Week One: Discussion Task #1
Week One: Discussion Task #1
I have finished reading Steve Kaufmann’s (a renowned polyglot from Canada) book and there is a great quote in that book when he says: “The teacher cannot make you learn. It is your responsibility to learn.” Learning comes from a student, not the teacher. The question then that I have, that you have, that maybe all of us, teachers have is what the purpose of the teacher is. What is the purpose of the classroom coming together with other students and the teacher? Is it even necessary to have a class or a school in the Internet Age? Good questions. And I also often keep asking myself: what can I do in augmenting the language learning process? What is possible for me to do more effectively as a teacher?
Well, in my view the purpose of a class and indeed the purpose of a teacher is mostly inspiration. We can’t do the work for the students and indeed the teacher can’t even give the skill to the learner. What the best teachers can do is change psychology, beliefs and thinking. The best teachers make students stronger, they make them feel motivated. They help to encourage them, and most of all they build their confidence. Good teachers focus on learning and help learners to believe that they can do it. As a result, the learners can have a big success and can achieve their dreams. Responsible teachers really help learners to feel that deep inside, to have the confidence and keep going to the study every day with a smile. That’s what the humanistic teachers do. The traditional teachers are the ones who do the opposite and concentrate on teaching. They kill inspiration, they make students feel frustrated, and they make poor pupils feel weaker. They make young learners feel they can’t master the language. This is why I am frustrated and indeed sometimes even angry with language institutes and the system at most schools in Korea because what I see them doing is making their students weaker through tests, grades, and criticism in constant error correction and many other things. They make their students weaker; they make their students less confident. They have been doing exactly opposite of what they should be doing. They are harming their students and that upsets me a lot.
I am thinking about my role as a coach and as a teacher. I realize that what I can do for the class is; I can inspire them, energize them, and make them feel more confident, stronger about their L2 language ability from the next week on. And then, give them some great strategies to use to continue improving.
I have finished reading Steve Kaufmann’s (a renowned polyglot from Canada) book and there is a great quote in that book when he says: “The teacher cannot make you learn. It is your responsibility to learn.” Learning comes from a student, not the teacher. The question then that I have, that you have, that maybe all of us, teachers have is what the purpose of the teacher is. What is the purpose of the classroom coming together with other students and the teacher? Is it even necessary to have a class or a school in the Internet Age? Good questions. And I also often keep asking myself: what can I do in augmenting the language learning process? What is possible for me to do more effectively as a teacher?
Well, in my view the purpose of a class and indeed the purpose of a teacher is mostly inspiration. We can’t do the work for the students and indeed the teacher can’t even give the skill to the learner. What the best teachers can do is change psychology, beliefs and thinking. The best teachers make students stronger, they make them feel motivated. They help to encourage them, and most of all they build their confidence. Good teachers focus on learning and help learners to believe that they can do it. As a result, the learners can have a big success and can achieve their dreams. Responsible teachers really help learners to feel that deep inside, to have the confidence and keep going to the study every day with a smile. That’s what the humanistic teachers do. The traditional teachers are the ones who do the opposite and concentrate on teaching. They kill inspiration, they make students feel frustrated, and they make poor pupils feel weaker. They make young learners feel they can’t master the language. This is why I am frustrated and indeed sometimes even angry with language institutes and the system at most schools in Korea because what I see them doing is making their students weaker through tests, grades, and criticism in constant error correction and many other things. They make their students weaker; they make their students less confident. They have been doing exactly opposite of what they should be doing. They are harming their students and that upsets me a lot.
I am thinking about my role as a coach and as a teacher. I realize that what I can do for the class is; I can inspire them, energize them, and make them feel more confident, stronger about their L2 language ability from the next week on. And then, give them some great strategies to use to continue improving.
What a inspiring post. I totally agree that ultimately each one is respondible for their learning. Having a single adult taking care of so many children at the same time is not natural, that's what I think. It can become a really difficult mission indeed. The way I see it, we are not only teaching, we are TAKING CARE of them, as I just said.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with you Witold Zukowski! We are facilitators and inspiring teachers inside the classroom! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Witold!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post. Inspiration is certainly the result of humanistic teaching. The challenge is to define what concrete actions teachers do that bring the confidence, the deep connection, and the motivation you have mentioned. Interesting it is also that what we want to students to feel is not exactly what will happen as our actions are interpreted in different ways.
I have been to testing-oriented courses in Asian countries and I have seen the devastating effects that pressure and anxiety creates on students draining the pleasure and meaning in learning.
Good you are there to bring more affect to our students!
Hugs from Brazil!
Thank you for your positive comments. Today I have posted the second discussion task, which expresses my views on the Circle Time. In fact, I'm lagging behind with posting the course's assignments and need to catch up with the others within this week. I hope, I'll manage!
ReplyDelete