Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Laozhaozhuang Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Liaocheng Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language.
Problems facing students of different nationalities Growing up in the United States of America I was unaware of all the difficulties that come from learning another language. Everyone in America has to know English and we are never obligated to learn a new language. I became aware of many difficulties of learning a new language when I moved to another country. I moved to The Netherlands as missionaries to teach The Bible to refugees since many speak English. At the same time we try to learn Dutch while living in The Netherlands. As a Bible teacher and a language student I have noticed difficulties that can arise to language students. Factors that can cause problems for students to learn a new language are pronunciation, motivation, and time. Many non-English speakers have had many problems with pronunciation, which can demotivate them to progress in the language. Moving to Europe introduced me to many different cultures, especially to many people that speak Portuguese. I became aware that certain sounds present pronunciation problems for Portuguese native speakers. For example, Brazilians when pronouncing the letter “H”, sounds the same as the letter “R”. Such as, Monica, a Brazilian, living in the USA for 3 months, went to buy a RUG at Bed Bath and Beyond, and she went straight to the employee and asked him: “Hi! Could you please tell me where are the “HUGS”. The employee who is an American understood that she wanted a hug and said to her: “Here is the hug”. And he actually hugged her. Monica did not understand what was happening and started to gesture to him making a sign of a big square and saying HUG…HUG. The employee finally understood that she was saying RUG instead of HUG. Moreover, Brazilians also have difficulty knowing when to pronounce “ED” at the end of past tense verbs. For example, Eduardo, a Brazilian missionary, who lives in The Netherlands, but serves with English speaking refugees has difficulty knowing when to pronounce the “ED” and when not to. For example, when he says that someone TALKED to him he will say, “He talk-ED to me.” There many other examples that can be mention regarding pronunciation and non-native English speakers. As an English teacher we have to be aware of the most common pronunciation problems for specific non-native English speakers. By knowing these pronunciation difficulties we can have a better way planning your teaching for the student. During my time in The Netherlands I have had many Bible students from different countries. Many of them had to leave their countries because there are many hardships in their country. If they want to be allowed to stay and live in The Netherlands they have to learn Dutch while living there. I saw a problem that many refugees lack the motivation to learn a new language. Many Dutch people speak English so the motivation for foreigners to learn Dutch is not strong. Regarding the refugees if they get the paperwork to stay and live in The Netherlands they have to learn Dutch and take a Dutch exam to prove they know the language. We noticed that there is a lack of motivation for the refuges to learn Dutch until they know if they will be getting their paperwork to stay and live in The Netherlands. Another factor that can cause problems to a language learner is time. For many adult learners it is difficult to make time to learn a new language. Many have full time jobs, family, and other obligations. Using myself as an example, I moved to The Netherlands to be a missionary and teach the Bible to English speakers that live here. Other than teaching the Bible I work full time to help support the family and I have responsibilities as a husband and also responsibilities in my congregation. I started a Dutch course twice a week but my schedule is so compact that I had no time to study Dutch at home. We can see here that just going to school to learn is not enough. A language student needs time to study on his own to be able to fully learn a new language. In conclusion, language students are going to face difficulties to learning a new language. Each one of them will have different difficulties regarding their circumstances. As a teacher we have to be aware of difficulties that students will have or are having so we can readjust our teaching plan for them. As we are aware of those difficulties the language student will have a higher chance in learning a new language regarding problems of pronunciation, motivation, or time.
