Teaching English to Vietnamese Associates.

I spent over 30 years as an instructor and 25 of those years teaching technical communication subjects.  I learned a number of things to make a class learnable and interesting.  I found that these tricks and methods not only work for teaching telecommunications but also work quite well in teaching a language.  Here are some of these basic teaching principles that I spent many years learning and perfecting.

Bored students won't remember much of a lesson. Don't talk for long blocks of time. Instead, keep students involved and interacting with you and each other in English. Try to reduce feelings of embarrassment when mistakes are made by the students, and give far more compliments than criticisms. Make some tasks easy enough that everyone is guaranteed a success.

Students will remember material better if it has relevant meaning to their jobs or is useful in their daily lifes. Word lists or grammar drills may be useful in creating a stronger understanding of English, but unless there's a real-world application, sooner or later it is likely to be forgotten by second language learners.

Simplify your vocabulary, grammar, and speaking speed to the degree necessary to be understood, and keep any instructions simple and logical.  Many foreigners are often not aware of how quickly they speak. Most teachers need to make a conscious effort to slow down when speaking. Perhaps more importantly, they need to become aware of the type of vocabulary and structures they are using. It is so very important that we modify our vocabulary and grammar for the Vietnamese students who are just starting to learn English.

Learners will truly want to learn when they perceive a personal reward. To boost motivation, remind them of the benefits that English can provide, as well as giving out praises and prizes. One thing that can destroy motivation is over-correcting. Selectively choose errors to work on rather than trying to fix everything at once. Give priority to problems that hinder communication rather than fixing incorrect but understandable errors.

One the of best ways to have our Vietnamese students improve their English skills is by using the language over and over again.  You must have them practice and repeat!  Most English lessons taught by other teachers bypassed the part about having the student learn through repetitions.  Granted, this repetition may seem boring, but it is very important because it normally takes using the new word or phrase some 30 times or more to move it from short term into long term memory. 

Students learn best when they feel accepted, when they enjoy positive relationships with their fellow students and teachers, and when they are able to be active, visible members of the learning group. Learn how to pronounce students' names (or ask for easier nicknames) and then remember and use them. Build trust with your students by building relationships, being friendly and approachable.  Make sure quiet students are included and more assertive ones don't take over the class.

There are more, but I need to keep some for myself; it is what makes me valuable!  I can't have everybody stealing all my tricks.

Teaching Style

My teaching style is light hearted in an easy going atmosphere.  I don't want to add to their stress and I want to make learning Hotel/Resort English fun and easy. However I am very particular about student participation; everybody must participate because learning English for their job is important and everyone has to be serious about attending class and learning to speak English.

Another major focuse of my training is to have the students show feelings, kindness, warmth and friendliness in their dealings with the guests.  I stress a new set of values for 5 star hospitality namely; love, care, warmth, compassion, empathy, and I also put strong emphasis on the use of intuition, creativity, and mystery.