Obstacles to EFL (English as a Foreign Language) Learning

[WitantoCom]

I have difficulties in speaking & listening

[powerdriller10]

English is a very difficult language. Its pronunciation is very alien to Mediterranean people. Its irregular phonology, phonetics and spelling is very intimidating, Mediterraneans get the impression that they will never make it. Those are reasons among many more, for the World to adopt an auxiliary language like Esperanto. Cutting the learning time from a decade to six months would be quite beneficial for acquiring a second language.

[jeffrey19621]

High quality programs such as Rosetta Stone do far more for the motivated student that are few and far between. They teach you to be the Robin Williams of ESL and I often wonder if this is why our kids are imbiciles. I was just an adjunct professor at univercity but still was reqiured to Take the Tefl ( Absolutely Worthless training) be advised of two other certifiing bodies you may attend . I live in Thailand with my Thai girlfriend .Thai commitment to english is poor you end up babysiting

[jeffrey19621]

If you attend these scam english shools you will find it far more about entertaining the students than teaching anything .

[tigerhop]

Thank you for your response. By social pathology, I mean cultural mindset. I can understand that English might not be top priority for them,and when the economy is bad, it puts pressure on people. Hopefully it will improve. What about starting your own business? When people are paying for some service, they often put more care and time into learning and benefiting from it.

[tigerhop]

HI,

do you think this has to do with the cultural mindset? If people really want to learn english, they won't need hand-holding at home and will work their butts off to learn. That's a pretty universal characteristic, but I wonder if the welfare state encourages this social pathology in countries like Spain.

[MadridTeacher]

@tigerhop "Cultural mindset" vs Welfare State? I guess being lazy is a pretty universal characteristic amongst a certain percentage of folks AND that the organization of the state has an awful lot to do with how things work here. "Social pathology"? I'm not sure what you mean by that. I think Spaniards in general like the "good" life. Who wants to work too much? In my U though, they want to work on the core subjects, not English, not as much. They don't take it seriously enough in comparison.

[truckerfromreno]

This fella speaks a lot of sense. I like him he's a bright lad.

[FreeEnglishVideos]

I think maybe if you can get the students to understand that repetition is key then they will be more inclined to do it. I know it personally made a big difference for me. I would hate doing repetition exercises but understanding the use makes it a little less difficult.

[SecondLifeEnglish]

sorry to bombard you with comments:)...no need to reply to all...just agree with the points you are making and think there is definitely a need to address these issues...to further facilitate things so as to increase the likelihood that students will both want and be in the position/condition to learn outside of the classroom...i'll try to stay in touch via facebook and here on youtube of course...thx again!

[SecondLifeEnglish]

re second life, it's certainly not for everyone...huge learning curve and very time-consuming...but for those who can come in with purpose and quickly master the skills they need to make proper use of the medium, there is certainly a lot to benefit from...the immersiveness of the medium...the multicultural aspect...word to object recognition...and constant confrontation of new language and associated experiences...but SL is not for everyone...think students who avoid PC learning need more help..

[SecondLifeEnglish]

re my vids, i don't have a lot of my own up...just a few, but i do favorite a lot of second life/virtual world related videos which my be of interest...would love to connect via facebook if you are there...will do a search for madridteacher and see what turns up...thx again for your vids...like the open and honest approach you take...

[SecondLifeEnglish]

learning options are exploding like never before, but it seems even more options are needed...to address the lack of time issue, the pc at work issue (no desire to use it at home), the motivation issue (demotivated due to previous school experiences and/or other things), the burnt out issue, etc...options need to be made available which excite, are easy, and have a noticeable effect...

[SecondLifeEnglish]

regarding lack of time for study...completely agree...have experienced the same...perhaps aim should be to facilitate a kind of learning lifestyle...things which can be easily done at home, minus much effort...on-line and off-line...some random exs: provide vocab stickers for object identification around home, provide useful portable study guides and/or exercise stuff, provide or suggest games which may be left out on the kitchen table...this sort of stuff...just some random ideas...

[MadridTeacher]

I think mixing the information with entertainment seems to be the most promising. There's nothing like "play" to get people to "work." I'll have to check out your videos a little more closely over the holidays. Loved the second life health care one . . . by the way, I teach 10 hours a week to nurses in a University among other things.

[SecondLifeEnglish]

agree...seems there is a lot of potential in on-line and/or off-line games...and many games have yet to be developed which might be good motivators and easy to pull out and use...i'm quite involved in e-learning but from experience have seen that many of the students i've taught had zero interest in being in front of a PC due to the fact that they have to work in front of one all day : /...thus the need for more off-line possibilities...easy to play games/activities, etc.

