Experiences of a teacher of English

1101. Learning how to summarize

Fernando Díez Gallego — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:20:00 GMT

Teacher B said to teacher A, “Something unfortunately many young people do not know how to do is to summarize. You, teacher of English, can teach your students to do that. Have them read a rather long text. Have them read it carefully, rather many times....(read more)

1100. Planning your work: so important, no doubt

Fernando Díez Gallego — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:55:00 GMT

Teacher A said to teacher B, “The teacher of English or whatever school subject can write down notes of interesting things he or she encounters. For example, the teacher should keep on learning about his or her area of knowledge, about teaching methodologies,...(read more)

1099. Also planning is essential

Fernando Díez Gallego — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:36:00 GMT

Teacher A said to teacher B, “There’re things we can control and others we can’t. I mean: you can plan a class, but you cannot control the results of the class. Every day is different. You can control the process or conducting of the class but you cannot...(read more)

1098. Working together is like a powerful locomotive

Fernando Díez Gallego — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:16:00 GMT

Teacher B said to teacher A, “Concerning the work of the department of English it’s essential you would learn to listen to your colleagues. It’s very sound that we have things to say, but you might combine this with attentively listening to the others’...(read more)

1097. Behavior in classes: it's their business

Fernando Díez Gallego — Sat, 18 May 2013 17:59:00 GMT

Teacher A said to teacher B, “Often teachers are worried about their students’ not improving, also in behavior. Teachers get anxious and stressed out. But I would tell them: Stay calm. I don't mean I know more than my colleagues. It’s the students’ business,...(read more)

1096. For learning English: peace is necessary (if possible)

Fernando Díez Gallego — Sat, 18 May 2013 15:57:00 GMT

Teacher B said to teacher A, “The following things are important for the learner of English: serenity, peace, studying and practicing peacefully (if possible). The point here is to be able to dream and think of the project of reaching far in the learning...(read more)

1095. Chances to speak in English

Fernando Díez Gallego — Sat, 18 May 2013 11:04:00 GMT

Teacher A said to teacher B, “I know a teacher of English that makes good use of all the chances he has to speak in English. He lives in a city of the south of Spain. If someone on the street, like tourists for example, asks him something in some Spanish,...(read more)

1094. Every problem has a solution

Fernando Díez Gallego — Sat, 18 May 2013 09:04:00 GMT

Teacher B said to teacher A, “In the worst of cases a student that is doing bad in his studies and has a lot of flaws, the teacher must keep being serene, positive, encouraging, and helping. The same can be said about his parents. That student needs somebody...(read more)

1093. The student must learn his job as a student

Fernando Díez Gallego — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:14:00 GMT

Teacher A said to teacher B, “I know a student that invests a lot of hours studying, but his grades [marks] are low, fail. I guess he doesn’t know how to study, he doesn’t know how to develop his job now, which is being a student. He has the school subject...(read more)

1092. Effort? Just essential!

Fernando Díez Gallego — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:11:00 GMT

Teacher B said to teacher A, “One key point to learn/acquire a foreign language, like English, is just to invest effort, to study, to practice, to fight, to strive, to struggle, to rise if I fell. For example, the list of irregular verbs. Every generation...(read more)

1091. Come on, man, you did many good things!

Fernando Díez Gallego — Fri, 17 May 2013 09:51:00 GMT

Teacher A said to teacher B, “At the tutoring sessions with our students we can make a huge good. But first, you, teacher, have to educate yourself: you cannot give what you don’t have. Now let’s think of a student that is getting negative grades [marks]...(read more)

1090. Management of the class according to my experience

Fernando Díez Gallego — Fri, 17 May 2013 09:03:00 GMT

Teacher B said to teacher A, “Now about management of the class and discipline: I’ve found out that if you treat your students with politeness and good manners and serenity, and you don’t shout at them, more likely the students will respect you – they...(read more)

1089. How to train memory

Fernando Díez Gallego — Fri, 17 May 2013 08:50:00 GMT

Teacher A said to teacher B, “About memory and learning new vocabulary by students I can assure you that memory can be trained. It’s in some way like chewing gum: it can expand itself. I can tell you that my memory has expanded: I see a new word once...(read more)

1088. Making students practice questions

Fernando Díez Gallego — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:00:00 GMT

Teacher B said to teacher A, “Probably you’ve noticed that students usually ANSWER questions, but they don’t ASK questions. What could we do to solve this problem? All comments of readers will be welcome. First you can present the grammar of verbs: I'm...(read more)

1087. When are kids capable of understanding abstract concepts?

Fernando Díez Gallego — Thu, 16 May 2013 09:05:00 GMT

Teacher A said to teacher B, “It’s ok to approach a communicative way of the class of English but if you wanna reinforce grammar or use it for clarification, you should know that kids of ‘6º Primaria’ (k6?) are the ones – if they’re smart enough – to...(read more)