The ManicaPost
Morris Mtisi
THIS topic does not come now coincidentally. It is incidental. It is deliberate. We all know what happened to ZIMSEC directors following an interesting court verdict to address English Paper 2 that leaked into the public and the subsequent ruling or decision to release Form 4 English results without an important Paper 2 grade.
Those who were sitting the English examination for the umpteenth time were most fatally wounded in the process compared to those who were sitting the English examination for the first time. The results are now out and despite the suspiciously interesting announcement that the Paper 1 was done five percent better than the previous year, what in fact is the total meaning of this? I am sure we all now know how students dismally failed the Paper 1 which could have not happened if the Paper 2 grade was included or available. All Ds could easily have been Cs even if the candidates had scored only five marks out of fifty. That is a story for another week.
The best thing to do to avoid examination-results stress and depression is to do things right the first time-to pass in the first sitting. Easier said than done, some would say and they are correct in a way. I say there is nothing easier than passing English Language if both the teacher and the learner are determined to do their best. I have told many people, ‘It takes a lot of effort to fail English Language,’ and they look at me as if I am a comet from Heaven or Hell depending on which church they go to or don’t go to. I repeat the same assertion with more vigour in this article.
I always say a good English Language teacher is not good enough. I must say this again. Learners need an English teacher who is passionate, committed, above all, able and creative. Nothing replaces competence. And all these come with experience…nothing else. Forget the name and sound of the degree and how many oceans were crossed to bring it home. A good English Language teacher is an artist.
He or she creates fun from nothing, enjoys teaching and is thoroughly enjoyed by his students. He or she rises beyond the textbook and does the teaching him or herself … not the textbook, knowing the book does not know the learners’ weaknesses and strengths. A clumsy and boring teacher invites resentment from his or her students.
If you do not know what you are doing in an English Language classroom you put off your class and make a noisy and nosey learned fool of yourself. A lively and confident teacher exhibits competence from his or her ability to invoke learning pleasure from languid drawls of lifeless texts and situations. If you cannot make your English learners love you and the language, try driving, football or rugby where the excellence does not come from verbal acumen or intelligence.
SOCCER COMMENTARIES ON RADIO AND TELEVISION
Have you ever imagined how effective English lessons from these world-class commentators could be? Peter Drury and Martin Tyler! What can you for example learn or teach from these football commentary wizards? Of course appropriate register and powerful descriptive detail! They play better soccer to listen to than to watch…for me of course. They play better with their mouths, their language, than players do with their legs. I am not sure if our own new crop of commentators on ZBC and ZTV could be rated as models of perfect English football commentary but I know the late Evans Mambara, Dennis Liwewe’s protégé and copycat, minus the mental-case noise and the euphoria was an excellent model.
Listen carefully and purposefully to regular soccer commentators of English Premier Soccer Leagues and World Cups. I personally do not enjoy watching soccer, no matter how much I try, but racism and jingoism aside I heavily enjoy the beautiful language of the flaming commentators like Drury and Tyler. It gives me the pleasure of soccer more than the games themselves. Ask your students to listen to these games.
Especially world-cup matches but for a different purpose this time around! Listen to recorded live matches together with your students of English Language. Put the transmissions on mute and ask some of them to do the commentary. Next time there is your sister school at your school to play a game, use your public address system and give your English Language students a chance to ‘broadcast’ live to spectators.
Instead of enjoying the mercurial skills of the Neymars, Lionel Messis and Ronaldos on the field of play and the usual unending hullabaloo about the world’s so-called most beautiful game, turn your class’s attention towards the language of football on radio and television. Your students could learn a lot of descriptive detail and terms to use in their own compositions describing football matches. And this topic does come in many examination papers!
If they do not, which is very rare, you could smartly and easily turn topics like THE DAY I WILL NEVER FORGET or MEMORIES WERE MADE OF THIS / HOW A WONDERFUL DAY ENDED UP A DISASTROUS DAY / AN EVENT/OCCASION THAT MADE MY DAY etc into thrilling accounts of soccer matches. Why not? Seasoned and regular English Premier Soccer league and World Cup commentators are brilliant English Language ‘teachers.’ You agree?
SOME OF THE SPECIFIC LANGUAGE REGISTER
- Kick off 11. Off-side
- Foul 12. Full-time whistle
- Assistant referee 13. Nil- all
- Half-time whistle 14. penalty shootout
- Dribble 15.penetrating the box
- Touch line 16.One-two touches
- Eighteen area (in the box) 17.infringement
- Hit the bar 18. Late-tackle
- 45 metre-drive 19.waved play on
- Long shot / thunderbolt 20.Play-maker/ 21. Cracker of a goal!
ASK YOUR STUDENTS TO GIVE YOU MORE AND TELL YOU WHAT THEY MEAN
TASK: Listen to one or two world cup commentaries by expert English commentators, the likes of the Maradona of football commentary, inimitable Peter Drury and of course Martin Tyler. List down all the words and expressions you feel make beautiful, flavoursome, soccer commentary.
