Page 29 - ELG2404 April Issue 489

FEATURE

16,158 people have done that test. And I hope design, teaching methods, and students Fabio Cerpelloni is an
that a good percentage of them thought, ‘Oh, well well-being? English language teacher,
okay. Maybe these online tests are a bit stupid.’ I don’t often tell anecdotes, but I like to
But my main motivation for creating it was tell this little story because I think that it freelance writer, author,
to reinforce the idea that there’s not just one represents the reality for many students: and podcaster from Italy.
right way to produce language. This is, for me, So, I had this high school student I had been Learning English became
a key part of my teaching philosophy. teaching privately for years. He came to class such a great passion for him
twice a week. We focused on conversation and that he ended up teaching it professionally
Q: But there is a degree of correctness building confidence, the things that I generally in New Zealand, Spain, Ireland, and Italy,
and incorrectness when it comes to like to do with my learners. Everything was okay. his native country. You can find out more
language, isn’t there? We do need to One day he asked me, ‘My mum wants me about Fabio and his work on his website –
agree on some language rules. So, for to take an English test because I’m going to www.fabiocerpelloni.com
example, if a student says, ‘I have have to do this when I go to university. So do
watched a great movie yesterday,’ which you think in the next class we could do one?’ For almost a decade
is grammatically incorrect, what would ‘Sure,’ I said. When he came back for the test, Christian ran a small
you say to that student? he was a completely different person. From English school in Galicia in
Yes, absolutely. In your specific example, the moment he walked in, he was nervous, the north-west of Spain but
I would explain why that sentence is he was sweating, he was literally shaking is now best known for his
incorrect. But then I would say, ‘Look, and couldn’t concentrate. I was so shocked online presence as Canguro English where his
I understood what you said. For me, there’s because he had never been like that. Never. videos about language learning and interviews
no confusion.’ I think this is another example We sometimes hear stories about kids in with language experts have been watched
of what you’re not able to capture in an exam, high school who want to kill themselves millions of times by hundreds of thousands of
which is the hierarchy of mistakes. Not all because of the stress of exams. They teachers and students from all over the world.
mistakes are equally important and their develop horrible anxiety all for some kind Christian is an ambassador for equal access
importance may also depend on the level of of imaginary result.
proficiency of the student. The day I saw my student in that emotional to education through his work with Pencils of
state, I thought, ‘This has to stop!’ Not just in Promise, and also fights to end discrimination
Q: In your opinion, how do exams English language teaching. Passing an exam against non-native speakers of English -
and testing influence the broader or a test should not be the point of education canguroenglish.com
educational system, including curriculum in general.
editorial@elgazette.com 29