Dear Danielle,
I am British/English and I teach in the United Kingdom, (where students are immersed in English every day of their lives).
I teach Beginner �s English in an ESOL Department
of a British College to foreign students, many of whom speak very little
English.
Normally, I speak and teach in English, and my
Worksheets are entirely in English. However, I can also speak and
understand several other languages.
There are occasions when I speak in French, or
Spanish, or Italian, or Dutch, or German, etc.
Why?
Many students are afraid, alone, and unhappy,
because they are separated from things that they understand and love. They are
in a strange new world, surrounded by a strange language and strange customs.
They are in a different environment and it feels uncomfortable. They are tense.
When I speak to them in their Mother Tongue, it has
several advantages.
1) They have found a �friend � who speaks their
language.
2) They are reminded of �home � and all the good
things that exist there.
3) They feel comfortable and relaxed.
4) They understand what I say.
5) They can ask questions about things which puzzle
them in College
6) They can pose language queries to me.
7) They can explain their feelings to me.
8) They can try to explain an answer to a question
in the Class.
9) They can ask for help.
10) They can save hours of valuable time, asking
questions and speaking in their language, rather than in English.
11) They can understand, in seconds, a complicated
grammatical term which I explain in their language.
12) They can make a valuable contribution to the
class, instead of remaining silent.
When they know that they can speak to me in their
own native language, and can also speak a little English, they now have TWO
means of communication!
I would normally teach entirely in English, because
this is good listening/reading practice for the students.
Imagine a teacher in Brazil who speaks ENGLISH but
NO PORTUGUESE, and the students speak NO ENGLISH. How many months before the
teacher can speak in English and be understood by everyone?
Now, imagine a teacher who speaks ENGLISH and
speaks PORTUGUESE, but the students speak NO ENGLISH. Will the learning be
faster, the same, or slower? What do you think?
My experience is that students adore
an English teacher who can speak their language, even if it is only a few
words. Their English improves rapidly.
What a huge advantage you have, in
your class!
However, there are occasions when it is unwise to
use a foreign language.
1) When the student is lazy and can �t be bothered
to learn English.
2) When the student is using his/her own language
and the teacher as a �crutch �, and is unwilling to �walk � unaided.
3) When the foreign language is used to the
exclusion of the Target Language (English).
4) When the use of a foreign language causes
jealousy, because the teacher can �t speak every language in the
class. Some students feel excluded.
5) Except in very rare cases, I would not use the
foreign language in written work. Parents, (and
teacher-colleagues), may conclude that the teacher cannot explain
the grammar point in English, or that the students are too weak to understand.
Written work is permanent --- spoken work is not!
6) During an examination, and during an inspection
by the Education Authority, (for the above reasons).
Provided the teacher makes it clear to the students
that classes will normally be entirely in English, except for special reasons,
there should not be a problem. The teacher should actively discourage the
students from speaking in Portuguese, (in your case), by repeating the phrase
in English, until the student co-operates, by speaking in English.
Teachers are encouraged to increase Student Talk
Time, (STT), and decrease Teacher Talk Time, (TTT). By speaking briefly in the language of the
student, (rather than giving a long English explanation), the teacher achieves
this aim dramatically.
As a final note, the explanation, (in Portuguese),
should be as brief and as concise as possible, so that the
difficulty/problem/question is resolved very quickly. The explanation can then
be repeated in English, to provide the English vocabulary, and also to
reinforce the point.
I hope that I have given you some material for your
Assignment.
Anything that you don �t understand, please, just
ask.
Les
