I'm attempting to create a clear vision of the past 15 years of my teaching career by stating the principles that I am willing to live by. These represent the principles that I feel strongest and most passionately about as a teacher and as a person. Here it goes...
Rule #1: Why I Try to Teach as Little English as Possible as an English Teacher
I think one of the biggest mistakes of most novice ESL teachers, and perhaps ESL programs, is the incessant, consciously misguided, panicked and manic. need to teach English. I know, I know, you would THINK that teaching English is a vital part of your job as an English as a second language teacher (please stay calm, people), it is just that teaching ESL well, I mean really fine language instruction, often involves anything but teaching English. Let's see how many of you relate to this story:
Case in point: my students are great learners. Most are entering the college ranks (and ESL often is synonymous with college international students), and they are the best and brightest. They come at various levels of study, and I have taught classes in pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar (love the Azar books) and have been successful in teaching all of these disciplines. But if I am to really focus away from me and take a serious look at what engages students into really performing, really submersing themselves into language and learning, I have to admit that often my best classes are when I don't act as an ESL teacher.
For example, when I teach them my personal passion (for example, famous American short stories), I often have students create storyboards--picture stories, I call them--that allow them to truly wrap their minds around the structure and philosophy and organization of a really good story. Are they learning English? Absolutely! But the focus on authentic learning material and away from parts of speech, verb tense, and usage in general is not only liberating to them, (lo and behold, their eyes seem to tell me, we're actually communicating about important ideas!) but it truly allows for them to see themselves as negotiators of language.
In short, by and large, we need to stop teaching English. And we need to start teaching IN English. My goodness gracious, English itself is such a dull topic, wouldn't you agree? Isn't it therefore reasonable that language would be acquired much faster if it were used more as a vehicle than as the topic?
Perhaps, some of you, however, are still a little uncertain. If we don't teach English, you might wonder, then what do we teach? Well, my friends, that is a very good question indeed.
Ask it again. And again. I know you'll come up with something.
Rule #1: Why I Try to Teach as Little English as Possible as an English Teacher
I think one of the biggest mistakes of most novice ESL teachers, and perhaps ESL programs, is the incessant, consciously misguided, panicked and manic. need to teach English. I know, I know, you would THINK that teaching English is a vital part of your job as an English as a second language teacher (please stay calm, people), it is just that teaching ESL well, I mean really fine language instruction, often involves anything but teaching English. Let's see how many of you relate to this story:
Case in point: my students are great learners. Most are entering the college ranks (and ESL often is synonymous with college international students), and they are the best and brightest. They come at various levels of study, and I have taught classes in pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar (love the Azar books) and have been successful in teaching all of these disciplines. But if I am to really focus away from me and take a serious look at what engages students into really performing, really submersing themselves into language and learning, I have to admit that often my best classes are when I don't act as an ESL teacher.
For example, when I teach them my personal passion (for example, famous American short stories), I often have students create storyboards--picture stories, I call them--that allow them to truly wrap their minds around the structure and philosophy and organization of a really good story. Are they learning English? Absolutely! But the focus on authentic learning material and away from parts of speech, verb tense, and usage in general is not only liberating to them, (lo and behold, their eyes seem to tell me, we're actually communicating about important ideas!) but it truly allows for them to see themselves as negotiators of language.
In short, by and large, we need to stop teaching English. And we need to start teaching IN English. My goodness gracious, English itself is such a dull topic, wouldn't you agree? Isn't it therefore reasonable that language would be acquired much faster if it were used more as a vehicle than as the topic?
Perhaps, some of you, however, are still a little uncertain. If we don't teach English, you might wonder, then what do we teach? Well, my friends, that is a very good question indeed.
Ask it again. And again. I know you'll come up with something.
My worst lessons are the ones that remove classroom content from a relevent, human-level context. As a geography teacher, I ty to not teach "latitude and longitude" and "map projections" but show the beautiful and wonderful things in the world that captivate the imagination. Thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteDear Mr Dixon,
ReplyDeleteThat is a very realistic story, because I share the same experience. When I teach the students English writing and I am trying to explain the rules and instructions that they must stick to while they are writing, they will get lost, but when I ask them to be free to write about anything they like and what I care about is the Idea first then the rules, it will be much more easier for them. so my comment is that, motivation students to express what they have is prior to applying certain rules.I am always trying to teach them how they can thing, have imagination, look for the solutions other then pushing them harder to the Grammar or the tenses.