Task #2
Task #2
A positive relationship between the student and the target language is one of the goals of affective language learning. How has your relationship with English changed since you were a student? What has influenced these changes?
It has changed completely. I was not the best of students behavior-wise, and I took for granted the fact I was learning English because as a teenager I could do so many things in English in my own way. I played videogames, watched series and posted on forums about games and bands I liked. Internet provided me with access to people around the world and that was enough for my English-building skills. As a teacher, I had to revisit my own English foundation, fill in the gaps with research and study. It’s not wrong to say that sometimes I was learning as much as my students were. Furthermore, I felt my pronunciation never met desirable standards for myself. Teaching made me self-aware about these areas I ignored when I was only a student. After I set areas to improve and went towards them, my attitude changed for the better. I felt more at ease with my own limitations, I felt that they’re not terrible even comparing to world-level teachers and I started enjoying my classes more. As a result, students who were prone to making jokes and interacting with the language in a positive look tended to enjoy more, as they were making conclusions out of their own learning experience, interacting uniquely and producing positive outcomes from it.
A positive relationship between the student and the target language is one of the goals of affective language learning. How has your relationship with English changed since you were a student? What has influenced these changes?
It has changed completely. I was not the best of students behavior-wise, and I took for granted the fact I was learning English because as a teenager I could do so many things in English in my own way. I played videogames, watched series and posted on forums about games and bands I liked. Internet provided me with access to people around the world and that was enough for my English-building skills. As a teacher, I had to revisit my own English foundation, fill in the gaps with research and study. It’s not wrong to say that sometimes I was learning as much as my students were. Furthermore, I felt my pronunciation never met desirable standards for myself. Teaching made me self-aware about these areas I ignored when I was only a student. After I set areas to improve and went towards them, my attitude changed for the better. I felt more at ease with my own limitations, I felt that they’re not terrible even comparing to world-level teachers and I started enjoying my classes more. As a result, students who were prone to making jokes and interacting with the language in a positive look tended to enjoy more, as they were making conclusions out of their own learning experience, interacting uniquely and producing positive outcomes from it.
Thiago,
ReplyDeleteWhen we teach, we learn twice. I have also learned and still learn so much when I am preparing classes and teaching students.
Presence and self-awareness are very important in a teacher's development path. It's important to always continue learning and going after our goals. Alicia Fernadez says that only the teacher that is learning is able to promote learning.
Connecting the language students are learning to their lives is key to promote the birth of a language that is alive. Specially with teens!
Great that you are here learning and sharing with world-class teachers!
Hugs from Buddy and me.