Native English with Alex

Психология изучения английского языка: психолингвистический подход. 💭

Психология + лингвистика = изучение ума и языка. 🧠🗣

3 основных принципа:

1️⃣Овладение языком: овладение родным или вторым языком;

2️⃣Языковое восприятие: понимание и интерпретация языка;

3️⃣Образование устной и письменной речи на соответствующем языке: формирование и выражение смысла на соответствующем языке.

🤗Вам нравится психология, обучение и языки, подписывайтесь на мой Инстаграм и ставьте лайкьи!✅

I can understand English, but I can’t speak! 🤐

The most infamous problem for adult learners… Let me break it down:

Understanding is a passive skill (reading and listening). It needs some special practice but it develops much faster than other skills. Think about children, from the day they are born they spend 18 to 20 months just listening to sounds before they make a word. 👶

This would mean that you can understand BETTER than you can speak. So, why CAN’T you speak? (active skill)

1️⃣Not enough time to practice speaking in previous study. I can imagine your teacher spent most of the lesson explaining grammar, eg. the difference between “I’ve lived” and “I’ve been living," when there is NO difference… You’ve had lots of listening practice but little speaking practice. All my lessons are communicative, even writing lessons. 🗣
2️⃣It takes me too long to make sentences in my head. I have sympathy for you, for you have been the victim of the authoritarian oppressive discriminative grammar-arch. (If you get that joke👍). NO ONE speaks any language like this. Do you do this in your native language? Yes, occasionally to double check if it sounds right. What happens though, is over time we recognise which words often go together, which phrases we often use and we remember these, not grammar rules. This is called the LEXICAL APPROACH, practicing these phrases and words helps you to speak more naturally without thinking of rules, you can produce it from your memory much more easily. ✅
3️⃣A psychological block. Let’s be honest, probably you CAN speak but there is something stopping you. Fear of making mistakes, something uncomfortable in the environment, no one to speak to , etc. I recently posted about anxiety and techniques associated with this concern. Let me add this… 👩‍🎓Learning English and to speak is actually learning how to communicate AGAIN. We learnt to speak as children through a natural process, still it was a challenge. But we had support and guidance. 👫

So, I am very psychological in my approach to teaching, because it is a deeply PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPERIENCE to learn how to communicate.

Why can’t you speak?

Anxiety in English

What I mean by anxiety:
1. An uncomfortable feeling
2. A feeling of worry about the future

Most importantly it is a feeling. To feel anxious is ok👍Anxiety is not a weakness👎Anxiety is not unhealthy👎Anxiety is not strange👎Anxiety is not disadvantageous👎

🧠Anxiety is simply part of our experience and…. It is useful! (Keep reading to find out why)

Now, everyone has their own personal reasons why they feel anxious, especially with foreign languages. Here are some I have encountered in my time teaching:

-Expecting negative evaluation from the teacher or peers
-Interacting with natives speakers
-Expecting oneself to speak perfectly but unable to do so
-Repeating past mistakes despite knowing the correct form

💡This is why anxiety is useful, it can help us understand what techniques and methods are most effective for our learning.

👨‍💼Firstly, I consider a relationship between students and teachers built on trust, mutual respect and understanding as the most effective tool for learning. An example is, if you feel anxious because of potential negative feedback, I’m going to listen and discuss what we can do to find the feedback style which works for you (indirect, the focus of the feedback, etc.). Other techniques to reduce anxiety I’ve implemented:

* Building a learning community and group support
* Immediacy between students and from the teacher
* Constructive feedback
* Genuine praise
* Accepting yourself and others as they are
* Protecting your self worth (“I am cool!” is a useful mantra)😎

Tell me, what makes you feel anxious when you learn English? I am ready to listen and answer any questions you may have👂