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Globetrotting textbook author shares tips with Vietnamese English teachers

Globetrotting textbook author shares tips with Vietnamese English teachers

Thursday, October 24, 2013, 13:55 GMT+7

A seasoned US educator impressed over 240 Vietnamese and expat English teachers, teacher trainers, and academic managers at a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City on Monday, where he spoke of six approaches he believes should be integrated into the modern teaching process. 

Mario Herrera, author and co-author of many acclaimed ESL/EFL textbooks, has taught English to both children and adults for more than 30 years. He began his speech by discussing the importance of monitoring the performance of individual students.

“It is the process that allows us to know where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go, and how best to get there,” the presenter said.

This approach includes involving all students, observing their progress, giving individual help, and challenging everyone.

Herrera then moved on to what he called “Content Integrated Language Teaching (CLIL),” a practice that allows students to use as much English as possible in class in a natural, organic way by having in-depth discussions on new ideas only in English.

A successful CLIL lesson should incorporate such elements as content, communication, cognition, and culture, he said.

Lesson themes should be relevant to students’ age and interest, but topics should not stray from the main curriculum, the educator noted.

More modern practices such as tolerance, cultural appreciation, and elements of competition should also be part of a lesson plan, according to the textbook author.

“These skills help students keep pace with the demands of the 21st century and its rapidly changing technology,” Herrera said.

It is advisable for teachers to focus on how a student develops an essay instead of just the final product, he said while explaining his concept of “Process Writing.”

Toward the end of his presentation, Herrera strongly recommended a new way of teaching grammar called the “Cognitive Grammar” method.

It is “a critical thinking process that leads to the comprehension and application of grammar principles in an easy and fun way,” he said.

Herrera wrapped up his talk by elaborating on “ELT Literacy,” the teaching of reading and writing in a natural way that mirrors how students learned their first language.

He placed an emphasis on using rhythm to help students practice sounds and associate them with their written form.

Learners should be guided to differentiate sounds and exposed to the visual differentiation of letters within individual words. Proper attention should be paid to the correct pronunciation of letters as well as the correct stressing of each syllable, the presenter said.

Herrera has a degree in education and an MA in teaching English as a foreign language.

He travels the globe, directing seminars and delivering professional development workshops throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

Tuoi Tre

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