LESSON 5: People: Learners and Teachers

People: Learners and Teachers

Some learners are more successful than others. These characteristics are typical of good language learners, although no learner would have them all:

1 They have a positive attitude about the language they want to learn and about speakers of that language.
2 They have a Strong personal Motivation to learn the language.
3 They are confident that they will be successful learners.
4 They are prepared to risk making mistakes and they learn from the mistakes that they make.
5 They like to learn about the language.
6 They organize their own practice of the language.
7 They find ways to say things that they do not know how to express correctly.
8 They get into situations where the language is being used and they use the language as often as they can.
9 They work directly in the language rather than translate from their first language.
10 They think about their strategies for learning and remembering. And they consciously try out new strategies.

We try to teach all our students, but the successful ones are usually those who take on some responsibility for their own learning.

Teachers

The Teacher success can be measured most obviously by how much their students learn. Like learners, however, all teachers are different, and it is a good idea to recognize straight away that it is most unlikely to be 'a good teacher'. This is because you can be a great teacher for some people, an alright teacher for some, and you will be a poor teacher for others.

The challenge is to go on developing into the teacher you most want to be.


The teacher is the most powerful person in the classroom. There are many ways for the teacher to use that power. These are the most important things that need to be taken care of
Guidance - Learners need a helping hand to discover new things and to practice new skills.
Information - Learners need sources of extra information about what they are learning which they can call on as required.
Feedback - Learners need to know how close they are getting to their targets. Was that meaning clear? Was the verb correct?
Encouragement - Learners need to feel that the language is developing inside them even if what they are producing at the moment seems unlike Standard English.
Modeling - Learners need to be shown new things, and shown how to do new things.
Instruction - Learners need to be told new things and told how to do new things.
Organization - Learners must feel that their activity is purposeful, that they are putting their efforts into a framework they can trust. Learners need just enough structure so that they feel supported, and just enough freedom so that they have room for themselves to grow.
Security -If learners feel safe, they will be more able to take part in the lesson. If they feel that everyone in class, including the teacher, is on the same side, they may risk making mistakes that they can learn from.
Motivation - Some learners will be motivated to learn for external reasons, which is a big help, but all learners need to be involved in class work. This happens best when they are motivated by interesting tasks, when they experience success, and when they see the relevance of class work to their outside lives.
Evaluation - Some learners have external standards that must be reached, important examinations to pass or fail. They need to know where they stand.


GIFE MI OSME