21 Questions for Language Teachers [part 2]

This is part 2 of a response to a post on The Steve Brown Blog. You can find part 1 of my response here.

11.          What is it that managers don’t understand (or have forgotten) about teaching?

Hmmmm, I don’t know. I am now a ‘manager’, having been recently given the position of principal at the small language school where I teach, and I don’t think I’ve forgotten anything :). Maybe I just haven’t been in the position long enough.

12.          Are teachers automatically accountable for their learners’ progress and achievement in learning?

I guess they are partly accountable but it is ultimately the student who is in control of his/her own learning. Teachers should be trying to find ways to accommodate and motivate the different learners they encounter. They should understand that not everybody learns the same way at the same speed. They should present students with a variety of tools for language learning, from which the students can choose whichever suits them best. Once the teacher is doing all of the above then I believe that they have fulfilled their end of the bargain.

13.          Do different students have different learning styles? If so, does this mean anything?

Yes, see above answer.

14.          Is it OK for teachers to have different teaching styles, or should we all teach the same way?

It’s good that students get a variety of different teachers and thus different teaching styles throughout their learning. This means that students who find difficulty with one particular teacher/method realise that there’s more than one way to skin a cat.

On the other hand, I teach the way I do because I deem this to be the most effective way I know. Does this mean that I think other teachers are less effective? I don’t think so.  In fact, almost every time I observe somebody else teaching, I learn something new or remember something I used to do but had long since stopped doing.

There is no perfection in teaching only progress.

15.          Does the learning process actually matter, or is it all about the achievement of outcomes?

There is much to be learnt from how we learn something. The biggest part of the learning process is arguably making mistakes. Knowing that it’s ok to make mistakes and realizing that it’s next to impossible to learn a language without doing so is very important. Realizing that your pathway to fluency is built from mistakes and corrections is half the battle in learning a language. Students who realize that it’s ok (in fact, essential) to get stuff wrong sometimes, are much more successful in language learning, and possibly happier too.

16.          How does your answer to 15 impact on the way you teach?

My classroom is hopefully a non-threatening environment where everybody feels comfortable enough to try something new, make a mistake and figure out how to learn from it. We all work together towards learning, teacher and students alike. There is little competition between students and apart from friendly games, none is encouraged.

17.          How often do you worry that you’re not a very good teacher?

Once a month/week/year, I don’t know.

If I’m honest, I don’t. But I do worry that I’m not the best teacher I could be, especially when I see myself roll out that same old lesson because I was too busy/tired to come up with something new.

18.          If your answer to 17 was Never, does this mean you’re not a very good teacher?

I really don’t know.

19.          Why do so many teachers want to become teacher trainers?

Money, glory, status, new challenges. Maybe because they presume their students will all be motivated. Maybe because they think that they can have a greater effect on the world by training teachers (pyramid scheme).

20.          Is it true that bad teachers often end up as managers?

I’m not sure. I guess you could go the other way too and say that some good teachers make bad managers. Being able to teach a class where ultimately you decide how it’s done, doesn’t necessarily mean that you can manage a group of teachers with different ideals, problems and sometimes different pedagogical views.

21.          Is our role simply to teach our subject, or do all teachers have another, more wide-reaching responsibility?

It depends. I think with young learners it’s important to realise that we are moulding the person and not just teaching the subject, but with adults, maybe less so. It is important to make sure that the learning environment you control is inclusive and open. We are not teaching a class, we’re teaching people.

21 Questions for Language Teachers [part 1]

This is a response to a thoughtful post on the excellent Steve Brown Blogwhere he posed 21 questions  for language teachers. Here are my answers. He said that his own answers were always changing as I guess mine will too. I’ve split my response into two posts. You can find part 2 here.

1.            Is language an academic subject or a practical skill?

Both, but it’s not a 50/50 split.

Seeing as language can be learnt through immersion, with little or no instruction, I’d say that it is more of a practical skill. While it’s possible to become knowledgeable in many academic disciplines through reading alone, I don’t believe that this is so with language; you may learn a lot about the language but your ability to produce it, manipulate it and use it depends on the amount of time you spend practising it. I guess it’s like sculpture. You can read study a lot about the history and techniques of sculpture but without actually using your hands and a chisel, and making a few mistakes first, it’s highly unlikely that you will be able to sculpt something beautiful.

2.            How do you turn learning stuff into being able to do stuff?

As a teacher, showing the students how and when they can use the grammar/language they’ve just learnt, providing semi-controlled opportunities for practice and eventually free tasks where the students can use what you’ve taught them (if they choose to).

e.g. There’s no point in teaching the first conditional without teaching that it can be used to make predictions. Then, giving the students predictions that they have to complete i.e. If I get into university…   Eventually, you can follow up with a political debate. Split the class in two groups and get them to write an election manifesto. This should encourage the use of the first conditional without forcing it upon the students.

3.            How do you know if you’ve taught a good lesson?

Good? For the students you mean? I guess all lessons should ultimately be evaluated from the students’ point of view. I have a few questions that I ask myself after the lesson when I’m passing judgement on it ;).

Were the students challenged?

Were they involved in the lesson?

Is anything that they learnt of use to them outside this lesson/class?

If the answer to all of these is ‘Yes’ then I think it was a good lesson.

4.            If your students like you, does this mean you’re a good teacher?

No, but it may help them learn more from you.

5.            If your students don’t pass the tests, does this mean you’re a bad teacher?

No.

6.            Is a detailed lesson plan a pre-requisite for a successful lesson?

Absolutely and positively not, but it helps, especially if you have the freedom and confidence to depart from it when needed.

7.            How do you measure successful teaching?

I really don’t know and will have to think more about this.

8.            Does being a teacher automatically give you a professional identity?

I unsure what you mean by a professional identity. Does it help me to identify with other teachers, their issues etc.? Yes, I guess so. I understand where they’re coming from and can empathize with some of the difficulties they may be having, irrespective of the subject they teach.

9.            How do you know your students have learned anything from your lessons?

It’s pretty difficult. I mean, what’s learnt is seldom equal to what was being taught.

Getting my students to keep a reflective journal has helped. At the end of each week, I get them to answer a number of short questions (like the ones suggested by Harmer (2007)): What did you most enjoy in this week’s lessons? What did you learn that you did not know before? What did you find most difficult in last week’s lessons? What questions would you like to ask about what we have learnt?

Reading these gives me an important insight into what’s going on in the minds of the students, what’s being learnt and what needs revising.

10.          Can students learn language without being taught grammar?

They can learn to communicate in a language, yes. I have done so in both Thai and Italian. But to progress beyond making yourself understood, and into actually controlling and possessing a language, then, no. Some grammar instruction is essential. Without it, many students are perfectly comprehensible but full of fossilized grammar mistakes.

Part 2 of my answer can be found here.

Bibliography:

Harmer, J. (2007). The Practice of English Language Teaching (4th ed.) Harlow: Pearson