Now that we’ve looked at some general advantages and disadvantages of using the students’ native language (L1) in the ESL/EFL classroom, let’s talk about some strategies you can use if you realize that you need more English use and less dependence on L1. Whether you are afraid to use more English because of student limitations, or possibly your own, these are some easy steps to take to start you all moving in the right direction: Learning English for real-life daily communication!
Hello everyone!
Welcome to the Straight Up English teachers’ blog. This blog is an exciting opportunity for us all to share some strategies, ideas, questions, suggestions and resources on every imaginable topic related to teaching English to speakers of other languages.
Word stress is absolutely one of the most important features of English pronunciation. That means that having clear and accurate word stress is essential for intelligible speech, i.e. in order to be easily understood. Did you know that it is often harder for native English speakers to understand people who put stress on the wrong syllables in a word, than to understand people who mispronounce some vowels or consonants? It’s true! In part, this is because it influences every word that has more than just one syllable. (Suggestion: watch my “Teaching Syllables” video first, and teach that lesson to your students, then come back and do this one!)