Posts Tagged ‘languages’

Africa And EFL Training Teachers

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

Teaching English as a foreign language or EFL teaching is a rewarding career that can help developing countries to gain a voice in the developed world. Education, the economy and trade can all be advanced with your work. It is also easier for us to learn about each other’s culture when we have a common language. You can teach English as a foreign language if you have a degree and have undergone EFL training.

EFL teaching is a worldwide career but Africa is becoming a popular place to teach. Its colonial history lives on with many countries speaking French and German as well as their native language. Where Britain dominated during colonial times English remains but there are several countries where little is known of English.

Rwanda has now begun a national programme of teaching in English at primary and secondary schools. They hope to use English so that the children of today will be able to speak English when they become government officials, academics, business men and women and diplomatic envoys.

French has been the traditional teaching language until now and the shift to English has been put down to the Francophone feelings since the genocide in 1994. Relations have cooled as both countries blame each other for the mass killings.

Although this is definitely not a reason behind the switch to English touted by officials, commentators view this as a large reason. The official word is that by learning English Rwanda will be able to communicate more effectively with the rest of the world. This does not only apply to potential foreign trading countries like China, England and the US. Their neighbouring countries also use English as their second language so it would smooth relations between them too. These countries include Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda.

Businesses are also seeing the benefits of using English in every office around the world to make trading and communications easier. You can teach English in nearly every country after you have completed EFL training.

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Teaching English As A Foreign Language In French Public And Private Schools

Friday, November 6th, 2009

English is one of the world’s most common languages, spoken on every continent. Yet many countries close to home are falling behind those further afield in terms of the standard of English that students are taught. And now the President of France Nicholas Sarkozy has led an assault on the old fashioned and ineffective teaching methods in France. This battering of the way English is taught in French schools has led to bigger opportunities for teaching English as a foreign language in France’s schools and private teaching institutions.

The latter is how many people are choosing to study English once they have left school. At present, students in France are given six years of English language education however many feel that they are unable to speak the language effectively once they have left school. So they are hiring private tutors at expensive costs to teach them English which they can use in conversation.

Now the President wants this method to be used in state schools instead of the traditional way. France really needs to improve its standing in the Test of English as a Foreign language because it stands only 69th out of 109 countries even though it spends 5.9% of its GDP on education. As one of Britain’s most historical neighbours with a long term economic and political relationship, this is surprising.

It seems however that the resistance to learning any other language than French is coming from within the education system of the country. The Academie Francaise has been purging the French language of foreign words since 1635. And in terms of French culture, English imported words have been kept out of film and music for 25 years.

With this in mind some students will not speak English until they have mastered it on paper because they do not want to sacrifice their native French. but there are more and more people who want to pay for a better knowledge of English. They know that they will build themselves a better career CV if they can speak fluent English as this is the dominant language in business worldwide.

So with different teaching patterns coming into French study in the near future, the time has never been better to teach English as a foreign language in France. Ideal if you want to teach in a foreign country without living too far away from home.

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EFL Training In Africa

Friday, October 16th, 2009

Teaching English as a foreign language or EFL teaching is a rewarding career that can help developing countries to gain a voice in the developed world. It will help them when it comes to trade, their economy and education. It is also easier for us to learn about each other’s culture when we have a common language. You can teach English as a foreign language if you have a degree and have undergone EFL training.

EFL teaching is a worldwide career but Africa is becoming a popular place to teach. French and German are two other languages spoken widely on the continent as well as the thousands of native languages. English is only spoken in those areas that Britain dominated during colonial times.

Rwanda has adopted a national strategy to begin teaching in English at its primary and secondary schools. When today’s children become tomorrow’s government officials, teachers and industry leaders, the government hope they will be able to communicate with the wilder world better.

French has been the traditional teaching language until now and the shift to English has been put down to the Francophone feelings since the genocide in 1994. Both countries blame each other and relations between the two countries has definitely been frost in recent years.

Officials are not calling this a reason but commentators speculate this is a major factor in the switch. Rwanda insist that English as a common second language will help them to deal with the rest of the world more effectively. This applies to countries including China, the US and England as well as other countries. Their neighbouring countries also use English as their second language so it would smooth relations between them too. These countries include Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda.

The use of English as a common worldwide language is also used in business so that international offices can communicate with each other. EFL training is a sure way to becoming a teacher of English in a foreign country.

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A Language Course Should Be Fun

Friday, August 28th, 2009

There’s no doubt that the best way to become fluent in a foreign language is to spend as much time as possible living amongst those who speak that language. But conversely, if living amongst them becomes uncomfortable, that can severely impact the quality of the learning. So it’s a delicate balance.

Many people prefer to go on shorter language study vacations than actually living in the country where the language is spoken. And quite often, it’s actually the simple things that give people the opportunity to develop their language skills. For example, using public transport or buying something from the shop.

If a student was to be given some language study, or left for themselves to work out which areas of the language they should study, they will probably not choose the most difficult and complicated parts – thus stunting their learning. But conversely, if their main focus is simply on getting some sort of task completed (for example – catching public transport or buying something from a store) their main focus is on getting the task done, therefore they will deal with whatever language challenges are put in front of them – and therefore they will learn more, a lot more quickly. If you are going to travel abroad for a language course it’s just as well to make sure that you retain as much as possible!

