18 dez 2015

What have YOU been doing to improve? (Part 2) *

*O texto a seguir foi escrito para a revista  Braz-Tesol Newsletterde dezembro/2015.  Nesse blog, ele será publicado em 10 postagens, todas as sextas-feiras.

10 questions that will help you boost your skills – both as a teacher and as an English speaker

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2.  Have you been listening to real English?

Teaching is a gift and it is usually extremely rewarding. We learn immensely from each and every student of ours, and that gives us the chance to improve a lot, both as teachers and as human beings. But let’s face it: We are constantly exposed to “poor” English, mainly those of us who teach basic groups.

Knowing that we tend to “absorb” language (think about a really close friend you have. Have you or have you not absorbed some of this person’s vocabulary?), we need to be careful not to pick up our students’ mistakes – I have already caught myself mispronouncing words and saying things like “he don’t”.

The best way to prevent such a thing from happening is to get exposed to “good” English. And we, my friends, are very fortunate people because we teach a language which is absolutely everywhere. From movies to podcasts, we have just enough material to be in touch with English on a daily basis, even when we are too busy to sit down.

Para ler a primeira parte desse post, clique aqui.