3558. Learning from the Students: They Can Teach the Teacher

We have begun the lessons. You may know I teach grownups. It’s great. Also I liked teaching kids. 

One of the strong points this school year – not the only one – is reading books. Reading books boosts learning and acquiring vocab and grammar, so the language. 

One of the group-classes has chosen to read books on their own. The other group-class perhaps will read the same graded reader for all the students. Hopefully we will read more than one reader or unabridged book. Say one per term. 

What I mean here is that I want for the students to choose what they discern is better for their learning English. It’s them who have to learn and wish to learn! They’re co-protagonists with the teacher. 

I plan each lesson but I take into account what they can do in the class on their own. 

For example last Friday two students got knotted and intertwined in a conversation between them – in English. I let them carry on, for the main purpose of lessons is… learning and acquiring the language. 

Thus I kept some activities I had planned for next lesson or so. A teacher has thus to be flexible, right? 

The very day we started the first class-period I tried to pass my dear students on the lure for learning English in spite of some failures – we in the new classroom because of Covid-19 do not have a whiteboard. Soon we’ll hopefully have one. 

Well, we have a computer and a white screen for use in the classes but honestly I have no experience of using for example power-point. We’ll see to that. 

Another main point, related to what I’ve said so far is communication: classes should foster it and we have to fondle any occasion of communicating in English. And communicating chiefly by speaking leads us to mutual enrichment as persons. I stop here. Have a nice week. In some way starting the classes is like setting-up a new business: enthusiasm plus practical ideas… 

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