Awareness

                I felt that this week's readings were all focused on awareness. In many forms, not simply upon ourselves as teachers, but awareness of our students, our teaching styles, how we communicate in our classroom, and  how we can observe these variables to better increase learning amongst our students. Kuma even states in the first line of chapter 3, "Our first and foremost duty as teachers is to maximize learning opportunities for our learners."(44) He even says that quote is "obvious" but it is the underlying truth behind being a teacher that many times I feel is forgotten. We go around in circles day after day discussing learning styles and methods and personalities and communication techniques but at the end of the day our job is to provide the best learning environment possible for our students. Kuma's chapter really hits upon issues teachers face when trying to maximize learning opportunities such as not being bound by teacher's agenda, not being bound by teaching materials, and not being bound by syllabus specifications (45). These three points are sometimes what teachers, new and old, get wrapped up in and can affect their diversity in lesson planning and teaching. I think teachers need to learn to rely upon their intuition and be resourceful in order to make lessons as successful as possible because they won't always go according to plan. Also, especially in ESL or any language learning environment, sometimes when students get off track it can be a good thing. It shows their curiosity in the subject and by giving them positive enforcement, they will continue to ask questions in the future. I also really liked the discussion of learner involvement on page 48 in Kuma. It really pushes you to think beyond simply learning a language and examine how students "are constantly organizing and reorganizing a sense of who they are and how they relate to the social world…an investment in the TL is also an investment in a learner's own identity." This quotes is especially relatable to ESL students because they are learning a language to use it in a real world context, to get around, and it will change their social and cultural identity. Learner involvement also gives students a voice and it helps them feel as if they are in control of their learning. All of the points Kuma hit in Chapter 3 really relate to the 12 principles Brown discusses. Kuma lays the parameters in which a teacher can maximize learning opportunities but the 12 principles Brown dissects allows us to look further into what is really going on in the relationship between the teacher and their students. Two of the principles that stood out to me were strategic investment and willingness to communicate. Both help you question if you are aware of your student's learning styles and preferences and their personalities. While knowing this, you should also help them become aware as well and help them push themselves to try new things and think outside the box. Reading these principles helped give me a more structured idea of the components of a successful teacher student relationship. My question, still, as it has always been is, how do we successfully mesh so many different methods and principles together to form a cohesive lesson? I think diversity in the classroom is wonderful but there has to be balance as well. Is there one underlying component, or maybe a few, that we can focus upon to help guide ourselves in the right direction? Another thought while reading the principles was that so many bullet points emphasized a very neutral stand point. Everything was always not too much but not too little. I think getting it right is part of the puzzle of education and these principles can help guide us but they can't teach us how to react once we're inside the classroom. 

Approach

     I just felt inclined to write a little after our classroom discussion on Monday. We keep talking in circles about method and approach and how it relates and shapes our teaching philosophy and values. While I agree that discussing approaches are important and help us form our curriculum and values, I think that as pre-service teachers it is so difficult to firmly understand which approach works for us. Now, as seniors in college, we have been in school since we were 5 which is why we can easily discuss and identify our learning style. But we have only been discussing teaching for 2 or 3 years. I think it is a little premature for us to argue with one another about which approach is better or how to blend the approaches or the best way to teach. As we have learned from learning styles, we all learn differently so in turn we will all probably teach differently. I just kept asking myself, how important is it to really define your approach before you even teach? While it is important to really understand the concepts of each approach, I think it is difficult to really know what you want and how you will teach until you are actually in front of a class doing it. A lot of teaching is trial and error. We can teach with these approaches in mind but many times we will rely on intuition and instinct when plans go awry. I may be the only one who feels this way but we went around and around talking about it on Monday I just felt the need to put it out there. 

Methods; forever changing

                     I remember the first day of class, professor Seloni said to us that this class wouldn't teach us how to teach in a TESOL classroom. It would simply provide us with an idea of the methods that make up the world of TESOL and help us structure our idea of curriculum and teaching. This coincides with Kumar's definition on page 24, "the term methods, as currently used in the literature on second land foreign language (L2) teaching, does not refer to what teachers actually do in the classroom; rather, it refers to established methods conceptualized and constructed by experts in the field." We study methods endlessly in the world of education but it is to help us structure our opinions on how to teach a classroom. Until two weeks ago, I had never heard of the method TPR. I think it is a really interesting way of presenting a language and could be very fun when teaching younger children. By learning methods, we have the freedom to construct our own views of how a classroom should be taught. Just because I learned TPR or community based learning doesn't mean that those are the methods I must follow. But Kumar does go on to discuss the "parameter of practicality and possibility". A method cannot be a generic set of principles vaguely guiding people into the world of teaching L2 acquisition. It must be a specific set of rules/ideas/principles etc. that is structured for a certain teacher as well as a certain target audience with a  specific set of goals. It must be detailed in order for it to be a successful and "practical" method.

                In chapter three of Brown, he discusses how we have entered the post-method era in terms of second language acquisition. This idea evolved from the fact that one method is not better than another. The methods can blend together and teachers can pull from many different methods and be successful. I believe this is very true in today's world because of how creative teachers have been forced to become. We have come a long way from the one room school house which taught grammar through repetition and rote memorization. Now we must be creative and all of these methods have something to offer. Also, as we break down different learning styles amongst students, we must be observant to how they learn best and what methods we can use to form curriculum to suit their needs. It also talked about task based teaching and how classrooms are learning centered. Task based learning is extremely useful in SLA because it helps the students interact with the material (language) in a way they find useful and relatable. Having a simulation where they have to go to the store or to the doctor is a very real situation for them and will help them process the material on a deeper level. What I think Brown means when discussing learning centered classrooms is how instead of teaching at students, we now teach with them. In some ways we get on their level and understand their strengths and weaknesses, their likes and dislikes, and help them learn based on those criteria. We create an environment where they can interact with the material rather than memorize it.

What's our role as teachers?

                I liked how the chapter initially starts off by picking apart the different ways to describe work. I think it is important to look at all the different meanings because "work" means something different to everyone. The definition of "vocation" is "goes well beyond sustenance and survival; it guarantees personal autonomy and personal significance" (Kumar, 6). It is important that teacher's view their line of work as a mix of vocation and profession. Teaching should be rewarding, your way of giving back to others. Too often, people get into teaching for the wrong reasons and they fail as teachers because it has no personal significance. They can't share a memory or a feeling of why they chose to become teachers.

                Also, on page 7, it states, "The teacher has been variously referred to as an artist and an architect; a scientist and a psychologist; a manager and a mentor…".  Many times I don't think people understand all the roles someone must assume when becoming a teacher. Kids spend eight hours, five days a week, inside the classroom; more time then they spend at home during the week. It is our job to be role models, mentors, people of authority, and people who respect them. Students may trust us with their secrets, troubles at home, problems at school, it's surprising what they will tell you when they feel respected and safe. In order to create a safe environment, we have to have patience and establish respect not only between ourselves and our students but amongst the students as well. Patience is a crucial element to being a good teacher. We all have to assume there will be days that are beyond frustrating and seem hopeless. Those are the days that really measure the difference between a good and bad teacher. A good teacher will remain calm and patient and think of a backup plan to get through the day. A bad teacher will give up and show their frustration. What are some methods we can use as teachers to push through bad days? The book also mentions the unification of theory and practice. Should we rely on theory to form our curriculum in the classroom?