Re: Teaching English in Spain
 

I am of the same opinion, Rosemary. I too have been asked many times if I can teach people English - one of the most recent being an architect who was looking for someone to teach his 4 year old daughter. I wouldn't know where to start trying to teach a small child!

Like yourself, I have offered conversation practice (it helps me practice my Spanish too) but would not charge money for it.

I've even been asked if I will teach English people Spanish. They must be kidding!

Re: Teaching English in Spain
 

Myself being a carrier teacher, I really appreciate your attitude, Rosemary.

Having said that, probably this attitude would make you a really good teacher because the teacher's attitude to their own teaching determines the quality. (largely).

Re: Teaching English in Spain
 

I have to disagree with the posts above about qualifications.

Being qualified as a teacher... doesn't make you a good teacher.
It can help. But I've had teachers who were qualified and were boring and not at all motivational. And teachers who were unqualified and really sparked my imagination.
I'm not qualified as a teacher. So you could say "she would say that". But that's because I've spent all my time doing rather than training.
I teach crafts and I'm good at it. Ability as a teacher is not proportionate to modesty ;)
I have taken on a student in English and my experience as a teacher of crafts has helped me to teach. I agree you should know your limitations though. I tell people I can't teach grammar only vocab and conversation.
If you feel you can teach a few classes to locals to earn a little money and fill a need, I don't think you should be put off by the naysayers. If you have a qualification...so much the better.

Re: Teaching English in Spain
 

I was once asked to teach a bunch of Spanish children about prepositions.

Erm... "what! You want me to teach them French?"

I rushed to Google to find out just WTF I had missed at school. Sadly, this is the case with most UK people under the age of 45. We were never taught the basics of our own language. Understanding grammar and syntax, or the basic 'mechanics' of a language is something we all have to get our head around before we can start learning Spanish properly.

I often work with children whilst I speak English - art and craft projects, but I doubt I would ever have the confidence to charge for English lessons. They pay to participate in a fun workshop in an English speaking environment. At a basic level I don't have to explain what a preposition is. I suspect somewhere ITRO 50% of English teachers in Spain couldn't effectively explain what a preposition is to a Spanish person. That doesn't seem to matter anymore than correct spelling.

Re: Teaching English in Spain
 

Maybe you are right and 50 percent of English teachers in Spain cannot explain what a preposition is, but I would bet that nearly every Spanish child over the age of about 10 would know what one is, as well as an adverb, adjective, subjunctive, dipthong and loads more.

Spanish kids learn grammar, it is drummed into them, and they know the verb "to be" better than most English children, they would never say "you/we was" which a lot of native English speakers do.

Re: Teaching English in Spain
 

probably the same for those over 45 as well.
we took our education and used it as a building block to go out in the world and learn to do real things, things we became very good at.
I have never had to consider all this pretentious rubbish about conjugating and prepositions, I just do it. Couldnt explain to someone what it is or how to do it, but more than capable of reading up on it before hand.

it used to be drummed into us at school, it became a matter of personal pride to be able to spell, to write cogently and speak "proper", albeit in some instances with regional accents. no computers, no spellcheck, no calculators, no spreadsheets, except for the one we are all born with.

but we have let our kids and kids kids down in allowing the fluffy bunnies to take over the asylum. They have imposed relaxations we would never even think of, in grammar, writing and plain speaking. They have allowed the kids levels of freedom that lead to many becoming a failure but without the wherewithal in education to dig themselves out of it.
those who have taken exams (not all actually take exams) are given an easy time because those marking are instructed not to take account of poor spelling, grammar etc, even in English.

I will not apologise to those who are, were, or profess to be teachers.
This is how I have seen the massive drop in standards of language, diction (good diction is a clue to the mystery of spelling) and general behavious. This is as a work colleague, manager and owner of my own business.

many of the kids today are being fed false dreams by giving them a certificate for this, that, and everything else. Used to be a time when there used to be sniggers because someone had got a row of badges on his/her scout/guide uniform, showing an ability. now it is all about that magic piece of paper that tells the employer that not only have you had so little training, no knowledge but that you are in effect useless and if they take you on you will be useless as an asset for the first 6months.

Rant over, other than to say if there was another war (see other threads), I wouldnt trust most of todays kids to point a rifle in the right direction.

reaching for my tin hat........

Re: Teaching English in Spain
 

Actually how you use "was/were" depends on your regional dialect in the UK. In Sheffield most people use it the "wrong" way round according to standard English, but this is actually the right way round for their dialect/accent

The education system likes to pretend that there is only one way of speaking English

Re: Teaching English in Spain
 

Yes but 'dialect' is just mistakes become normal. All very well to celebrate cultural diversity but no-one in any other country understands my OH's English (for example) due to his thick local accent. What hope do we have of anyone understanding English in text-speak! And although English people mostly do understand him, they assume him to be at a much lower educational level than he is. Unfair? Yes. But true.

Re: Teaching English in Spain
 

No they are not

They could have been using that grammar in Sheffied way before a bunch of guys in Cambridge got together to decide what was correct grammar in the English language

The OH should change his way of speaking for people outside of his home town. I had to do this when I left the town I grew up in as I quickly found that nobody could understand me!

Re: Teaching English in Spain
 

so we are all peas out of the same pod and can be graded as such.
:thumbdown:

Re: Teaching English in Spain
 

There is only one correct way of conjugating the verb "to be" in all the tenses.

Anything less is bad grammar, same as" I seen" and "could of, would of and should of, your and you're".

So before a lot of people start to learn a foreign lanuage a good grounding in their own native grammar would not be a bad idea, then all the people that run and hide from "rules of grammar" would feel a lot more confident and be able to get to grips with learning much faster.

Re: Teaching English in Spain
 

One of the areas covered in the month long teacher TEFL courses is the structure of language ie what a noun, or an adverb is.... This is needed because the education system in the UK no longer covers this area. So this is another reason why language schools and academies prefer English teachers who've been trained. And it explains why I'm very dubious as to how a weekend training course can fully equip the novice to teach English.

Re: Teaching English in Spain
 

Again not true, you have been brainwashed by an overly-simplistic education system in thinking so

The examples on your second line are indeed mistakes

Re: Teaching English in Spain
 

So is "we was/you was" and "it weren't me"

Re: Teaching English in Spain
 

Nope, you are highlighting the danger of being half educated ;)

The rules happen to be different in some parts of the UK then with others, but they are wholly consistent to the area, so they are not mistakes