[MadridTeacher]

Same experience here. I can't get most of my students online (even in the University where their grades depend on it), not to mention get them to do much of anything at all outside of class. I'm thinking that a site like Second Life might well come along, but for students of languages. There are companies developing things for some schools' systems in the States. We'll just have to wait and see.

[SecondLifeEnglish]

like your vids...thanks for sharing!

[kologunners]

Hi.. i am from Kuwait and i really enjoyed the video !

thank you very much, teacher !

[HowToTeachEnglish]

Great!

[iopkythowal]

Hi Steven,

I am from Brazil and I am enjoying a lot your movies.

your pronunciation is very good, I got understand every thing about you've told in your movies, " FANTASTIC "

And Congrats about your movies qualitys,

the sound is very clear.

By

Cassoli.

[Frnlam]

Really wanting or needing to learn another language makes a difference in making it a priority.Also the individuals method of studying decreases anxiety,increases confidence.

[theshredda]

is it possible for an adult to obtain a 3rd language? do they still have "it"?

[marisabellas]

yes!

[Kaguyua]

Thank for this posting. I teach English in Japan, and my experiences are very similar to yours. I used to teach elementary students almost exclusively. Now I teach adults almost exclusively - mostly coorporate clients and individual classes with students who have very specific goals. I agree with your comments about using your students personal experiences to fuel conversation and about possible disagreement with other collegues and superiors.

[MadridTeacher]

Prospective teachers who read my dialog with David Cruzing below should get a little further insight into another possible obstacle when teaching English: disagreement with colleagues and bosses as to what constitutes good English teaching methodology. Sometimes we just start out at opposite ends from each other with a completely different set of assumptions, etc. Even the superstars can't agree as to the best approaches, etc.

[esteloquillo]

Muy buena exposiciòn . Tengo una pregunta.

¿Es posible enseñar un buen Inglès sin haber estado en un paìs de habla inglesa por algùn tiempo?

[davidcruzing]

Most students on the first day of class wants to learn. Students tune out when they realize they won't learn anything from you. You can not teach a language like you would physics. Language is chaotic and illogical quite often. With out ever taking notes or even cracking open a book, with the right teacher or method, a student should be fluent in one year.

[MadridTeacher]

I agree with everything, but I have a couple of questions?: How many hours do you have to teach students to get them fluent? What do you have to do to be the "right teacher?" What is the "right method?" I use learner centered teaching, and you?

[davidcruzing]

For a student with no previous exposer to English, about 1000 hours. To be the "right teacher", first off, stop teaching grammar. In the beginning, tell stories in past, present and future tenses. After a while they'll figure it out. Method: Speak at a normal speed; don't teach English, teach something else; don't try to get them to talk, they'll talk when they're ready. My teaching is goal centered.

[MadridTeacher]

1,000 hours is 2 to 3 hours a day every day during a year. I'm lucky to get 2 to 3 hours a week 8 months out of the year. I get beginners started with grammar-focussed methods and move on as quickly as possible to content based like you. I find it impossible to speak without using grammar, however, and it always seems to come up. You seem to use grammar-based methods (present, past, future) a little yourself.

[MadridTeacher]

In any case, I'm intrigued as to what your "goals" are in your classes. D

[davidcruzing]

Forget the background, heredity, interests and experiences of the student when teaching a language. It may all sound nice and sweet, but what does it have to do with their comprehension? Comprehension is the goal. If they can't comprehend, having them speak in class is meaningless. Do they have to comprehend everything right away? No, getting the gist is good in the beginning. The more they understand, the more they'll begin to talk.

[davidcruzing]

The goal of comprehension also depends on the job at hand and the time alloted . Is it a school, a business a private student.

When a company calls and tells you that they have a convention in three months and need you to teach their staff functional English, what are you going to do? Asks them about their families? Have them go through scenarios -- at the hotel -- at the the airport -- at the restaurant? That just won't cut it.

[davidcruzing]

At the end of the day what do you want? Students who feels good about themselves and the world, or students that speak and understand English? At the end of the day/term/assignment, all of my students speak and understand English. Yes All.

[MadridTeacher]

I couldn't disagree more about forgetting the students' background, etc. I'm afraid. I would recommend exactly the opposite. Start with the individual (interests and all) and build from there. They'll likely be more interested in comprehending something that's important to them than not. There's a huge difference in the motivation to comprehend when having them speak about something that's meaningful to them and when not. They just tune out when disinterested.

[MadridTeacher]

Students' needs and wants differ very much from each other. I have: university students preparing for the CAE exam who expect to follow a pretty strict program, a low-level student who requests high-level real-world texts and videos, an intermediate student who only wants conversation, a pre-intermediate student who only likes to follow a course-book and gets nervous in conversation (feels it's a waste of time), etc.

