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STUDYING ENGLISH: WHY ME?
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INTRODUCTION
Our
experience as English students may often teach us
more than our English teachers themselves. Think for
a minute: you attend lessons for some limited time
in your life (ideally, 5 years at EOI), however you
are unlikely to end up with a safe I-know-it-all feeling
after your school years have come to an end. In other
words, learning a foreign language, and English is
no exception, is a never-ending story. So, what can
we do to make the most of our time when we are left
alone with our notes, textbooks, workbooks, dictionaries...?
How can we effectively organise our learning? Is there
any hope for further improvement after you have reached
a certain level of English?
This
article attempts to answer these pressing questions
1. FIND A REASON FOR LEARNING
Motivation comes first when one is to learn a foreign
language. Not because it is fashionable, not because
everyone else does it should you find yourself doing
a 500-hour English course. I’m not suggesting
that you should leave the school tomorrow and find
something better to do in the afternoon. What I’m
saying is that success at language learning has to
do with your objectives. Maybe you want to get promoted
at work, or simply get a job where English is required,
or have access to websites in English, or perhaps
you just feel like having a conversation with your
English neighbours, or you would like to help your
children out with their homework... Whatever your
reasons are, stick to them and have them clear in
mind when bad times arrive.
TASK
1:
A very simple question:
Why do I want to learn English?
Ask other students in your class why they want to learn
English.
Now remember your answer.
2.
LEARN FROM YOUR LESSONS
“What did you do yesterday?” is a favourite
question EOI students ask each other at the beginning
of a class. It is a fact that it is difficult to come
to class every day. We all understand that. Let us
see how the conversation is likely to evolve:
-“We did the passive voice, with lots of examples
and that.
-Damn! I should have come.
Or:
-“Oh, nothing really, the teacher just got mad
as usual and put lots of words on the board and we
had a debate.”
-Did you? Glad I didn’t come, I was so tired.
I am pretty sure this is not your case but some students
feel that grammar lessons are the most important ones,
and therefore the ones not to miss. However the more
“practical” lessons are often felt as
unimportant. It is not that grammar is to be neglected.
But the case is that it is a very easy thing to borrow
someone’s grammar notes, or read about the passive
voice in your grammar book, however you cannot do
anything about a speaking lesson that you have missed.
You simply missed it. And can you speak English solely
with your grammatical knowledge?
TASK
2:
Think
of a lesson (if there are any!) you especially enjoyed.
Was it a grammar, a speaking, a listening... lesson?
Think of a lesson in which you learnt a lot. Was it
a grammar, a speaking, a listening... lesson?
3.
PUTTING SOME ORDER IN YOUR NOTES
You know you have very good summaries of what you
learn at the end of the book. But you should also
know that your English course does not consist of
your English textbook. There are more elements to
be taken into consideration. Your teacher does not
teach structures or vocabulary or pronunciation in
isolation. I mean that there is always a connection
between all these learning points, and it is sometimes
your job to see that relation. It won’t hurt
to ask yourself “what is the point of this grammatical
structure”? or “What can I communicate
with it?”. For instance, it is not enough to
learn “I wish...” with its three possible
endings. You should be aware that it is chiefly used
to mean regret or complaint. So, why not organising
your notes in such a way that you can know exactly
what you are doing?.
I encourage my students to start an English language
learning diary where they keep a record of their own
learning and progress. Some of them find it very useful.
An example for English I:
MY
ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING DIARY
........................................................................................................................ |
| DATE
|
FILE |
WHAT
DID I LEARN TODAY? |
WHAT
STRUCTURES? |
VOCAB
& EXPRESSIONS |
SELF-EVALUATION |
| 23/09
|
1A
|
Greetings/
introductions
(Saludos, presentaciones)
|
Hello,
I’m Mike
Nice to meet you |
Hello,
Hi
Bye, Bye-bye, goodbye
See you tomorrow
Thank you, thanks
Welcome to Dublin
Sorry!
|
|
| 25/09 |
1A |
Grammar,
verb “to be”
(gramática verbo to be=ser o estar) |
+
I’m Sophie
You’re Mike
- I’m not Sophie
You aren’t Mike
/a:nt/
.? Are you Sophie?
Yes, I am / No, I’m not
Yes, you are/ No, you aren’t |
|
|
| 25/09 |
1A |
The
numbers
1-10 |
|
one,
two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine,
ten |
|
| 25/09 |
1A |
International
English |
|
car
park, taxis, telephones, toilets, information,
restaurant, tennis, radio... |
|
| 30/09 |
1A |
Pronunciation
/ai/ /m/ |
consonant+i+consonant+e:i=/ai/ |
nice,
five, nine, Bye |
|
| |
TASK
3:
How
do you organise your notes?
