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Stephen O'Connell
I teach English as a Second Language (ESL) to students in tbc.
Location tbc
Achievements
Activity
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Stephen O'Connell made a comment
Vai sempre diritto, prendi la prima traversa destra e vai a sinistra. Attraversi il incroccio e prendi la prima destra.
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Stephen O'Connell made a comment
Eyes = azzuri
Sono basso e grasso, ho i capelli biondi e grigi, corti e lisci, con gli occhi chiari azzuri e una barba. -
Stephen O'Connell made a comment
Sono basso, ho i capelli biondi e grigi, gli occhi azzuri e una barba.
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Stephen O'Connell made a comment
La mia famiglia ha tre (3) personne. Io ha (55) cinquantacinque anni, mia sorella Anne ha (46) quarantaseis anni è mia madre ha (80) ottanta anni. Io sono un insegnante de ingles, mia sorella e un correttore di bozze. Noi viviamo a Worcester.
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Stephen O'Connell made a comment
Marta & Anna – nipotina e nonna
Sara & Marta – cougine
Franco & Marta – zio e nipote -
Stephen O'Connell made a comment
La mia famiglia è piccola. Mio padre è morte, mia madre è bene e mia sorella, Anne, ha (46) quarantaseis anni è un correttore di bozze. Lei è single e lo sono anch'io.
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Stephen O'Connell made a comment
Campo Santa Margherita, Venezia o Via del governo Vecchio, Roma.
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Dove abita?
Abito a London in Wellington Piazza 30.
Qual e il numero telefone?
il numero del mio celluare e +447007007007.
Qual e l'indrizzo email?
j.bond@universalexports.co.uk -
Stephen O'Connell made a comment
Grazie per le frasi extra.
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Stephen O'Connell made a comment
Io ho
Tu hai
Lui/Lei ha
Noi abbiamo
Voi avete
Loro hanno -
Stephen O'Connell made a comment
nove (9), ventitre (23), cinquantauno (51) e settantasei (76).
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Ho cinquantacinque (55) ani. Quanti anni hai?
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Andiamo!
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Stephen O'Connell replied to Mary Mac
molto grazie
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Stephen O'Connell made a comment
What a great first week! I have really enjoyed the layout of this week's course and the structure of the exercises. Roll on Week 2. Arrivederci!
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Stephen O'Connell made a comment
Ciao a tutti! Mi chiamo Steve. Sono inglese e vivo Worcester. Faccio l’ insegnante inglese, ma al momento non sto lavorando. Prima di essere un insegnante ero un disegnatore.
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Stephen O'Connell made a comment
Io imparo italiano
Tu impari italiano
Lui/Lei impara italiano
Noi impariamo italiano
Voi imparate italiano
Loro imparano italiano -
Stephen O'Connell made a comment
avvocato :)
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Stephen O'Connell made a comment
Sono insegnante inglese. Faccio l’ insegnante inglese. Ma al momento non sto lavorando.
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Stephen O'Connell replied to Valeria Valdivia Baeza
@ValeriaValdiviaBaeza "practice, practice, practice" that is what i tell my ESL students. Like you, I find the audio very quick but if you listen a few times and note down any new vocabulary then it will become more familiar and easier for you to understand.
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Ciao Anthony, come stai?
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Ciao! Io sono inglese. Vivo a Worcester.
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Stephen O'Connell made a comment
Liguria - ligure
Piemonte - piemontese
Puglia - pugliese
Sardegna – sardo/sarda
Sicilia – siciliano/siciliana -
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Sono inglese di London. Vivo Worcester.
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Mi chiamo Stephen - esse, ti, e, pi, acce, e, enne. Ciao!
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Stephen O'Connell made a comment
Ciao a tutti! Mi chiamo Steve e sono inglese.
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Stephen O'Connell made a comment
Buongiorno Sabrina, io sono Steve. I know a few words and phrases but I have not studied Italian for a few years. Arrivederci.
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Io mi chiamo Steve.
Io sono Steve. -
Stephen O'Connell made a comment
Ciao a tutti. I'm Steve from the UK. I have visited Italy many times, although not for a few years. I love the food, the culture and the language and I am hoping to improve my language skills on this course.
