W1, V2

[MUSIC] Welcome back to teach English Now.
And thanks for sharing your

thoughts about our first metaphor. Language is cake. There are a lot of ways
language is like cake. It is motivating. It nourishes and strengthens you. And as
my activity demonstrated, it can
be presented in a lot of different ways. And yet,
some learners hate learning languages. How can that be? I'm sure you will agree
that
learning a language is wonderful. Let me share an additional thought by
discussing some fascinating research, that will help us understand why some
learners don't like learning languages. In a controversial but
famous 1993 study by Harvard researchers, Nalini Ambady and Robert Rosenthal,
students observing teachers were able to accurately predict the teachers who
were really bad and really good. What makes the study so controversial is the
amount of time it
took students to make those predictions. Wanna take a guess? How long do you think
students watched
teachers in a classroom before they were able to predict if
the teachers were good or bad? Well, believe it or not,
it took students six seconds, and remember they accurately, correctly,
predicted, based on outside evidence, such as test scores, and administrative
evaluations of the teachers. Now what is it that you think students
could see in their teachers, so quickly, that could help them predict, so well,
which teachers would help them learn? Personally, I have a hunch, that the students
weren't paying
attention to the class content at all. So what were they paying
attention to in those six seconds? Whether you like it or not,
students are paying attention to you. Your presentation, your style,
your way of standing up. In other words, while you may have the
greatest tasting cake in your hands, how you present the cake is one of the most
important factors for student success. Another way to say this is that
learners often see technique before they see content. Teachers on the other hand,
seem to be divided into two groups. Those that think about technique,
and those that think about content. Let me try to represent this visually. The
relationship between technique and
content is like points on a graph. On the X axis, we have technique
represented by this blue line. And on the Y axis, we have content,
represented by the red line. Now, let me ask you a question. University teachers,
are they more
interested in content or technique? Well, in my professional
teacher training experience, I would say that many university
teachers care a lot about content. Perhaps this is because many
perceive themselves as researchers, writers of books and articles. I remember
hearing one educational
expert remark that professors think of their bodies as nothing more than
transportation for their brains. As a teacher trainer myself, as I do
training, I am often surprised at how few university teachers have received
any training about technique at all. Does that sound true to you? Isn't it weird
that some of our brightest
minds in the world have taken hundreds of courses, but never taken any courses,
not one, on how to teach? They would fall into the high content,
low technique area of the spectrum. At the other end of the spectrum,
let's talk about teachers in primary and middle schools. Do they use techniques?
You better believe it. In fact, before primary teachers are ever
given a chance to teach students, they are often given many
courses on how how to teach, and make things both interesting and
easily understood for students. They use colors, games, and stories. They use their
hands and bodies. Bodies are not just transports for
their brains. They are taught techniques that break
down information, and make it easy for a learner to understand. Techniques, such as
group work,
flash cards, color coded board work. I love it. However, the opposite problem
can often happen here. While techniques are usually studied and
utilized, sometimes primary and middle school teachers are not given the freedom
to choose their own books and materials. And thus, they spend most of their
time thinking about technique, and not about the content. Another problem in the
balance of content
and technique is the fun teacher. You know the one. His class is one game after
another. You get to laugh a lot, he tells lots of
funny stories about his three dogs, but how much have you learned? Do the games
provide instruction,
as well as, fun? Do the stories teach a key learning point? Or has much of the
valuable class time
been more social than educational? This is not meant as a criticism of
teachers on either end of the spectrum. Certainly, there are university
teachers that use fantastic technique. And primary teachers who
create amazing content. And a fun teacher can also
be an excellent educator. The point is, and what I want
you to consider, is who you are. And where you will find the happy balance
between both content and technique. As you train yourself,
as a language teaching professional, keep in mind the tremendous
difference that both content, the cake, and technique,
your presentation of the cake, will make in having successful
classroom experiences. While we discuss content
in future lessons, the next few videos will be dedicated to
the wonderful world of technique. Technique to help make your content,
the cake, more delicious. Thanks for watching.
>> [MUSIC]

W1, V2

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

W1, V2

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

W1, V2

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

[MUSIC] Welcome back to teach English Now.

And thanks for sharing your

You might also like