6 basic goals to have in teaching the english language

Teaching methodology Language learning is a lifelong process. After over 30 years of living in Spain, at least 25 of which I have considered myself a fluent Spanish speaker, I find myself constantly studying Spanish. Not a day goes by that I don’t learn a new word or expression. I see a phrase in a news article or hear it in a translation of a film. I look at those, note them, use them for several days, and they become part of my evergrowing proficiency in Spanish. Though I can say “I have learned suchandsuch” in Spanish, I also keep present the concept of “I am learning” and “I will have learned.” “I will have learned” became my mission statement. Do a mission statement activity with your students. This differs from generating objective statements: it’s broader, outlining a progressive attitude that can be fomented through achieving small goals: What do you plan to do with your English knowledge? (Look for a job overseas? Join a NGO and help the needy? Translate the great works of your culture to English so others can enjoy them?) What will you have to do every day to make English useful to your longterm plan? (Take skillspecific classes that will help you in your work? Learn diplomatic language to deal in local conflict resolution? Pour through previous translations to see if they can be improved upon?) At what point do you believe your English study will be over? (Once you’ve landed the job? Once you’ve returned home from that faraway country? Once your translations have been published?) This type of exercise should help your students realize the importance of a learning attitude, that study will never end, that human beings learn something new every day. As the old Spanish refrain goes, “No te vayas a la cama sin haber aprendido algo nuevo.” (Don’t go to bed without having learned something new.)

6 Basic Goals to Have in Teaching the

English Language

Whatever you do, just keep them spinning

That’s what we tell ourselves as teachers

We keep spinning one after the other until we’re balancing a whole slew of plates as easily as if we were chewing gum

But instead of spinning plates, we’re spinning goals—around and around they go!

And we’re really good at it Because, as you know, being a teacher is more than a

vocation, it’s a calling We’re not just preparing students for a class, we’re preparing them for life

With such lofty ambitions, what are the goals that the teacher needs to keep

in mind ?

Antoine de Saint-Exupery once said:

If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.

As teachers, we need to think bigger We need to teach students to think beyond

common classroom tasks and awaken their desire to excel in English (and in life) But how do we do that?

Teachers have to look at their own goals as a professional, as an authority in their field and as a person capable of sharing and imparting their knowledge

Here are some goals that will help teachers to do as Saint-Exupéry suggests and inspire

students to learn And we’re not only going to give you some pointers about student

goals, we’ve got one just for teachers as well (though of course it’ll help with student achievement)

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6 Basic Goals to Have in Teaching the English Language

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1. Be a Student Informant

There are three things to remember when teaching: know your stuff; know whom you are stuffing; and then stuff them elegantly — Lola May

An “informant” is a native speaker of a language who provides linguistic

information to a person who is studying the language The student isn’t

necessarily doing so in order to master the language; more likely, the student is creating some type of analytical evaluation of the language to increase understanding

Put language in context

In the classic English teaching environment, the role of the informant has been relegated

to the teacher Although some schools employ native English speakers as informants, giving them a title like “auxiliary teachers,” being a true informant sometimes takes a back seat in English teaching

Combining the classic linguistic term with the active need for information in language teaching means that you not only provide utterances for your students to copy and learn

but also additional information that puts language in context.

Balance the role of informant with that of teacher

Fortunately, being both a teacher and an informant is a pretty easy combination You probably already inform a great deal in your classroom as you plow through the

curriculum

When sharing an example with your students, give “added value,” explaining

not only the obvious reason you’ve shared the word or phrase, but also adding

background information about the utterance itself

For example, if you’re teaching the difference between “may” and “can” (this one was classic with my mom, how about yours?), you won’t just give the two examples with explanations of their differences:

May I use your telephone? (polite request)

Can you fix this? (request for information on the capacity of the person to do something)

Go a step further and explain how, when you asked your mother, “Can I have a glass of

soda?” she would reply by saying, “Yes, you can, but you may not,” highlighting how

using the polite form was an important part of your upbringing: your mom considered the “can” question impolite

This type of additional information places an otherwise academic explanation into the

framework of language as a living, vibrant device for communication.

