“The limits of my language are the limits of my world.” - Ludwig Wittgenstein

“The limits of my language are the limits of my world.”
 - Ludwig Wittgenstein

For our English language learning clients, the above statement couldn't be any more true. They are finding that their aspirations for both themselves and their families are very intricately bound to their dedication of learning and building from basic English communication skills. However, this looks very different based on each individual’s level of English and achievement rate.

For many of our beginning learners, I issue them with “emergency English” skills. By exposing them to high frequency words and conditioning them to associate meaning, they can use their understanding of very few words in a variety of contexts. I have adapted the name “trigger” for this strategy. I teach these clients what the most likely desired response is when their hear or see isolated words. Initially, they are posed with many of the same questions (What is your name? Where are you from?) and by learning key words (name, from, country) rather than whole phrases that are grammatically sound, they can more readily participate and respond in conversation.

For many of our advanced students, I work not only with typical aspects such as grammar and varied vocabulary but also with breaking down other applicable skills. One of these is teaching them the functional English that they will encounter in everyday situations. For many of them, this means distinguishing between the British English that they learned (trousers, film, lift) to the American English that will be more common here (pants, movie, elevator). For these clients, even just the confusion between this handful of words can severely inhibit their potential for comprehension within a sentence or context.

The continued challenge of working with a wide spectrum of levels simultaneously requires precarious instruction each day. As shown in the photo, I designed an activity where the clients used story cubes to associate vocabulary or, depending on their level of English, write entire probable stories based on the pictures that they rolled on their dice. Such exercises allow me to accommodate a variety of levels that promotes both growth and support accordingly in order to individualize the instruction.

*Anne has been with us since the summer of 2013 and currently serves as our Intensive English As A Second Language Instructor.