teaching speaking

A lot of Filipino students and even professionals have this crippling stage fright.  What primarily is the root cause of such fear?  Basically, we Filipinos are shy type that we would rather prefer to keep quiet and listen to others' ideas than to express our own views.  Generally, the main reason is fear of being criticized, being ridiculed or laughed at for the grammatical errors committed.

If we shall try to analyze the Filipino psyche, it is only we who are very idealistic when it comes to communication.  Foreign nationals do not care much of the kind of language they use, their choice of words, their pronunciation, and the grammaticalness of their utterances. What they care much is the content as well as the  comprehensibility of their  speech.  We, Filipinos, on the other hand, are exactly the opposite.  We care much of the externals like our pronunciation and grammar that we tend to overreact when a speaker for instance has committed grammar flaws.  That is actually the fundamental reason why many of us do not like to speak in public for fear of being scoffed at due to incorrect pronunciation and grammar errors. 

This blog hopes to teach you guys the basics of speaking in public.  I do hope that after reading this site, you will eventually grow to become more confident and effective speaker.

Here are some tips which you can adopt in your everyday speech training:

1. Converse with your households (your family) in English every day.  Be sure not to codeswitch for it will only distort your utterances.
2. When in doubt which word is appropriate to use, always check the dictionary.
3. When given a task to report on a certain topic in class/ or in a conference, be sure that you prepare so well. Read as many materials as you can and draft an outline based on these readings. And from this outline, write a report and prepare a power point presentation. 
4.  Rehearse your report several times with accompanying powerpoint presentation and request your siblings/friends to give you comments about your speaking performance.
5.  Time your rehearsal and apply the suggestions given by your friends/siblings.
6. To further improve your speaking skill, read variety of materials for that is one way of widening your perspective and vocabulary as well.
7.  Associate yourself with excellent speakers because you will be able to learn from them their techniques on how they have become excellent and effective speakers.

These tips may not be enough yet if you yourself will not be decisive to follow your dream of becoming an effective speaker. And of course, aside from the will, you also need the Divine Grace to be able to fulfill the goal that you have set for yourself.

Keep on dreaming and work towards its fulfillment.

teaching writing

Writing is the most difficult skill to learn and acquire for it takes a long process before one's craft is honed.  It's not easy to weave words together to come up with a coherent essay with no gaps in meaning.  And if you are one of those who find writing a burden, this article is for you.

As a child, I used to scribble down words on a notebook, words that most of the time were intelligible, senseless.  But don't you know that such a habit made me what I am now.  Had I not developed such interest/passion for writing, I could not have been an English teacher.

So, if you really are decisive to know how to write, then, here are some tips which you may apply to fulfill your wildest dream of becoming a writer:

1. Develop that passion for writing.  If you do not have that zest for writing, then, no matter what you do, you'll never be able to fulfill your dream.  May be writing is not for you.  Remember, if you love what you're doing, then, you do not consider it a burden but a leisure.
2. Write, write, write!  Start writing a topic of interest to you.  Scribble down words, organize your thoughts well and develop only one central idea.  Never attempt to write on a topic that you know little about, because it will only frustrate you.  You cannot be creative in your style  and for sure, you cannot elaborate your ideas so well.  This will result to a  mediocre paper.
3.  Read excellent writers, and learn style from them.  Later on, as you get immersed into the different  gurus in the field of writing,   you'll notice, your writing style will be pretty much influenced by your favorite writers.
4. Revise, revise, revise.  Do not just be content with your first draft.  Keep on editing until you get satisfied with your own masterpiece.
5.  Have your colleagues read your work.  Ask for comments and improve your craft based on others' suggestions.

With these useful tips, you may now begin your journey to the world of fun as you unravel your thoughts through words.