i didn't think i'd be relearning English here. at first i had to find out how to understand Turkish English, the woman on the plane saying "sandviç" three times before i understood, me thinking it was a Turkish word i didn't know (it is a loanword, but phonetically the same).
now, after my first day of classes, i'm clearly speaking a new English. i've been told that students have little or no experience with native speakers, affirmed by a student visiting my office today. he told me to slow down and repeat myself when i said "is-ben-goo-meding-you"- the words melting together, different from his reading literacy.
in my second class of the day, speaking and listening to pre-first-year students, someone remarked that i was not speaking american english.
"yes. i have had to- slow down- my english. because i need- everyone to hear- me. and to understand- what i- am saying to them."
it's interesting what slowing down and changing breathing patterns does to my thought process. i wonder if it helps students to slow down so much and to speak such an unnatural English.
what i have found out today is that teaching here, to about 300 foreign language learners, will be much different than teaching experiences i've had in the past.
made this post cause i was tired of looking at the beard.
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i've had a similar experience teaching english language learners and deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students. i've always been fairly clear and crisp in my pronunciation and articulation, but my new teaching experiences have required additional strategies and modifications. i've had to supplement speaking with visual cues, using lots of hand gestures, writing out a lot of what i say so they can see what they are hearing. with my DHH students, i have to speak very clearly and succinctly, and i must always face them when i speak to them so they can read my lips, too. i think the result is something a little unnatural as well: a very theatric manner of speaking.
i'd be interested in hearing more about your experiences adjusting yr pedagogy and developing strategies for teaching english language learners. maybe we could swap ideas.
good luck!
love,
stef
So are you teaching teachers who will be teaching English to others?
How many classes? How many per class?
Sounds intense though. I don't know if I could do it or not. My classroom style is to insult students. How could I do that if they understand what I am saying when I am insulting them? Makes me uncomfortable to think about.
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