My learner understands more than he speaks

It's not uncommon for learners to have a mismatch between their listening and speaking proficiency levels -- usually with a higher listening proficiency. Why? A friend of mine, whose first language is not English, told me that it's because the words are just there for you, and you don't have to figure out how to arrange them. In addition, listening opportunities are often easier to come by than speaking opportunities. If you're one of 20 students in a biology class, you're likely to hear the teacher talking about biology more than you'll be able to talk about biology. If you watch a movie, you probably won't talk to the characters. If you're in a group or meeting of four and everyone talks an equal amount of time, you'll spend three times as many minutes listening as you spend talking. Furthermore, second-language learners may feel self-conscious about their accent or worry about accidentally saying the wrong thing. For a variety of reasons, different people have different levels of confidence (this is true even outside language-learning contexts), and a language difference adds an extra hurdle. Furthermore, if a non-native speaker needs extra time to put his thoughts into English words, others may interrupt or speak over him, or he might just decide it's not worth the effort. All of this means he gets less practice speaking. How can a tutor help? As with every human interaction, remember that your learners are made in the image and likeness of God -- and therefore deserve nothing less than Christian love. In practice, this means that your classroom should be a safe, nonjudgmental place for your learners to practice. Don't make fun of your learners' accents or any errors that they make -- and don't gossip about them later. Cultivate in your heart a disposition of respect for your students, even outside the classroom. If you only respect them in the classroom, you don't really respect them. If you have a group class, keep an eye on the social dynamic in the classroom. Make sure everyone has an opportunity to speak, and don't let learners be disrespectful toward their classmates. As much as you can, give your learners opportunities to speak. Ask open-ended questions more than yes-or-no questions -- and listen to their answers. Be interested in their lives. It's going to take your learners extra time to express their thoughts in English; be willing to wait longer than you might in a conversation with a more proficient speaker. This affirms your learners' dignity and worth: Even though it requires extra effort on my part, I want to put in that extra effort, because you matter, and I want to get to know you, because you are worth getting to know. That extra effort is one example of Christian love. And your learners? They're all really neat people, and because you're putting in the effort to get to know them, you'll be the one to find out.

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