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@MinnieMouse I agree with your interpretation (different sentences in different languages). I was referring to different words in different languages in the same sentence. Or have I misunderstood the use of the term 'multilingua'?
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The results of the penultimate question – “Another language will rise to challenge the dominance of English.” This surprised me as this was quite close in favour of people disagreeing.
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I agree with ELF 1 and ELF 2 but not with ELF 3. Multilingua, unless you are conversing in a hybrid language made of up of two or more languages at the same time (Pidgin English), is the wrong term. If someone can speak multiple languages then they are multilingual but they will only use one language at a time.
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What would you be asking the Welsh or the Irish, out of curiosity?
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So, a good teacher must have an English related degree. Does that mean CELTA qualified teachers, like me, are not good teachers? (my degree is construction related).
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Who is best? Either can be the best, providing they have the correct training and are regularly observed by peers or mentors to ensure that teaching standards have not dropped.
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All teachers should have equal status. If you are qualified to do the job – CELTA, etc. – and have proven your language skills – IELTS 6.5+, etc. – then why shouldn’t you be employed? I hope the idea of Non-Native Speakers (NNS) being employed as ESL teachers gains favour around the world as I know a lot of NNS who are very, very good but cannot work in Europe...
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The most controversial issue was that ‘As ELF is different from native speaker English it may result in an English that is more democratic and less imperialistic.’ What utter nonsense! How can the use of a language in one form or another be more, or less, democratic or imperialistic?
The last question’s results surprised me the most as this had the closest...
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What interests me is the local variations of English that are translated from L1 by L2 users.
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Before I joined the ESL industry a few years ago I believed that Native Speakers ‘owned’ the English language. Through exposure to Non-Native Speakers, both home and abroad, since becoming a teacher I have slowly changed my opinion in that the speaker, Native or Non-Native, ‘owns’ the language that THEY are speaking. Languages are constantly evolving, so why...
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The user owns the language irrespective of whether they are a Native Speaker or not.
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@LuisAntonioCamacho I agree with your comments regarding Native Speakerism and the ability to teach that particular language. I recently finished a two year contract teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) in Egypt where the majority of my colleagues were Egyptian and not British. Being new to the industry I was amazed at how good their English language...
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There are more L2 users communicating with other L2 users (Non-Native Speakers) than there are L1 to L1 users (Native Speakers). So, yes the spread of a language, in this case English, has been beneficial in that it has allowed speakers of other languages to communicate with each other when they do not know each other’s language.
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English is currently the international language of communication and has been so for many years. Languages evolve and change as grammar rules are introduced and amended as well as vocabulary changes in popularity from one decade to another. Therefore, it is inevitable that English being used around the world by so many different cultures will be affected by...
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No, I have not used AI for language training.
Using AI for language training relies on the basis that (a) the lexis that you use is in the AI’s dictionary and (b) that your accent can be understood by theAI is if you are translating from one language to another.
The use of AI in the classroom might work well with student-led activities as it would just be... -
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Language learning requires practice. Practice is done better with pair or group work rather than self-study. Therefore connectivist learning, where connections are made from each other, both formally and informally, is suited to language learning. However, connectivist learning may not be suited to other subjects of study.
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@AndyLock Mentimeter (the free version) limits you to two questions which i used sometimes for a Lead In activity with the word cloud function. For example, if the topic is food, give each students two or three entries each and type in your question (what is your favourite food?). This will generate multiple words per students to form a word cloud. there are...
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The online teacher is not just a teacher but also a technical facilitator, i.e. helping out with minor IT problems, and a welfare monitor keeping an eye on the students over a period of time to observe whether there are any mental health issues due to lockdown.
Having taught online remotely I have changed my approach to allow more time for the students to... -
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The joy of this course, and other MOOCs, are that I can progress at my own pace and when I am free.
Yes, I’ve studied lots of MOOCs. No difference. The online courses are pretty much all the same, differing only in content and length. -
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Yes, as I wasn’t aware of the distinctions between online, remote and hybrid and have a better understanding of them now.
