02/10/2024
What do marketing cat products and English learning have in common? I swear some people that create stuff for cats, and you can tell they have never had cats or tested the stuff with real cats (last 2 pics are from one of my IG posts in August 2023).
Same thing happens with people who make ESL / EFL books. Some of them have a lot of degrees but have never set foot in a real high school or institute classroom. They tell you how to teach, but they live in the bubble of Academia. So after a while, you keep following their books to the letter (thinking of no other activities), and it becomes formulaic, and you don't know why your students' language use is still lacking something for the real world.
This is why I don't wanna use only the cookie cutter recipe anymore (I do take the scope and sequence as scaffolding and suggestions, and I do still use some of the exercises in the books, but a lot of the contents are so artificial and formulaic that I want to barf).
That formula is partially why students fail to understand people on the phone, for instance), and that is why I love authentic materials (series, books, movies, commentaries...) as the main source of learning and textbooks just to polish some details.
I crave weird conversation topics and real connection with my students/coachees. I want to talk about whether you believe in aliens and reincarnation and why, making all of your resourcefulness show up in an actual conversation, and welcoming your mistakes because they make great feedback. I want you to use your brain and your particular talents and personality in order not to freeze on a job interview. I want to hear about what keeps you up at night, and perhaps do some life coaching about it as well.
So my beautiful "cat" students out there, who are tired of studying the Verb to Be for 12 years and still not be able to speak, D M me if your soul craves something different. I promise your English will be better than before, but if anything, at least your life will be more interesting.
