03/03/2022
A year ago, a mother reluctantly approached me. She wanted her child to improve her English skills, but she was afraid I would be unable to help. She shared her past experience with me:
"My daughter has been studying English for two years and she can't remember anything she has learnt. She attended online classes three times a week, but I feel that she has learnt nothing. She can't remember the words that the teacher taught her. She can say only a few words in English. I feel like we wasted out time and our money."
I felt this mother's frustration, as well as her fear.
I knew that I could help her and her daughter and so I guided her through a list of items that I believed made me successful as a teacher.
The most important place to start, I told her, was to conduct a full assessment on her child. I did this for free and it showed that, at the age of 10, her daughter's phonics skills were extremely limited. She was not even able to say the sounds for the alphabet letters, the very first stage of learning phonics.
Phonics forms the foundation for all of the English skills. When a child's phonics improves, their reading, writing and speaking improves too. This in turn leads to increased confidence and a greater motivation to learn.
After talking to this mother, I discovered that her daughter's previous teacher had never conducted an initial assessment and that she had just been placed on a level in the English course that "most children her age would benefit from."
The child's weak points had never been identified...
She had NO confidence in herself or her abilities.
With a lack of confidence, she was demotivated to learn.
Her foundation of English skills was very, very weak and she was guided to build on this weak foundation, without every really fixing the core of the problem.
Although an assessment was key to success, I explained to this mother that there were other important things to focus on during class as well:
*Connecting with the student on a personal level
*Using different error correction techniques
*Using singing and varying tone of voice to help gain and keep the child's attention
*Making each lesson a fun and happy experience
*Using TPR (typical physical response) and images to convey meaning of new words and phrases
*Giving the student homework specifically designed to address problem areas discovered during class
*Creating an atmosphere where the student is not afraid to make mistakes or ask questions
After a few conversations, the mother agreed to start her daughter on 2 classes a week with me at Kiki Miller English.
We worked through the four stages of phonics learning and slowly but surely, we were able to solve the core problems she was experiencing.
She started on the Beginners level and gradually progressed to the higher levels in the curriculum.
The growth I have seen in her is remarkable.
During class she is confident and engaged.
What a privilege it has been to teach this little girl and I am so excited to see her future progress.
Teaching is a passion! I am so grateful to be living my passion each and every day!