[MadridTeacher]

Regarding your comment: "at the end of the day . . . students who feel good about themselves?" I don't understand how students feeling good about themselves comes into conflict with their learning English. In all humility, I can't lay claim to your superb 100% though I've gotten plenty of students to learn English. I teach my students how to speak English from the very first day, but does this count as "speaking?": "What's this/that?" "It's a pen."

[davidcruzing]

Worksheets and grammar doesn't help anyone learn English. You should look at what you're doing wrong as apposed to what your students are doing wrong. Drills are used by teacher who don't want to teach. You shouldn't ask baseless questions and expect meaningful answers.

[MadridTeacher]

I disagree with: a) 99.9% of students would disagree with you that worksheets and grammar don't help them, b) you should at what everyone is doing wrong including the students, c) drills work just fine in the right situation, d)could you explain this one? It sounds too obvious.

[davidcruzing]

"You shouldn't ask baseless questions and expect meaningful answers."

Don't ask students about their families. Everyone has a canned answer for this. Why would you ask them this question other than to get them to speak. They know that this is what you are doing, and a wall of resistance comes up. A better approach: Who's the jerk that parked his car in my space? I want to give this guy a flat tire. Does anyone have something I could use?

[MadridTeacher]

You're assuming we're not really interested in where they're from, how old they are, etc. I think teachers should be a little bit of a gossip (not a lot) and not mind talking about their respective families if they students are willing. Don't overwhelm them with this kind of talk, but you do end up finding out all kinds of interesting things if you dig enough. Spanish students have a sense of humor about this sort of classroom talk.

[Ant777uk]

So what DOES help someone learn English?

[IQBunny]

Gah!!! It is so frustrating when they forget things taht have already been taught, practiced, and 'learned'. Later, you ask a question or use a word they should know and get a spacey stare. *pulling hair out*

[rahsomali]

nice job man thanks for Esl !

[lucisangels]

Thank you for posting your teaching experience. I am a non-native, Japanese

students, studying EFL. For me, it is very tough to manage time to study, not to mention to money to afford. But I believe that racial and cultural difference is what we learn from it through classroom. I respect English culture. My origin comes from Japan and Spain but, language is what becomes barrier sometimes. I am sorry if I am too emortional but I would thank you for your hard working as a good English teacher.

[alexgraves2007]

It is a very good thought! Well, I do love English and I live in USA for 5 years now. My English Teacher(ESL)was amazing and funny!Mrs. Sue Scott/CA and she touch me a lot. I still in contact with her.

We must communicate,pronunciation, in classrooms. I think is the most important thing to do for us, foreigners, because we can learn and understand.

Keep it up and don't give up!We can learn and help each other in this road. Great work! Thank you. alex

[blueworld123]

your video was kinda helpful and constructive.Thanks a lot!

[catchaca]

english second language?gosh,,that's reminder me..,haveyou seen guysa video here? gringoes

the japanese girl on the video,it's funny!!,she dosen't speaks nothing or understanding everybody on the meetup,just laugh(LOL.),hey guys watching her englihs (video gringoes)LOL.

the guy above,cool english., man!!

[handsonvideo]

I know exactly what you are talking about. You should really try to get more into the kids' market. It is so rewarding and happy. Of course, you can take a look at my channel, but you can find some really terrific views at SuperSimpleSongs(Tokyo) and DaddyRossPreschool (Argentina). I am always working, always tired...but always so happy and feel well rewarded by what transpires before my very eyes!

[BreeinOC]

do the class as a quiz show so it is entertaining and they are motivated to win. do a spelling bee only make it about other things such as vocabulary. bring in songs, give them a print out of the lyrics and maybe they will want to learn a song they hear on the radio? they will learn words from lyrics.

[gatsby31]

I completely agree with you. Canaries, Spain, EU

[ericsurf6]

Good video! I teach University English in Japan. Surely I agree, motivation is very low. The students' priorities for studying lie elsewhere.

However, I primariily teach using the entertainment method. I always start classes off with a joke or some sort of brain teaser to get them engaged. Also, my lessons are mostly disguised as fun and games, and this breeds active participation.

[FishingtonBurpPuzzle]

I teach EFL in Japan and it is the same story. In my experience the most succesful students had a real interest ie through our friend's example above. There are so many students who basically have no reason to be in class. That makes it difficult and makes it work when it should be fun.

[diasuyapa]

I am a teacher too in a foreign country and i know that it is difficult for them and us.

[conceitarturo]

Hey, I am a Colombian guy who pretty much got into speaking english on his own trough music, TV, videogames and mostly the internet. I can imagine its pretty hard to get someone to learn english trough classes, I'd say try to involve their interests in this, get them to join internet forums and such.