by Brenda Savoie
If you've ever tried yourself out at teaching someone a foreign language, you definitely know how quickly the learner can get bored. The old school methods are definitely not working any more, as it's not enough to keep interest and attention of any learner nowadays.
So, do you want to be the funky and cool teacher that teaches language by using the most exciting methods ever? Yes?! Then keep on reading!
Not for the purpose of being lazy, but to watch shows and movies in the particular language they want to learn. Movies, TV shows are so fun to watch but at the same time, learners are able to follow the story, understand words, learn new expressions and immerse themselves in the culture of that particular speaking world.
Ask your students to watch a TV show and to write down everything they had trouble understanding. So many children have learnt a foreign language through cartoons, and it works the same with adults or teenagers.
No worries, you don't have to be a professional singer to learn a foreign language. Music has shown to be a successful means of teaching language to foreigners. People get insight into the culture, politics, attitudes, rhythm and sentiments of the entire nation, enabling them to immerse themselves in the world of one language completely. Not to mention how listening and repeating lyrics can enable students to understand more and use the language more freely, without hesitation.
Acting is fun. And it's also a great way to teach your students language. You're going to put them in an exciting new situation where they will be more motivated to learn the language. You can organize a play, a musical, a news report, whatever your students are interested in the most. When they are engaged and expected to role play, they will do their best to acquire the right language skills at that time
Most learners thrive in group settings as they automatically feel less pressure and responsibility. Why not create your very own group on social media, where you will communicate using solely the target language, chatting, sharing and debating using proper grammar. Social media gives you so many trendy topics for discussion, and it's going to serve as an incentive to get them talking. Real life situations are always more effective than textbook reading and translating.
Another fun way to teach your students a foreign language is to organize a performance. Take this opportunity to teach them how to look up foreign words in the dictionary, how to learn in a specific language and how to present it. At the same time, they will learn new vocabulary and grammar, but also get to behave as native speakers of the language. Just make sure to guide them through the entire process, especially when it comes to the pronunciation.
Learning a foreign language is a long and complex task, but it doesn't necessarily have to be boring. In fact, it isn't boring at all, if you put in a little effort to make it interesting for your students.
Brenda Savoie is a grammar tutor at Essayontime, a private English tutor and desperate dreamer. Writing her first romantic novel. Find her on Twitter and Facebook.
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