Kendra Mortureux
I am a self-employed business English teacher. I have taught English to adults for over 20 years. I'm American, but I've lived in France for over 20 years.
Location France
Activity
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
Thank you so much for this interesting and rich course! It exceeded my expectations, and I learned so much about lingustics and how to better teach English to non-native speakers.
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I firmly believe that robots can't replace teachers. Being human is an added value!
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
We are already seeing a "European" English, so maybe there will be "regional" English in the near future. Speakers' native languages influence the quality of their English.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
Very interesting!
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
Learning about the corpus was very interesting. I found the sections on modals verbs to be less useful for myself.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
This information might be useful for teachers, but I think it wouldn't be helpful for students.
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Grammatically speaking, "must" is easier to use (no conjugation required), but "have to" can be conjugated in past, present and future.
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"Must" is a more formal word, so it makes sense that its use has decreased in spoken English.
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Yes!
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
I've always thought that "must" shows a stronger obligation than "have to".
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I agree with a previous comment: "must" has been replaced by "have to" / "have got to" / "gotta".
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I agree with the previous comments: social media should be included.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
Modal verbs are so important!
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
In my classes, I present modal verbs as "strange" words. On one hand, they're easy because they're invariable. I tell my students they act as auxiliary verbs to add extra meaning to the sentence and the action verb.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
Can't wait!
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
The information on accents was interesting, as well as the information about the Lingua Franca.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
I like the idea of "accent addtion".
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
1. Disagree
2. Agree
3. Strongly agree 200%
4. Agree
5. Slightly agree
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1. I make an effort to speak slowly and clearly, and I will repeat back to them what I understood they said.
2. I reassure them, because I lived the same thing when I was learning French.
3. I found it annoying in the past, but now I'm just happy they remember my name at all!
4. I'm impressed, and I might even compliment them on their accent. -
Kendra Mortureux made a comment
Agree or disagree with him, but Donald Trump is a master communicator. He knows his target audience, and he's mastered how to speak to them.
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Kendra Mortureux replied to Julie Neumark
@JulieNeumark, thanks for the share!
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
This is an excellent example of vocal styling!
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I think this is a good start for English learners and using "survival" English.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
It was a good idea to ask the patient to draw the food. As in the previous case study where the customer service representative spelled the word.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
This situation is understandably frustrating for the customer. I think that spelling out the word at the end was the best solution here.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
I can understand why people want to reduce their accents. I myself have done that.
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Stereotypes are triggered by what we see (skin color, facial characteristics) but also by what we hear (accents, poor grammar or vocabulary).
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
This is another interesting activity, but I think it would be better if they all read from the same text, like we did in a previous activity. I totally agree that people can have stereotypes and assumptions regarding accents.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
English is my first language, and I make efforts to speak without an accent. I guess this would be "General American". Yes, I'm convinced that a standard accent can help you get ahead in life.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
Thank you for putting a name on this speech pattern: uptalk! I've noticed this for the past several years in the USA, especially with young women. It's as if everything is a question, with a slightly higher tone at the end of a sentence. I guess I'm one of the people you refer to who finds it annoying!
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
Syllable stress is so important in Engish! It's interesting to see that it is changing over time.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
I love this activity!
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
My accent and vocabulary changes when I speak to other native English speakers. My American accent defines who I am (I live in France), and people often recognize me on the phone because of my "petit" accent.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
This is a great activity! Thanks so much.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
I love listening to Italians speak, just to hear the flowing music of the language. On the other hand, I have the impression that Portugese is an agressive sounding language.
I definitely have a telephone voice, a little higher than my normal voice.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
I totally support self-assessment and learner autonomy, however it can be sometimes difficult to get students to take responsibility for their learning. I sometimes get the impression that they want me, the trainer, to do all the work for them.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
It's all about the teacher creating a comfortable "safe" environment in the classroom. Students need to know that it's ok if they make a mistake, and the teacher needs to correct mistakes in an encouraging way.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
Awful
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
There is a line between anxiety and panic. If a students is able to focus better on their communication then the anxiety is good. On the other hand, if it becomes a panic attack, then it's obviously very bad.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
I have both experienced this and seen it with the majority of my students.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
I might start as an Emily and then transition to Isabelle after I felt more comfortable in the group. I'm not a shy person, but I would feel bad to dominant any discussion with wrong answers.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
Languaging is great, if you have students who are willing to participate and "play the game". I think that discussing and debating the meaning of the language will help students recall that information later.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
I always follow my grammar explanations with a very practical activity where the learner can use the target structure. That way, they apply the rules they just learned. If possible, I tailor the activity to correspond to their environment. For example, if I have a business person, then I will set the situation in their professional context. On the other hand,...
