Guest Blog: ‘No one is born educated’ by Richard O’Carroll

In this month’s slot, I am happy to host a blog written by Richard O’Carroll, who is a Teacher of English at the British Council Jordan. He speaks fluent Arabic and his interests are in helping learners communicate effectively in intercultural business contexts.

‘We have a saying in Arabic which means ‘no one is born educated,’ explained Zaid, “It means we learn through experience and practice. I think it should be the motto of the British Council Teaching Centre.”

Zaid is a learner on the British Council’s Introduction to English course. Over 16 lessons, people who can’t recognise and produce English letters learn to write simple sentences and have basic conversations in English.

“The first day was a big surprise. I expected to learn lots of grammar and repeat lots of words. That was what my English classes were like at school. I was so surprised to find that the teacher actually expected us to have simple conversations in English.”

A lot of learners are pleasantly surprised by the British Council’s communicative approach.

Historically, language teaching has focused on grammar and translation. Learners were asked to translate sentences from their mother tongue into English or vice versa, and to memorize lists of vocabulary. They were asked to analyse sentences and identify the grammatical form of words within them. Essentially, learners were taught to know the language, rather than how to use it effectively. This approach to language teaching is still common in schools and centres across the world.

This teaching approach often leaves English language learners completely unprepared for real-world tasks, like booking a hotel, asking appropriate questions in a business meeting, or describing their culture in English. It’s a bit like asking someone to read a book about cycling – and then expecting them to be able to get on a bike and ride it!

Our approach is different. Our courses create an informal atmosphere where learners practise communicating in English and get teaching input and error-correction from a trained language professional. Our aim is always to help our learners to communicate more effectively and more confidently in English. At lower-levels, this might mean helping them introduce themselves, order food in a restaurant, or send e-mails to a friend while on holiday. At higher-levels, learners are stretched to justify a viewpoint in an academic essay, or to successfully conduct business negotiations with someone from another culture.

At first, some learners feel like they are not learning English, but drowning in English. It is often a new experience for them to learn English through English. Once they realise that we are here to help them communicate in English, not just to test their knowledge or understanding of grammar, our students soon feel more comfortable and become much more active learners. Our learners often say that they notice their language skills developing quite quickly as they become users of English, rather than students of grammar in our classes. They often also explain that learning English has become fun and engaging.

Our learners often gain a newfound confidence as they practise communicating in our supportive atmosphere. As Zaid explained, “I have learnt that practice makes perfect. I can now write simple sentences and have simple conversations. I have also lost my fear of using English and so I’m practising every day and learning more and more.”

As a British Council teacher in Jordan, it is always a privilege to see how much progress learners make, particularly at lower levels, where each lesson can open up a new communicative horizon for them. It is wonderful to hear higher level learners explaining how they have used a language skill we have practised in class outside in their working environment. It is also a rich cultural experience for me. I think I learn as much as I teach from the discussions I have with the diverse and interesting learners in my classes.

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