Hello again!
It’s been quite a while since I last updated this blog, sorry - I’ve discovered that Berlin is a very good city for writers… So I’ve been writing a lot for fun, distracting me from writing for work. I suppose there’s something ironic in there!
Since I last updated this blog, I went back to Liverpool for one month to teach at a summer school, and now I’m back in Berlin for the new school year. While teaching in Britain, my students came from around the world, from Kuwait to Slovakia, and I didn’t understand any of their native languages. Here in Berlin, however, almost all of my students are native German speakers and I speak a little German myself; this has led to me thinking about whether, if at all, a teacher should use their students’ native language.
On the internet, there are a lot of potential EFL teachers asking for (and receiving) advice regarding whether you can teach in a country whose language you don’t speak. They are routinely told that yes, you can teach another language if you only speak English yourself, but that a second language is important for understanding the struggle learners face, and for living comfortably in, and integrating into, another culture. There is less discussion (although of course it exists) about whether a teacher should ever use the students’ mother tongue in the classroom.
Of course, most schools advise very strongly that students shouldn’t speak in their mother tongue, but the teacher’s use of that language is a matter of more debate. I am in two minds towards it; ideally I would have an all-English classroom. When I learn, I prefer to be completely immersed in the language, and I prefer my German friends to try to explain concepts and words in German, rather than offering a translation (though, of course, I sometimes cheat…). I am, however, a fairly confident adult making that choice myself. Many of my students are children, and so one must take that into consideration.
In some classes, particularly with older or more confident students, I will pretend that I don’t speak any German until the learners are used to speaking to me in English. I may reveal my upper-intermediate German later on to build rapport or foster a connection, but I try to avoid using it to teach as much as possible (though again, cheating can help, for example to save limited classroom time). In other classes, I will use a little German from the start, to help students who are shy, or to save time with ‘secondary’ vocabulary that isn’t the target of the lesson. For example, I may introduce myself (along with an English translation) and explain that I speak a little German, but not very much, so will be speaking almost entirely in English - I usually play down how much German I know to avoid the students relying on it. I may also use the odd piece of vocabulary (eg die tafel/blackboard) to save time, keep the students feeling comfortable and to keep them engaged - I feel there is a risk that students may ignore words they don’t understand, paying more attention to my body language; by speaking the occasional word in German I can ‘anchor’ their attention to the English translation. When I use German like this, I tend to ask the students for the German translation before I say it myself (even if I know it) - this reminds them that I am a language learner too, and tests if they have understood my meaning. It also gives me a sneaky chance to improve my German - I find learning enthusiastically helps me teach enthusiastically too!
On occasion, I have had teachers tell me that they have heard of parental or school complaints when a teacher is monolingual - regardless of the impact it has on teaching, knowing and using the students’ mother tongue may be a good PR move. I have had students who don’t understand what I am saying, but when I speak more slowly, encourage them to think carefully about my words, or rephrase what I have said, they get the meaning quickly - I think this is preferable to speaking to them in German, but it can lead to frustration and complaints if the students don’t have the same faith in their abilities and it can waste time on language that isn’t relevant to the lesson at hand.
That is just a brief overview of my experiences - and I’m sure teachers who are fully bilingual, or have been teaching in a country for years, will be able to weigh in with some points I haven’t been able to consider. What’s more, like most subjects as complicated as teaching, I doubt there is any one perfect ‘right’ answer - it will depend on the teacher, their students and a myriad of other factors; but however much of a non-English language you choose to use in the classroom, what I consider most important is that the reasons for using (or not using) it are carefully considered and understood… and besides, it’s awfully interesting to think about! Here are two links I found discussing the matter. Most of the material online is for teachers who don’t speak their country’s language. Feel free to send me any interesting discussions you find yourself.
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