| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Welcome to the new forum! Thread poster: Kim Metzger
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Gareth McMillan wrote:
Those who can, do.
Those who cannot, teach.
Those who cannot teach
Become translators.
G. Bernard McShaw
At my university, all courses for French majors were given in French,all exams were given/written in French and no English at all was allowed to be spoken at any time in class. Some people were not able to cope with this and were on the verge of flunking out.To save themselves, they transferred from the School of Arts and Sciences to.... the School of Education! They couldn't speak French or write French, so instead they decided to teach it.
| | | | | Welcome to all of us in this new Proz corner!!! | Jun 27, 2004 |
Kim Metzger wrote:
Greetings ProZ colleagues, and welcome to the new forum for language teachers! This forum was started because many of us came to translation from a background in teaching languages and either still teach in addition to translating or at least still maintain a strong interest in the art and would like to share ideas and experiences on the subject. This forum is for everybody interested in teaching languages, and we hope it will soon become a place to learn and help others. So, let's get started!
Best wishes, Kim
Wonderful idea, Kim. I had been teaching English as a foreign language in Greek private schools for more than 20 years and still do at times. Translation is so closely related to teaching - more than any other two jobs.
You can bet we can all help and learn from each other.
All the best for all of us,
Vicky
| | | | Nick Beqo
Local time: 14:15
Albanian to English
+ ...
| Translating and teaching English | Jun 27, 2004 |
I am a Canadian certified ESL teacher, and I am glad to see a "Teaching languages" forum in ProZ. Teaching English helps me develop editing and proof-reading skills in my translations from and into English. IMHO, translating and teaching languages go together; therefore, this forum is a very good idea! Congratulations!
| | | | | Experience AND education of all types make good teachers | Jun 27, 2004 |
[quote]Ruxi wrote:
Thank you for your answers. I would like to share some of my opinions.
(It's my first visit to this Forum and my first time back to ProZ after a long hiatus, so if I'm redundant, call it "reflective" and an introduction and be patient! Thanks.)
My quick answer to Ruxi's original post (and to others) is that she HAS experience and training, and it's evident in her posing of the question. Go back and ask again! I'll let my "story" be my argument.
I came into teaching English through the only door open as even TESOL hadn't been founded. I had a degree in Journalism, years of practical experience "helping" younger siblings, neighbors, colleagues "fix" their English. My small town in Indiana probably had at most 50 people from other countries, but I had friends from Japan, Kenya, and Tanganyika (then) in college who taught me a lot about English by their questions, and when I married the translator in our family, I met spouses from other countries. (TESOL is Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, an international organization based in the USA with affiliate chapters world-wide.)
That's the experience part, plus a general education and living in the language. Since then, of course, I've worked on the academic aspects of language teaching. While I've attended classes in methods of teaching, teaching pronunciation, world Englishes, and teaching writing in English for non-native writers, and have done extensive reading in linguistics, pramatics, morphology, etc. etc., my best teachers of how and what to teach have been my students. I've tutored all ages from 4 (she thought it was a game) to 70. In my community college and intensive English program classes, I've had people with no formal schooling through PhDs, and ages 16 to 60. Common thread -I know English, or some of it, and they want to.
A formal, university education is a short-cut to knowledge, an opportunity to build a strong foundation with the guidance of masters and the quick wit and observations and questions of peers. Life is also educating. Language is intimate, personal, magnificently beautiful and hellishly painful. It's filled with cultural nuance, lovely or harsh sounds, mental and physical images, humor and love. Sharing language can open doors to a peaceful world.
The first email of the day is the "journal" entry. I share it with you and thank you for your patience.
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| Teaching to translating | Jun 28, 2004 |
First of all I think it's great that someone somewhere has linked teaching and translating.
I too, arrived at translating and proofreading through teaching English as a foreign language in France.
But before that it was through teaching English that I learnt English grammar so that I could teach it! I know that sounds complicated but what happened is that I obtained my TEFL diplmoa by correspondence. My first lessons showed me that I was still terribly ignorant of English grammar. It... See more First of all I think it's great that someone somewhere has linked teaching and translating.
I too, arrived at translating and proofreading through teaching English as a foreign language in France.
But before that it was through teaching English that I learnt English grammar so that I could teach it! I know that sounds complicated but what happened is that I obtained my TEFL diplmoa by correspondence. My first lessons showed me that I was still terribly ignorant of English grammar. It was only by preparing my lessons to the very last detail and scouring my students grammar books that I finally got an adequate understanding. 15 years later I can say that I'm still learning as the subject is vast but I feel that my understanding is enough to be able to teach. Fortunately I have always been a voracious reader which helped me teach and which now helps me translate. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kathy Saranpa 
Finland
Local time: 00:15
Member (2003)
Swedish to English
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| Imitation is another key aspect | Jun 29, 2004 |
Dear Ruxi and others,
I have enjoyed reading all of these posts. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. I'll share mine, too.
In the US, many language teachers come through the university system. They receive some pedagogical training, depending on the resources of the particular institution, when they are graduate students and are all of a sudden required to teach language as part of their package. Most of these students have no teaching experience, but ... See more Dear Ruxi and others,
I have enjoyed reading all of these posts. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. I'll share mine, too.
