Struggling with Spoken English: How Can We Teach College Students More Effectively?

The Challenge of Effective English Teaching

Spoken English classes have mushroomed at every nook and corner. However, even after completing the course, many students report that they still face problems in speaking English.

Methods of Teaching Proper English

What are the methods of teaching proper English, especially to college students? Most college faculty members realize the importance of language only when students are nearing the 8th semester.

As a soft skills trainer, I would like to know how language can be taught efficiently.

Challenges of Teaching English in India

The trouble with teaching English in India is that most students have some knowledge of the language, as it could have been the second or third language in school. However, they might have been taught in a deficient manner, and consequently, their language skills could be terrible. The problem begins when, in the Spoken English Classes, the emphasis is laid on teaching grammar because that can get very boring and is also difficult for students who have half knowledge about the language and think they know it all.

Effective Methods for Teaching English

In my view, the emphasis should be on making the students speak and write and on correcting them. This involves personal attention. Give them simple topics to begin with, like 'My town,' 'My hobbies,' etc., and move on to more complex topics like 'My best holiday,' 'If I Were the Prime Minister,' etc.

Give them passages to read aloud in class. Later, ask them to bring some passages they liked to share in class. Finally, ask them to speak extempore on their favorite story or article. You can also ask them to find synonyms for selected words chosen by the teacher. This will help them build their vocabulary.

If you have the time and inclination, then do play some word games, give crosswords, play a game like What is the Good Word, etc.

Perhaps you would also be interested in the following Inspirational and Motivational Blogs, both for interesting content as well as for getting the students to improve their vocabulary.

In addition, since grammar cannot be avoided, focus on making the grammar lessons interesting. This can be done by giving simple exercises and ensuring that the degree of difficulty is increased slowly.

Thank you for replying. English, if made easy to learn, is a beautiful language. I hope to make the classes more interactive and fun to learn.

Regards,
Pink Pebble

When teaching speaking, it is important to provide learners with authentic samples of spoken English. Try to provide learners with opportunities to listen to native speakers (with a variety of accents). You could use songs, short clips from films, television, or the internet, e.g., YouTube. This would also help to increase vocabulary and improve pronunciation.

While reading and discussing articles is useful for improving reading skills, keep in mind that the written text is much more formal than speech and uses conventions not used in the spoken language.

Best wishes,
Patrice

It can be done through practice, and the most important thing is reading newspapers, listening to the news, watching English movies, and most of all, speaking, no matter how many mistakes you make. Hope these suggestions will be valid and can be implemented.

Regards,
Rinkesh Khatri

That's a great question. The trick is to catch them early and not wait until the 8th semester. As a soft skills trainer, you need to make sure that you help them realize the importance of English for their career. Second, you really need to motivate them as much as possible. If you can get them motivated enough that they start working on their English themselves, most of your work is already done. So, in the first few sessions, go for it. Make them want to learn and improve. You will notice it is working when students start asking you questions about English. But you will surely not catch all of them with this.

So, you can start sending them newsletters to their email addresses on a weekly basis. When teaching in a large group, you will often notice that the mindset of people is not always the same. So, many will not be in the right mindset during your sessions or after your sessions. When you send them some motivational or informative emails, you will catch almost 100 percent of them during the first few months. Then it's just a matter of time.

You can find great resources for amazing informative and motivational content on the internet. There is a blog that I write about learning English for my students... take a look at http://Small habits to learn English...Speaking Delhi. Apart from this article, you can find many more articles on my blog, English Trainer's Tips.