Include anecdotes like how speakers in southern parts of the U.S distinguish between

“you” singular and “you” plural with “y’all,” while those in the north don’t These will

help students remember and apply the academic information they’ll later need when speaking

Turn the tables and make your students informants

Hand the “informant” role over to your students! This is an excellent way to offer them a theme to speak about in English It also encourages an attitude of comparison between their native language and English

A true bilingual person will always be aware, while speaking a second

language, how things are expressed in their own language This is natural and

should be encouraged Sometimes the expression of ideas will be very similar, while with others there may be a huge difference

In English, for example, a straw breaks a camel’s back, while in Spanish, “la gota que

colma el vaso” (one drop overflows the glass) While you make a connection between the

straw and the camel, ask your Spanish speaking student to imagine why it’s a glass instead Ask any student to explain to the rest of the class, in English, how they express the same idea in their native language

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2. Put on the Coach Hat

Sports are such a great teacher I think of everything they’ve taught me: camaraderie, humility, how to resolve differences — Kobe Bryant

When asked how they won the gold medal in the Barcelona 1992 Olympic games, all of the men on the Spanish water-polo team highlighted that the most important thing for them was “team spirit,” a total surrender to the team effort to win, an effort of the

individual to be part of the team

One of the most important roles you’ll play in your classroom will be that of

“coach,” not only in the modern “improve yourself” interpretation, but like a sports

coach, someone who’s there to encourage and push team members to their limits, to bring the individuals together in meeting common goals

Allow students to discover their talents

As with any team effort, the coach will first evaluate the individual talents of each team member and then assign them their best slot in the game John is fast, so he becomes a running-back Peter is stocky and firm on his feet, so he becomes a tackle guy Jane has a strong right arm, so she becomes a outside hitter

 Do a student survey in class

 Place general talent headers on the board: sports, language, art, music, history, science, mathematics, etc

 Ask for a show of hands of students who believe they’re strong in any of these categories and list their names under each header

 Group the students, then, into these categories and ask them to work on a group accomplishment list in this field

 Have each group share their list with the rest of the class

Find ways that certain accomplishments overlap between categories A person

who has excelled in mathematics will certainly be able to help a person who’s great at

science A student who understands music can be very helpful to someone trying to learn the rhythm of a language

Nurture student talent

Now, ask your students about their strong points in English

 Juan says that he loves grammar—he becomes the guy who checks to make sure that sentences are well-constructed

 Akiko believes that she knows a lot of phrasal verbs—she will oversee replacing literal verb use with more metaphorical expressions

 Inga has strong organizational skills—she takes charge of making sure any group project is well-planned and executed

When you allow students to lean on their natural talents and knowledge of English, you’ll find them cooperating and helping one another, creating a pleasant and productive team environment for all

Foster team spirit

No matter what aspect of English you’re teaching, always come back to the concept that the individuals are working as a team towards a common goal

Like dealing with level diversity in the classroom, where your best strategy may be

finding a common need that all students share despite their proficiency, giving your students common goals will head off a number of otherwise difficult situations

in the classroom, including discipline problems.

3.  Be a Cultural Ambassador

Any good teacher knows how important it is to connect with students and understand our culture — Adora Svitak

Sometimes we English teachers get trapped in the idea that we’re teaching some kind of

“standard” English to our students I’ve personally met teachers who have asserted that theirs is the “correct” pronunciation, vocabulary and structure, while the rest are

variations

English, though, is a widely spoken language, both by natives and non-natives Behind each English speaker there’s a rich cultural heritage that makes their use of the

language unique, yet part of the overall, world-wide use of English You as a teacher will have reasons for speaking English as you do, and you should share those reasons with your students.

Share your heritage

Do a personal inventory of who you are, where you come from, why you currently speak English

 Are you first, second or third generation in your country?

 Are you a native speaker, did you learn English as a child/adult, was your home bilingual?

 Were all of your ancestors English speakers? What part of the world did they come from and what was the nature of their contact with the English language?

 How are you connected to your native land? Are you patriotic?

 If you learned English as a second language, why did you choose English instead of another language?

 How important was language to you and your family as you were growing up?

 Did you live in a culture where English was easily identified by accent, vocabulary, expressions?

 Did you have to make a special effort to normalize or standardize your English before becoming a teacher?

