Teach English in Kulian Sumu - Wulanchabu Shi — Ulanqab

One of the first questions I always ask myself when it comes to anything theoretical, is how can this be applied in a practical sense. How can this be incorporated into everyday life without seeming artificial or constructed. In previous times, when learning foreign languages myself, I noticed that when I tried to practice what I had been taught, I was told that I often spoke in a manner which only elderly would speak or that I would speak in a formal way. I decided to invest more of my practicing hours outside instead of being locked inside with a book I sometimes could not completely comprehend. If I did study inside it would be in the form of watching movies in that language with subtitles or listening to songs and translating the lyrics. Quickly I noticed that I was using words and phrases more common in everyday speech, compared to what I would call pre-war like statements that people sometimes would not even understand. One of the main problems one encounters while engaging with other people trying to speak a foreign language, is of course the language barriers that exists with pronunciation and so on, but on a more personal level it is the embarrassment one can feel and a sudden loss of heart when not being understood. So how can we start an approach to make the world, or in this case, the specific country our classroom. As with many other subjects, we do it step by step. Firstly it would be good as I have described earlier to start out with a couple of home lessons where you derive a bit from the usual study pattern and branch out into the different cultural tools we can apply to learn, as mentioned before with music videos and other similar tools. Use the current tools we have today, e.g. the internet to build up your sentences correctly and try to find a voice application that allows you to practice pronunciation. The next step would be to structure sentences in the correct manner, pertaining to what you wish to accomplish. A good starting point would be simple settings that does not leave your conversational partner with many other options than what I would call an almost pre-scripted conversation. A great example of this would be going to the store. Depending on the store you chose you can find the appropriate questions pertaining to where you wish to expand your English capability. If you are an avid runner, you would for example have good knowledge to running shoes, distances and other normal data a runner would know about. This makes it a lot easier to start out, as you already know a lot about the subject in your own language, in terms of different specifics in the sport and more importantly a base-layer of personal interest. Applying this method you can come into the situation knowing what you want to say and ask about. You will also be able to imagine a couple of different answers or questions you might receive in return. Here you can have practiced answers as well and try to figure out the right type of answers. After doing this in stores and areas where you have personal interest or needs, other examples are grocery stores or in offices of public transportation, you will slowly build a confidence in parts of the language. The next step is quite a small step, but seems big to many. The next stage would be to go away from the safe frame of a setting where you have a good chance of understanding the outcome, and taking it into random conversations on the streets where you ask people for help/direction and so on. After you feel confident in this, you move on to trying to establish connections and friendships with your newly acquired skills, through actually trying to hold conversations with people or finding people through clubs, teams or other areas with common interests where there is a possibility to build something more. One of the things that caught me a bit by surprise in the beginning, was the simple fact that if you are polite and clearly trying to practice a new language, most people are happy to give you some of their extra time and understanding in order to try to help you on the way. Learning customs and greetings will always work as a great lubricant to get the engine going, and if you make a mistake or if you cant make yourself understood, it is pretty easy to excuse yourself and move on to the next possibility. In closing the basics that needs to be acquired to start learning in this type of manner are so easily obtainable compared to the output in learning that are being offered when putting yourself out there in these types of situation. If we manage to build up enough confidence and not always have a very serious approach (in terms of being correct), you will have the opportunity to not only make the world your classroom, but also your playground.