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… 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2864. On Shakespeare. Bringing Him to the Classroom

Image
  We are celebrating the 400th anniversary of the death of grand William Shakespeare, as you all know. I’ve just read an article about his obscure life but brilliant work. I say “obscure” referring to the fact that we have close to no knowledge about his life – I don’t intend to say he was obscure (or dark). It seems he wished to slip through the history of his time… I’ve made the resolution of reading his dramas one more time – I’ve read some, and we had a whole academic year dedicated to him and his theatre (or “theater”, as you like) at our college degree of philology of the English language and literature, and now I would read one drama at least. He’s awesome, and worth to read, or what’s more: he’s a must-read, for some of his dramas. And adaptations can be brought to the classroom, for our kids, and with so many human values and interests to be worked out! – I count on your discernment as a teacher, for a very few plays require some moral education. Moral ...
Read more

3206. How to Be Great at Exams

Image
  We second or foreign language teachers should test our students’ communicative competence. I would advise you to test speaking along lessons, while the other three language skills (listening, reading and writing) can be assessed and tested at regular written tests. However we should test these three latter skills also along the school year lessons and not only at written tests. What I propose is a continuous testing and assessing, and not only confined to written tests at each “evaluation” or term – I also would propose five (or four) “evaluations” plus the final testing. Only three “evaluations” seem little to me. The communicative competence should be tested more often. As well remember that our students should not find the test activities unexpected: those activities should have been worked out along the lessons too. I could carry on by writing about all this testing thing, but what can we do to minimize our students’ anxiety at final tests and at regular tests? ...
Read more

3686. How Flexible Are You as a Teacher, eh?

  So you have heard me that we teachers ought to plan our lessons, so they may really help our students learn a lot of things in class and at home with homework.  Today I wanted to share some things with you online, things that might perhaps help you plan your lessons effectively and in a rather short time.  If you teach a second or foreign language, you could start the lesson with a warm-up set of questions to those students, like for example asking them today’s date, having some discussion about the weather, and practicing some grammar patterns they’re learning or any stuff about lately lessons. That may be a nice occasion to communicate with your dear students in the target language, with authentic communication, and by using the vocab and grammar you’re dealing with.  Then in class you may carry out activities where the four language skills are combined: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Or otherwise if you utilize a text- or a course-book, well those bo...
Read more

2483. They Are the People We Have to Teach

Image
According to Spanish José María Contreras educating a person is teaching him to love.  A person is capable first of getting to know and love God. As well he or she is capable of loving the others, by seeking and wishing the best for them, beginning with the people that are closer to him or her.  And an essential good for the others is fulfilling their job labor, day after day.
Read more

3687. The Teacher Is Essential in Class

  I teach English to adults, as you know. And I would like to consider each lesson as a study session with my dear students. It’s an occasion for us to learn English. To learn new words, phrases, some syntax. Plus an occasion to have nice discussions about the topics from the textbook and from life itself.  If I consider that lesson as a study session, I will not get a bit nervous for acting in public, because on the other hand I like studying and learning English.  Even more, in that way I can have sort of a contemplative attitude in class, and that will positively influence on my students and my students’ learning and acquiring that target language. It will.  Something essential – you know – is planning that lesson, and there will be activities we carry out on the spot, and others that they, the students, will carry out on their own, working silently, and thus learning and acquiring English in some likely peaceful and quiet atmosphere: this latter is also essential...
Read more