As you move through your school term, share personal, language-related anecdotes with

your students When “Every little bit helps” comes up in the text, share that your mom always continued that wisdom with “… said the old woman, as she peed in the ocean, while trying to drown her husband” (make sure your group won’t be scandalized!)

An engaging activity for your students is to ask them to create their own family tree, identifying their own heritage, the history behind why they speak their own native

language, the future they expect upon having learned to speak English

Share your experience

The most valuable sharing you can do is that of your own experience in

language learning While many may think this means studying a foreign language,

you can also share your experience studying your native language

In the case of a second (or third!) language,

 Describe and contrast the ways your past teachers tried to get you to understand These can be pleasant memories, like that foreign language festival or when Ms Lane encouraged you to recite that poem, and you won a third-place ribbon

 Tell anecdotes between what language class was like in your high school as a

college entrance requirement versus the way you’re teaching English to your students as

a means of communication

If your native language is English,

 Recall any difficulties you had while learning to use English in your day-to-day life Share a silly childhood pronunciation problem, or a total lack of understanding of spelling rules in grade school (and that time Mrs Lovegrin caught you cheating on a spelling quiz!)

 Remind your students that all of us (native speakers, too!) have had to study English, its idiosyncrasies, its rules and regulations.

When you talk about these experiences, you’ll connect with your students, letting them know that you, too, have had to jump through the hoops to get where you are

Share what it means to be who you are

Students often look at a teacher as that authority figure at the head of the class, with the blackboard and chalk and the book with the answer key This distance between the

teacher and student, often necessary, can become a barrier between people who are striving to communicate

You’ve become a teacher for some reason or other Though none of your students may want to be a teacher when they grow up, one way to share those reasons is to assume

that all of them want to be teachers in the future Let your students know exactly what being a teacher means to you For example:

 Share a story about your favorite teacher; ask them to share as well

 Tell them about that particular moment when you just knew that you wanted to

teach, and why

 Ask your students to make a list of qualities of a good teacher and compare those qualities to what you offer them

 Talk about education, what your education has been, what you think education means in the modern world

 Ask your students about the importance of education in their lives, if they feel they’re getting a good deal

 List ways with your students that all of you can improve education, how to act upon those that are within your reach

Remind your students that you’re constantly learning new information, either through outside workshops, summer language programs or even within the current

classroom Reinforce the idea that learning is a lifelong activity.

4. Animate Students to Become  Agents of Change

I’m not sayin’ I’m gonna change the world, but I guarantee that I will spark the brain that will — Tupac Shakur

I was born at the end of the 1950s That means I’ve lived through nearly six decades of world history Throughout those years, change seems to be gradually accelerating, never stopping Change is natural, but now, well into the second decade of the twenty-first century, change seems incredibly fast-paced

Either in our own personal lives, in our communities or in the world-at-large, each of us

will participate in the changes that will come Being able to use English, being a speaker of the current global language, means being able to actively

participate in this change.

Open the world of communication for your students

The principle way in which we communicate our thoughts is through language, either

spoken or written Through language we can listen to, understand, debate and negotiate what goes on around us.

Only a few years ago, a foreign president would’ve addressed the American people

through an interpreter or a spokesperson Recently, the president of France directly addressed the American people, in English and without middle-men

Whether it be a small, personal relationship with someone on the internet who lives on the other side of the world, or perhaps someone with whom we want to do

business, learning to use English will open doors for us.

Encourage human interchange

With your students, brainstorm ways communicating in English makes it easier to

imagine and reach goals in the world, such as:

 Ensuring a clean planet for ourselves and future generations

 Understanding world conflicts and leading them towards peaceful relations

 Facing human rights challenges across cultures

 Dealing with cultural conflicts at home

Demonstrate how change is natural through language learning

Part of the magic of learning a second language is the act of “decoding.” People who speak or study other languages find themselves actively using a part of their mind for

this decoding, the action of looking at the new code, comparing it with the

familiar code and, finally, breaking the new code while keeping a hold on the old.