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Yes, I do agree that there is a difference between remote teaching and online teaching, in that the former is a reaction to a crisis and the latter has been designed from the outset to be online.
I had been teaching online since last October as part of a pilot program to reach more students in the country that I was in and to give our existing students... -
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Online language learning that is done remotely and not live can benefit the student as they have to participate more than in the F2F classroom. Likewise the student’s vocabulary and grammar will be better as they have to produce it in order to participate with the course and the other students.
Of the four core language skills, writing is the most difficult...
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I think that self-study courses require a lot of motivation and a definite goal to work towards. Can you learn a language online well? Yes, depending upon (a) the course material and (b) the student's motivation.
I have taught both F2F and online to adults and YLs alike and both have their merits and faults. To further answer the question, I say 'yes' and for... -
The main advantage of online learning is flexibility, especially since coronavirus hit us. With the various lockdowns around the world moving online our flexible approach to learning has allowed many to continue their education. Pre-coronavirus, it allowed my students to avoid a difficult journey in rush-hour in the biggest city in Africa. The students were...
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Stephen O'Connell made a comment
Thank you for a very interesting course. Will you be running a course focusing on English as a Lingua Franca (ELF)? I would be interested if you do.
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If my ideas or behaviour were to cause problems with my students I would initially seek advice from my Line manager and/or mentor. I would readily change my behaviour because I would be the foreigner teaching in my student's country.
However, I would only change my behaviour only so far. Up to a point, I must conform to my students but depending upon what the... -
I would remind the students of the class rules, in particular 100% for everyone and listening to others in the class and not speaking over them.
I would also introduce some activities where the students would be formed in to different/new groups with discussions and debates that are relevant to the course.
Lastly, if the situation had not improved I would... -
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I'm not sure how I can influence students or colleagues other than leading by example and not making stereotypical assumptions about others. Alternatively, one could incorporate an exercise or activity that highlights this othering in order to educate everyone.
I think this othering is part of our DNA and goes back to mankind's earliest days where this... -
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Ignorance about other people's culture and where non-native-looking people are from is very common in this day and age. It's a form of racism that needs to be stopped. Admittedly, some people (like the man in the video) don't mean to offend and are just ignorant and stupid but this ignorance can be very insulting. I thought the woman's reaction was excellent...
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"Never judge a book by its cover" - not everyone is the same so don't treat them as such. Everyone has their own preferred method of learning plus some students are shy and others are not. Treat everyone as an individual and be prepared to adapt yourself to your students. If you treat all students as the same, and therefore refuse to be inclusive in your...
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Depending on the age group - adult or YLs - I either allow my students to set their own class rules or I give them a set of rules regarding behaviour in the classroom, i.e. mobiles phones on silent, teamwork, respect for all, listen to whomever is speaking. For an intercultural classroom the activity (setting their own class rules) could be extended to include...
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I have no experience of intercultural communication as I was teaching students of who 99% were of the same local, if not regional, culture. If anything, it was I who had to adapt to the local culture.
But I do believe that with EMI it is the teaching staff who should promote better intercultural communication through leading by example and, in an ESL setting,... -
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In the first lesson of a course for my students, once they have Get-To-Know-Me (GTKM) I then get them to repeat the exercise with a Get-To-Know-You (GTKY)activity with a series of questions that they first answer about themselves and then must go around the class and try to get a separate answer from each of the other students.
This promotes communication and... -
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If a group member is more dominant then you (the teacher) can remind them that it is a 'group' activity in the first instance or simply put a time limit on each speaker, i.e. 4 students, 4 minutes, 1 minute each to express their opinion.
A shyer, quieter students could be given an important role in the group such as the group's spokesperson in order to report... -
Once I know the students I am less formal and more indirect than I am when I meet them in the first lesson.
Can = informal, Could = formal.
For students with only an elementary understanding of the language the fewer words used the better, so a direct more formal approach using just the infinitive is best. Back this up with good ICQs and CCQs.
I write on... -
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Idiomatic phrases are useful if they can be used directly in the lesson/seminar. If they are not relevant then they will 'slip' out of the student's minds. If your students language skills are at the beginner's level then I would suggest not to use any idioms at all. Introduce them to intermediate students and above.
