What Can You Do?

English language students, you can't live with them, you can't do without them. What's a
frustrated English as a Foreign or Second language teacher going to do? English language
teachers, there are good ones, so-so ones and then there are those that justice would only
prevail if they were permanently excused from the classroom. So what's a near-desperate
English as a foreign language learner to do?

Critical Problems

Here are the first three of the English language learning classroom's most critical problems
with comments on what might be done in dealing or managing each one. We'll continue the
discussion of the final two critical problems in ELT in a second article.

1. Lack of Learner Motivation

Students skip class, and when they do show up it's likely due to fear of failure more than
anything else. They may lack any semblance of attention during class, chatting with
classmates, doodling in their note books or, (gasp!) in their textbooks. What experienced
English or other foreign language teaching professional hasn't faced the problem of reluctant,
unmotivated learners? One key to increasing motivation is to use activities matched to the
personalities, learning styles and characteristics of the learners as often as practically
possible.

2. Insufficient Time, Resources and Materials

You know the old adage, "you can never be too rich, too thin or have enough English or
foreign language vocabulary. So what can you do when charged with teaching English or a
foreign language in only one or two hours per week? One of the only times that was ever
successfully accomplished was with the pouring out of Holy Spirit on the apostles during
Pentecost. (Acts 2:1 - 11) Add too little time to a decided lack of resources and virtually zero
other resources in many third-world classrooms and you have a critical teaching / learning
situation indeed. But there are ways, even on the lowest budget, of producing virtually free or
very inexpensive English language teaching and learning aids for use in the EFL or foreign
language classroom.

3. Over-Crowded English Classes

The number of learners in a class room can range from one, for those who teach individual
private learners, to 15 or twenty learners in a typical classroom up to "multitudes of 35 or
forty or even fifty or more learners packed into a language leaning situation. Forget anything
even remotely resembling "individual attention". Either the throng "gets it" or they don't with
little available to the teacher. When I'm faced with over-sized groups I immediately
implement strategies using choral, small group and pair work to help in lessening the load on
both me and my large group of learners. I also separate out a few of the more "advanced"
learners to help me with group work elements. It doesn't solve all the problems, but it's a
good start.

Your Ideas, Suggestions and Comments, Please

While it would be absolutely impossible to provide detailed answers to such critical, world-
wide problems in the English language teaching and learning classroom here, we can
recognize our limitations and constraints, and collectively make an effort to address and
overcome them. If you have ideas on any of these problem topics, feel free to share them in
comments, e-mails, forums, ELT conferences and teacher meetings. Who knows, your voice
may be just the one to break open the problem with a universally workable approach or
solution.

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Larry M. Lynch is an English language teaching and learning expert author and university
professor in Cali, Colombia. Now YOU too can live your dreams in paradise, find romance,
high adventure and get paid while travelling for free. For more information on the lucrative,
fascinating field of teaching English as a Foreign Language, get your copy of his no-cost, full
multi-media, hypertext-linked pdf ebook, "If You Want to Teach English Abroad, Here's
What You Need to Know" by sending an e-mail to lynchlarrym@gmail.com with "free ELT
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1.2 Problems raised by teaching English in the

Senegalese context

Language teachers in Senegal daily meet a certain number of difficulties which impede them
from doing their jobs in the normal way. English teachers suffer a lot from this situation
because the language that they teach is the second language and that it is not used all the
time. The problems that English teachers are today faced with are numerous. One of the most
obvious is the lack of motivation of the students. This is really a problem because when
students lack motivation there is nothing that the teacher can do to help them no matter how
courageous he or she may be. Teaching English when students are not motivated is really a
boring task and this will not give the teacher the strength to continue what he or she is doing.

When students are reluctant to learn it will not easy for the teacher to provide knowledge with
the students because students are not in a position to acquire knowledge. When students are
not motivated in the class they disturb the classroom atmosphere and this may have negative
impact on the learning of the motivated students.

Lack of motivation of students is really problematic in our classrooms and it due mainly to
many factors which are internal and external to our school system. It is imperative that today
English teachers should take into account this problem because it is really an impediment and
an obstacle to our teaching system.
Apart from this fact, there are other problems that teachers of English meet. We can lay the
stress on the fact that today most schools are ill equipped and this really a problem. In most
schools, particularly in schools which are in rural areas, there are not enough books for
students. When there are not enough books, one can imagine the disastrous conditions that
teachers and students are going to work. Books are vital in English teaching in Senegal
because the syllabus is focused on books which are called Go for English. In most schools, a
group of four or five students has to share one book and this will not facilitate the English
teaching because when books lack, problems are bound to happen. Lack of books is not the
only problems. We can add that lack of hand-outs which are most of the time frequent in
many schools because there are no photocopiers.

Hand-outs are very important in the language teaching because they help and illustrate what
has been taught to students. Sometimes handouts are pictures or maps which are really
helpful as they enable students to understand in a very quickly way

The insufficiency of teachers of English in schools is another problem that has to be taken
into account. In some schools teachers are really understaffed and the ones who are available
will not spend all the time teaching because when they spend all their time teaching they will
be in the long run, feel tired. When in a school, English teachers are understaffed; the
students' learning of the language is not efficient. By dint of hard work, you will finally be
exhausted. English teachers are understaffed and educational authorities should take this
matter more seriously and hire new English teachers.

The training of the new English teachers is really important because it has a part to play in the
learning of the students. It is so problematic when teachers are hired and sent to schools
without basic training.

We can also point out that it is really difficult to teach English when students tend to use their
mother tongue. In Senegal schools, students use French or just their mother tongue. French
and mother tongue's is so conspicuous and recurrent that when you want to teach English you
will face problems. We have to lay emphasis on the fact that some students use or mother
tongue with the complicity of teachers of English. This kind of teaching English will not be
efficient because English is mixed with other languages. Some students because they are
afraid or ashamed of making mistakes, they express either in French or in their mother
tongues. We see this situation when students are asked to conduct activities in pair work or
group work. Because most of the time when students do pair work or group work activities
and the teacher is not in the group, students use continuously their mother tongues when in
fact a language is to be spoken permanently if you want to have a high command of the
language.

Teachers of English should be more cautious and attentive with students' use of their mother
tongue in a place and at a time when they should practise their English, it will become really
problematic.

Another problem of the English teachers is that the national syllabus does not sit with our
cultural, values so much so that it will not be easy for the teachers of English to teach
students realities different to the ones they know. When cultural realities are so different,
students will have problems to get sense of direction and to know where the teacher wants to
lead them. The national syllabus has to take that into consideration because when teachers
want to teach English through other realities, students will be in difficulty as far as the
English handling is concerned.

Culture is something that is very important in such extent that when students are estranged
from their culture, they will be at a loss and under such circumstances learning is so hard.

It is necessary today authorities have in mind that only by focusing the syllabus on our
culture can it be advantageous and beneficial to the English teachers as well as the students.

Parents' lack of involvement in the education of the students is sometimes a problem that has
to be considered. In rural areas, home schooling is non-existent and some parents do not care
about their children's education. This situation does not help the teacher because learning
should be permanent. Students, whether at home or at school, they should always learn. At
school teacher can control the student and make him work. Some students after school have
to go to their fields to help their families in rural areas. Sometimes parents are not facilitators;
they are just obstacles and impediments in their students learning

http://www.memoireonline.com/09/10/3914/m_The-impact-of-songs-and-games-in-english-
language-teaching3.html