Monolingual people usually forget that period when, as babies and youngsters, they had

to figure out what their parents were saying to them while they learned their native language Once the native language becomes old-hat, conscious decoding occurs

primarily when a new word or unfamiliar expression shows up in reading or conversation

On the simplest level, this code-breaking may involve learning nouns and verbs that look different between the native and second language “Chair” is quite different

from “silla,” “hablar” doesn’t look at all like “speak;” however, the English speaker

learning Spanish has little choice but to learn the words “silla” and “hablar” if they want

to be understood

On a more complex level though, students will begin to understand that the change is

not simply one of replacing a Spanish word with an English one The change will be

in how the speaker of one or the other language views reality.

In English, we may say “I’m hungry,” and that will represent a state of being,

accompanied by a rumbling in the belly A hungry Spanish speaker, though, will say

“Tengo hambre”–literally translated to “I have hunger.” This isn’t a state of being, but

rather something they possess Once having chomped down on that apple or cookie, the English speaker will have changed their state of being The Spanish speaker will have stopped possessing the sensation of hunger

Naturally, the common denominator is the grumbling stomach (though for the Spanish

it’s not just the stomach, it’s the “tripas,” that is, almost the entire digestive tract!) and

neither the English speaker nor the Spanish speaker considers the above analysis when

rushing to dinner These distinctions do exist, though, and you as a teacher should be aware of them

When they appear, point them out to your students Look at how the metaphorical

language of English differs from the metaphors used in the students’ native language

Help your students to understand that changing how they think about these matters will

help them to change how they express them in English

It’s not so much “think in English” as it is “think like an English speaker”—

language begins in how we think.

5.  Inspire Learning in Your Students

The mediocre teacher tells The good teacher explains The superior teacher

demonstrates The great teacher inspires — William A Ward

Being a teacher is an integral, active part of learning While motivated people pursue

their own learning every day, so many students look to teachers to help them in their quests for knowledge.

The basis for success in imparting your knowledge as an English teacher is motivating your students to want to learn what you have to share You need to not only inspire your students, you want to be an inspiration to them

Help students learn the “mission statement”

Language learning is a lifelong process After over 30 years of living in Spain, at least 25

of which I have considered myself a fluent Spanish speaker, I find myself constantly studying Spanish

Not a day goes by that I don’t learn a new word or expression I see a phrase in a

news article or hear it in a translation of a film I look at those, note them, use them for several days, and they become part of my ever-growing proficiency in Spanish

Though I can say “I have learned such-and-such” in Spanish, I also keep present the

concept of “I am learning” and “I will have learned.” “I will have learned” became

my mission statement.

Do a mission statement activity with your students This differs from generating

objective statements: it’s broader, outlining a progressive attitude that can be fomented through achieving small goals:

 What do you plan to do with your English knowledge? (Look for a job

overseas? Join a NGO and help the needy? Translate the great works of your culture to English so others can enjoy them?)

 What will you have to do every day to make English useful to your long-term plan? (Take skill-specific classes that will help you in your work? Learn diplomatic

language to deal in local conflict resolution? Pour through previous translations to see if they can be improved upon?)

 At what point do you believe your English study will be over? (Once you’ve

landed the job? Once you’ve returned home from that far-away country? Once your translations have been published?)

This type of exercise should help your students realize the importance of a learning attitude, that study will never end, that human beings learn something new every day.

As the old Spanish refrain goes, “No te vayas a la cama sin haber aprendido algo

nuevo.” (Don’t go to bed without having learned something new.)

Give students tools for learning

Read the clues: giving fish vs teaching how to fish Sound familiar?

Your job as an English teacher should go way beyond simply explaining, diagramming,

translating, grading, informing You will want to share, on an almost daily

basis, the many tools available for learning You can begin by brainstorming with

the students in class

What tools do we use in the classroom?

 Blackboard and chalk

 Note and textbooks

 Pencils and pens

 Flash cards and realia

 Video and audio recordings

Now, take each of these tools and place them outside of the classroom

Where can we use each of these tools in the outside, real world?

 Blackboard and chalk (in a board meeting, at a restaurant, at a sporting event)

 Note and textbooks (at the kitchen table, on a long train ride, sitting on the sofa on

a rainy day)

Make a list of tools not related to the classroom:

 Carpenter tools

 Mechanic tools

 Kitchen utensils

 Sewing materials

Now, put those tools into your classroom and discover how they can be used for English study:

 Carpenter tools: explaining the use of each tool, giving directions on use, types of materials that can be manipulated or changed with the tool and how, etc