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Yes, I use some of these or ones very similar.
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Students will hesitate to speak if they feel intimidated by the situation or their surroundings as well as their (perceived) inability to communicate.
A way to reduce the former is to create a relaxing and informal atmosphere. To solve the latter I always tell my students that I want them to make mistakes, the classroom is the place to make mistakes so that... -
It is for the students to conform not the teacher in this case. But I would suggest that the teacher uses simple language and instructions with pair and group activities for the students to conduct in English.
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To cater for the struggling students I would makes my slides available after the lesson and to cater for the advanced students I would provide extra material for them to read or watch as well as extra homework. Any worksheets used in the lecture would be graded to suit the student's ability.
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Stephen O'Connell made a comment
I have never taught EMI but as an ESL teacher the students were either from just one country or a mix of those from similar cultures from the same region. Rarely were they from another culture and if they were, like me, they had to 'fit in' to the local culture. So, there were very few different cultural awareness problems for the students but there were some...
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I use language much the same as yours. So, 'yes' my style is similar to yours.
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She starts out logically, explaining who she, where everyone is and what she is going to be talking about.
She stimulates the audiences interest and shows her passion for the subject through the modulation of her voice and her body language to emphasise what she is saying as well as asking questions. She summarises her introduction to indicate that she is... -
As a Native Speaker, I found that I grade my language depending on the CEFR level of my students. This is easier said than done but achievable through practice. Peer observation can help too. The use of clear ICQs and CCQs, without any complex or unusual language, are advisable too.
Do I use 'fronting'? I have no idea but it is something I shall try to use in... -
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The 2nd extract should be easier for students to understand because it is given in short sentences which will sound easier rather than the long, rambling sentences of the 1st extract.
As the sentences are shorter the modulation and intonation of the speaker's voice will be easier to understand. If this is coupled with graded (simpler) language and signposting... -
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One style does not fit all contexts.
As one of my teaching mentors observed, 'less is more'. Whilst slides are very useful, when it comes to the number of slides having too many is self-defeating as the students can be overwhelmed or lose interest.
Some subjects will undoubtedly benefit from the use of slides whilst others will be handicapped from their use.... -
I chose these slides as this is similar to what I have taught as an ESL teacher to adults.
These slides are for a business setting and are quite useful for adults. If I were teaching teens then I would adapt them for a... -
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Using slides is a good method to ‘lift of the page’ to get the student’s heads out of their books. Another good use of slides is to just show a picture for an activity and get the students to discuss what they see or if they have any ideas about the picture. Being shown on a screen the picture(s) can be seen very large.
Any slides that you use should always... -
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The advice that I would give would be:
1. Set up and prepare before your students arrive, if possible.
2. If you are late, don’t panic, just apologise and begin.
3. Review the last lesson, if relevant and provide a lead in to begin the lesson.
4. Speak slower, don’t garble your speech and engage your students.
5. Progress logically, don’t jump back and... -
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The only aspect of culture and tradition for where I currently am (the UK), other than Covid-19 rules, are not to invade someone’s personal space, i.e. 1.0m. Other cultures have a smaller personal space whilst others just ignore your personal space.
Generally, I do not touch any students, especially YLs, as a simple and innocent hand on a student can be... -
Stephen O'Connell made a comment
In the F2F classroom I use eye contact to engage my students plus I can check if the students understand what is being said and whether they are actually paying attention. Also, I switch from one side to another to include all students, i.e. front to back, left to right. This stops students from just sitting there and not participating. They never know who or...
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Stephen O'Connell made a comment
All of it has been useful and interesting.
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Stephen O'Connell made a comment
Video clip 1/Maths class:
1. The students may revise relevant lexis, they do not struggle with English and there is no language instruction.
2. This lesson requires the students to already be competent with the lexis and grammatical structures involved in the lesson. A regular language lesson would differ in that the lexis would be introduced and practised... -
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I have no experience of CLIL and as a Native Speaker I probably never will. I do think that CLIL is useful, especially for students studying subjects that require English at higher education or in the workplace after secondary or tertiary education has been completed.
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Stephen O'Connell made a comment
Yes, I have used similar tasks and found them very useful and productive by the students, both YLs and adults.
