Teaching To A Family

I would like more information on how to teach my family. The father and mother are both in their 50s and the two daughters are 20 years old. The father understands some English (enough to have conversations with me), and the mother knows little English. The daughters understand a little English as well.

We will be having formal classes everyday for one hour. We will be working on pronunciations a lot, as the father has made that request.

If you have any ideas, then that would be much appreciated!

Dear Deidre,

Thank you for your inquiry and questions. I can appreciate your situation and it sounds exciting. You have the unique position of working with adults as a group. Where are you located? How long will you be there?

Since you are working with a group within the same family, there are several things that might be helpful. Open conversation, given the ages involved and their knowledge of English, can be a good way to proceed. I have attached some conversation/writing starters and possibilities. That the father knows more English is good and you may be able to enlist him in helping those with fewer English skills. How old are the daughters? How long will you be with this family? As a newcomer to their culture, I would imagine that you have many questions about what you are seeing and doing. Best to explore with each of them. Do you know any of their language?

Sometimes, when working with pronunciation in 'free talk,' it is good to have the person say/explain something and if it is incorrect in pronunciation or grammer, repeat it back informally and in the correct way. Rather than correcting mistakes, giving a correct model many times works in front of others.

Another possibility would be to have the students read aloud and correct pronunciation along the way. Have the group repeat the corrected pronunciation.

Pronunciation can be difficult, depending on how the 'students' have learned in school. Can be North American or European, depending on the teachers. Go with what you know and where there is clear difference, try to explain the differences.

Also attached is a listing of Internet sites with teaching ideas. Sometimes, starting out with an idiom-a-day can start things off. There are very many parallels among languages and it is fun to explore these.

Will you be doing any writing with this family? Sometimes it is good to 'assign' an opinion topic to each, allow a couple of days for written response, and then discuss how they approached the topic. I realize that the English skills might be weak in many areas, but this lets the family know how to support each other in the future.

Learning can happen formally or informally. Formal somehow conjures up a classroom and strict lessons. Informal learning can provide a fertile learning situation with the teacher as a catalyst.

Please let me know if what I send and the Internet sites will be of help in your situation. If not, let's explore other ways to help you in your adventure.

Looking forward to hearing from you and learning more about yur circumstances. Best to contact me at: jjosselyn@geovisions.org. Do check the attachments.

Very best wishes! Jane