End of Semester Post

At first I wouldn’t know what to say about my classroom practice but only that I got to think a lot about the communicative approach because of its popularity, because it is what parents expect, and because of the difficulties to be a communicative teacher. On the other hand, I do think that I learnt about English language teaching contexts, which I appreciate since as I teacher I think I should know about the history of the career I chose.

 I enjoyed working on the blog because it is; One a nice way to express and reflect thoughts on what I am doing as a teacher and as a student and Second because I learnt a new tool to teach and enhance my students’ work. I would like now to do something with blogs with my students, it is a good platform. I also liked it when my professor told us about the activities he did with his students, or what activities we could do with our students. It is always good to share activities and practical ideas on how to motivate students to speak English.

I would have liked to see more activities related to each approach and learn about the history of English language teaching in Chile. For me seeing how I can be a better teacher makes the subject immediately worthy and relevant. Obviously, what we have been doing has been related with the program and we have been doing things that belong into a masters program, to learn about classroom management and activities is always going to be seen as something useful because it can be done right away or because it has a more immediate use.

On the whole, I appreciate the fact that we have been pushed to be more critical and I think we have improved. I’d like to learn more about essay writing, presentation skills, and criticizing different texts and authors, though with some practice first and specific guidelines.

Thanks for the commitment and hard work, it is appreciated!

Developing Our Professional Competence

What type of “New Year resolutions” do you tend to make each new school year?

Mainly, that I will make a bigger effort to reach “everyone” in the classroom, fast-finishers, the ones who struggle a bit more, the ones who never raise their hands, etc. And that my classes should have more games or more interactive activities.

Is it easy to keep them?

Sometimes. Depending on what I have thought to be improved. To reach all the students in my class is very challenging in terms of how much time I have to prepare things, though, I think each year I get better because I have more ideas, more available material, and I have learnt to delegate a bit.

What practices would you like to see your institution adopt?

I wish they gave teachers more time for planning. That would solve a lot of things. It is not that we worked at school all day long, but most teachers must work at other places, or arrange private lessons to get by. Therefore if more planning hours were paid for, more time could be devoted to school.

Why do you think this article appears in a book of methodology?

Because it has to do with good teaching practices. What I mean, is that if a teacher ends up a year wanting to do things better on the next, that means he or she is a committed teacher, one who wants things to be as good as possible, one who wants to improve the way things have gone.

NOTICING

1.  Do adults and children learn an L2 in the same way and? What, if any, are the differences?

From my perspective no. Children learn more unconsciously, without specific purposes, structures or anxiety. Adults, learn with intrinsic motivation but with higher fear to making mistakes, therefore less confidence, more anxiety and less fluency in most cases.

2.  Can we teach a language or do people learn a language? What, if any, are the differences?

Both, to learn at same point you need somebody’s guidance or advice. The differences may lie on the context. You need to be taught a language if you are at school learning an L2, and you may learn, if you are learning English in England.

3.  How is language to be learned sequenced in your current teaching context?

From basic words to more complex sentences. Also from the needs depending on the age of the students. If the students are adults it will depend on their goals.

4.  What if anything can be learned by looking at past methodologies?

You can learn about the strengths and weaknesses of those methodologies, and what works for you as a teacher and for your students.

Elements of Medgyes’ Communicative Teacher

Teachers have always been pointed as responsible for having to fulfill many roles. Nowadays “The Communicative Teacher” has come into fashion and with it also a heavy burden. This new teacher should devote his or her time and life completely to achieve all the objectives proposed by the communicative approach.

This teacher must deliver a lot in and outside the classroom. This professional should know his/her students and what they bring to the class, their aspirations and expectations from the course, however, the educator  should not impose his/her own view of learner’s needs or aspirations. They are just there to make sure learning takes place. This point, as many others within the communicative approach, presents huge difficulties to the teacher   since the teacher is also a person who’s got a life and needs, and a vision of why he or she wanted to be a teacher, but if he or she will not be allowed to have a say or is not provided with what is needed to accomplish all the tasks asked for, this teacher will end up, at least, discouraged.

