Does
learning a foreign language help
teachers teach?
This is an account of the evening #ELTchat
discussion of 3rd October 2012.
The
people present were ably moderated by @Marisa_C, @theteacherjames and @BrunoELT.
Taking
part were :@shaznosel,
@teachertom, @Marialva, @stephenburrows, @Noreen_Lam, @leoselivan, @SueAnnan,
@sandymillin, @hmbaba, @Mo_Americanoid, @InglesnaRede, @anna_whitcher,
@dianatremayne, @knolinfos, @elawassell, @Notyetlanguage, @inkscriblr,
@AnnLoseva, @MarjorieRosenbe, @SahalZyad, and a number of lurkers. J
.JPG)
Marisa started us off by asking how many of us had
undertaken to learn a language recently. Bruno wanted to know whether we had
struggled.
@Marisa_C has
only done a bit of an online lesson in Portuguese recently, while
@ sandymillin has
been learning Chinese. @hmbaba learned
a language for her DipTESOL, but more in order to analyse the teaching
techniques.
@Marisa_C one
of the things I remember as a beginning learner of Turkish is how difficult the
step to reading paragraphs/texts was
There were many questions:
Are NESTS taught grammar at school?
If
not, as seems to be the case, certainly in the UK and the US, then learning a
foreign language can only be of benefit- as they will learn about their own
language through comparison with the structure of the new one, although James
said that he learned more about students than about the language. Many of us
agreed with Bruno that our L2 students often have a better understanding of
English grammar than UK or US students.
Both the Trinity CertTESOL and the CELTA offer
lessons in a foreign language to trainee teachers. The comparative element is
important, and being a student in a class where techniques can be tried out and
their soundness (as good teaching methods for beginners) can be assessed, is
invaluable.
@BrunoElt Am I too off if I say that learning a foreign
language is a step to becoming a better ELT teacher? The answer was a
resounding NO!
How do our students benefit?
The
key word here is EMPATHY. We are all in agreement that knowing how difficult it
is to learn a language ourselves helps us to empathise with our own students.
The point was raised that it can help with recognising L1 interference problems
and with finding strategies to encourage our students. We are also able to
employ techniques and theories from 2nd language acquisition which we
have experienced ourselves, and know which methods and ideas work well. Teachers
who have lived in another country appear to be more sympathetic to learners, too.
@sandymillin says that having other languages reminds her that
she has been in the same shoes as her students, which struck a chord with all
of us.
Do teachers make good students, or
are we hypercritical?
We
were honest enough to suggest that maybe we are not all good students. Marisa
looks at how the teacher teaches, and I am much more critical of teachers who
use techniques which don’t meet my learning style. There was a debate about
whether that was an issue of ego, a little ‘I would have done that
better/differently’. Perhaps we should just put ourselves in the teachers’
shoes and be open to different techniques. Stephen believes that he is a good
student who can recognise when a teacher is making an effort, even if the
activity is not successful.
@stephenburrows: being on the other side of the fence is a
rewarding but frustrating experience.
Others
have had poor teachers who are badly prepared, or simply boring.
@theteacherjames: I’d love to have just one good teacher, just one.
@sandymillin: I know I’m a bad student. I speak too much English
and only do my homework the night before the lesson J I prefer 1-2-1 classes so that I have some control
in what the teacher does.
@AnnLoseva borrowed
ideas from her teacher at University. However she makes the point that it was
before she became a teacher herself, and that now she has more knowledge she
would be more critical.
@leoselivan:
I’m a bad student, I never do my homework, yet I make my students do it J
Is learning something, no matter
what, also valuable?
A
resounding yes for this one! It appears that it doesn’t actually matter whether
what you are learning is a language, or edtech, or something else. By involving
themselves in the learning process, the teacher can understand some of the
frustration, and highs, that their students experience.
@Marisa_C If
we take it a step sideways, any learner feels good about having a T who is
learning something all the time.
@Mo_Americanoid I
was growing impatient with my students- until I took up playing the piano!
