Why I Don’t Call Myself an “English Teacher” Part 1— The Methodology
Hint: because I do more than just teach!
ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages), especially at B2+, requires more than simple theory and grammar, it requires a lot of coaching, mentoring, and most of all, a new approach to learning.
Most of the world’s population learns English but doesn’t always get a chance to apply it seamlessly, and many seeking change in their life, career, or more, and are ready to take the lead and upskill on a language that became quintessential in the business world.
That’s where I come in.
When clients reach out to me, they do so because of a video I posted on Preply, where I explain a bit around my motivation, my unconventional approach to teaching, and why I enjoy doing what I do.
Problem is, I can’t really call myself an English teacher. I don’t “teach” the language, if I did, I’d be lying, and I’d be offering most of my clients the same old stuff they’ve learned in school that never really stick.
I HATE talking about myself or my skills, especially innovative ones thanks to a long-held belief that I won’t be good enough. It was thanks to a client of mine who asked me why, and encouraged me to share my methodology and approach, and in all honesty, if I am really a changed person, and if I really want to defeat my demons which brought upon the last 2 decades of severe depression, I should take this opportunity as a step to share, shine, and even more so, get feedback.
so… here we go!
Running Assessments
Prior to working with an individual, I like to get to know them better, build a trust-based relationship, and assess their needs based on career goals or aspirations:
Tell me about yourself
What do you do in your current role?
Important and relevant question to gather the following:
- Industry — helps you understand the type of business vocabulary needed
- Role — to understand what type of role-specific elements and communication is required. Is it a leadership role? Founding a Start-up? do you deal with mainly native, ESOL, or a variety of clients?
- Future Prospects — whether they’re founders wanting to grow their business abroad, hobbyists who want to travel and learn from others, or someone looking to progress in their career, knowing near and long-term goals helps set clear learning paths and helps with future visualization or in goal realization strategy.
What mode of communication do you use more now, and wish to use more of in the future?
Some clients write more reports than they do presentations, some clients are in client-facing roles where public speaking and debating skills are required, others run start-ups and are looking to attract investors. All in all, knowing where they are again and what they hope to achieve helps in identifying communication needs based needs beyond standard English:
- Active Listening
- Presentation and Public Speaking
- Negotiation, Persuasion, and Formal Debating
- Formulating Structured Rebuttals When Defending Thesis
- and, Having Difficult Conversations
are some communication-based skills which intersect with language learning and helps ensure that my clients thrive in whatever they choose to do.
What’s your relationship with the English language, how often do you use it?
This is an important question. Many international clients somehow all watch the show “Friends” — give or take 70% of them — and that’s not surprising seeing that the series is easy to follow, funny, lighthearted and definitely was a way I developed my English Skills during the ’90s (plus wanting to sing RHCP — Give it away perfectly accent and all). The next level up also seems to be “Parks and Recreations”, which I find Hilariously awesome.
I love using this as an opportunity to teach them skills beyond the classroom. Whether it is
- Watching TED Talks, summarizing and paraphrasing what the speaker said
- distinguishing audible cues, and learning how the use one structure versus the next can change message delivery.
A recent example of that was how using passive versus active voice shifts focus from subject to object, and what value that could bring to them in writing, presentation or communication, or what using “But” can do to the attention of the listener if used at the beginning of the sentence versus not. For me it’s fun, it’s like teaching game theory through communication.
Structuring Lessons
Lessons are structured into 3 main parts, and the ratio changes based on the client’s needs. On average I do 20/80:
Casual Conversation (up to 50% if needed):
As Much as my clients want to dive right into business acumen and the rest, I know the importance of carrying casual conversation or “small talk” in a business setting. It’s also a great destresser and mood changer for many who have to switch their brains from work to learning mode, and helps build stronger relationships and bonds with my clients.
I love the stories they share and sometimes I love using their talking points to co-create a lesson on the spot!
Technical Language Learning (50-80%):
Not only do I use my favorite Grammar In Use book to teach grammar, but I like to mix it up a bit and focus on the following:
- Grammar and “Structure” Practice and Correction
- Logical and Critical Reasoning, as in the GMAT and LSAT
- Reading and Listening Comprehension
- Verbal Articulation, Pronunciation
For Example: a client works at Google in San Fran, he’s a brilliant programmer, but constantly got feedback around his communication skills. so I asked the following questions:
How often do you interact with colleagues in a week?
How often do you have to contribute in team meetings or status reports, stand-ups, etc.?
How often do you use English at home with family, or outside of work?
Surprisingly, human interaction is limited at work due to his role where he can spend weeks on end coding and not really dealing with people unless through their internal instant messaging system or email. Plus, due to him having a 9 year old he wants to immerse in their local language, and friends in their local community who speak it when they gather, he doesn’t get the chance to really practice.
The solution then is simple, he has all the right incentives, and the courage to reach out and want to develop and grow further in a company he admires, so we decided to structure lessons with a 40/60 to help him focus on casual conversation with colleagues, enrich his vocabulary, and due to his mother language not having similar tenses in English, help him develop that through storytelling: Using the Zombie Apocalypse to tell a story using the tenses, and breaking down the basics of how time works in English.
Focusing on Creating new Learning Habits
A lot of students learned English for years, either via school and university, private tutoring, or a mix of both, but that still doesn’t solve their main areas of improvement. Change in learning style is hence eminent, and I like to focus on life-long learning and habit formation more than anything else:
What I like to tell my students about Unlearning and Re-Learning:
- You need to make mistakes: this is a safe space for you to do so, and if you don't make mistakes, it’s going to be harder to learn. Some mistakes are simple, some are not, but realizing that you made a mistake and understanding why, and how to correct it, is valuable. I normally have analytical skills which can help me discern if the mistake is due to “thinking in your mother tongue’s structure but speaking in English” or a rough translation of a word. This helps my students a great deal.
- You have to think in the language: and its structure to change, I normally share this video to explain further, and use it as a point of discussion in the next class
- Culture and language are heavily intertwined: so understanding a new language requires learning more about culture and history.
- Adult Learning is different: as adults, the brain is more logical, and requires further justification and examples to get used to a new way of doing things, a change management and strategy principle.
- Your brain doesn’t connect well between written and spoken: Yes, you can read all the books in the world but recollection memory just doesn’t work like that, we need to practice what we read or new vocabulary on the spot and be able to use them in different scenarios and sentences.
- You don't’ need to find the “perfect” word: you can explain what you’re trying to say using synonyms, or simply by the definition of the word itself. This has been greatly successful, especially at helping them build confidence in speaking.
End of the day, am I an English teacher? I’m not too sure. I feel like I am using this as an opportunity to help others strive, learn critical skills, grow, and allows me to grow with them.
This is all part of my 2021 plan to Pay it Forward. I may not have been lucky job-wise and I still need to develop key skills before jumping back into the job market. Giving something to others which I hope (really hope) leaves an everlasting impact does help in fulfilling my goal to make the world a better place, one student, client, or person at a time.
Stay tuned for Part 2! and thank you for reading.
