Well, we did talk a bit in English class. Or rather the 'hi, how are you ?' bit we did answer.
Honestly though, what helped me most was when I got internet access and actually randomly got to read stuff I was actually interested in.
but nah, else my classes were - write a summary of this article, let's do some grammar exercises, write an essay on this topic, now write a summary of this article... asoasf -.-
also, if you want i can make you a voice recording of a crazy german saying 'hi, i'm stefanie, i'm from germany and i started learning english 16 years ago (wtf rly?)' in both japanese and english. after that they can go ahead with their wakarimasen ;)
Haha, after two full bottles of wine, you're lucky I could get out "fiends" :D
I'm mostly just worried about my students because
A) *I* can barely pass their grammar tests as a native English speaker. The questions and grammar points are REALLY obscure.
and
B) I've heard many stories about adults in Japan having 6+ years of English education, and then not being able to understand ANYTHING someone in the US/UK/Australia, etc., is saying
yeah, I get that. This reminds me more of my Latin lessons, than my English ones. You definitely need to have more conversation classes. Just have them say 'Hello, my names is x , I am x years old, I was born in x, now I live in y'. it'll help a bit.
also watch old westerns with them. we had a teacher who was into westerns. XD
I teach exclusively English conversation classes, but occasionally my boss will cancel them so the students can attend extra English grammar classes. This helps them pass their high school tests, but it IN NO WAY helps them actually communicate with human beings who speak English. It's rather frustrating.
I'll try to play more English media though. It's something that I've been thinking about for awhile. Maybe Glee. They already like High School Musical.
what really helped me learning English was music/books/movies/TV: trying to understand what songs were about, reading in English (even very simple short things, it helps), watching my favorite shows (and finding out they were so much better in English!)
at first I watched movies/TV with French subtitles and then when my English was good enough I watched with English subtitles and now I still do it but barely look at them, it's just for reference (spelling, expressions...)
oh and the internet helps too! especially with understanding/writing of course
the French system is not very good either, except when the teachers are native speakers
yes I can speak/understand enough to talk to a native speaker (unless their accent is very strong and they talk very fast but when people know you're not a native speaker they usually speak slower)
I'd say mostly a personal desire to learn the language because of the media. But even though some of my teachers were not good, I also always liked practicing it in class.
Well, I hope I'm at least a decent teacher! I just get frustrated when my boss tells me that she's cutting one of my conversation classes for another grammar class--grammar that even I, as a native English speaker, NEVER use, which leaves me wondering why they are teaching it to 15 year old Japanese kids instead of teaching them how to say "Hello, my name is Tomiko, I'm from Japan and I am please to meet you."
I learned the basics at school, I have to say that I liked studying English so It was not a big problem for me, it was interesting because it helped me to understand some lyrics, for example. Back then I was an average English student (I have to say that in Spain, English level is really low)
Then fandom happened and I started reading fanfics and watching series in original version,... and I started to learn English almost unconsciously.
I think the very best way to learn a new language -enjoying the experience- is if it helps you with something that you like, a hobby for example :)
LOL, I'm reading realproof and hobbitofkobol (such a great nickname XD) comments and they're saying exactly the same... oh fandom, you're wonderful!
Hmm.... so I have to convince my students to like fanfiction...
Actually, my best student is the one who enjoys English musicals and music, so I understand. I think I just need to figure out how to work that into my lessons while at the same time making my boss happy, since she just wants them to pass their grammar tests that even I would have a hard time passing.
You could make a poll asking about what topics they find interesting and try to get to that, I mean, if they say "football" you won't be teaching that but maybe you could write grammatical examples with football players, for example.
I think what helped me the most learning English was reading books just for fun, not because my teachers told me to read them, and watching English and American tv series (there's generally no dubbing in Norway, and American tv shows are very popular). Besides, my English teachers have always focused on the importance of conversation classes. However, English and Norwegian are structurally pretty similar, so presumably it is much easier for me to learn English than for a Japanese student.
