English in two weeks?

[Jailbird]

I was asked by a grown-up to teach him simple English in two weeks for he is going abroad & wants to be able to explain what he wants in a hotel or in a shop. He has a good vocabulary, he knows a lot of words, but the problem is: he can`t speak correctly & build up sentnces. Do you know any productive way to explain him the way the right structures are created... I really don`t know how to make it... Grown-ups are so difficult to teach... Could you please help me???
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Your Jailbird

[Torsten]

Hi Jailbird,

Your student probably has more life experience than you so it's vital that you give him the feeling he is coming up with ideas himself instead of you trying to teach him the classical way. So, as a first step you can ask him to create a list with all the possible situations he is going to encounter when he travels abroad. Simply have him write down keywords. Then ask him to jot down phrases he usually says in Russian when in the above mentioned situations. You might even create small dialogues in Russian. Then you can go through the materials together to see which of the phrases he can already express in proper English. Give him the English equivalents of the remaining phrases. First he should write them down, then you say the entire phrase and have him repeat it. He doesn't have to read the phrase - just have him listen to you and repeat.
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[Jailbird]

Oh, thank you Torsten, really... I was just in despair, but now i can see the point clearly, so I think my friend will learn quickly ) Thank you very much once again )
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Your Jailbird

[Jailbird]

Hi again )
I just wanted to talk about a good way of learning some new words. As for me I only know how to learn some new words in a group where you can play with the words & they would really stick to one`s memory very quickly & for a long time. Do you think it`s rather convenient to play with the words when there`re only two people & one of them is the teacher?!
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Your Jailbird

[Torsten]

Jailbird, good afternoon. You have suggested a good idea - playing with words to learn and memorize them. I think you can use this method in many variations. Working with only one student can be an advantage too. You can suggest a topic to him and ask him to write down all the words and phrases that spring to his mind. You should have done the same in advance. Then you can compare your results and work with the new vocabulary.
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[Andreana]

Hi Jailbird, I sometimes play scrabble with my friends. Do you know this game? We often play it in English and then we have to use the dictionary because my friends make new words up which don't exist
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A smile will open doors

[Bruce]

Hi Andreana & Jailbird,

When I teach English there are two basic tools I use,
otherwise I?m not interested.
I want to have fun teaching after all.
Without fun, you won?t get anything done.
How?s that for a motto.

1. Colour - Writing using (minimum) five colours.

This helps to impregnate the ideas and words into
the subconscious mind or memory.
I usually use Red, Blue, Orange, Green & Purple.
Followed by Pink, Light blue, Yellow, Light green, Grey,
then Brown, Light Brown, Deep dark Red.
Black and/or White are standard, neutral writing colours.
I have actually constructed a chart which I use to help
remember the types of words and their function.

2. Humour - Getting the students to Laugh.

There are two ways that I know of that help dissolve
any inhibitions you may have about learning or life.

They are :

a) Alcohol
b) Laughter - or - A sense of humour.

In the classroom we don?t use alcohol for obvious reasons.
So laughter is the best medicine.

You will find this combination will help you as a teacher and
as the student. You will both have fun and learn a lot very
quickly. Our memory is like a movie screen and the colours
will help you picture the words that have been written.

Best Wishes, Bruce.
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[Torsten]

Hi Andreana, Jailbird, Naufragis, pupil, Larissa and all our other English language friends
Bruce has just said something very true about alcohol and humour. Bruce is right - we rely on the latter in our training programs.
In addition, you might want to read the article Ray, one of our American trainers has written about how his son learns languaages. Ray has been living in Germany for a couple of years and his son was born here so he is bi-lingual. Here is the article:
Watching my son learn to speak
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TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary