Julian Snow
Tips for helping people with English

Hello Italki users, I've Skyped with many people and have had a great experience getting to know people from other Countries. Many of these people want to practice English and I want to do the best I can to help them. Usually I will ask simple questions and correct them every now and then but I feel like I can do more. I know I am not a professional teacher but I want to use the best of my abilites and not waste their time. Does anybody have tips or recommendations on how I could help these people, especially if I am not familiar with their language?

Jul 31, 2015 2:15 AM
Comments · 10
4

If they're still at a basic level but can somehow communicate, get some pictures and make them talk about it! For instance, grab pictures of people at a supermarket, ask him to describe what is going on, what people are looking for and buying. Then develop a conversation based on that, ask how often do they go to the supermarket, what they like buying, what they find expensive and etc. Trust me, it helps them build vocabulary, you make them interact and have a topic to discuss and there won't be those awkward silence moments of " errm, I don't know what to say now " hehe.

July 31, 2015
2

Julian, I had posted this comment on the Spanish discussion thread left by Pam regarding the very same sort of topic, yesterday.  I'm sure she won't mind if I share it here.  Hope it helps:

 

With the people I currently speak with, we often have an arrangement which involves either correcting a few points as we go along, or taking a few notes of what the other person says and then correcting these at the end.
A couple of my contacts were recently practising for official exams and wanted to speak about a relevant topic for about 15 or 20 minutes. I wrote a few notes during the conversation and then we talked about them after that.
On the other hand, if the person isn't doing exams, I would give the correction there and then. Of course, you need to see what the other person's level is like and then decide what you need to correct. If someone makes an important/big mistake, of course you should correct that. If a beginner makes a small mistake then I ignore it, if it was an advanced learner, I would point it out.
Being new to it all, take your time and get a feel for what works best! And of course, the best idea is to ask the other person what they would prefer. Learners' goals certainly change, but someone who is focusing on improving their accuracy will want your corrections, someone focusing on improving their spoken fluency won't be just as concerned if their aim is to speak with less hesitation.
In terms of preparing, sometimes someone will tell me that they would like to speak about a certain subject, so I'll send them a link for a YouTube video or an article from the internet that deals with the subject. Then we talk about it together. In October when I started learning some Italian I would also prepare something myself to say - I wasn't ready to speak independently at all, and I asked the other person to correct some mistakes or help me with my pronunciation.

July 31, 2015
2

@Murillo Thank you for the tips I will try this the next time I meet a beginner.

@Loong Usually there has been an exchanging of language but sometimes I will meet someone who knows little english and I won't enough of their language to explain to them or help them. I kind of talked very slowly with them but I feel like more can be done to help.

July 31, 2015
2

@ Julian, 

 

Do you just teach them English or you will exchange language with them as well?

 

I would suggest you to teach them like a baby if they are a beginner. They need to pronounce words correctly from scratch. 

 

Thanks.

July 31, 2015
1

Don't correct them unless they really make a big deal about it. Correcting rarely if ever does anything beneficial in the long run, and really does a lot of damage in the short run.

August 8, 2015
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