Many languages in the world, such as Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Thai, are known as tonal languages because their speakers must rely heavily on tones to convey meaning. A particular word may have that same sound(s) as a different word and the only thing that sets them apart for the listener is which tone accompanies each syllable of the word.

English, in contrast, is famously labeled as a non-tonal language because so much of an English speaker’s successful communication hinges on placing stress on the right part of a word or the right words in a sentence.

While the above labels are not false, I was reminded in my classroom last week about the importance of teaching many different things when focusing on pronunciation. Individual phonemes (sounds within words) are crucial building blocks and correct word/sentence stress helps listeners to understand anyone who is trying to speak English.

But tone…that is an equally important thing for us to properly model for our students and target in the classroom when we are giving students time to practice.

Consider two aspects of this.

First, think of a common word such as interesting. Then, think of at least four ways that word can be said – that is, say the word at least four different ways using different tones. I can say it to show that something is mildly attractive. But I can also show by my tone if I think it is tantalizing, surprising, previously unknown, thought-provoking, or utterly boring.

Second, think of a whole sentence and how saying it with different types of intonation will change the meaning or feeling for the listener. For instance, look at this sentence/question and say it at least three different ways:

(Sarcastic) Well, that was the most interesting book I’ve ever read!

(Honest, friendly question) Was that the most interesting book you’ve ever read?

(Excited) That was the most interesting book I’ve ever read!

(Doubtful, disbelieving) Was that the most interesting book you’ve ever read?

(Nostalgic) Now that was the most interesting book I’ve ever read.

Teaching language well requires balanced exposure to many aspects of that language. But every now and then, it’s important for both the language teacher/tutor and the language student to evaluate if they are working on each of the major components of the target language with equal emphasis.

For me, right now that means reminding my students that they all need to pay careful attention to English intonation in both their interpretive listening and their speaking.

If you teach language, what does it mean for you?

(image source: http://www.integralhospitality.com/?p=238)

I attended the MIDTESOL annual conference in Kansas City – the yearly meeting for the Midwest regional branch of the International TESOL organization. Upon returning, my head was spinning with all the information I’d been exposed to. In those moments, one of the presenter’s words of wisdom came back to me like a whisper in the swirling wind.

Neil J. Anderson, a well-known researcher and educator in the field of TESOL, spoke to us about the essentials of professional development in ESL, especially as they apply to instructors and administrators coming back from large conferences. 🙂 Among his useful grounding points, he reminded us of the importance of having a plan for retaining and actually applying one or more of the concepts we’d been introduced to (or reminded of). He likewise stressed the need for a professional development community around us and how we must give/receive support and accountability in order to make sure that the positive changes we seek to apply are truly making teaching/learning better when we return to our home environments. Otherwise, we will go home and nothing will ever change – for we didn’t have a plan to intentionally change it.

In reflecting, I had to admit that I feel only a very loose sense of professional development community in my current work setting. I’d like this to change, but I’m not sure how to see that change happen. It’s as if I need to have a plan for setting up an intentional community with regular checks and balances (and encouragement) before I can move forward with the other part(s) of Anderson’s advice.

I also realized that most of my life has recently been about simply surviving, both professionally and personally. In teaching, that means last minute lesson plans and rushing to overlooked meetings; in professional development, it means a couple of relevant books marked a few pages in and collecting dust on an end table.

I need to have a plan or goal, even just one thing that I will aim for and focus on. And I need to ask a friend or colleague to help me stay on track while I reach for it.

Of course, the principles of community and purpose/priorities  apply to more than teaching and professional growth. They are also essential for emotional, mental, and spiritual growth and individual effectiveness in the broader community. So in daily reflection we can ask: “What/Who am I aiming for today? How am I going to do that or reach my goal? And how will I adjust myself or my plan today or tomorrow based on what happens today?”

Labor Day weekend is upon us. What better way to celebrate than to work? 🙂

I do look forward to a bit of rest and family time, but before that I will be providing training for some volunteer tutors in my community. They want to be effective helpers to their friends who are learning English, but many of these tutors have not formally studied education or language teaching theory.

Our training time is limited. And the sea of theory/practice in the ELL world is wide. How will I cross it and keep all of them in the boat with me during our short session today?

In planning and creating materials for the session, I had to ask myself, “What does it all really boil down to?” I had to go back to the basics.

For this session, that will mean focusing on the most fundamental principles of language learning and teaching (such as maintaining a balance between accuracy and fluency in progress) as well as a reminder of the elementary pattern for a solid lesson plan.

It will also mean telling myself multiple times throughout the day that we will not cross such a wide sea in one session. And that is okay.

Just as learning a language is a long, challenging process (especially for adult learners), learning how to teach a language well and help a language learner are things that take much time, practice, and patience.

From all of this, I draw several important recyclable lessons.

