study and teach English. Never before have we had so many resources available – often for free -to explore and experiment with new technologies.