On the other hand, the communicative teacher must be set up with a big set of qualities. He or she should deliver equally to the diversity inside the classroom, stimulating all students to participate, but still keeping control of what happens in the class. This supernatural being should also pay attention to meaning and form, be cultured and resourceful. Finally this approach, as many others lately, states that education should be learner-centered, as if it wasn’t clear enough for the teachers’ depreciation.

The Communicative Teacher

Everybody agrees that education is very important yet not many are willing to make efforts for its sake (government, parents, even students).Most people live in a fantasy world and take too much for granted.  The responsibility of education should not just be positioned on the teachers but on everyone who is interested in education. Here the responsibility only lies on few, the greatest guilt lays on teachers, they must perform the magic; look happy even if they are tired, underpaid, or frown upon because of their career choice. It’s all about the students, but who thinks about the teachers and everything they have to go through?

Creativity

To be frank I never thought, consciously, of creativity as something as I was supposed to encourage as a regular basis. However, I do always ask my students to write stories and perform and record themselves, and I do appreciate when I see their interests and strengths through the different tasks because I can see them motivated  and shinning, which is what we basically want to achieve in our students, or at least me.

Interesting how the lecturer led everything, through humor. Would that be creativity? Not probably something encouraged at school, however, he managed to engage the audience and make his points.

Sadly many parents nowadays are sort of obsessed with their children turning into; doctors or engineers or lawyers, and stressed with the fact that their children do not like school or do not care about their marks. I think then that we as teachers could create different instances to show our students’ interests and strengths, then parents and students themselves will believe and promote these potentials.

Approach Indicator

1.     Language learners learn best by using plenty of ANALYSIS. Any effort made by the learner will be useless, unless, there is some sort of reflection on what was done, checking what was done well, to keep it, and what was not so well done, to improve it. I encourage my students to keep all their tests and writings, so after some time they can go back to them and see how much they’ve improved.

2.     A teacher’s feedback to the students should be given FREQUENTLY. Students are quite absent-minded and have a lot on their minds; therefore a constant feedback will sink in more if it is right after students’ performances. However, I believe it is just sensible to do this when it comes to tests or other forms of evaluation, not when students are participating in classes.

3.     Teaching learners to use their own learning strategies is USEFUL AND PRODUCTIVE. What I think is that the teacher should provide students with a set of strategies and students are the ones who get to choose the ones that suit them best, that way, strategies will be worth using them.

4.     Mistakes that students make in speech ARE INFORMATIVE. Of course! In terms of how anxious or stressed students feel towards the language. That is quite useful information for me as a teacher. With that knowledge, I can create a more comfortable environment, whenever these students have to face oral activities.

Summary Methods

The Audiolingual Method

After World War II, USA raised an interest in the need for Americans to be skilled in their allies and enemies languages. Therefore, the U.S. military came up with intensive language courses that emphasized the oral part known as the Audiolingual Method. This method gave importance to pronunciation, conversation, mimicry, and memorization of phases, dialogues. There was no grammar, use of mother tongue, or translation.

Community Language Method

This method is affectively based. Learners are seen as a group that interacts facilitating learning in a context of valuing and cherishing each individual in the group. The aim is to decrease anxiety levels by means of a supportive community. The teacher is seen as a counsellor. Students sit in a circle and they are helped by the teacher in their interactions with the class; classes are recorded so students can evaluate their performances.

Suggestopedia

Learning takes place through a deep state of relaxation so maximum retention can be achieved. Music is key to this method. The teacher reads and students repeat and memorize.

 The Silent Way

This method emphasizes on the learners independence; they should discover or generate learning. Learning is achieved by the use of certain objects that are used as problem solving material. The role of the teacher is silent; the teacher should also keep corrective feedback to a minimum.