If I were to use this in a lesson, my planning would start with a prediction task using just one or two of the pictures to introduce the topic and to get the students speaking in pairs. I would pre-teach any relevant lexis followed by putting the... -
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The story is a simple one that we can all relate to:
“A man comes home to find a letter waiting for him. In the letter he receives some good news and decides to celebrate. However, he is alone and at first his celebration goes quite well until he realises that celebrating alone is not very enjoyable. He goes to bed very sad that he is all alone and cries... -
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PPP is teacher-lead and therefore reduces the student participation. With this standard format the lessons can become boring and predictable to the students.
TBLT is more student-centred, focusing on the participation of the students producing the 4 core skills using task-based activities with problem solving utilising critical thinking to achieve the task.... -
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The differences are that the naturalist approach relies on spontaneous output of L2, using subject matter of interest to the students, without focusing on grammar or error correction to foster greater output without the inhibition of grammar rules or correction.
This method is ideal for beginners with its low-stress approach to correction and allows the... -
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Sorry, I have no photos as we were not allowed to take them. More recently, like many others I was teaching online.
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Stephen O'Connell made a comment
The visual appearance is very different: the dress code is formal, i.e. uniformed, the class size is a bit larger, the layout is very formal and old-fashioned, the resources are minimal, the decor is by the students which is a good use of minimal resources.
The degree of formality between the teacher and the students is very high as is the teacher's direction... -
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I believe that the role of the teacher is to be all of the things mentioned - imparter of knowledge/stand-in parent/moral guide/role model - for the whole class and to bring them on together. However, if any students shows promise, or require further tuition, then the teacher should help that student further with extra homework to be done with the student's...
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Stephen O'Connell made a comment
In Egypt I found that I was treated differently to my younger female colleagues by some of the adult students, especially older males, as the society still has a strong patriarchal culture. I didn't realise this for quite a few months but I was treated with more respect as I was older, male and a Native Speaker. YL students again due to the patriarchal nature...
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Stephen O'Connell made a comment
I haven't done any language learning in a classroom since leaving school (many, many years ago). Since then any language learning done has been on my own at my own pace. The problem there is that if my motivation wanes then there is no one to encourage me or too help me let alone someone to practise and role play with.
So, if I ever have the opportunity again... -
Stephen O'Connell made a comment
This week I will be hoping to learn some new ideas for better practice and to improve my teaching.
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Stephen O'Connell made a comment
Adopting different learning styles is a good way of preventing a lesson, or a series of lessons, from becoming stale and boring. Also, using different learning styles caters to all students in the class (inclusion). How many of our students know which is their preferred learning style? Have they ever seen/heard the different learning styles? They may think...
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Stephen O'Connell made a comment
This is an interesting point that I may utilise in the future as it free up some class time in some areas to give more time for practice in others. But I think it would be better not to tell the students which are the easier and harder areas of the language being learnt as some students will switch off and participate less when they are told "this is the easy...
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Stephen O'Connell made a comment
Depending upon the language, I have found basic grammar construction to be difficult in German and basic pronunciation in Gaelic and Arabic. The former due to lack of motivation at school and the latter because I was not brought with the ‘sound’ of those languages. So, I do not have the ‘ear’ for them. Growing up, subconsciously I was exposed to the Germanic...
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Stephen O'Connell made a comment
Yes, but to what level are we talking about? Do we mean the ability to learn to either intermediate or advanced level or just simply to be understood in the basic needs, such as learning a language simply for going on holiday? The ability to learn must be linked to the motivation to do so. However, some people do have a better ability than others, without doubt.
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The bottleneck hypothesis is correct when referring to languages with a different root language, i.e. English is a Germanic language and shares common roots with German and Dutch, as opposed to one of the Slavic languages (Russian, Polish or Ukrainian). Between different root languages that have a different grammatical construction then I would say the...
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Stephen O'Connell made a comment
"I bought some extra vegetables in the market today."
Meaning 1: fact = literal.
Meaning 2: I bought more than I need so please take some = pragmatic/implied. -
Stephen O'Connell made a comment
Meaning is understanding and comprehension.
