There’s an old Chinese proverb that goes, “Tell me, I forget. Show me, I remember. Involve me, I understand.” That holds true in virtually every scope of life, and especially in teaching. For English teachers, the visual and interactive medium is especially effective, since it leaves a more lasting impression than that of simply teaching. If you want to increase your students’English comprehension, one of the best ways to do so is to engage your students in discussion or to involve them in an activity. The challenge can be, however, to make sure that you are actually teaching through the activity, and not ignoring teaching English comprehension in order to make way for amusement.
Keeping this challenge in mind, one of the best ways to boost your English teaching comprehension can still be through videos and/or movies. You can bring along a clip from a movie or an episode from a TV show, and compare and contrast the variations in language used by the different characters. You can use this opportunity to teach about the different colloquialisms used nowadays, as well as the errors. It’s a wonderful opportunity to hone your English teaching comprehension as well as to gauge your students’ English level, not to mention a great way to spice up your classes and ensure that your students don’t ignore what you’re saying simply because it feels boring.
Word games, like Scrabble and Boggle, are also a fantastic way to boost your English teaching comprehension. There’s a lot to be said for making a game out of your classes, as long as you don’t sacrifice learning for fun. It’s also a great opportunity to hone you students’ spelling skills, since they might have great pronunciation but poor spelling.
Of course, the key is to really keep a close eye on your classes and make sure that your English teaching outcomes are not suffering as a result. When effectively monitored, your students will actually profit from these activities and engagement will increase, rather than completely ignoring your English teaching in favor of the entertaining materials.
Photo Credit: Rob Enslin
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