Maximizing Learning Opportunites

Since we have been talking about a post method era and how the field is getting away from following strict methods, Brown has posed 12 principles that can help guide our teaching. Brown talks about how it’s important to have the ability to comprehend when to use a technique, with whom it will work with, and know how to adapt it for a specific group of students and judge its effectiveness (63).  I think meaningful learning is so important because it connects the learning to the child’s everyday life.  It’s important for them to learn what is relevant and important to them so that they will be motivated to use it.  I find intrinsic motivation to be much more important than extrinsic motivation because they are just relying on the anticipation of a reward.  When they’re not in the classroom setting and there isn’t an immediate reward then they probably won’t take risks or try to further their learning.  The principle of autonomy is so important in language teaching.  Learners need to use the language outside of the classroom and take charge of their own learning.  The language-culture connection is also very important for students to understand the culture of the language they are learning. 

 In Ch. 16 Brown digs deeper into principle number 4 of strategy based instruction.  This type of instruction helps the learner take control of their learning.  It emphasizes the effort and investment that students must put forth into their own learning process.  It shifts the focus into helping learners actively learn instead of just pouring knowledge into passive students.  Brown presents a list on page 259 of how good language learners learn.  It’s important for language learners to be aware of their own learning styles and the strategies that they use in order to identify their strengths and weaknesses.  Once you are aware of what is inhibiting your growth in language learning then you can use new strategies to compensate for those weaker areas.  I found Table 16.2 to be very informative and offer great ideas to help students succeed.  There are strategic and compensatory techniques that can help students learn. 

            Kuma talks about maximizing learning opportunities and how the students play a crucial role in the difference between what is taught and learned.  It’s better to treat a text as a starting point to launch into conversation and learners can bring whatever they have to build the conversation and ask questions.  Instead of having a built in syllabus, it should change based on what both the teacher and the learners feel comfortable with.  Kuma says, “Learners will be able to find their own path to learning, and the teachers will be able to create the optimal environment necessary for learning to take place (48).”  It’s also important to maximize learning opportunities outside of the classroom and connect the concepts with the local and global community.  I really liked the student response sheet because it gives the teacher an opportunity to see what the students learned and where they need extra help.  It’s another tool that teachers can use to be reflective and change the way they teach based on the learner’s needs. 

The Importance of Context

In Skehan’s article on task-based instruction, I found the progression of “what’s important” very interesting.  Krashen started out by saying input is all that’s necessary and we quickly realized that solely input is not sufficient.  Naturally, the next big push was interaction.  Now, within that interaction we see that focus-on-form and meaning are also very important.  I think precasts are a part of being a reflective teacher.  I like that the teacher is predicting the gaps that they foresee ahead of time in order to do something about it in their teaching to support that student.  The sociocultural approach to interaction presents an important aspect which is collaboration.  I think it’s also important to allow students to construct meaning together in a collaborative process.  Swain and Laptkins work is very interesting to me because I love the fact that each person has something meaningful to add in the collaborative process that is unique.  Each person can add something that the others cannot and then they all get to learn from each other.  In the cognitive perspectives it’s important to take note that when you teach one part of language there is another part that is not being taught.  If there is a majority of teaching in one area then the other areas could suffer. 

Hu’s article talks about how the Chinese have learned English through grammar translation and the audiolingual method.  The approach was popular and worked within their culture however many Chinese have had difficulty in their communicative competency.  As a result, they tried to use CLT, but now we have seen that there is still no change in the learning outcome.  Understanding culture is so important when it comes to teaching.  When I read all of the goals of Communicative Language Teaching I think that it sounds like a wonderful approach.  However, it sounds like a good approach within the contexts of my own culture and if I were the one learning a foreign language.  Hu’s article brings light to the fact that as a teacher I’m not teaching myself; I’m teaching other students who will come from completely different backgrounds, worldviews, and cultures.  In the Chinese culture, CLT doesn’t work because they perceive games and communicative activities as entertainment instead of learning.  They view education as a process of accumulating knowledge instead of a process of constructing and using knowledge.  The idea that students are discoverers and contributors of knowledge in education is completely opposite to the value placed on books and direct instruction in Chinese culture.  In China students are taught to respect and not challenge their teacher.  Chinese education puts an emphasis on innate abilities not leading to success or failure.  However they strongly believe that perseverance, determination, patience, and hard work can lead all people to be educated and successful.  The very core and principles of CLT differs with the values of Chinese culture and so it wouldn’t be best practice to use in that context. 

Bax’s article is a perfect follow-up to Hu because context really is so important.  I’m so happy that I read this because it can be so easy to fall into the western idea of “best practice” and apply it everywhere.  Now I see another reason behind the importance of knowing your students well and familiarizing yourself with their cultures.  I totally agree with Bax that context should be first and everything else will stem from there.  I see how there’s not one best methodology, but that there are different methodologies that work well within different contexts.  I really see how context can/should completely change the way that you teach.

Postmethod Era

“First and foremost, it signifies a search for an alternative to method rather than an alternative method.”  Instead of beginning with theorists in a bottom-down approach, the postmethod condition enables teachers to create their own innovative strategies that are specific to their own school and learners.  The postmethod condition recognizes a teacher’s own competency, pedagogical knowledge, and past experiences as crucial to being a good teacher.  It shows how learning can be reshaped through reflective teaching and self-evaluation.  The way that you teach will look different depending on the individual learners that you’re teaching and what their goals are for the school year.  I really like the parameter of practicality because it recognizes that no theory can be fully useful or usable unless you practice it.  

