“The program makes me a better teacher, and my students will get so much out of it after one school year… Know that there are eight wonderful 10th-graders a half a world away who are improving their English because of your program.”
Every time we do a lesson, I think about all the thought that went into all the sentences and stories. That’s amazing to me. My kids enjoy it. I think they like the confidence they get from reading and speaking in a structured program that builds their skills. My lowest reader is much more confident after just 4 months. I’m so proud of them when I go around listening to how well they’re reading to each other in pair work.
We might even get those v sounds ironed out before it’s over. You probably didn’t realize when you were preparing the program how difficult it would be for a Khmer speaker to say “vav” when there’s no v sound in their language. It’s good practice. And the speaking part helps me work on the consonant sounds at the ends of words that they’re prone to drop.
The practice sentences are structured so that they can be said/chanted like the lyrics of a song. My kids love music, and I tell them that English is a rhythmic language, unlike Khmer or Spanish for instance. They love to snap their fingers to a beat and practice the rhythmic fluency of English with the sentences.
I’ll let you know how things are progressing and how they score (and hopefully improve) on the second reading evaluation at the end of the year. As I may have mentioned, the program makes me a better teacher, and my students will get so much out of it after one school year.
For now, know that there are eight wonderful 10th-graders a half a world away who are improving their English because of your program.
P. V. / ESL teacher in Cambodia