How DOES your language learning impact on your teaching?

#ELTchat summary for the evening session on June 1st, 2011.

It’s funny that my first post will be looking back when the reason for my creating a blog account is to keep notes on a new journey I am about to embrace.

Anyway… We’ve got to start somewhere, right?!

Prix. =)

@teacher_prix

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#ELTchat

 How does your language learning

impact on your teaching?

Have you ever caught yourself laughing quietly on the inside while monitoring and observing your students perform a task? If so, this laughter is likely to have been caused because you were reported to a moment in which that very task was being performed by you – when you were a student.

I am a non-NEST, so one way or another I ended up having to join formal English language lessons at some point in my life, and I believe this applies to most of the non-NESTs around the globe. Therefore, I can dare affirm that a lot of what teachers do or don’t do in class come from this experience.

Let’s take beginner teachers, for instance. Whichever reason they have to follow this career – ranging from ‘I need to make some bucks while in college’ to ‘this is my role in this world’ – they start with no experience whatsoever.

@Shaunwilden: Nah I became a teacher by accident but learning langs while working helped shape me a teacher #ELTChat

So, where to start from? – And I’m including myself here! – Lesson planning is unknown, strategies and methodology are myths, classroom management is just a beautiful chunk (seriously, open your mouth now and say it out loud: ‘classroom management’ – it IS fun to say it!).

REPRODUCTION

This is basically what is done. They reproduce what they understand as being useful and/or what was memorable, discarding the unpleasant tasks without any deeper reflection. And then training gets in the way and turns everything upside-down! And then these beginner teachers become experienced teachers and from time to time they will still make use of those activities they have once discarded, and they will have a good laugh.

@DenizAtesok: Bcz i was used 2 PPP as a student that i found inductive T really challenging it was good 2 experience what my own sts felt #eltchat

@Marisa_C: I still love a good drill and think it's a skill that every teacher needs - and few do really well #eltchat

I guess the same might happen to beginner NESTs who have taken up other languages, mightn’t it?

@pacogascon: I was very influenced by drilling and it was hard to overcome #eltchat

REFLECTION

Once they have gained some experience they start putting themselves in their students’ shoes and try to understand why some things work and some others just don’t. They start to reflect on how they learned a language; they roll their learning experience film in their heads over and over, pausing and rewinding in order to find out who they were as students, to filter and select, to build up their group of beliefs.

According to a number of ELTchatters it’s this group of beliefs which will influence a teacher’s style, approach and reactions to teaching (and learning!):

@naomishema: #eltchat I show my SS examples of Hebrew elements that didn't make sense to me as a learner when they complain English doesn't make sense

@NoraTouparlaki: realising what went wrong with us is of great advantage! #ELTchat

@vickyloras: Teachers can be more understanding towards Ss' specific weaknesses,see why they occur #ELTChat

@nutrich: I think that having become a language teacher I am more able to learn a language - learner training and self-analysis #eltchat

@hartle: #eltchat Stds like anecdotes abt me learning languages, increases a sense of solidarity. The teacher knows wht stds are going through

@CharlotteLovie: I've learnt not to dismiss drilling. Stds love backchaining, & it's really effective. Integrate old with new #eltchat

But there are always two sides on a coin, right? If on one hand learning a foreign language can provide input for reflection and help shape a teacher as a teacher, on the other it can hold up the learning of new ones:

@Englodysiac: Having become a language teacher, I've become a worse lang learner. I'm too busy "observing" the teacher #eltchat

@KarenInGreece: I did a summer course in another language last year and I learned more about teaching/how not to teach than the actual language! #eltchat

@springrose12: I learned my English with a private tutor. The way my school taught English was awful. Nothing but grammar.. #eltchat

@theteacherjames: Anyone else as terrible at doing homework as I am? #totalhypocrite #eltchat

@MadridChristina: Being a language teacher is no guarantee of being a successful language learner. Things don't auto get easier. #eltchat

INFLUENCE

ELTchatters, then, brainstormed ideas on the following tweet:

@Marisa_C: I think we should go back to how we can spot influences from our past learning & either keep or fix issues #ELTchat

@SueAnnan: I adapt my teaching style to the needs of my students #ELTchat //Excellent, it works wonders : )

@vickyloras: When I was learning Greek with my mom, her repetition helped me a lot and listening to her, even tho I didn't speak much at 1st #ELTChat

@Marisa_C: One very good way to know this about yourself is to record yourself and sit down and analyse your own talk #ELTchat

@hartle: #eltchat Spanish train experience made me decide language must be real, not an exercise, real communication " not artificial"

@sandymillin: Lang learning definitely makes you more tolerant! U can oftn (not always) see this w/ colleagues who haven't learnt an L2 #ELTchat

LANGUAGE LEARNERS

All in all, one lesson which should be taken from this chat is that learning a foreign language will always add up to shaping our teaching.

And, oh, boy! What a long list of languages came out…

Inspiring.

As ever, there were some great links shared:

@sandymillin: #shamelessselfpromotion http://wp.me/p18yiK-2C My epic "translation hypocrite?" post detailing my language learning experiences #eltchat

@theteacherjames: My blog post about my language learning experiences: http://bit.ly/hGZ%20yDD #eltchat

@ColinTGraham: The more languages you know, the easier it gets to learn others... http://bit.ly/kANIVx 17 languages I feel confident to write in #ELTchat

New to #ELTchat?

If you have never participated in an #ELTchat discussion, these take place twice a day every Wednesday on Twitter at 12pm GMT and 9pm GMT. Over 400 educators participate in this discussion by just adding #edchat to their tweets. For tips on participating in the discussion, please check out this video, Using Tweetdeck for Hashtag Discussions!

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