I am going to
talk about active teaching.
For me -
teaching online is using technology in the classroom; as an additional method
of traditional teaching.
I am for blended
learning which means - taking advantage of both, traditional f2f techniques and
possibilities given by new technologies.
Some say that:
participants in online classes seemed to be more involved and engaged in lesson
activities than students in traditional classes.
In my view, we
can activate our learners, in the same way, in both situations.
Getting decent
communication in different educational settings requires altered teaching
approaches.
This way we can
change them from passive learners to active students.
But how to help
them learn actively and meaningfully, it is a separate issue.
Active learning
includes providing chances for students to discuss and listen meaningfully,
write, read, and reflect on the content, ideas, issues, and concerns of an
academic subject.
(Meyers &
Jones, 1993, p. 6)
Confucius’s
aphorism:
I hear, and I forget. I see,
and I remember. I do, and I understand.
(Page 75
Instruction at FSU Handbook 2011)
Should not be
forgotten.
By doing and
practicing, we build our long-term memory library.
Short term
recollection is formed mostly by memorizing, which is, unfortunately, assessed
in the majority of schools.
My experience
tells that I ought to practice active learning principles to progress
activities for my students that best mirror my particular communication style.
What is more, I choose the subjects, forms of thinking, and strategies to solve
the problems that should be understood and relate to the topics.
This method will
help me to create “active learners”.
Looking for
answers to the most common questions: what, when, where, who, why, why don't,
how, etc. is always the starting point.
As a result of
our discussion - we can put together part of incompetent content knowledgeable
student with fully involved learner and self-motivated thinker.
Traditional
education focuses on teaching, not learning. In most schools, memorization is
mistaken for learning. Taking part in free study lessons and online Speaking
Groups, will help a lot. This would also increase our confidence in speaking,
as well as improve vocabulary and pronunciation. Additional excellent setting
to practice is Virtual Classroom such as WizIQ, where teachers would
encourage us to work on all language skills.
Standards for Foreign Language
Learning
Communication
Communicate in Languages Other
Than English
Standard 1.1: Students engage in
conversations, provide and obtain information,
express feelings and emotions,
and exchange opinions.
Standard 1.2: Students understand and
interpret written and spoken language on a
variety of topics.
Standard 1.3: Students present
information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of
listeners or readers on a
variety of topics.
In my view, the
most important skill to master is speaking the language. Communication is a
difficult assignment especially if you don’t live or work in a native speaking
count. We can look for reliable supports to talk to via Skype. It is essential
to find someone whom we’re comfortable talking to. The process of natural
assimilation, involving intuition and subconscious learning. It is the product
of real interactions between people in environments of the target language and
culture, where the learner is an active player. It is similar to the way
children learn their native tongue, a process that produces functional skill in
the spoken language without theoretical knowledge. It develops familiarity with
the phonetic characteristics of the language as well as its structure and
vocabulary, and is responsible for oral understanding, the capability for
creative communication and the identification of cultural values.
A classic
example of second language acquisition is the adolescents and young adults that
live abroad for a year in an exchange program, often attaining near native
fluency, while knowing little about the language. They have a good
pronunciation without a notion of phonology, don't know what the perfect tense
is, modal or phrasal verbs are, but they intuitively recognize and know how to
use all the structures.
The traditional
approach to the study of languages and today is still practiced in high schools
worldwide. Attention is focused on the language in its written form, and the
objective is for the student to understand the structure and rules of the
language, whose parts are dissected and analyzed. The task requires
intellectual effort and deductive reasoning. The body is of greater importance
than communication. Teaching and learning are technical and based on the
syllabus. One studies the theory in the absence of the practice. One values the
correct and represses the incorrect. Error correction is constant leaving
little room for spontaneity. The teacher is an authority figure, and the
participation of the student is predominantly passive. Schools will teach how
to form interrogative and negative sentences, force to memorize irregular
verbs, study modal verbs, etc., Therefore, students hardly ever masters the use
of these structures in conversation.
The efficient
teaching of languages isn't that tied to a packaged course of structured
lessons based on grammatical sequencing, translation or oral drilling, nor is
the one that relies on technological resources. Well-organized
teaching is personalized, takes place in a bicultural environment and is based
on the personal skills of the facilitator in building relationships and
creating situations of real communication with comprehensible input focusing on
the learner's interests.
Krashen, Stephen D. Principles and
Practice in Second Language Acquisition. Prentice-Hall International,
1987.
Krashen, Stephen D. Second Language
Acquisition and Second Language Learning. Prentice-Hall
International, 1988.
Web source:
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/the-objective-of-education-is-learning-not-teaching/_truncated
http://cet.usc.edu/resources/teaching_learning/docs/Active_Learning_Florida.pdf_truncated
http://summit.k12.co.us/curriculum/forenlang/forenlang.htm_truncated
http://www.essayforum.com/writing-feedback-3/authority-professionalism-preplanning-important-skill-person-30641/_truncated
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/the-objective-of-education-is-learning-not-teaching/_truncated
http://cet.usc.edu/resources/teaching_learning/docs/Active_Learning_Florida.pdf_truncated
http://summit.k12.co.us/curriculum/forenlang/forenlang.htm_truncated
http://www.essayforum.com/writing-feedback-3/authority-professionalism-preplanning-important-skill-person-30641/_truncated
