3526. Your Students Also May Be Progressing...

Teaching is great, tiring though. Currently I teach adults. And at the beginning of the lesson, as a warmer or warm-up activity, I do what I tell you now. I teach English as a foreign language. First I write on the whiteboard today’s date, and we have a brief discussion on today’s weather. 

Then I tell them about learning English: tips which could help them learn English, from some scholars and experts like H. D. Brown, Jeremy Harmer, Rebecca Oxford. 

My purpose is for them to get aware that it’s the student who has to be like a powerful learning-engine! Each learner has his or her own personal learning style, which it’s them who have to find out about. 

The learner is the main responsible one to learn. 

You wish to learn, you will achieve it. You don’t really want to, no learning is accomplished. There’s effort, there’s a step forward. Each item learned, one step forward. Each effort invested at communicating in English, one step has been walked forward. No communication, no learning. 

Yesterday and today we also had some nice discussions upon the US map: why is Iowa famous, The Thirteen Colonies, Independence Day, the territories and today-modern states we the Spanish civilized before the English arrived in America, etcetera, etcetera. 

Some nice discussions, like I said. 

You know what? At those discussions I have sat down – something I scarcely do – and we have had those nice discussions. And I think I’ve seen that my students had then brilliant eyes, like they were meaning: Okay, now Fernando sat down, he looked relaxed and we’re having nice conversations... And they have actually said more than other times. 

Summing up. The teacher has to reckon when his students are more prone to learn, to practice, to communicate, to contribute to the class, and act on that situation accordingly. Have a nice week. --- Oh, and remember that those learners have to dedicate some time out of the classroom to keep learning English!