The Importance of Communication

It is important to put our ideas into action, and learn by putting things we learn into practice. The problem is that we lack opportunities to practice what we learn; but if we don’t get or seize these opportunities we may never get to reach our fullest potential. As the teacher you can prompt them to use their newly acquired English skills.

A great method that is a classic among teachers is the good old topic and cues. The teacher would bring up a topic of discussion in which the students would have to draw information from a resource such as a book, or an article. The students would then use the information and have discussions and debates in order to understand the topic more in depth, but the important thing is that they are able to practice their conversational English and the fluency in real time.

Another great way that you can aid the students in their learning is by providing structure. Although we need to let them practice communicating they can sometimes get off track or the conversation could die down. It is then the teacher’s job to get the train back on the tracks and moving on by adding an important point that they may have missed or getting them back on topic as to maintain the flow of the conversation.

It is important to ask open questions that are very general rather than non-leading questions that can be answered in one word. It allows the students to express their inner most thoughts and feelings which is a great way to start a conversation as there are often opposing views. Asking a question such as “Do you like swimming?” has one of two results: yes or no. An open question usually begins with Who, What, Why, Where, When and How and has infinite possible responses.

You can also get the students riled up by playing devil’s advocate. Start off by stating something that they will almost certainly object to in order to get them to object using everything they’ve got. An example of this is when stated in class that I thought that we should all have arranged marriages and that we should marry not for love but rather wealth, and status. Several people caved to my statement but a mini discussion began when someone stated their differing views.

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Advice: What Should I Do?

After careful observation I have realized something incredible, a great phenomenon. Advice that we receive is no longer given based on experience and wisdom instead we are giving default answers because we don’t know what else to say. I think that we need to realize that we are not always qualified to give advice, but rather to direct them to another resource that is more reliable. If we try to play counselor without very much prior knowledge we can cause many further complications which may snowball.

I first came to this realization while I witnessed two people in the class role-play a distressed individual and a counselor. The initial intent was obviously not to practice counseling but rather to use our English vocabulary in real time and practice at it. The distressed individual’s problem was that someone from one of his former relationship had become a burden and a time vampire and that it was affecting the quality of his current relationship. His great dilemma was whether it was time to say ‘enough is enough’ or if he should continue to be her shoulder to cry on and just find time for her.

The problem is very common and is just a background to the real meat and potatoes which is the advice given by the counselor. The person playing the role of the counselor found difficulty in answering because she probably hadn’t experienced something like that before. She gave a very common answer which is to continue being there for them as a friend and making them a top priority.

I do not know where exactly where we get these ideas from but we have an auto-response mechanism inside us when it comes to advice – default solutions to difficult questions. If I like a girl how do I get her to like me? Auto-response: be yourself. I feel really hurt from a break up. Don’t worry about it, there are plenty of fish in the sea, we’ll go to the bar. First of all I think that we are looking for advice in the wrong place, our peers are not always a great resource. Not only that, but when they do give advice its very hit or miss because it is just a stock response and the results are dependent on how you perceived the advice.

It is not uncommon for us to think that we give great advice. It can be addicting and as much as it strokes our ego we much find an alternative, something that is more effective. I think that the most effective way to solve a problem is to act as a prompter and inquire more deeply into the problem, as a resource that guides them to the a more qualified source, and also as a sounding mirror to build rapport and really give develop a greater understanding for both the counselor and the distressed individual and work towards resolution.

I think that when giving advice we should really speak from our own experiences and wisdom and if you don’t know the answer then just tell them that honestly. I know it sounds very simple to do, but it is a difficult task to put into practice. We can really empathize and get to understand the individual through prompting, mirroring and acting as a resource. Although this is a good solution we must remember that we need to experience things for ourselves and learn from our mistakes. If we change our approach, we may not be doomed to repeat history after all.

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Hahyun Park’s last day!(Overdue...Sept 25th)

Today was her final day here at ATC as a student. Although the will no longer be attending regularly as a student she will continue to attend classes occasionally so she can see her friends here and enjoy spending time with them. I think that she put a lot of effort into planning her final lesson for us. She understood the material in depth and was able to communicate it to us very elegantly and with a wonderful passionate smile. Her methods of teaching us grammar were very effective but that’s not the most important part. What made the lesson really memorable is that she really took us into consideration and made the lesson very fun, interactive and a great way to help us get to know each other before she had to say her last farewell. Afterwards, we exchanged contact information and agreed to have a goodbye party in Hahyun’s honor tomorrow night. If you ask me I would say that today was truly a Kodak moment.

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The Secret About Great Teachers

At this day and age I noticed that we have fewer exceptional teachers, and more mediocre teachers. I believe that the mediocre teachers lack something very crucial that hinders them from ever achieving greatness. Extraordinary teachers have a passion for what they do, they have a positive attitude and they can motivate students by relating to them and working within their incentive systems.

