Archive for November, 2009
English learning tips from Aviation English Asia
In this article I’m going to give some proven advice on language learning, and I’ll even give you my Top Five Tips for Developing Good English Learning Habits, so you can be successful in an airline career.
If you are reading this article, chances are that you are preparing to either take or re-take an ICAO English test. If you are not taking this test (it’s for pilots and air traffic controllers) then you will still find this advice very useful, no matter what your intended career. If you follow my advice, you can save a lot of time and money in learning English.
Let me start this article by telling you a few things about me, that maybe you don’t know. The first time I learned a foreign language was in high school, back in the UK – I was supposed to learn French. I was actually quite good at French because I was good at mimicking (copying) sounds. My teacher didn’t see it that way though, in fact my teacher never saw or heard me speak French at all. There were too many other students (about 30 in a class) and they were all of mixed levels. The teacher never gave us any opportunity to practice speaking in French to each other, we just watched her write on the board and occasionally copied her in choral repetition (repeating words as a group). I only learned French for two years, and I was glad to drop the subject. I didn’t particularly hate learning French, but I just didn’t feel motivated to learn it, or didn’t feel any great need to learn it.
I didn’t learn another foreign language again for a long time. I chose to learn Mandarin in evening classes at my university. I learned Mandarin for 2 hours per week, for 8 months. There were about 15 people in the class and they all became great friends. Naturally a few people dropped out, because they were busy with their careers but most of us managed to stick together as a group and help each other. Of course, this was in London so there wasn’t much opportunity to practice speaking in Mandarin day to day.
In each class we were told to memorise a list of words both in pin yin (romanised) and as hanzi (Chinese characters). Within weeks we were told to not use the romanised characters, just remember the Chinese characters. In each lesson we would often have to memorise 20 or more hanzi and be able to read and pronounce them correctly. Very few of us managed to do this and we forgot a lot of them, probably because they were words that we would never use (eg. planned socialist economy). It was painful having to look up the Chinese characters in a dictionary so I could pronounce them correctly.
When I moved to Hong Kong I started learning Cantonese instead. By this time I had a lot of experience in language teaching so I could recognise the techniques that the teacher was using. My Cantonese teacher spoke to me in 100% Cantonese (or not at all) so I used the target language all of the time. I learned vocabulary from pictures not a dictionary – only later did I learn to write the word in chinese characters or pin yum. I studied Cantonese with my teacher 6 hours a day, five days a week, for 6 weeks – then I went out and practised some more.
Which language do you think that I can speak better?
My Cantonese is much better than my Mandarin, and my French is now non-existent. So what is the difference that made the difference?
The main difference is not the length of time studying, or the environment I studied in, but the teaching method. In language teaching there are two distinct families:
1. Grammar Translation
2. Communicative Method
In school, most people learn through Grammar Translation. It does have some advantages, but it’s a very slow method. Schools often use this style of teaching when they are teaching a “foreign” language or when there are a lot of students in a very large class. Grammar Translation teaches you to remember many different grammar rules, and learn vocabulary by memorisation. In these classes the success of the method is judged by how you perform in the exam. This often means that learners can read and write – but not speak and hear very well. Just like my French class, it’s not fun.
In Communicative Method the emphasis is on meaning rather than the more traditional approach that emphasizes structural/grammatical competence. The learner gets to practice using the language in a way that is meaningful to them. So how can knowing this help you pass the ICAO English test?
The most important reason is that it can help you realise that not everything your high school teacher told you was correct. There are better ways of learning, and a good teacher will help you discover them. Your teacher in high school might have told you to memorise vocabulary lists, read newspapers and complete gap-fill exercises but that isn’t exactly best teaching practice in the 21st century. I don’t mean that your previous teachers were necessarily bad teachers, but they might have been forced to use a teaching method that was the only method they had particularly big classes.
So what I’m trying to say, is that I understand what it is like to learn a foreign language, and that my teachers weren’t always right either. If you have ever found it difficult to make progress in English, or achieve that breakthrough I have some great advice for you.
So here are my Top Five Tips for Developing Good English Learning Habits
1. Use the target language – that means just use English, not your native language. Avoid translation unless you really need help. Some words might not have an equivalent “concept” in your native language so in this situation translation would be pointless. When you use the target language you are training your brain to make connections that will help you remember words more easily.
2. COW – Concept, Oral Form, Written Form – when you learn new vocabulary try to understand the meaning (the way the word is being used in a real situation) before learning the pronunciation or the written form. If you know what a word means, then the pronunciation will be much easier. The last thing you should be concerned about is the written form. Don’t worry about spelling until you have mastered the pronunciation of the oral form of the word.
3. Don’t focus on grammar too much – a good communicative teacher will present grammar structures in context so you can learn them naturally. The most important thing is that you can communicate. You can work on your accuracy later.
4. Have clear goals – know what your current level is and how long it will take you to reach your target level of English proficiency. This will help you be realistic about what you can achieve – a complete ICAO level in 3 weeks isn’t going to be possible so don’t rush through your English course. Take regular English Assessment Tests to find out if you are on track to reach your goal.
5. Make learning English a regular habit. Don’t just practice English with your teacher, make sure you practice English with other students, and at every opportunity you can. If practicing English is a regular part of your life your brain it will become easier and more enjoyable.
I’d also like to share with you one more great piece of advice about developing a good attitude towards learning. This one is really important.
You should practice English because you enjoy communicating with other English speakers, not just because you need it for your job. If you only learn English so you can pass the ICAO English test, or pass an airline’s interview procedure you are giving yourself a lot of additional pressure. Be nice to yourself, and enjoy learning English. Improving your English is an investment that will always pay off, no matter what your career.
For more information about Aviation English Asia’s courses please visit http://aviationenglish.asia
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