Do you think a language diary or a similar thing is
a useful tool for learning?
Write today’s page of your English language
learning diary.
4.
LEARNING VOCABULARY: YOUR NIGHTMARE?
It is often believed that learning vocabulary is crucial
at high levels. Students often say that by the time
you reach intermediate level you have already mastered
most of the grammar and that your main concern is
simply increase your vocabulary to be able to fill
in the structures you know. And this is partly true.
But what can you do to make sure that you learn new
vocabulary and, what is more important, to make sure
that you do not forget the words you have been introduced
to. Some hints:
-
Words
in context. Whenever possible try to remember the
“environment” in which a word is found.
The word “party” may have appeared in
a context which involved a group of people getting
together and having a good time. In that case look
at other words around “party”. Is there
a verb? (probably “have”?), are there
any nouns preceding? (birthday, stag, hen, house
warming, office...) Is there a preposition? These
things are worth noting when learning a new word.
Or maybe the word meant “a political organisation”.
Thus, we have a completely different context.
-
Personalise
your vocab. If you want to remember the word “party,”
just think of a really good party you’ve been
to or a party which for some reason ended in disaster
and write a couple of sentences about it or a short
paragraph.
-
But if you are going to “study” words
in isolation you can make use of the following techniques:
-
Translate into Spanish. Why not? It’s sometimes
time-saving provided you know how to use the word
in English.
- Use cards. You can write the word on one side
and a definition in English or a picture on the
other.
- Word maps ( see figure below). The best way to
remember related words.
- Write a word or an expression and a synonym or
an antonym.
TASK
4:
What technique would you use
to remember the following words?
wall – furniture – people – beach
– grapefruit – tall – armchair –
twice
What is it to know a word?
What do you do if you can’t remember a word?
a) Use a Spanish word b)Define it in your own words
c) Use another word which is close in meaning d) Make
up a new word.
5.
A GOOD DICTIONARY: OUR BEST FRIEND
Dictionaries have certainly improved dramatically
over the last ten years or so. Apart from giving you
the translation of a word or expresion into Spanish
(in bilingual dictionaries) or defining the word in
English in a way you can easily understand it (monolingual
dictionaries), they also inform you about the pronunciation
of the word, and give a lot of additional information:
the type of word it is (noun, adjective...), how formal
it is, how it is combined with other words... And
they look more attractive than in the past. They contain
useful study pages, illustrations, CD ROMS...
Some students feel much better with a dictionary on
their desk when they are writing a composition or
simply reading a text. However, I don’t think
you should let a dictionary be your master. I mean,
you are the master and the dictionary is only your
servant. And what’s more, do not overuse it.
You are first, and the dictionary should come later.
This is crucial when you are using a bilingual dictionary:
please read everything and read well. The same word
in Spanish may have three or more equivalents in English.
Or viceversa. Dictionaries make use of different abbreviations,
and organise their definitions in different ways.
Read the introduction in your dictionary carefully
to make sure you are using it correctly.
If you are using a monolingual dictionary, make the
most of its many examples and if possible, note them
down. Good dictionaries usually succeed in providing
the right context for each word or expression.
Still not sure what to give your boy/girlfriend for
their birthday? Dictionaries prove to be very practical
(and often unexpected) presents for such a special
day. And cheaper than you think (there’s always
the paperback edition). Here are some ideas:
*COLLINS COBUILD ENGLISH LANGUAGE DICTIONARY
Very clear definitions and full grammatical
explanations. Great examples. A fantastic monolingual
dictionary.
*OXFORD STUDENTS’ DICTIONARY
A very good second choice. Very well-designed study
pages.
*LONGMAN LANGUAGE ACTIVATOR
Only for genuine word fanatics. Excellent ideas for
putting words into practice. A comprehensive account
of word relations.
TASK
5:
Match the abbreviations on the
left with the definitions on the right:
1. vt a. British
2.Brit b. noun
3. n c. United States
4. liter d. Intransitive verb
5. US e. Transitive verb
6. lit f. oneself
7. vi g. literally
8. eg h. literary
9. vr i. reflexive verb
10. o.s. j. for example.
Use your bilingual dictionary to find the meaning
for the underlined words.
a. Puse la ropa en el armario
b. Me comí un polo de fresa
c. Me senté en el primer banco de la iglesia
d. El viaje de Murcia a Madrid dura 4 horas.
e. Sírveme el vino en una copa
Ángel
Luis Pérez Vela
English
Department. EOI Cartagena
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