What is really important in Education
The objective of education
is learning, not teaching. Therefore 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 seem to be more involved and engaged in lesson
activities than students in traditional classes.
In my opinion, we are able
to activate our learners equally in both situations.
Getting decent
communication in different educational settings requires altered teaching
approaches.
This enables us to change
them from passive learners to active students.
But how to help them learn
actively and meaningfully, it is a separate issue.
Active learning involves
providing opportunities for students to talk 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 and the topics,
forms of thinking, and strategies to the problems which are needed to
understand and relate to the topics.
This is how I work on
creating my “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 are able to 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. This is 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 speaking with.
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 generally 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
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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
