Teacher Joe

Teacher Joe's Three Steps to Success

Step 1: Input

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Listen and read

!The more you listen, the better your speaking will be. The more you read, the morevocabulary you will have. Listen to songs, DVDs, or Joe's Jokes. Read newspapersand magazines on the Internet. Let the world be your teacher.

Step 2: Processing - Think!

Don't just listen and read passively. THINK about the meaning - the deeper meaningof words and expressions. Make an IMAGE in your brain. Think about how you canuse the words and sentences in the future.

Step 3: Output - Respond!

Respond by speaking our writing. You can talk to your friends or even talk toyourself! Write an email to a friend, or keep a diary every day. Or you can practice"rapid response" by playing one of Joe's Games.

Problems to avoid when learning English

Do not memorize word lists. You will forget most of the words and will not be able touse the other words correctly. Instead, learn words IN CONTEXT - learn by readingand listening to stories.Do not try to use difficult vocabulary too soon. If you do, you will make manymistakes. Start speaking by using basic vocabulary and sentence patterns.Do not recite out loud, unless your pronunciation is already very good. If your pronunciation is not good, you will be practicing mistakes! Instead, listen and repeatEnglish until you can pronounce smoothly.

How to Control a Conversation

The key to controlling a conversation is using questions well. Good students knowhow to ask the right question at the right time. After reading this article, you will beable to start conversations easily and keep the conversation going smoothly evenwhen you don't understand everything.

The best way to begin a conversation is by using "yes / no" questions. The goal is tofind some common topics of interest, so that your conversation is enjoyable for both partners. Think about a topic that interests you, and which you think might interestyour conversation partner. Use "yes / no" questions to find out if your new friend isinterested in the same thing. For example, if you like a particular kind of music, youcould ask questions such as these:

Do you like blues music? Have you ever listened to B.B. King?

Do you know where I can listen to live music?

Are you interested in jazz?

Any question starting with "Do", "Did", "Are", "Is", "Can", "Will", or "Have" can bea good start to a conversation. However, such questions are just the beginning. Youmust listen for your partner's answer, then "follow-up" with a more specific question,usually using "what", "when", "where", "who" or "why". So, if your partner says thathe or she does like the blues, you can then ask, "Whose music do you like?". If your partner does NOT like blues, then you might ask something like, "What kind of musicdo you like?". You must always have a "follow-up" question ready. If not, theconversation could come to a quick end. Now, as the conversation moves along, you might have some communication problems. What should you do then? Again, asking the right question is veryimportant. Here are some key questions that you MUST use whenever you havetrouble:

Could you repeat that please?

More informally, we can ask, "What did you say?". Often with friends we might onlysay "What?". Even if you use informal language, you can make it polite by startingwith "Excuse me" or "Pardon me".

Could you speak more slowly please?

This is obviously a good question, but don't use it too often. If you really have troubleunderstanding somebody, you might think about buying some good cassettes andworking to improve your listening comprehension skills. DVDs and VCDs are alsogood practice for advanced students.

How do you spell blah blah blah?

Maybe you know the word, but you've only seen it in writing. If you hear the spelling,you might understand.

What does blah blah blah mean?

If you can't catch the word exactly, you can say "that" instead of the word. (Don'treally say "blah blah blah"! That's just a "filler"!)

Do you mean to say blah blah blah?

If you think you understand, but you're not sure, you can repeat your partner's idea indifferent words. Then you will know from his or her response whether you were rightor not. If instead you just say, "I don't think I understand", then the conversation willcome to a stop.

Paraphrasing

During our previous lesson, we explained how to control a conversation. By usingquestions skillfully, you can keep a conversation flowing smoothly. However, whathappens when you forget a word? Many times, when a student can't remember aword, the conversation comes to a sudden stop as he or she seeks the right word. Thisis totally unnecessary. All you need to do when you are stuck is to paraphrase, that is,you need to use other, simpler words to explain your meaning.Imagine you are talking to someone from another country. He does not speak Chinese,so you cannot explain in your mother tongue. You have forgotten the word"impossible". Maybe you say "intentional" or "imperfect" by mistake, and your partner doesn't understand you. How can you paraphrase the idea? You might say, "Imean, when something cannot be done, or there's no way to do something". Youmight give an example. "We can fly in an airplane, but there's no way we can fly byusing our arms, right?". I think your partner can guess that you mean "impossible".Let's practice with some easy words. How could you paraphrase the words below inthe simplest, most direct way? Think about each word before looking at my answers.

banana ..... camera ..... run ..... hello ..... tomorrow

Here's how I would explain these words:1. banana: it's a long yellow fruit, often eaten by monkeys.2. camera: it's a little machine for taking pictures.3. run: we can walk slowly, but if we are in a hurry, we can pick our feet up and move