April 2005 Archives

Proof reading is a labourious task; carefully picking your way through copy to find the slightest error. But in these modern days of grammar and spellcheckers, what's the point? Who needs proof?

Some colleagues had asked me for some tips on teaching elementary school children English as a Foreign Language. Besides providing them with information on games, referrals to ESL websites, and other helpful information, I found I had shared with them my approach to teaching elementary school students. Here's what I said.

I use hand-made interview/conversational board games to humanize my language teaching from a metadiscourse level to a personal one with my adult language students. I find this approach lends itself to private one-on-one instruction and to small groups of students. I find too that it's very appropriate for language learners who have studied English and have some grasp of the English language but are too shy, reluctant or afraid of speaking for fear of making a mistake.

Is it considered taboo? I think so for the ears of young learners or high school students but perhaps not for adult EFL students. My article arises in part out of a series of queries I received over the last several months by some of my adult ESL students. One was a request by a few to teach them some North American swear words. Another was to clarify the meaning of a swear word and its use. Another was a comment by a student noting an abundance of swear words in Hollywood movies. But I think it was when I was asked to explain the meaning of the word 'jerk' when it came up in the context of a lesson that I was teaching that got me to write this piece.