I like the Communicative Language Teaching method as Brown describes it in Chapter 3.  I especially like it because I am an early childhood major and we base most of our teaching on learner-centered instruction.  We build classroom environments where we value cooperative and interactive learning.  The teacher’s role is to guide children towards learning and the students are seen as being active participants in their own learning process.  When it comes to reading and writing I think whole language approach is important to balance with the smaller parts like phonemes.  Some teachers rely completely on phonics and then the kids lose the big picture of reading and focus so much on each individual sound which sometimes puts them behind in their fluency.  I think it’s important to teach them both whole language and phonics.  We also are taught to teach theme-based/content-based instruction.  A lot of these approaches I’m already familiar with, but it’s cool to see them specifically in regard to language teaching.  

In the article, I thought it was really interesting to see that many teachers that claim to be CLT teachers really don’t have a lot of communication in the classroom.  There’s a gap between what methods/approaches teachers say they use and how the teachers are really teaching.  Every individual method is going to have weaknesses and I think it’s important to draw on many different methods because they all have different strengths that are needed.  I agree that language teaching needs a balance between both form and meaning.  The difference between CLT and the postmethod condition is still a little foggy to me.  It seems like the postmethod era is trying to be completely new and different but I feel like regardless of how a teacher is teaching they’re using methods.  I think it’s possible to be a reflective transformative teacher and still draw on different methods, approaches, and strategies.  My best guess is that they’re just trying to get away from a one size fits all mentality to teaching.  In the past people would use one method to the exclusion of all others and now it seems like there’s more of a pull to look at everything and then use what is best for you as a teacher and your specific learners and be flexible.  In the past it seems like teachers would use the same lessons and teach the same way for decades.  Now, if they’re good reflective and transformative teachers that wouldn't happen because the student’s needs are always changing. 

Teacher Roles

In Chapter 1, Kumar talks about different perceptions and roles of teachers.  He talks about the term “vocation” which means “to call”.  He sees vocation as service to others that provides individuals with a sense of identity and personal fulfillment.  He then brings up other words associated with teaching and what he perceives as the meaning of these words.  A job is primarily for survival.  Work can have personal meaning but it does not imply service to others.  A career shows long-term commitment but differs in the same ways as job/work.  Lastly, a profession emphasizes expertise but the individual may not see the work as a calling (Kumaravadivelu 6).  I think that these terms are useful to evaluate yourself to see what is driving your decision to be a teacher.  I personally relate with his definition of vocation because teaching young children is a giant part of my identity.  I find so much satisfaction and fulfillment in it and it really is my passion.  

According to Kumar there are three “strands of thought” when referring to the roles of a teacher.  One view is teachers as passive technicians.  This is traced to the behavioral school of psychology which focuses more on the education then the teachers.  This view holds professional experts to the highest degree.  Classroom teachers simply learn the content knowledge that was agreed upon in the field and pass it on to the students.  Teachers are passive instead of reflective.  They are not supposed to challenge the validity or the reliability of what they’re told to teach (Kumaravadivelu 8).  I see this a lot on a national, state, and district level right now.  There are so many assessments and standardized tests that teachers are being required to implement in their classrooms right now that there isn’t a lot of opportunity for reflective/creative teaching.  It’s very laid out and direct with no consideration to the actual learners and what is developmentally appropriate for them.  I see a lot of teachers that desire to be reflective/transformative and do their best, but they are really being held back by the administrators and laws that they have to follow, many of which came into place from No Child Left Behind.  

Teachers as reflective practitioners are seen as problem-solvers.  They are creative and think critically as they reflect on how to better their teaching.  Teachers monitor their on-going performance during a lesson, identify unexpected problems, and instantly shift their teaching to meet the needs of their students.  These teachers will also reflect after their lessons to improve it for next time (Kumaravadivelu 10).  This is a giant piece to how I’ve been taught to teach through the early childhood education program here at ISU.  

Teachers as transformative individuals seek a pedagogy that empowers teachers and learners to bring their own experiences into the educational setting.  They are professionals who reflect on ideological principles to inform their teaching, connecting theory and practice, and sharing ideas.  Teachers strive for both educational advancement and personal transformation.  Teachers do their best to maximize learning opportunities in the classroom as well as transform life outside of the classroom (Kumaravadivelu 14).  This is my goal as a teacher.  I don’t just want my kids to leave the classroom learning how to read, write, and do math.  I want my students to learn skills that will lead them to be better individuals in society.  I want them to work towards good instead of evil.  I want them to learn how to overcome challenges and to not give up; knowing the satisfaction they can have when they persevere.  I want them to learn how to be a good friend and the importance of serving others within a community.  I want them to receive love so that they can show love to others.  I desire to see the world change through one six year old at a time.    

“The primary concern for teachers should be the depth of critical thinking rather than the breadth of content knowledge (Kumaravadivelu 20).”  I may not know everything, but I know that I love kids and I know that one of my favorite things in life is seeing transformation.  I desire to see the process of a child moving from point A to point B and to do everything within my power to move them forward; and I think that’s a good place to start.