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kali81
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looking for advice
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Hello dear teacher!
I wanted to ask you something that you �ll find probably very silly...but i wanted to know how do you guys handle this situation:
I �ve been teaching english for 8 months and something terrible happened to me 4 days ago. I was teaching present perfect and there was an example in the workbook where students had to write certain sentences with present perfect. Well, one of my students said I haven �t never been to Spain, the next student follow that structure and continued with a similar example. I didn �t notice about the used of haven �t + never...and I said it was O.K... to make everything even worse..i explained that there are some things that are probably no logical in English like HOW are you? and people say "fine" when the right answer should be "well"...anyways...a few minutes later..i realised I was teaching something wrong and I felt very embarrased...i can �t get over it yet..cause i think that as teachers, our ss rely on the things we say..
Eventhough i explained what was grammatically correct, and wrote the right structure on board "I have never + past participle"..i still feel very crappy...
How do you ways handle those situations?
thanks a lot
karla |
14 Sep 2009
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izzz1205
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Hello,
I �m a beginner in teaching but I think that everybody can make a mistake even teachers, we are only people so in my opinion you resolved this problem actually writing the right form on the board.
best wishes!
izabela
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14 Sep 2009
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costa
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Hi Karla.
I think that you should explain to your students that you were wrong and that teachers are not perfect. They can make mistakes and so can we.
I believe that telling them the truth will make them realise that teachers are not super humans and that there is no harm in making mistakes, but when we do we should be honest.
Or, you can pretend you play them a trick. For example, you can say that they weren �t paying enough attention because you explained what was on the board the wrong way
Well, that �s my opinion.
Either way, don �t feel embarrassed. It has happened to all f us.
Good Luck
Paula |
14 Sep 2009
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dyndel
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HELLO
ALL OF ENGLISH TEACHERS FACE A VARIETY OF EMBARRASING SITUATIONS SOMETIMES
BUT CALM DOWN BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE CHANCE TO BEGIN AGAIN
I JUST TELL MY STUDENTS THAT PHILOSOFICALLY WE CAN NOT NEGATE TWICE
SO WE DONT RESPECT THAT PRINCIPLE IN SPANISH BUT WE HAVE TO DO IT IN ENGLISH
SO I CONTINUE SAYING
IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, WE CANNOT NEGATE TWICE BECAUSE IF WE DO IT WE ARE SPEAKING AFFIRMATIVELY
SO WE MUST WRITE : I HAVE NEVER GONE TO EUROPE......RATHER THAN WRITING "NOT"
..........SS WILL UNDERSTAND EASILY
TAKE CARE MY FRIEND !!!!!!!!!
DIDI
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14 Sep 2009
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aneliz
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Hi !
Sometimes we �re just tired... Besides keeping hearing mistakes and correct forms from our students we �re bound to get all mixed up and confused... It happened to me a couple of times and I �m pretty sure it will happen again, the last example I have in mind is giving "drunken" as the past participle for drink whereas it is "drunk". I realized that after class and one of my colleagues had the same class later that day so I had to tell her to correct the mistake for me, how embarrassing is that????? As I �ve said we �re just tired sometimes and now as long as I realize my mistakes I make no big deal over them... I �m sure your students still love you and think you �re a wonderful teacher!!!!!!
Cheers
aneliz
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14 Sep 2009
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yalanguz
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Hey, you can �t never do any mistaken, because of you is a english teacher:)
Never postpone or ignore a mistake that you make. The more you wait the more it gets bigger. For sure you will make mistakes but if you be frank then no problem. If even a young pupil understands that you try to hide a mistake, that is the beginning of your solemn reputation �s end!!! |
14 Sep 2009
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sharon f
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Dear Karla,
So you made a mistake. It happens to all of us, teachers, doctors, lawyers. When it happens to me, I tell my ss "Sorry guys, I made a mistake" and then I explain the point. Don �t over-apologize but don �t ignore it either. I believe that setting an example to your ss and showing them how to deal with mistakes is much more important than present perfect or any other subject.
Let us know how it went.
Good luck 
sharon
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14 Sep 2009
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douglas
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It sounds like you handled it right--you realized your mistake, admitted to it, apologized and then taught them the right way. Every teacher makes mistakes, the good teachers are the ones that can swallow their pride and admit to it so the students get taught properly. |
14 Sep 2009
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Malvine
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I completely agree with sharon_f!  |
14 Sep 2009
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tugce-cenk
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Just tell them you have made a mistake and correct it. I t really works ;) |
14 Sep 2009
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jacka_yeo
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HELLO, I �M NEW ON THIS SITE, I �M A NEW TEACHER ALSO AND FOUND THIS PAGE VERY HELPFUL. I READ YOUR POST AND I AGREE THAT WE ARE ALSO HUMAN THAT WAS NOT BIGGY, SO DON �T FEEL BAD. I THINK THAT HAPPEN WITH ALL TEACHERS. PLEASE VISIT MY WS, I PROMISE I WILL MAKE SOME OTHERS MORE INTERESTING BUT PLEASE DO IT, I DON �T HAVE ANY POINT :( THANKS! JACKIE YEOMANS |
14 Sep 2009
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