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
Noticing is a great technique for reviewing grammar subjects that have already been learned in previous lessons. I think it's a great way to "bring the language to life", and the teacher can point out the language used and what it actually means.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
I would certainly need to check that they are communicating with each other, hopefully in the target language! If not, I would gently intervene to nudge them to at least speak in the target language. Also, it's important to listen to what they are saying to each other to be sure they understand the task.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
The subjects here have changed the way I think of language testing. In fact, I've already learned so much more than I expected!
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
Yes, they agree with each other because they have a high number on the correlation coefficient.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
Questions that are pertinent to the end use or goal of the test takers
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
A lot of my adult students panic at the idea of taking a test at the end of their training. It's as if they relive their school days, so they focus a lot (too much, in my opinion) on preparing for the test. They lose sight of the importance of the language itself.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
I did not press the button. How can you hold people accountable for the information that they should know if they never take a test? For example, if you pass your driving test and get your license, then you will need to respect the driving laws. Your passing the test and having a license means that you are aware of the road signs and laws.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
In my opinion, Foucault is a bit extreme in his criticism of tests. Tests are necessary, but the examinations themselves need to be well crafted.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
I am opposed to this idea of a database with students' records. Not only is it an invasion of privacy, but any database can be hacked and the information changed or exploited.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
In my opinion, these examples are too difficult for immigrant or citizenship testing.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
Level 6 is quite high. I wonder if they don't use this requirement as an "invisible barrier" of immigration though. As Zonni pointed out in an earlier comment, how many people would be ready to work and learn to reach level 6?
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
I agree with a lot of the comments below: language assessment is vital for anyone working in healthcare or the legal system. I would also add that a good level is important for anyone teaching the language.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
The travel agent student gave far too much information at the start of the exchange. He/she should have asked for more information from the customer, taken notes and then looked at the availabilities. So, in my opinion, the travel agent student needs more training.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
The travel agent offered to help the customer with more arrangements for the trip. Even after the customer said that she didn't need a hotel booking, the travel agent continued chatting in a friendly and non-intrusive way. Making small talk, building rapport with the customer always pays!
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
Again, this is a very interesting example! In order to answer the question in the text here, I would like to know what it takes to pass this test. For example, if the candidate asks for repetition, will he/she fail the test?
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
Speaking clearly and using spacing, excellent and istant comprehension of information in English, total mastery of numbers
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
I think that tests need to be both theoretical and practical. For example, driving tests usually start with theory and then "behind the wheel" testing.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
Formal tests can make anybody nervous and lose their cool. However, they are a fast way to check the progress of any learner. Some of my students are so focused on getting a good result on their test that they actual learning of English takes a backseat. In that case, they really miss the point of language testing.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
This first week was so interesting! I look forward to learning more.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
I'm excited to use the EVP in my classes. Thanks so much for sharing this information!
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
I would start with the noun: a "key" to open a door, then I would move on to "key" as an adjective. I would only speak about "key" as a verb with higher level students.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
This is helpful, and I will use it in my classes when my students say "there are too many words in English"!
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
1. The most important words to teach: I think this depends on the needs of the students. A student in a business English class will not necessarily need English for tourism, and vice versa. I think the most important parts of speech are nouns and verbs because one can make very simple sentences to convey a basic meaning.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
As an ESL teacher, I love delving into a course book where the context is so interesting that we almost forget that we're in an English class. Also, my students have the chance to speak about different subjects during every class.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
1. "Acceptable". But the grammar is wrong
2. I pronounce the "t", and I speak American English. -
Kendra Mortureux made a comment
Reading this case study reminds me why I love teaching business English. My students are in these situations every day.