Yet another reason is because the language learner is not simply going through a book and reciting what is in front of them. The learner will have to do their best to be understood, and an unrelated conversation may even develop. It’s so mcu easier for someone to give up on a tricky challenge when they only have to close the book to get away from the problem. But if it involves giving up and getting off a bus, or leaving a shop frustrated and empty-handed then the student is mucn more likely to find a way to complete the task – and therefore learn the language. Embarassment can be an effective deterrent for failure.

There are many obvious benefits, and also many not so obvious ones, of being immersed in a situation where the student is surrounded by those who are speaking the target language naturally. For example, even if they are not actually involved, being surrounded by others can lead to many situations where the learner picks up language skills just by listening to others speaking it naturally as their mother tongue – often, they are not even aware that they are doing it. This type of learning is especially useful for picking up different tones and emphasis used in the language.

Another great way to master a foreign language is by ‘distraction’. If one were to spend the day consciously trying to force the brain to absorb information, there is a tendency for the brain to get tired and resist. This is particularly prevalent if the learner gets bored or starts to find the task tedious. Trying to learn a new language, like the English language for example, should be enjoyable, not a chore.

There is a perfect solution for this that not only helps the student to learn the language more quickly and thoroughly,but also makes the whole language course a much more fun and memorable experience – mix the heavy learning sessions up with totally different sessions where having fun is the key aim. These activities are carefully planned in order to develop the individual, as well as ensuring that while distracted with simply having fun, they are also in an environment where they will be exposed to native speakers of the language while also occasionally being required to either just listen or also speak in the language that they are learning.

There are other benefits to be gained from these activities – especially if the student is quite young.For example, it’s possible to arrange the activities to ensure that they must get involved in activities that encourage team leading skills and character building exercises. This will also impact upon their language skills in a positive way too, as well as providing valuable experience that will come in handy in the future. They will finish the course feeling like they had a lot of fun as well as studying hard, but they will have picked up a variety of language and communication skills throughout the time spent on the course. Lots of English language course participants will be pleased to hear this – you learn much more when you’re having lots of fun!

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Learn To Speak English And Have Fun And HAve Fun At The Same Time!

Saturday, June 27th, 2009

There’s no doubt that the best way to become fluent in a foreign language is to spend as much time as possible living amongst those who speak that language. But conversely, if living amongst them becomes uncomfortable, that can severely impact the quality of the learning. So it’s a delicate balance.

Based on this, many people choose to go on language courses in the country of their chosen language for an extended trip. It’s often the everyday tasks that we undertake that give rise to the best opportunities to practice speaking a new language, such as going to the shops to buy something, or catching public transport.

One of the reasons for this is because when someone is presented with a study course, or left to choose which parts of the language they study, they fail to tackle the really difficult parts (for a variety of reasons). But when the focus is simply on getting something done (such as catching a bus or buying some food) they have no choice in the matter and no way of avoiding learning the necessary words and vocabulary in order to complete the task. If you are going to travel overseas for a language course it’s just as well to make sure that you retain as much as possible!

One more reason is that the student is not just going through a book and trying to force the brain to retain the knowledge. It’s reasonably obvious that if the brain is engaged in completing a seperate task, the learning process is not so daunting and cumbersome. Also, they may find themselves getting drawn into conversation, which again, is one of the best ways to learn. If the student has to vacate a bus or leave a shop without buying what they entered for, then the potential embarassment will probably ensure that they muddle their way through – hence, learning more vital language components.

Also, to be surrounded continually by other people speaking the language that you are trying to learn has many benefits that are not always so obvious. A lot of information can be absorbed while the learner is busy doing other things, if they happen to be in hearing distance of a conversation occurring in the language that they are learning. This is particularly helpful in terms of identifying intonations and emphasis used in the language.

Another great way to master a foreign language is by ‘distraction’. If one were to spend the day consciously trying to force the brain to absorb information, there is a tendency for the brain to get tired and resist. This is particularly prevalent if the learner gets bored or starts to find the task tedious. Trying to learn a new language, like the English language for example, should be enjoyable, not a chore.

A great way to use this technique also has many other benefits. If the whole language course is constructed in a way where serious study sessions are interspersed with fun and relaxing activities, not only will they have a more enjoyable vacation, but they will also become less bored during the difficult study periods. The activities can also be set up so that during this time, the learner is exposed to the language they are learning and is also required to converse in the language as well.

Especially if the student is quite young, they can also gain further from these activities. They can get involved in character and team building exercises for example. This will develop their communication skills, their boldness and confidence, plus it can help to develop initiative. These things will all contribute to the learner’s future success, and helps to ensure that they not only learn about and experience languages, but also many other things as well. This way, they will not feel that the whole course has been one long study session, but in reality they will have picked up language skills throughout the time spent. Lots of English language course participants will be pleased to hear this – you learn more when you’re having lots of fun!

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