I first came to La Paz in January 2013
to participate in the UK Government's volunteering programme for
young people, International Citizen Service. We had Spanish classes
with Instituto Exclusivo, and for the first time I enjoyed learning a
foreign language. I realised I had an opportunity to achieve my
ambition of becoming reasonably competent in a second language and
returned in January 2014 to teach English, learn Spanish and
experience this uniquely diverse country once again.
Instituto Exclusivo is the best of the
TEFL world for me. In the English department our students are mostly
professionals in individual or small group classes or one-to-ones via
Skype. There's also a real sense of community. My colleagues, the
other English, Spanish, French and Quechua teachers, are more than
just my colleagues, which is a great bonus to a workplace. I've had
classes with three excellent Spanish teachers, and in the process
learned a lot about how to teach. These are my tips for anyone just
starting out in TEFL.
Don't simply beat people over the
head with grammar
Even though it can be tempting at
times. “He has,
not
he
have!”
In my first Spanish lesson, altitude sickness still wearing
off, we didn't rehearse verb tables but instead hit the ground
running and learned a simple introduction: My name is James, I'm a
volunteer, I've been in Bolivia for a week and I enjoy playing
volleyball. It stuck in my head, and now I try to make sure my
beginners know they can master a useful phrase right from the start.
Make them talk
My second teacher began every class
with carefully-pitched conversation practice, and kept the questions
coming almost relentlessly. How was our week? How is the volunteering
going? What do I think about x? What does my classmate think?
Do I agree? Why? Why not? It was an excellent technique. She made it
impossible not to
practise everything we studied. I use this now with my English
students – NGO workers, conservation biologists, engineers – who
often don't have the luxury of being able to practise English in
their daily lives, so it's essential that they use it in the
classroom.
Let it sink in
When I returned to La Paz a year later
I re-started Spanish with my current teacher. As the complexity of
the grammar topics increased, I noticed the value of really clear,
simple, logically ordered presentations and explanations. She gives
me plenty of time to think and ask questions if I need clarification.
I think one of the most important activities as a teacher is
sometimes inactivity or, rather, avoiding hyperactivity. Not speaking
too much, not reformulating sentences unnecessarily, not changing
subjects too quickly and not trying to do too much in a single
lesson. The language needs time to sink in. It's far better for your
students to understand one thing well than many things badly.
Achieving this is obviously the challenge, and it means knowing a
topic inside out before you teach it, explaining something concisely
but comprehensively before you practice it, and being absolutely sure
your students get it before you move on.
- James
- James
