EFL to Foreigners

A Beginner's Guide for Teaching ESL / EFL to Foreigners There are many non-professional teachers who are teaching English as a 2nd or foreign language. The teaching setting varies widely; to friends, at a charity, on a volunteer basis, as a part-time job, as a hobby, etc. One thing quickly becomes clear: Speaking English as a mother tongue does not an ESL or EFL (English as second language / English as a foreign language) teacher make! This guide is provided for those of you who would like to know some of the basics of teaching English to non-native speakers of English. It provides some fundamental guidelines which will make your teaching more successful and satisfying for both the student and you. Get Grammar Help Fast! Teaching English grammar is tricky as there are so many exceptions to rules, irregularities of word forms, etc. that, even if you do know your grammar rules, you are probably going to need some help when providing explanations. Knowing when to use a certain tense, word form or expression is one thing, knowing how to explain this rule is quite another. I highly recommend getting a good grammar reference as quickly as you can. Another point to consider is that a good university-level grammar guide is really not appropriate for teaching non-native speakers. I recommend the following books which have been specially designed for teaching ESL / EFL: British Press Practical English Usage by Michael Swan published by Oxford University Press - Advanced - great for teachersEnglish Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy published by Cambridge University Press - for both beginners and intermediate American Press Understanding and Using English Grammar by Betty Schrampfer Azar published by Pearson ESL - Intermediate to advancedThe Advanced Grammar Book by Jocelyn Steer and Karen Carlisi published by Heinle Heinle Keep It Simple One problem that teachers often encounter is that of trying to do too much, too quickly. Here is an example: Lets learn the verb to have today. - OK - So, the verb to have can be used in the following ways: He has a car, Hes got a car, He had a bath this morning, He has lived here for a long time, If I had had the opportunity, I would have bought the house. Etc. Obviously, you are focusing on one point: The verb to have. Unfortunately, you are covering just about every usage of have which then also brings into play the present simple, have for possession, past simple, present perfect, have as an auxiliary verb etc. Overwhelming to say the least! The best way to approach teaching is to choose just one use or function, and focus on that specific point. Using our example from above: Lets learn the use have got for possession. He has got a car is the same as saying He has a car... etc. Instead of working vertically i.e. uses of have, you are working horizontally i.e. the various uses of have to express possession. This will help keep things simple (they are actually pretty difficult already) for your learner and give him/her tools on which to build. Slow down and Use Easy Vocabulary Native speakers are often not aware of how quickly they speak. Most teachers need to make a conscious effort to slow down when speaking. Perhaps more importantly, you need to become aware of the type of vocabulary and structures you are using. Here is an example: OK, Tom. Lets hit the books. Have you got through your homework for today? At this point, the student is probably thinking WHAT! (in his/her native language)! By using common idioms (hit the books), you increase the chance that the student will not understand you. By using phrasal verbs (get through), you can confuse students who may already have quite a good grasp of basic verbs (finish instead of get through in this case). Slowing down speech patterns and eliminating idioms and phrasal verbs can go a long way to helping students learn more effectively. Maybe the lesson should begin like this: OK, Tom. Lets begin. Have you finished your homework for today? Focus on Function One of the best ways of giving a lesson shape is to focus on a certain function and take that function as the cue for the grammar that is taught during the lesson. Here is an example: This is what John does every day: He gets up at 7 oclock. He takes a shower and then he eats breakfast. He drives to work and arrives at 8 oclock. He uses the computer at work. He often telephones clients... etc. What do you do every day? In this example, you use the function of talking about daily routines to introduce or expand on the simple present. You can ask the students questions to help teach the interrogative form, and then have the student ask you questions about your daily routines. You can then move on to questions about his/her partner - thereby including the third person singular (When does he go to work? - instead of - When do you go to work?). In this way, you help students produce language and improve language skills while providing them with structure and understandable chunks of language. The next feature in this series will focus on standard curriculums to help you structure your study and some of the better classroom books that are currently available.

The importance of water on life essays

The importance of water on life essays Water has many roles in living organisms and life on earth is impossible without it. It makes up between 60% and 95% of the fresh mass of the organisms. In a water molecule, two hydrogen atoms are joined to an oxygen atom by covalent bonds. This makes it a stable molecule. The oxygen nucleus attracts the electrons more than the hydrogen nuclei do. This results in the oxygen atom having a  ¥- charge and the hydrogen atoms having a  ¥+ charge. This water molecule is referred to as dipolar due to the uneven charge distribution. Water plays a very important role in animals. It maintains the process of homeostasis to maintain the relatively constant temperatures within the body. Water has a high specific heat capacity, indicating that it requires a lot of energy to raise the temperature of 1Kg by 1  ªC. Also, a lot of heat energy must be lost for the temperature of the same mass of water to fall by 1  ªC. This is important because it means that sudden changes in the temperature, which may upset metabolic reactions in cells, are avoided. These chemical reactions are allowed to tale place within a narrow temperature range so that rates of reaction are more constant. However, for organisms that live in water, large rapid changes in the temperature of their environment do not occur. When animals sweat, heat energy, from the body is used to evaporate the water in the sweat, cooling us down. Water is also used as insulation. For example, when a pond freezes, ice forms on the surface, insulating the water below so that aquatic organisms can survive. This is especially important in cold seasons. This is due to water having a maximum density of 4  ªC. Water flows readily through narrow capillaries due to the fact that water molecules can slide over each other as they have very low viscosity. As water also has a cohesive property, water can also move through very, very narrow spaces, such as soil partic...

Supply chain management definition Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Supply chain management definition - Case Study Example The service industry relies heavily on the customer experience as it is subjective and therefore introduces complexities into the supply chain. These complexities arise from the variety of goods and services demand from the customer, as they are not uniform in their demand. Therefore the value of the supply chain always starts with customer, as they want shorter times to market for new goods and services. The customer also wants some level of customisation and personalisation to their circumstances which means the service organisation has to reduce its inventories and keep lower stock to prevent losses from unsold stock. Lower unit costs allow the service organisation to pass on a cost advantage to the customer, and this involves improving its use of existing assets in the first instance to reduce disruption to its quality advantage. This essay will analyse a case study of Marks and Spencer and their management of the supply chain. ... Marks and Spencer (M&S) was established in an era where public opinion was still conservative and fashion dictated to the public. This was reflected in its styles and clothing lines, and its dated methods of supply chain management. M&S had two seasons which meant they had a large inventory and profits were dependent on the ability of the stores to clear this stock. This practice was significantly different to that of its competitors, who had realised that restructuring the supply chain process was the only way to meet the unstable customer demand. M&S had also failed to analyse its external environment, which led to its competitors gaining a competitive edge. For instance, Zara, a Spanish clothing retailer, had created its target market and its stock was only available in store for a maximum of 4 weeks, compared to 9 months for M&S. Zara was able to achieve this turnaround by managing its supply chain, which enabled it to be flexible to cope with fluctuating demands. The limited time for stock availability also meant that customers were exposed to more fashion ranges and designs and this created the perception of personalisation. So whilst Zara and other competitors were focussing their efforts on a niche market, M&S was still marketing to a non-descript market and not offering the choice, flexibility and speed demanded by the customer. M&S had failed to act on falling customer satisfaction ratings by simply ignoring them and not realising that part of this dissatisfaction lay in its earlier decision to withdraw the children's clothing range. By the time M&S had reached this realisation, profits had halved and the forecast was not promising. As they had not sold any of their stock, their warehouses were still filled with the previous