Analytical English Conversation Teaching Method
A given English statement is now understood of its sense, grammatical structure, etc. The most important thing to do next is to talk English by immediate use of an English statement, which we have just now learned. It is because our final purpose of learning English is to use English for some work. Therefore the practice of using English is very important. Then what is the most effective practice ? It is to use English upon learning it. But it must be done without using any new words, which will give learners confusion. The practical use of English is better covered with the talk of English than with the writing of it. Thus if we think about the best way of teaching English, it is to realize that we are facing a question of how to speak English by immediate use of a given English, which we have just now learned, without addition of any new words.
If we have to speak English by use of an English statement, which we have just now learned, without any new words, all we can do is to make a change in the position of each word and/or each phrase in the given English statement, make questions and answers, and do conversation with the questions and answers between a teacher, who is a questioner, and each learner.
Questions are of two types, one of which has question words and the other is the one without question words. If question words are not used, what we can do with a given English statement is to make only a pair of a question and answer by exchange in position between subject and verb "be" or "have", or by addition of the word "do" or auxiliary to subject. We have no desire for making only one pair of a question and answer. For effective English practice we have a desire for making as many questions and answers as possible.
But if we use question words we will be able to make many questions and answers out of a given English statement and then the amount of our practice will be accordingly increased. Thus the most effective practice of talking English is to make questions and answers from a given English statement by use of question words and do conversation with all these questions and answers. The use of question words does not form any substantial addition of new words to a given English statement because question words are few and quite general.
In order to make questions out of a given English statement we must make a decision of which part of a given English statement has to be made into a question. For this purpose a given English statement will have to be analyzed into each part, which will be changed into each group of a question and answer or questions and answers. But there is no rule of how to analyze a given English statement into each part. Therefore an English teacher must be well experienced in making this sort of analysis of an English statement. If an English teacher is not used to making this analysis, he will give learners only confusion.
Learners read statements, questions and answers together several times by looking at them on the first paper by following the way a teacher reads them.
After that, in turn the teacher puts each question to each learner every time he says each statement to each learner and lets him give each answer. Learners look at the second paper which give statements but not the questions and answers. The teacher puts questions by looking at the second paper. When a learner is going to give answers he has to do it by looking only at the statements. So the learner gets serious but interested because of being able to give answers theoretically and experimentally from the statements. This learner's psychological process keeps a learner's interest fresh and gets it increased gradually. This process is the only answer to a learner who has been at a loss what to do between a conventionally fixed conversation, where a learner tends to get bored, and a conventional free conversation, where a learner often finds it uneasy to be less guided in a new language.
The most exciting situation, however, comes out when the conversation using the questions and answers is done between a teacher and a learner without looking at any other paper than List of Learners' Seat Numbers which gives only few words at the head of each statement and is detailed below under title "List of Learners' Seat Numbers". Then the conversation is almost like the one which is seen when people talk with each other in English. This will certainly put a learner in as much near a position as that where he is talking English almost by himself.
The selection of a text book also has much to do with whether learners' interest is kept. An interesting short story in each lesson is advisable. It is also important to give learners words to learn as an international second language, for example, such as BASIC English. BASIC English is the most recommended because BASIC English was developed by world-widely famous language philosophers. The fundamental ideas of Basic English were given birth through these philosophers' research and study about what a language is. These philosophers say that a language is our mind or our judgment or our sense. Why is it possible that words are connected with each other ? It is because words have senses which cannot be seen and touched but are controlling us. That is why we are always looking for senses of things. The words in Basic English are simple but have so more number of senses that they are able to get other words connected to themselves. These connections make it possible for people to talk English.
If statements, questions and answers in this teaching method are put into voice program, such as "ReadPlease", a learner is able to learn the conversation in American voice though the situation is different from that in which he is facing a teacher.
This teaching method is also applicable when English speaking persons want to learn Japanese.
This method is proper for a learner coming to a stage where he understands a given English statement in sense, grammarl, etc. But even to beginners this method is still quite effective if a text is selected according to the level of learners.
Though there is an above mention of no rule of making questions and answers out of a given statement, there is a rule if the rule is based on experiences of long years of practical English use and teaching of it at the front.
English reading, grammar, and making sentences are separated with they are taught in the conventional method. Terada method gets these three different teachings simultaneously done and saves time taken by the conventional separate teachings. In fact, why do Japanese people not generally speak English even after their 9- years' English learning at middle school, high school, and university ? This is one of the most innocent questions to which most English teachers in Japan seem to keep quiet for an answer.
Saburo Terada
Saitama Prefecture
Thursday, December 04, 2003
Rev. Nov 22, 2004 ; Nov 15, 2011
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1 . ReadPlease is a program which is sold in CDs and makes a change from letters to voices in a computer. These voices are in English, German, French, and Spanish and are able to be adjusted in volume, speed, duration, and speakers. So statements, questions and answers in Terada Method are put in ReadPlease. Then an American or British English speaker of ReadPlease shows and talks such statements and questions to a learner and wait until the learner gives answers. If the learner is unable to answer, he is able to see and hear the answer which ReadPlease gives. This is able to be repeated freely. A pause, clear, undo, and redo can freely controlled for self-learning. (more)
2 . Words, which are a key to each analyzed part of a statement, are given under Steps up to 11 in my guide to The Basic Teacher. But these key words are only for learners quite at an initial stage. The method of a learner's self-learning is to look at each statement and each question by hiding each answer under a bit of paper and try to say each answer. This is repeated until he is able to say each answer smoothly. In this respect ReadPlease is a help to a learner's self-learning. Free ReadPlease is still a help to a learner's self-learning though the free one does not give natural English voice.
- Teacher's Guide to "The Basic Teacher"
Robotic Learning -- ReadPlease
Download ReadPlease --
Theory of Terada English Teaching Method - New
List of Learners' Seat Numbers
Mass Individual Teaching
Equal Distribution of Learners
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A translation for Japanese learners is in the learner's division.