Teaching Spanish and Italian Students at Twenix
OK so tell me, what is it like to teach Spanish and Italian students?
It’s a very rewarding experience. Classes are fun and the students have a great attitude, most students are keen to learn and want to enjoy themselves while doing so!
Ole! So classes are all talking about Sangria and Paella, Prosecco and Pizza? That sounds like a piece of tiramisu…
Well, it is and it isn’t. It’s not all talking about the student’s homeland and finding out how great it is to go on holiday there and asking endless questions about what it’s like to actually live there. While students are very proud of where they are from, they prefer to talk about other things in class.
Really….such as??
Well, this varies a lot. At Twenix there are so many great micro-courses that students can choose from that fall under two categories; Business English or General English. Interestingly, Italian students are more likely to choose business related topics linked to their job/industry, such as auditing or pharmaceutical testing while Spanish students are more across the board, a mix of both.
What else do you notice about the students in the classroom?
Well, both really value honest and natural conversation and they like to talk, which is great! Some are chattier than others but contrary to popular belief, Spanish students are actually quite shy in the classroom. There is often a lack of confidence in their speaking skills as their schooling was very much “listen and repeat”. They have such a wide range of vocabulary and grammar but tend not to use it as it’s locked deep down at the back of their mind, waiting to be dusted off and given the chance and the confidence to be set free.
The two languages are said to be similar, do you notice similarities in the errors they make?
Hmmm… That’s an interesting question. There are definitely some overlapping similarities, yes!
Can you expand on that a little more…
OK so, pronunciation wise, both languages are very phonetic, they sound how they look. English is not. Which makes it more difficult for them. The past simple and adjective forms of regular verbs (-ed endings) are a bit of a headache as they often add an extra syllable to the word unnecessarily. The letter ‘h’ is silent in both languages, Spanish students will often pronounce this as a guttural sound whereas Italian students will omit the sound altogether or even use it in words where there is no ‘h’ at all. In English ‘th’ has two different pronunciations depending on the word, θ and ð. This causes problems as these sounds don’t exist in either Spanish or Italian and will often be pronounced as a ‘t’, ‘d’ or even ‘v’ sound.
What can you do to help them in class?
If I notice that a student is making a repeated pronunciation error, I’ll write it in the chat and draw their attention to it at the end of the lesson in the feedback stage and have a quick practice. I also gauge the student’s comprehension level and grade my language and/or speed accordingly. Curiously, students who regularly watch TV in the original version (in this case English), have clearer and more native like pronunciation. They tend to use more contractions and connected speech. Obviously, having regular interactions in English (with Twenix of course) will also help! So I often suggest that students do this as a way of integrating English into their everyday life without feeling like they have to do an extra thing on top of their already busy schedules. They love it when you can give them quick tips to improve!
You mentioned something about listening also being a struggle for them…
Yes, even though I used to ask students to tell me to slow down or repeat something, most were often too embarrassed to do so as they desperately wanted to try to understand. Now I start off slow and then grade my language and pace accordingly. So if I hear them go off topic, or reply with one word answers where they could really have responded with a lot more, I think to myself “have they actually understood the question?”.
Ah good point, any more useful tips?
Above everything, be open and be yourself. Our students are quite curious and will often ask you questions about you and where you are from as they like to compare cultures and learn about customs from other countries. Twenix isn’t just about learning English for them. It’s an opportunity to expand their global knowledge and talk to someone they would possibly never normally have the opportunity to do so.