The Idiosyncrasies of the English Language (The Silent L)
If you’re working with an English tutor, chances are that you don’t yet know the word “idiosyncracies.” No worries, since many native-born Americans might not be able to explain it either. It refers to a thing’s or a person’s special, unique or unusual qualities or characteristics. The point is that the English language is loaded with them. For sure, this article could never list and explain them all. Let’s just focus today on one of those that show up in pronunciation today.
One big idiosyncrasy of the English language is the Silent L in many of our words, especially in many of the words we use on a daily basis. While we continue to spell certain words with an “L” we do not pronounce the “L”. For some strange reason this fact is not taught in most ESL or English language classes.
Examples are: salmon, half, walk, talk, chalk, calm, palm, calf, half, could, should and would. I am always amazed at how ESL students try and manage to include the “L” in these words, as they believe they are supposed to. Yet I cannot make my tongue and mouth pronounce these same words with the “L.” In any case, hopefully this new knowledge this will simplify your life in some miniscule (tiny; very small) way.
When choosing a tutor, you want to be careful. For one, you are making a financial investment, so you want it to count. Secondly, you have a specific need and probably a time-sensitive one, so you cannot afford to waste time.
Think back over the best teachers you’ve had in your life. What makes them stand out? How did they make you feel? What was it about them that made you engage and stay connected?
The following eight qualities in a tutor will guarantee that you make a positive connection, that you feel energized in your sessions, and that you continue to learn:
A Great Tutor is Caring – The best tutors care about you as a person and not just someone to fill the space between 1:00 and 2:00. If something is off with your learning or in your life, it may affect the learning, and a good tutor can sense when something is distracting you. In certain situations, and if it seems appropriate to you, the caring tutor may be able to offer suggestions or, at the very least, just listen to you.
A Great Tutor Asks the Right Questions – By asking many questions – and the right questions – we can learn what you know and what you don’t know or what you may have learned the wrong way.
A Great Tutor Listens Carefully to What You Say and Don’t Say– When you talk, the tutor should be listening for your pronunciation, for your use and knowledge of American English expressions, for words you leave out, for habits from your native language that are now in your English, for the size of your vocabulary and the types of words you know and don’t know, and many more. While listening and allowing you to speak freely and comfortably, the tutor should be taking a lot of notes, so that he or she can introduce the errors along with ways to fix them.
A Great Tutor Knows When to Introduce New Material – A good vocabulary is one of the most important parts of speaking a language fluently. But vocabulary has to be introduced in a variety of different ways and at just the right time.
A Great Tutor is Enthusiastic about Teaching and You Feel It – Your tutor must demonstrate a love of teaching and tutoring, and this is obvious (clear) to you. This is an important part of what keeps you, the student, connected to the teacher and to the material being taught.
A Great Tutor Motivates – Students can always reach plateaus, and they can often reach points in their studies where they are not highly motivated as they once were. The good tutor senses this and makes changes – whether to the curriculum, the tone, the pace, or the methodology – to “jump start” (like with the engine of a car that has died) the student again to find the excitement and enthusiasm he or she once had for the language learning.
A Great Tutor Teaches Students to be Independent – As with any mentor, therapist, teacher, and advisor, the end goal must be to help push the student to the point where he or she can function without the help the teacher is providing. It is easy to keep a student dependent, but the challenge is to bring the student to a point as quickly as possible where the student can develop the skills and function on a higher level without the outside help.
A Great Tutor Offers Different Methods for Learning – If you are trying to improve your speech, a resourceful tutor may ask you to describe an experience multiple times, going faster each time. Or, the tutor may ask you what you would do in a certain difficult situation, or how you would explain to a friend how to make or build something. Each different exercise involves some different skills, and using a combination of skills will get you to your goal of fluency faster.
Executive coaching is not for everyone, especially when it comes to improving one’s English communications, specifically speaking and writing. It is more advanced, more sophisticated, and more concentrated than typical coaching or tutoring. It needs to be, since business and professional people often have non-negotiable timelines and precise, immediate issues.
Business Experience
Executives and professionals who engage executive coaches to improve their English place value on working with specialists who are steeped in standard business practices and the expectations on business people to express themselves directly, effectively and succinctly. These specialists must also have an arsenal of tools and techniques, as well as the insight to know how and where to use them best, to help the client achieve his or her goals and objectives.
Teaching Skills
The most successful coaches also have an understanding of best pedagogical practices, which is the knowledge and awareness that come from studying education, from experience teaching, and from regular reflection on those experiences.
ESL Expertise
Two requirements for executive English coaches are academic training and practical classroom experience teaching ESL (English as a Second Language). This is because there are principles involved with teaching ESL that must be learned and practiced. For example, while the English language consists of five vowels, it is a mistake to assume – as many students and teachers do – that there are only five vowel sounds. In fact, in American English there are 14 different vowel sounds, not five!
That’s one thing that makes learning to speak English complicated. It’s easy for English Learners to get hung up with the American vowel sounds, and vowels are what makes words understandable. Getting these straight can mean the difference between being easily understood and being misunderstood or, worse, being ignored by a frustrated listener.
So, the next time you are faced with a decision as to which English coach to hire to advance your business and professional needs, think about evaluating the coaches on the basis of their business background, their teaching experience, and their training in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages).
ESL Competitive Edge 