Total Physical Response

Method devised to decrease stress. It emphasizes listening, use of imperatives and commands. Students listen to instructions and respond in a physical manner.

The Natural Approach

It suggests production delay till students feels ready, comfortable, and have received an important amount of input by the teacher. This method seeks personal communication (everyday language).

The Humanistic Tradition

            It has been agreed that the affective and emotional factors involved in the learning process are key. In fact it is believed that if these affective factors are not achieved, there is no technique or model that would lead to learning. Two proponents in humanism in language learning Gattegno and Lozanov arrived to the conclusion that success or failure in language teaching depends on the extent one caters to the learner’s affective domain. Maybe the most significant characteristic is the learner’s emotional attitude towards the teacher, classmates, the language, and the culture. This should be taken into account when selecting contents, materials, and activities. Some extreme proponents say that it is impossible to teach anybody anything unless superficially and that what the teacher can do is to attempt to establish the optimal conditions where the learner will learn because of his own efforts. According to Stevick the functions of a teacher are:

1.     Students expect teachers to impart knowledge.

2.     Students expect teachers to manage; time, materials and techniques effectively.

3.     Teachers are expected to evidence the follow up of the objectives set in the syllabus through the course.

4.     Teachers are expected to set a certain atmosphere where students can learn adequately.

5.     Teachers are expected to feel passionate about their job and irradiate warmth towards students.

Community Language Learning

 Teachers must ensure that students feel free from the anxiety of learning in another language and also comfortable with the environment.

The objective of the CLL is to create a supporting environment and move from dependence on the teachers towards autonomy.

The Silent Way

For Gattegno, the author of the silent way, learning languages is a mystery and that students should be more independant in their learning process.

Grammar or a vast vocabulary is not enough to communicate, it is also necessary to sort of being soaked in the language and culture.

Suggestopedia

Lozonov, who developed this model, believes that if learning takes place in favourable conditions, the mind is capable of great achievements.

Language skills

In my opinion I think I'm good at writing, probably because I enjoy it a lot and because it is more conscious than speaking. When I speak I need to come up with the exact words right away, and sometimes it does not happen so I get nervous and it is all a mess. When it comes to reading, I think it depends whether it is something I like or not, if I'm interested I'm fast and motivated, if not, I never finish and never get it. In terms of listening, I think I'm ok, but I think I need to improve, specially when it comes to listening to native speakers speaking, since I´m not used to, sometimes I find it hard to follow. As a conclusion that learning languages is a never ending process where input is constantly needed. Equally important is the constant practice of the four skills beyond the classroom.

My Experience with English...

Learning English for me was not easy. I started learning English in first grade but  I moved to a new school then, and then again 15 other times!!! Crazy, right? I went to public schools, private schools, and subsidized schools. So my English really didn't improve throughout school life, I would say it remained at the same level. Then when I got to university I thought at first it wouldn't be such a big deal since we are surrounded by English vocabulary, so I felt quite close to the language but... Once I got there(UMCE) I realised that in spite of being at a place where most of the students would come from public education, many already knew a lot. So it was a rough start. It was very hard because from day one we were supposed to read books and have conversations but I never had to do that at school, I always had the verb to be and did and regulars and I was good at that, so I didn't think studying English would be that difficult, I assumed we would start from there but no.Speaking a new language does not happen fast, especially if you live in a place where English is not the native language. On the other hand, reading books, especially English literature such as; Jane Austin without even knowing the basics, is just excruciating. In order to succeed I became a very autonomous learner, I photocopied hundreds of grammar exercises and I started listening a lot of English, particularly films and songs. Although I don't think listening or grammar are my strenghts, I think my self motivation is. In terms of weaknesses, I would say I'm not a very good reader or listener, mainly because it is difficult for me to focus or pay attention to things I'm not really into. Anyway I'm extremely proud of my accomplishments and I'm looking foward to improving much more :)

testing only...

First day blogging!!

I hope I learn how to use this!