Anytime we need to explain something or teach others in life, no matter the topic or subject, we must always start with the most basic blocks and terms and work from there. And it never hurts to revisit the basics.

Every teacher trainer must keep the basics in mind when preparing additional materials or explaining more advanced principles.

Every language teacher or tutor must find hope in each teaching experience – both the ones that go very well to lift up the heart and the ones that ride roughly, where we learn from mistakes.

Every language student must join the ones they are learning with and from on the journey, recalling always that it is a journey. Today and tomorrow, we will learn something new. Or recall something previously learned. Or both. 

And in the end, hopefully, we will all look back and be able to see how far we have come.

In the comments, I invite you to name one of the most basic principles from your life or field/work that you always (want to) keep coming back to.

Have you ever attended a presentation, class, or meeting and watched another attendee use their phone, tablet, or camera to take pictures of PowerPoint slides, posters, or whiteboard lists instead of taking the time to write down or type out that information for later reference? (And have you ever done the same?)

I’m not saying this is a wholly bad thing. I’ve done it myself when a teacher’s diagram on the board was incredibly complex and replicating it on the spot seemed impossible. Technology has its advantages and, correctly used, can help make our learning lives easier.

But I am fearful that if students (and language learners more specifically) start to increasingly take notes simply by taking photos of things instead of recording information in some more engaging and personal fashion, such lazy note taking will result in numerous negative outcomes. Here I will share three of them.

• Students will be less likely to really recall information later. For many learners, there is something that connects in our brains when we both listen and write or see and write at the same time. This opportunity to more actively process the information even as we are introduced to it makes a way for us to remember things longer and in a more meaningful way.
• Student listening abilities will continue to decrease. At this point, I’m not necessarily speaking of a student’s language listening level. Rather, when students are busy taking a picture, they are often not listening closely to what the presenter or instructor is saying. As with many aspects of our technologically-driven world, the art of listening seems to be lost while we stare at devices and develop consistently shorter attention spans.
• Students will not develop the ability to effectively organize and summarize information. The student who tries to transcribe a fast-speaking lecturer’s speech in her notebook will often become very frustrated, since the point of taking notes is to listen closely and write down things that are key, useful, or thought-provoking. In order to listen well and take good notes, a student must practice. By doing so, she can gain valuable experience in organizing information, prioritizing what she hears, and summarizing a speakers main points. All of these skills are useful in both professional settings and effective daily communication with relatives and friends.

When I start teaching a new set of classes later this month, I’m going to offer my students notebooks and pens, because I have a feeling some of them will come to class without these inexpensive but important tools. Whether or not they accept my offer, I will stress that they are to either write things down or type them instead of simply capturing screenshots. In this way, I hope that they will learn more in terms of both language and content throughout the term.

Feel free to comment below. What are your thoughts about “lazy note-taking”?

One of the joint challenges and joys of being an English as a Second Language teacher lies in describing the meanings of words. English is a complex language, and trying to explain the different meanings of and ways to use various lexical items can be daunting. Why do we say that we put on our clothes and we put up with an annoying person but we put away our things and we put aside our differences? What’s the difference between “I’m sorry for what I did” and “He was a sorry excuse for a coach”?

A critical aspect of this teaching responsibility comes when I have to explain the true meaning of words that native speakers often overuse or use incorrectly. I dealt with this in a recent book club meeting, when the main character realized he hated someone and the author used the character’s thoughts to give a very clear definition of hate. I paused to tell the international student club members about how this was an accurate usage of the word hate, and therefore cautioned them about using it with other people, even in a joking sense.

I was thinking today about a couple more words we use a lot in a very casual manner. One is amazing and the other is awesome. I hear these words used in advertisements, announcements, meetings, and casual conversations. They can now be used to describe everything from movies to hot wings and haircuts to car engines. These things may be entertaining, delicious, intriguing, or impressive. But are they really amazing and awesome?

According to Webster’s Dictionary, amazing means “causing astonishment, great wonder, or surprise.” Awesome means “inspiring awe” and awe means “an emotion variously combining dread, veneration, and wonder that is inspired by authority or by the sacred or sublime.” In other words, things that are truly amazing will leave us speechless, feeling small in the face of the noble, the heavenly, the beautiful, or the powerful. (Hot wings are nice, but this is not the feeling I have when I eat them!)

So if everything is awesome or amazing, we should be falling over in shock and wonder, speechless at every turn. Yet, here we are: talking, texting, and face-timing with more repetitive words than ever before about things that are good and nice but not truly extraordinary.  I would like to suggest that we have so watered down what makes us feel amazed and awestruck that we don’t know how to stop and really notice the truly amazing, awesome, wonderful, and exceptional blessings God puts in our lives each day.

That’s what I want to model for my students, even as I answer their questions about English. I want them to hear me use amazing and awesome correctly because I am quietly, wonderingly observing every good gift and powerful deed that comes from the Giver.