Week One

 #1 – YOU!  Dr.Kenneth Cosh    Office: 4 th Floor “I am NOT an English Teacher…. … I am an English Teacher!”

 Weekly English Activity  Professional Development Topics

 Goals:-  Improve the English skills of CPE’s senior students.  Prepare students for entering an increasingly international workplace

 Topics  Today - Intro

 Grading?  Attendance &  Participation!

 HERE!  Wednesday Mornings

 ????  Lets look at some language learning tips…

 Have a reason to learn…  No motivation == no effort…  Wrong motivation == wrong results…  Why do you want to learn the language? (English)?  Impress your friends???  $$$???  Meet cute farangs???  Help your study???  Help you travel???

 Be a kid…  Play with your food, cry and run around screaming?  Not exactly, but…  “The age at which second language acquisitions begins is not a significant factor in either study” (The structure of age: in search of barriers to second language acquisition, Ellen Bialystok)  So, why do my kids seem to learn more quickly than me?  Lack of self-consciousness  Willingness to make mistakes  We learn by our mistakes  It’s easier to say “I can’t” than “I haven’t yet”  “Failing” or “Struggling” is a taboo for us adults.

 Say something stupid…  Why not?  You’ll learn (and remember) from the mistake much more than not saying anything!  FUNNY THINGS I’VE SAID  ฟักทอง  กี๊ก / กิ๊ก ?  สวย / ซวย ?

 100 Common Words  Well, it’s a good starting point!  The Oxford English Dictionary (2 nd Edition) has 171,476 words in current use.  But, “Green Eggs and Ham”, book by Dr. Seuss, only uses 50 words – less than “The Cat in the Hat” (225 words).  First 100 words appear in 50% of text, 1,000 words used in 89%, 3,000 words is 95% (  The average native, adult English speaker has 20,000 active words  The Pareto Rule  80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.

 Erm… Conversation!

 Date someone who speaks English as their native language.  Motivation  Excuse for “lost in translation”  One on one tuition  Can’t find someone?  Perhaps just a language buddy – plenty of people want to study Thai.  Facebook chat + Google translate = Results.

 Anki  

 Action Movie, or Thai Soap Operas?  You can have fun while you’re “learning”…  Try practicing with (or without) the subtitles.

 Specific  Measurable  Achievable  Realistic  Time-bound