Spectacular teachers becoming scarcer we have begun to accept mediocrity as long as they have the practical knowledge and a piece of paper that says they do – a degree or certificate. These “teachers” have all the practical knowledge you could want; they might be able to parrot back to you the entire encyclopedia Britannica, but they still lack something, that “so close yet so far” – passion. A superstar teacher who is passionate is naturally talented because they love what they do, they are doing it because they want to see students learn and grow, and as a result they have radiate charisma and a contagious enthusiasm. I am not dreaming, teachers like this are few and far between, but they do exist. A teacher who is passionate about teaching can inspire you to be passionate about teaching and look at life in a totally different light.

Another quality a great teacher possesses is the ability to see things in a positive light and the ability to take responsibility. They don’t blame people for their mistakes, they don’t have a victim’s mentality, and they don’t want to cut themselves when someone gives them constructive criticism. Every mistake and critique they receive is something they can learn from so that they can really refine and improve on their teaching ability. They don’t play the blame game or make excuses; they take responsibility and think about what they can change, they believe that they are the masters of their destiny. A teacher who makes excuses and has a victim mentality doesn’t have control of his life, is controlled externally, never changes, never improves, and never becomes great. On the other hand, the great teacher takes responsibility, takes control of his life, takes action, adapts, improves, and achieves his goals.

Although a great teacher can generally spark a student’s dormant enthusiasm and passion, there are some who need to be motivated differently. Any great teacher is able to ‘walk in their shoes’ and take some time to think about what makes the students motivated. They know that young kids and adolescents have a different paradigm and mindset and that the same things that make adults tick aren’t necessarily the same things that make young students tick. I have seen some truly excellent teachers use this to their advantage by offering incentives such as snacks, fieldtrips, and recognition and witnessed how effective it is.

In brief, these are some of the main traits of the truly successful, wonderful, and inspirational teachers. The things that truly separate the magnificent and the mediocre are passion for teaching, the ability to take responsibility and maintain a positive attitude, and see the world through the eyes of their students. I see a bright future for the aspiring teachers who possess these traits, as they will become legends, who will continue to inspire for years to come.

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Challenges of Teaching Multi-Level Classes

There are many challenges in teaching a multi-level class. When teaching a multi-level class the teacher must be adaptable and able to cater to the needs of a variety of different skill levels. Students who have a higher level of understanding for the subject could easily get bored because it is not challenging enough for them. On the other hand there are the lower level students who could feel anxiety, nervousness and inadequacy when confronted with difficult questions. Consequently, this could be very frustrating for the student and the teacher.

I have taught some small multi-level classes just recently and found it challenging. However, I feel like I have learned many new things that I could try when teaching them in the future. I would begin the activity with the entire group united and have them discuss the theme that the lesson would be focusing on. I would then divide them into equal ability groups and each group would be responsible for completing a specific task according to their skill level. Each specific task would contribute something towards completing the big picture. I would then divide them into mixed ability groups where they would do something interactive such as a role-play to enhance their communication skills. I would set up stations for different levels in the classroom so that those who finish early can continue to learn and practice their skills.

It is especially difficult to evaluate students in a multi-level class. Our goal is to evaluate the students in comparison with their personal goals and personal best, not compare them against each other. Some ways we can monitor their progress without this kind of awkward dynamic is to find alternatives such as journals, participation, and observation of the students and for the students to monitor their own progress with a checklist.

by Ken Lam

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ESL Teaching at ATC

Yesterday I finally got the opportunity to teach after about 2 weeks! I had been long anticipating a chance to teach ever since I had taught Social Studies to a class of high school juniors last year. I had craved the feeling of standing up in a class of students and teaching. I loved the rush you got when you know all eyes are on you and that you were in a way leading them towards the right path. I had an amazing feeling of satisfaction when I felt that I came across in just the right way and so that both me and my students were enjoying the class.

Although it was a really fun experience I also found it a bit challenging. I had a hard time adapting because I was used to teaching a class of 30 native English speakers. I had to be very conscious of my voice fluctuation and volume as well as the speed so that I did not intimidate or confuse my students. When I had first planned this lesson a week ago I did not take the time, and how long everything would take, into consideration. I could have improved the overall experience for the students by paying close attention to the specifics, preparing more examples and being more clear about the task and expectations.

During the runtime of the class I felt that it could have benefited me to read the students' physical cues instead of interrupting their train of thought by constantly asking if they needed more time. Variety is the spice of life; when I got them to read aloud I had given them large chunks to summarize and I feel that I should have allowed them to alternate more to provide more variety.

Despite having run into many obstacles in terms of adapting, I realized that this was 'falling off your bike' part of teaching. We sometimes forget that we all have to start somewhere. Making initial mistakes is what makes it all the more rewarding when we do reach our highest potential because we know that we made something from nothing. When we look back we can truly appreciate where we are at and how much hard work and determination it took to get there.

by Ken Lam

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