tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155104586641633176.post210460975434791309..comments2024-03-29T03:21:19.067+00:00Comments on Julia English in Manchester: Language learning, language teaching and identityJulia Englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06598603890422347864noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155104586641633176.post-54568779878448290922012-03-24T22:41:41.200+00:002012-03-24T22:41:41.200+00:00Thanks for this comment - I've been thinking a...Thanks for this comment - I've been thinking a lot about how to answer it. I'm sure that the most important thing for me as a teacher is to build up my students' confidence as much as I possibly can, and also to focus on the primary purpose of language - communication. While it would be fantastic to be able to speak other languages with a native-speaker accent, the fact is that this may be an unattainable goal for the majority of learners. The important thing is to be easily understood, and that is most definitely an achievable and realistic goal. So, I make sure we practice speaking a great deal in the classroom, and I encourage my students to overcome their shyness about speaking to native speakers outside the classroom.Julia Englishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06598603890422347864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8155104586641633176.post-57170910575220421322012-03-22T21:28:09.229+00:002012-03-22T21:28:09.229+00:00When living in Chile and learning Spanish, I never...When living in Chile and learning Spanish, I never really managed to rise above that feeling that I sounded quite silly to them. On the flip side, peaking Spanish words in a Spanish accent to English speaking people is not a problem. It seems to me that linguistic ability is not the only factor. How do you help your students overcome this?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com