When your son asks, Whadaya doin’ tonight?, he means he wants to borrow the car.
When a mechanic says, I hafta replace the head gasket, he means it’s going to be expensive.
When an actor on the silver screen says, Tell her the cool points are all out the window and she's got me all twisted up in the game, he means he loves her.
Students need to understand that nobody understands English perfectly.
Everybody guesses!
But…
When native speakers don’t understand something, they just say, What? They are not ashamed.
When ESL students are unsure of what’s been said, they feel humiliated and blame their poor English.The sooner they find out how English speaking works and that English is imprecise and everybody just guesses, the happier and more confident they are going to feel.
Students are not stupid.
English is stupid!
Students are embarrassed when they try to speak English because of their accents and grammar. They are afraid of looking foolish. The truth is, accents and grammar play no part in successfully speaking English – so their worries are not real. With this tiny bit of insight,students are empowered and free to communicate in their new language.
Student Workbook Introduction
English looks like this:
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Sugar is sweet
And so are you.
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Sugar is sweet
And so are you.
English sounds like this:
roziz ar red
vilets ar bluw
shuger iz sweet
an so ar yuw
roziz ar red
vilets ar bluw
shuger iz sweet
an so ar yuw
onewun
househaws
boatbowt
clockklok
sugarshuger
facefays
eyesiyz
orangeorenj
schoolskuwl
What to Do!
OK, so English is stupid. English speaking and English writing are not the same. What can you do? To speak English, students must do four things:
- Listen to hours and hours of English speaking: television, radio, movies & videos, real people talking.
- Learn the sounds and the rules of spoken English.
- Think about the differences. English reading and writing are not the same as talking.
Used by permission. ©Thompson Language Center