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Kendra Mortureux replied to zonnia sanchez
Yes, and I would say that when you ask for an explanation, the native speaker often realizes that they're speaking too fast. As an American living in France, I have been in that situation more than I care to admit! After living here for over 20 years, I make a joke of it. French people almost always apologize and then "dial down" their language.
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I agree that native speakers can easily dominate a business situation. As a remedy, I advise my non-native English students to write down useful expressions before a meeting. Then, they can insert those expressions into the exchange to "take back" the floor.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
Once again, very interesting information! I recommend downloading and reading the EF EPI Report as well.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
I totally agree with Dr Neeley about English in international business. I have seen how native English speakers can dominate a conversation or a meeting with non-native speakers many times. They forget to "dial down" their language (either "forget", or intentionally dominate the exchange). One example of this is, of course, idioms and expressions. But another...
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Fascinating!
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@MichellePøhls : Thanks so much for the link! I just listed to the podcast, and it was great.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
There's a good point in this text: who "owns" English?
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These examples show how close culture and language are. A migrant will need to not only master the language and the expressions but also adapt their way of communicating. As an American living in France, I speak from experience!
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
Yes, I think that social media is having a negative effect on the quality of the English language. People don't pay attention to their sentence structure when writing a post on social media sites.
I believe that adults can become proficient learner if they are willing to do the necessary work.
Finally, I firmly believe that humor can help in any... -
Kendra Mortureux made a comment
After watching this video, I am very excited to do this course. The study of languages has so many possible applications. Thanks so much!
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
The Rolling Stones used a double negative here for musical reasons. "I can't get any satisfaction" just wouldn't fit with the music. In my opinion, the grammar here is unacceptable. Regarding the second quote, I find this acceptable. It seems to me that in American English, we use "gone" and not "been" in this case.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
Hello! I have taught English for about 20 years to adult professionals in France. I am self-employed, and my motivation to do this course is to improve my teaching methods. I am looking forward to this course and understanding better Applied Linguistics.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
I will definitely use the different ways of teaching the pronunciation of vowels. It will be easier to explain the "mechanics" of the different sounds.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
I found this section to be more complex, and I think I will be coming back to it to review.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
Wow, that's a great way to bring it all together! I'm going to use this technique with one of my students tomorrow. Perfect timing, so thank you!
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
This activity was a good review for me.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
Very helpful!
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
Thank you for this exercise to raise our awareness of voiced sounds and unvoiced sounds.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
This is a good exercise to look at minimal pairs, but I do not teach phonetic symbols in my adult classes.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
Teaching word stress before this course: 5
Teaching word stress after this course: 8I learned about the schwa and the types of words we where we use a weak pronunciation.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
This is a good technique, and I like the fact that it's visual.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
Teaching weak forms will also help learners with their listening comprehension!
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
I realize that I need to get into the habit of teaching syllable stress of new vocabulary words.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
This is such a difficult subject to teach! There are so many rules and exceptions to those rules. I usually touch on syllable stress and point out some examples. If my students want more information, I will refer them to the document here.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
I often have questions from advanced learners about linking, and I'll be able to help them thanks to the explanations here. While I found the sections on linking and pausing to be quite interesting, I think that teaching intonation is much more complicated. Also, the intonation of an American is very different from that of a British speaker. I love the idea of...
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
My advice would be to avoid a very technical explanation when covering this topic. I might use some Ted Talks videos with more advanced students to show them the importance of pausing. We could first watch the video and read the transcript at the same time. After that, students can add the pauses directly on the transcript while watching a second time.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
I don't see the video with the Irish speaker which is mentioned here.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
Great ideas! I can't wait to try them out on my more advanced students. Here's my question: how much time should we spend on pronunciation in class?
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
Very interesting! These exercises are really useful for native speakers to pay attention to the way we automatically link words. Thanks for these examples.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
As a native speaker, I've never realized there were rules for linking! While I find this to be a very interesting topic, I think it would be difficult to teach it to a non-native English speaker. I hope to find some great ideas in the "How to teach word linking" video later in this week.
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Kendra Mortureux made a comment
There is so much information in just this first week. I agree with Sophie, it's interesting to look at this subject closely and understand exactly what it brings to our lessons. I am motivated to integrate more suprasegmental elements into my classes, but I need to be much more confident in that knowledge before I can actually teach it!