Haha, I knew I had several non-native English speakers on my flist, but I was surprised by some of them! I don't know if European languages are so much similar to English, so they are easier to learn, but the English level of everyone on my flist is so much higher than any of my students--including the ones who are translators! (well, at least your everyday, casual English, which, in my opinion, is the important one to know!)
There are some big structural differences between Japanese and English, like you said. Can I ask how much you actually *spoke* English in school while studying?
I spoke at least a little bit in English every day while I was still in school. It did depend somewhat on how frequently and how much I chose to actively participate in class discussions for example, but I would estimate that in high school we spent at least 10 minutes of every class talking with other students and practising conversation.
None of my students regularly speak English in their English classes. They read stories that include awkward dialog, and learn grammar points that we never use, except in specialized academic writing, yet the never speak English out loud, unless it's their one lesson a month with an assistant teacher who is a native English speaker, or they pay for private lessons, like the ones I teach.
It's all just very frustrating to me, and I could pretty much write a book on how the Japanese way of learning English is almost a complete failure.
Ugh, I wish my students could ignore grammar. But the Japanese school system is so structured around learning English grammar that they can understand complicated English sentences that no native speaker ever ever uses, but they can't understand basic, casual conversation, and that's really frustrating.
No, thank you for answering. It does help. It reinforces my idea that just *hearing* English and reading English helps someone learn it. Are there any English TV shows that you remember being easier to understand? Even my adult students employed as translators have a hard time understanding someone speaking at native speeds.
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Well, we did talk a bit in English class. Or rather the 'hi, how are you ?' bit we did answer.
Honestly though, what helped me most was when I got internet access and actually randomly got to read stuff I was actually interested in.
but nah, else my classes were - write a summary of this article, let's do some grammar exercises, write an essay on this topic, now write a summary of this article... asoasf -.-
also, if you want i can make you a voice recording of a crazy german saying 'hi, i'm stefanie, i'm from germany and i started learning english 16 years ago (wtf rly?)' in both japanese and english. after that they can go ahead with their wakarimasen ;)
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I'm mostly just worried about my students because
A) *I* can barely pass their grammar tests as a native English speaker. The questions and grammar points are REALLY obscure.
and
B) I've heard many stories about adults in Japan having 6+ years of English education, and then not being able to understand ANYTHING someone in the US/UK/Australia, etc., is saying
Reply
also watch old westerns with them. we had a teacher who was into westerns. XD
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I'll try to play more English media though. It's something that I've been thinking about for awhile. Maybe Glee. They already like High School Musical.
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at first I watched movies/TV with French subtitles and then when my English was good enough I watched with English subtitles and now I still do it but barely look at them, it's just for reference (spelling, expressions...)
oh and the internet helps too! especially with understanding/writing of course
the French system is not very good either, except when the teachers are native speakers
yes I can speak/understand enough to talk to a native speaker (unless their accent is very strong and they talk very fast but when people know you're not a native speaker they usually speak slower)
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Then fandom happened and I started reading fanfics and watching series in original version,... and I started to learn English almost unconsciously.
I think the very best way to learn a new language -enjoying the experience- is if it helps you with something that you like, a hobby for example :)
LOL, I'm reading realproof and hobbitofkobol (such a great nickname XD) comments and they're saying exactly the same... oh fandom, you're wonderful!
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Actually, my best student is the one who enjoys English musicals and music, so I understand. I think I just need to figure out how to work that into my lessons while at the same time making my boss happy, since she just wants them to pass their grammar tests that even I would have a hard time passing.
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There are some big structural differences between Japanese and English, like you said. Can I ask how much you actually *spoke* English in school while studying?
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It's all just very frustrating to me, and I could pretty much write a book on how the Japanese way of learning English is almost a complete failure.
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No, thank you for answering. It does help. It reinforces my idea that just *hearing* English and reading English helps someone learn it. Are there any English TV shows that you remember being easier to understand? Even my adult students employed as translators have a hard time understanding someone speaking at native speeds.
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