Teach English in JiAngpulu Jiedao - Shanghai Shi

Problems for learners in AustriaI have been teaching english as a Second Language part-time in Graz, Austria for 5 years. Through the course of these lessons, I have come across a few common errors and learning difficulties, some of which occur with students from other language backgrounds as well but some which are more particular to German speakers. I will present just a few of the problematic areas for Austrian students wanting to learn english in this paper including present simple third person ?s?, present perfect and the correct pronunciation of ?th? sounds, as well as give some useful exercises and ideas to assist in teaching these grammatical points and pronunciation skills. The third form of the present simple tense is often difficult for students to remember, even from different language backgrounds, as it is the only form in present simple that requires an ?s? at the end of the verb. Even advanced Austrian students commonly forget to add the ?s? when talking or writing in english in the third form, simple present tense. For example, German speakers often say, ?He walk to school everyday.? instead of ?He walks to school everyday.? From the moment I teach my students present simple with ?he, she, it?, I continue to drill this form. I have found that continually reviewing and practicing ?he?, ?she? and ?it? sentences is the best way to resolve this area of difficulty. I also teach my students the German saying, ?He, she, it?dass ?s? geht mit?. In english this is roughly translated into, ?He, she, it?the ?s? comes with.? It rhymes well in German and is especially useful for school-age students. For German speakers, the present perfect is particularly tricky as this tense does not exist in the German language. The idea of an auxiliary verb is not foreign to German speakers but understanding the difference between the past tense and the present perfect has to be explained well and practiced frequently to ensure proper use. Using a time line on the board and stressing the notion of a completed event in the past for simple past and an action that is not completely finished or is encompassed in a time frame that is not yet over for present perfect, for example? So far today,?? helps to clarify the difference. Another difficulty in the use of the present perfect includes sentences that involve the verb ?have?. It is quite common for German speakers, and perhaps other non-native learners of english, to forget to use the third form of have ? thus complete the conjugation of the present tense. So for example, they often say or write, ?I have breakfast today.? instead of, ?I have had breakfast today.? Thus, it is important to drill similar sentences when teaching this tense form and remind students that the present perfect is comprised of ?have + third form of the verb? even if the verb being used is ?have?. It may sound ?silly? to German speakers, but it is correct english and that should be explicitly mentioned and practiced. The final difficulty for Austrian and German speaking learners that I will address in this essay is the pronunciation of ?th? sounds. As this sound is not common in the German language, it is difficult for German speakers to produce it, especially if they are no longer young learners. For young learners, it is sometimes sufficient to slowly and clearly, with exaggerated mouth movements, make ?th? sounds and have them repeat it, alone and in combination with other sounds to produce words in english. However, for older learners and young learners who have difficulties with this sound production, it is possible to help learners generate this sound by telling them to touch their tongue to their front teeth. As a teacher, you can practice this with students by starting with the ?l? sound which requires touching your tongue to the palate. Then have students move their tongues to their teeth. If that does not work, you can emphasis this notion of touching your front teeth with your tongue by telling your students to bite their tongues to produce this sound. Once you have accomplished this, you can then practice common ?th? words such as ?the?, ?this? and ?theatre?. These are a few examples of common mistakes and areas of difficulty for Austrians and German learners of the english language and some methods to address these difficulties and overcome them in order to speak english properly and clearly.