A lot of people tell me "Person X told me the best way to learn English is..." or "Have you heard about teacher so-and-so? He's got this method on the internet for learning English..." In fact, there are a lot of experts on the internet, and I wanted to share a little story with you.
This is a story from Aesop - he wrote a lot of stories to
illustrate an idea.
The story is called "The Quack Toad". (This is a photo of a toad - it's similar to a frog.)
The story is called "The Quack Toad". (This is a photo of a toad - it's similar to a frog.)
An old Toad once told all his neighbours that he
was a brilliant doctor. In fact he could cure anything. The Fox heard the news
and went to see the Toad. He examined the Toad very carefully.
“Mr. Toad,” he said, “They told me that you cure anything! But just look at yourself, and then try your own medicine. If you can cure your terrible skin and your terrible walk, then I will believe you. But if you can't, you should change your job.”
“Mr. Toad,” he said, “They told me that you cure anything! But just look at yourself, and then try your own medicine. If you can cure your terrible skin and your terrible walk, then I will believe you. But if you can't, you should change your job.”
The "moral" of the story? Cure yourself before you cure other
people.
I hope you enjoyed today's little story!
Unfortunately, there are LOTS of people on the
internet who tell you that they are English language experts. They tell you
that their method is the best and that when you follow their method, you will
have wonderful English.
But you should ask them these questions!
- Have they studied another language?
- Have they studied another language?
- Do they understand how difficult and
frustrating it is?
- Are they really experienced teachers?
- Have they taught English to people from
different countries?
- Are their methods the result of studying and
listening to real English and real conversations?
And a really important question...
- Do they have happy students who found success
with their methods?
It takes a lot to be a good teacher. You need to know your subject really well. You need to know HOW to explain it really well.
But you also need to
listen to your student. To encourage and support your students. Your student's success is
your motivation and your happinessIt takes a lot to be a good teacher. You need to know your subject really well. You need to know HOW to explain it really well.