English for Flessabank

Spring 2016

Click on the following links to view the slides we used in class. Included among the slides (usually second to last) is the week's homework assignment.

Week 1 (April 19) 

Our books

The following books target English learners whose native tongue is German and who have already learned English for many years in school. Primarily, these books serve as a refresher and as a means of digging a little deeper into the language -- with explanations in German.

Favorite Links

Below are resources I have used again and again as I have taught English and translated documents.

BBC Learning English: audio presentations, web quizzes, grammar summaries and literature readings. Some of it is based on current events, which adult learners enjoy. 

Linguee translation dictionary: this dictionary pulls examples of words and phrases from translated documents online. Seeing how words are used in context is key to proper comprehension.

Teaching philosophy

Point 1

Speak! That is the only way you will learn. And if you have a chance, visit an English-speaking country for a couple of weeks -- preferably a place without a strong local dialect (yeah, I am talking to you Liverpool and Dallas).

Point 2

 Don't get too caught up in the American English versus British English debate that school teachers try to force on you. In reality, when you speak English as a second language, native speakers have no idea who you are trying to emulate. Germans sound like Germans when they speak English. So do French people, Japanese and all the rest. If the British versus American question is that important to you, bear in mind that the primary differences are in the pronunciation of the letter "r" and the spellings of certain groups of words. The "s" in many words is often replaced with a "z" in American English. And words ending in "-re" often become "er." Just set your spell checker on "British" or "American" and let the debate go. Focusing on one or the other will not make you any more fluent in the end.