My teaching Philosophy and beliefs
English is a tool that people use to communicate with others, not a subject. Therefore, we can’t teach English in the way we teach such subjects as “Geology” or “History”. English teachers can’t just stand in the front of classes and tell students a bunch of grammar rules and words which could be meaningless for them. It is not the way we learn our first language. we should give our students oppurtunities to pratice themselves. Imagine how ridiculous it would be if we teach someone how to ride a bike by telling him rules of how to control peddles and keep balance without let him try to ride the bike himself.
Learning language is a process of experiencing. So, creating a natural and real life base of environment is needed. Hopefully, students could apply what they have “experienced” in a real world.
I am Randy Johnson from Arizona.
Teaching English is not a unilateral presentation of the teacher. On the contrary, it is a bilateral interaction between the teacher and students. So, I think English is not a subject, too. Learning English is to improve our communicative competence after all.
Teaching English is not a unilateral presentation of the teacher. On the contrary, it is a bilateral interaction between the teacher and students. So, I think English is not a subject,too. Learning English is to improve our communicative competence after all.
While I agree that learning a foreign language helps broaden our horizon and reach out to the world, I’m not sure if it can improve our communication skills. We can effectively communicate with foreigners in English only if we are willing to and are brave to use the target language. Communication styles vary from person to person, after all. Just because a person is bilingual or multi-lingual doesn’t imply that he/she is a good communicator.
In addition, I also reckon that we can’t teach a language only through lectures or drills. I bet every English teacher knows this but they are pulling by another force: the pressure resulting from test results. The easier and efficient way is to give students what we know directly and make them good test-takers. It’s a pity, isn’t it? As a teacher-to-be, are you prepared to break the spell of exams and teach English in an ideal and natural way?