The student is the expert

I have seen the students' need of feeling supported and encouraged. They are required to use what they are taught every day, and this must take place in a spontaneous way so that they get used to their own rythm, thus being able of facing and solving communicative situations as confidently as possible.

This is why we must provide our students with an environment that bring about their willingness and engagement, rather than one invaded by presure and an inquisitive attitude towards their performance at every moment.

I have found out that, in the case of having some oral presentations, for example, a "mini lesson" at the beginning of the class is of great help. This initial reference frames out the formal language students are expected to have in mind when giving their speeches.

Other thing that helps students to warm up before an oral presentation and their confidence to strengthen, is to ask them simple questions about their everyday life; for instance, what they had for breakfast, or what they did the day before. This gives them the chance to tell the rest of the students about something only they can possibly know: they don't have to learn anything by heart; they can take their time, whithin reason, to prioritize what they are to say, as well as the order of their own ideas and, by the way, feel important because of being the expert on that particular issue.

Why English...

Today in calss we spent some time talking and reflecting about the current role of the English language around the world. For decades, English has been a growing issue both in teaching and in everyday life. In general terms, it has been a symbol, representative of high social status, in countries where other languages are official.

Basically due to political and economic reasons, countries have implemented the teaching of English at schools, progressively starting at a lower level of their formal education programs. At the beginning of this, not yet a trend, the decision of teaching English was "just" a response to circumstances.

As time passed and circumstances become evidently not that temporary, governments and business people realized of the importance of coming up with longlasting and well structured English teaching programs.

This, and systematic research on the issue, is why nowadays we see such a variety of proposals for language teaching, as well as approaches and methods. However, according to the fast rythm in which things are changing with regards to global economy and polictics, English seems to have its fashion years moving along a downhill countdown.