Improve Spoken English With Native Teacher Lisa

Describe your past experiences helping students improve Spoken English.

I previous worked in Vietnam teaching Business Spoken English for 5 years and also conducted private lessons to all ages. Before that, I have been teaching Spoken English in Korea for 3 years. On and off, I have also done private accent reduction classes for students over Skype. I have taught working professionals as well as young adults between ages 9 and 17. Helping students improve Spoken English has been what I have done primarily in my teaching career.

Tell us more about your education?

I have a Bachelors of Arts in Education from University of Washington and a Masters in Psychology from Clark University, Massachusetts . I also completed my TESOL certification through the American TESOL institute.

How would you describe a typical English Lesson you would conduct online?

I would allow the students to determine what exactly they think is the best path to take. Different students have different goals – some are preparing for an exam like GRE or TOEFL. Some want to improve their accent and pronunciation.  During the trial lesson, they can let me know what they think their level is, what their interests are, and if there is anything in particular that they would like to study for. So from their information as well as my observations, I would be able to design a lesson plan (vocabulary, grammar, role plays, lexis,  phonetic etc) and go from there.

Nothing is set in stone. I’d allow it to be flexible to suit the students need and we will dive in to more advanced areas of English such as idioms and slang once we have the foundation set.

What are your favorite conversation topics?

History, TED Talks, Pets, Technology, Mythology, Current events, Culture, Camping, Healthy lifestyles Imaginary situations, Sociology, Politics. It will be a mixture of light, casual topics and advanced, intellectual topics.

In your experience, what area in English do ESL students struggle the most? Grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation? Or is it putting all of it together in real time?

I think Grammar, Vocabulary and Pronunciation are equally important to learn English.

However, in my experience, pronunciation is key when improving Spoken English. People who can pronounce words better, are more likely to have other people help them understand what they are talking about, even if they don’t necessarily use the word in the correct format. It also helps them understand how words can sound the same and rhyme, causing a memorization from alliteration.

What advice would you offer English language learners who want to improve Spoken English?

Enjoy the process of learning and don’t be afraid to speak the language. You cannot be fluent in English without practicing speaking with native speakers.

Expose yourself to a wide array of learning methods – audio books, role plays, word lists, software, apps etc. Listen to audio tapes and watch videos that have captions in the target language.

Do not get discouraged! Improving English speaking skills will take time. Mastering Spoken English can be fun when you realize that it is not necessarily proper in conversation, only in writing. Practice conversational English with other students so it can become second nature to you when you hear others speak it. Ask lots of questions and look for analogies so you can assimilate it into your native language.

A little bit about what you like to do when you are not teaching English.

When I’m not teaching English, I enjoy going to the movies and seeing the newest movies. I’m an avid traveler and have been to over 6 countries in the last year – Peru, Brazil, Argentina, India, Japan and Taiwan. I love learning about culture, languages and cuisine.  This year I’m planning to climb mount Kilimanjaro.

What kind of students do you prefer?

I prefer students who are determined to improve Spoken English and are ready to start speaking right away. As I mentioned earlier, if you are not willing to practice speaking, you can’t become fluent in English.

February 11, 2016