As a language learner, which
techniques used by the teacher did you like/love/hate?
@Marisa_C: Love:
grammar
@stephenburrows: Love; Vocab and speaking, Hate; Grammar (Portuguese) and teacher translating words all the
time
@SueAnnan: Like:
enough drilling of pronunciation and structure (but hate teaching it)
@teachertom: one of my Japanese teachers used glove puppets-
interesting!
@sandymillin: in Chinese lessons Like: repetition, and listening practice Dislike: teachers who talk to the board and don’t allow time to
answer questions.
@theteacherjames Hate: endless grammar explanations. Teachers who interrupt
to correct errors during fluency activities
@leoselivan: Hate:
lists of vocabulary, or explaining every word in a reading text
@Mo_Americanoid Dislike: vocabulary lists Love: role-playing or reading dialogues
@BrunoElt: Dislike:
reading aloud
Some
of us don’t enjoy role-plays, or perhaps have to be in the right mood. Others
love/hate reading aloud. It just proves that we are all individuals, as are our
students. There was a question about edtech, which may /not be used in class,
but it didn’t make any difference to our decision as to whether the teacher was
good or not.
Is it an advantage if the teacher
has learned another language?
@shaznosel Guess
the answer lies in how she learnt it.
What insights did you gain from
learning a foreign language?
@MarjorieRosenbe it
helps with rapport when you tell sts about your own language learning mistakes.
@MarjorieRosenbe It
helps me to teach English. When I learned a new word it was everywhere!
@leoselivan survival
techniques (making the language you know fit the concept you need)
@ellawassell English
is simpler than Polish –it takes longer to prepare a Polish lesson!
Many
comments were along the lines of ‘you appreciate your language more’
@Noreen_Lam it’s all about being a good role model for sts. We
can show them how we incorpotate the FL into our life which might motivate them
to do the same.
@anna_whitcher Just because we love languages doesn’t mean our
students do. WE have to engage them…
@leoselivan I can use examples of my learning to show how
knowledge of lexical items develop over time. I am more aware of grammar,
chunks in English
@sandymillin I
think my L2 learning has benefitted from my teaching
@theteacherjames I
learned more by teaching the language than by learning one
@annan_whitcher it’s
important to start from scratch, to remember how hard it is for our students
who really struggle.
@hmbaba it’s
not about the teaching, but the sharing of study skills and knowing what
students need to do to practise and succeed.
So, to sum up……
You
may gain insights into the workings of your own language- or it may just help
you be more aware of the needs of your students in the classroom. Whatever, learning
another language can be seen to add value to the development of the teacher.
@Marisa_C offered
to teach us some Greek. This opened the floodgates to other offers. @Notyetlanguage offered to teach Croatian
@ellawassell offered
Polish
lessons
@AnnLoseva promised Russian at some point in the future
@leoselivan suggested
Modern
Hebrew.
Wow!
We are really fortunate in the number of languages on offer, and the generosity
of spirit of our world-wide #ELTchatters.
Links
The
Neurochemistry of Empathy, #Storytelling, and the Dramatic Arc, Animated http://t.co/Wh9LH6R8
Ann
Loseva’s story of a language learner
The
teacher James’s language learning experiences
Ken
Wilson’s German lessons
Language
Highs
Old
#eltchat summary ‘How does your Language
Learning influence your teaching?’
Ha. I'd love to comment on the "do teachers make good students" question!
ReplyDeleteI've already found myself thinking at conferences that teachers make a terrible audience - always talking between themselves and not listening when they're supposed to! ; )
Having had recent experience going back to the other side of the desk - I know that I'm definitely more sympathetic to what the teacher might be going through, now that I have an idea of the kind of factors that might be coming into play when they seem stressed / go off track.
On the other hand, I'm also definitely a more critical student - "I would have presented that subject differently/better". Obviously. I'm working on that. ; )
Learning is an resource or requirement in seven career fields: devices, business, government, travel and travel and leisure, education, and social services. so language learners must notice this blog !...
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