10 February 2015 / by Radmila Gurkova

ESL teaching through the eyes of Cynthia Amuneke from Nigeria

My name is Cynthia Chinonso Amuneke. I am 29 years old, Nigerian by birth and a public relations officer by profession. I love meeting with people and relating with them in different circumstances and situations and also see how I can be of use to them and the organization I work for. I have also had teaching experience when I freshly graduated from the university and was waiting for my results and my call up for national youth service. I developed my passion for teaching during this period of teaching primary school students, I had the satisfaction and pleasure of transmitting knowledge and satisfying their curiosities about nature and environment in social studies. I really enjoyed the experience.

I admire organizations and foundations who inspire and fund the education of children in Africa, their impact on so many young lives cannot be over stated. I feel that education is the key to the development of a nation, a major means of eradicating poverty and creating equality of all nations. Hopefully in the nearest future I would like to co-found a non governmental organisation that will build schools for free and quality education for girls in my country.

Teaching English for me is all about helping individual learners understand the language and putting it into functional use, this can be achieved by using the communicative approach where students are encouraged to talk to learn not learn to talk. There is no use of learning a language where one cannot use it to express basic ideas and feelings without inhibitions.

Cynthia Amuneke: In my opinion children should be exposed to the language from their kindergarten ages and teachers are to become bilingual so that the use of native language is reduced in schools.

C.A.: ESL teaching in my country is different from that of Spain in the sense that we are taught to use the language from an early stage, everything we are being taught is in English and the use of native tongue is restricted in schools, L1 is only used by teachers in few cases when trying to check for comprehension or when students give ideas in L1 then the teacher reformulate in English language. In fact one is considered a good student if he can speak and write the language very well in class.

C.A.: One of the biggest challenges of a teacher is knowing what to teach and how to make sure that the lesson is well transmitted in class and understood by students. I would overcome this by making a lesson plan that corresponds to the level am teaching and their age group. With the age and level factors in mind I would include topics, vocabulary and structure activities that will interest and engage them in class.

C.A.: As a professional teacher, one should be grounded in different methodologies and approaches in teaching and know when to apply them in English language teaching. A good teacher should also identify the individual needs and goals of students and their different learning styles in order to prepare very well for each lesson and achieve good learning outcome. A professional teacher should be passionate about teaching and help motivate students by being patient, knowledgeable, empathetic, a guide, play maker and a good conversationalist.

Schools on the other hand should provide good environment for learning to be conducive, employ qualified teachers, provide books and other materials necessary for learning and setting rules and regulations governing the school which may include the use of native languages or not, types of sanctions given to students for bad conducts and rewards given to the good ones.

C.A.: A memorable experience for me in my ESL teaching was in my last class of my teaching practice at OxbridgeTEFL. Usually I struggled with my low level classes and also a bit with pre-intermediate students. On my very last class I had a pre-intermediate student who started to make use of the target languages I taught before the end of the class, I took time to explain each and everyone of them and talked in slow pace which my supervisors always corrected me on. To my surprise she began to ask me questions with them when we were having another activity and she used them so freely and naturally although it was her first time of encountering those words and phrases. After the class I was so fulfilled and happy to have transmitted knowledge which was understood and put into use and I hope all my classes will improve especially with beginners.

C.A.: I advice new teachers and those who have the interest of becoming ESL teachers to always be confident and try to be knowledgeable in whatever you are going to for each class and prepare your lessons very well. When in class try to identify with each and every student and try to carry everyone along. Finally at the end of each class check for comprehension to know if the lesson was understood or not.

OxTEFL: Best of luck in your ESL career!

30

November 2011

HAKE HOAX? - Get Your Teeth Into This Topic!!

by Radmila Gurkova

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwyQC71vfxA Consumers in Spain trust the mild-flavored white flesh of hake, which is the most popular fish in a country that eats more seafood than almost any other in Europe. Hake is considered safe for pregnant women, and kids crunch into the cod-like fillets as fishsticks. “There’s trust because of the cul...

30

November 2011

A Cutting Story for a great Topic

by Radmila Gurkova

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28jvlBA0RMk&feature=youtube_gdata_player Here is something to 'highlight' your day!!!! A documentary movie showcasing one of the best known names in global hairdressing to date - Vidal Sassoon. They say that Vidal Sassoon is more than just a hairdresser - he's a rock star...

29

November 2011

English tips #15 Brother-in-law. PLURAL?

by Radmila Gurkova

What is the Plural Form of Brother-in-law? The most common mistake made in English. What is the plural of brother-in-law? My brother-in-law's or My Brothers-in-law? The co...

29

November 2011

Happy and You Know it

by Radmila Gurkova

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ2aEF337tY And what about starting the new week with this funny song with easy vocabulary. Pay attention to the musical instruments and the words related to likes and dislikes. And if you've listened carefully... ... you'll be able to ans...

28

November 2011

English tips #14 I and Me

by Radmila Gurkova

The two pronouns are often wron...

25

November 2011

Friday Fun: 'Romans Go Home'

by Radmila Gurkova

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIAdHEwiAy8 Seeing as it's Friday I thought it would be time to post something for a bit of fun! Hopefully you've all seen the excellent 'Life of Brian' by the Monty Python guys. This is an excellent excerpt from the film where 'Brian' is having difficulty with his Latin grammar and conjugations! Hopefully yo...

25

November 2011

English tips #13 Good and Well

by Radmila Gurkova

GOOD and WELL (Often confused by native and non-native speakers) Good is an adjective - It describes nouns ...

24

November 2011

English tips #12 Tag questions

by Radmila Gurkova

Tag questions can be difficult, can't they? A tag question consists of two parts: 1. a statement and a short yes/no question. 2. the two parts are separated with a comma. ...

24

November 2011

Spain's Lost Babies

by Radmila Gurkova

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51Hf-woEDeg How much are children worth to you - especially your own child?! In recent news..... Spanish society has been shaken by allegations of theft of thousands of babies by nuns, priests and doctors, which started under Franco and continued up the 1990's. More then 900 cases are being ...

24

November 2011

Who is your Hero or Heroine?

by Radmila Gurkova

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGt5iiEsThk What is a Hero or Heroine and what is the definition? A hero or heroine is......."A man or woman of distinguished courage or ability, admired for their brave deeds and noble qualities" or "A person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities o...

Inicio

Contact us

10 February 2015 / by Radmila Gurkova

ESL teaching through the eyes of Cynthia Amuneke from Nigeria

30

30

29

29

28

25

25

24

24

24