Conversational English Class
May 26th, 2007 by Don Ray
This evening I met with Darío Quiroz and some of his students that were having a conversation English practice session, Now and then Darío likes to bring in someone from outside to give the students an opportunity to hear other accents.
Here is the first group I met with along with Darío and another teaching friend of his.
This was the second group.
As always, I had a great time. I hope they also felt that the time was well spent. This is one way that I feel I can give back to Panama something for all it gives me every day.
That is so important—to hear native speakers speaking when all you have heard is non-native speakers trying to speak a native language. It is never great but until somebody comes along, like you, they are stuck with it. I have had the same kind of experiences ages ago in Japan.
English is a required course in most countries today but the students seldom hear an Englishman or woman or an American speaking it except in movies. So when I used to talk to students on the street, a crowd would soon gather and someone in the crowd would eventually get enough courage to blurt-out a question in their English.
Abraham Lincoln
Brookville, Ohio
Hi Abe. Thanks for dropping in. I always have a good time when I go to one of Darío´s classes and interact with those that are learning English.
I forgot to mention that Darío had prepared some great shrimp ceviche that was served at the end of the session. Good time and great ceviche - it just doesn´t get better than that.
An experience similar to Mr. Lincoln’s. When I was teaching ESL, I had as a student an older man from a small city in Brazil. All of his life he had belonged to a club that met once a week to study English, and he knew ALL of the rules; for example, when you pronounce “a” as “a” or as “ah.” Or, when to say “thee” for “the.” My student could read and write English as well as anyone. In speaking, his grammar was perfect, but you could hardly understand what he was saying. It seems that his club consisted of about 10 men, who had never had any experience with speaking English to native English speakers. So, Don Ray, keep going back for the ceviche. Apparently, the professor knows a good deal about motivation.
Hi Tom. I enjoy it. It is another thing to do that allows me to get to know more of the locals. That is always a good thing.
I am sure, those meetings are good for you and them! It`s really fine
in many ways to do something like that.
We had here a first warm morning ( 20 degrees C ) and everything start to be green - not cornfields yet, not even seeded
Happy days to you!
Leena
Hi Don,
You said, “It is another thing to do that allows me to get to know the locals.” You are definitely right! When my husband and I taught ESL in Nicaragua, we had students bicycling to our house from 7 miles away. We taught ages 2 to 30. Most of the locals couldn’t afford to pay, so we bartered for the lessons. We were often invited to their homes for meals, birthday parties, graduations, etc. We were able to form lasting friendships with these families and I cherish the memories! I will definitely volunteer my professional experiences in teaching when we move to Panama. Thanks for this post.
Hi Leena - Glad your part of the world is warming up. Thanks for stopping in.
Debbie - I get a kick out of meetings such as this. I learn as much as they do. Thanks for leaving a comment.
hi! Mr Williams, I was one of the students that you met on saturday in Dario`s class, let me tell you that it is always good to practice our pronunciation with native speakers,as well as try to get everything that involves the lenguage trough this exchange, so thanks because it was really a good experience. Keep on enjoying all the good things that Panama offers.
Hi Karla. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. I am glad you found my visit worthwhile. I enjoyed a lot.
[...] Today was the day, that Darío Quiroz had invited me to participate in one of his English classes. I have done this before and it is always a special occasion for me. Today was in Universidad Latina. Here was another time one of Dario’s private classes. [...]