In the US, many language teachers come through the university system. They receive some pedagogical training, depending on the resources of the particular institution, when they are graduate students and are all of a sudden required to teach language as part of their package. Most of these students have no teaching experience, but are thrown immediately into the water with their own class. I have seen this work beautifully (a foreign business student, for example, proved to be an excellent instructor almost immediately), and I have also seen students suffer under someone who was clearly not capable. I agree that some pedagogical training is useful, but that natural teachers have something else.
I believe that what is necessary is the ability to imitate. If you have a fabulous language teacher at some point in your life, you will emulate their methods and behavior. This capacity is also a key element in learning the language itself in the first place.
In addition, I think being a great teacher requires intuition, patience and humor. I've never encountered a student who couldn't learn. I have, however, seen students who refused to do so. We are all born with the ability to learn language. Some are aural learners, some visual, some rote. I think, Ruxi, that you could have taught the young lady if there had been some way to figure out what her particular block was.
Thanks for starting this forum, Kim. I'm curious to hear from people teaching adult classes that meet once a week. I was a university teacher for many years (for classes that met almost daily) and now have a group that meets for two hours every Monday night. Have you found ways to cut down on "slippage"?
Regards,
duveke ▲ Collapse
| | | | Kim Metzger
Mexico
Local time: 15:15
German to English
TOPIC STARTER | How to deal with adult classes that meet once a week | Jul 2, 2004 |
Kathy Saranpa wrote:
I\'m curious to hear from people teaching adult classes that meet once a week. I was a university teacher for many years (for classes that met almost daily) and now have a group that meets for two hours every Monday night. Have you found ways to cut down on \"slippage\"?
Regards,
duveke
Dear Kathy,
I wanted to write immediately but have just now found a little breathing space between translation assignments. Could you tell us more about your adult class that meets only once a week? Are they beginners, intermediate, advanced? Are you teaching all four skills? What\'s their academic level, etc.? I\'d like to see if I and others can come up with some good ideas. It sounds like a real challenge. Just one thing that came to mind, was a Spanish course I took many years ago that included lab work, i.e. working with listening exercises between regular class meetings.
Looking forward to hearing more, Kim
| | | | | Hello teachers | Jul 2, 2004 |
Forgive me for this long post but I have no opportunity to talk about my teacher side and I was inspired.
I wasn’t able to come earlier to this forum but I’d also like to share my experience.
When I was a child I wanted to become an airline hostess because I knew already that I liked languages and traveling. Later, and for many years while I was a teenager I wanted to become a teacher but didn’t know which subject I wanted to teach, I liked studying and I liked many subjects. A... See more Forgive me for this long post but I have no opportunity to talk about my teacher side and I was inspired.
I wasn’t able to come earlier to this forum but I’d also like to share my experience.
When I was a child I wanted to become an airline hostess because I knew already that I liked languages and traveling. Later, and for many years while I was a teenager I wanted to become a teacher but didn’t know which subject I wanted to teach, I liked studying and I liked many subjects. At the age of 17-18 I tried to see what I needed to become an interpreter and I was told (by my English teacher) that it was very difficult to make a living from translating and that I’d need to be among the best for that. In other words he told me to forget about that. I started studying in an International Management School in France, I was supposed to study two years in France and two in Great Britain. I had four different English teachers for an incredible number of courses in English. One day I talked to one of my teachers and I told him: “in fact, I want to do your job.” He stared at me and said: “what are you doing here?” and he showed me the University that was just at the other side of the road.
Well, I studied Spanish in France to become a Spanish teacher. During these years, before becoming a teacher, I thought that I wanted to teach at all levels. I imagined myself teaching five years at a kindergarten, five at a primary school, five at a secondary school and then five or more at the University (dreaming is free, you know )
Well, I could practice in kindergarten, for two weeks (very noisy), in primary school for two years (discipline, discipline), in French Collège to pupils that were 14-15 years old (3 very difficult years in France, 5 in the Dominican Rep. with lovely pupils), then in Lycée to15-19 years old bilingual students (5 years).
I had also to teach several subjects before becoming a professional teacher. In primary school, I taught Math, Sciences, Drawing, French and Spanish. This was in Venezuela. I started working with adults in the Dominican Republic, teaching foreigners that wanted to take Spanish classes, and when I came to Chile I tried to do the same but I was luckier with the French classes. I teach in a Company to several secretaries and I also teach in the U.N. local agency to U.N. Officers. I was looking at the thread about motivation, and motivation in these two groups is very different. The secretaries take the classes because they are paid by the boss, but they don’t really need them for their work. While the UN officers, whether they success at the examination, are going to be paid more. And this is an excellent motivator
At the same time, some years ago, I discovered Translation and decided to become a freelance, and I remembered that English teacher who didn’t encourage me. But it wouldn’t have been the same if I had come directly to translation without all those changes and experiences. I love translating but I still love teaching in good conditions .
Now that I’m a freelance my classes make me go out and see other people (real people, all the others that I meet are virtual). But I miss just one thing from my classes with teenagers, it’s the contact with young people who discover the world, who are fresh and have plenty of ideals.
Claudia
[Edited at 2004-07-02 03:17] ▲ Collapse
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