Tutors...

October 5 was International Teacher's Day. Last Saturday, in my country, was Teacher's Day. We also had Children's Day three days before, so I was still in the mood for Children's Week and ended up letting Teacher's Day become just a day off. To make up for this, I have decided to post a little something about these great people who have made me grow and become the teacher I am now. The people who have inspired and guided me and whom I turn to whenever I feel I need some kind supporting words. Or just a wake up call... My tutors!

Prix. =)

@teacher_prix

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'Teaching does not cause learning', that's what one of my first tutors used to say. If it was she who coined this motto or if she had borrowed it from someone else, I don't know and won't bother doing any research for now. What I do know is that by guiding me through so that I could make sense of this sentence was the turning point of my career. After those training sessions I was never the same inexperienced, rather naive, trainee anymore. I wouldn't just enroll a training course expecting what my tutors would give me, but how they would guide me so that I could give them my very best. This is another saying I borrowed from another great tutor: 'always guide, never give'. What I find most interesting is that all these great people I have come across come from many different backgrounds and cultures, even from abroad and they share the same passion and have the same sensitivity to their trainees' silliest questions. 'There's no such thing as a stupid question' said another inspiring tutor.

These people have always been there for me somehow. It doesn’t really matter if it was ages ago that I had my first session with that tutor I mentioned in the begining of this piece, or if it was just last week that I attended a webinar with my last tutor – they are always there to help me and guide me a little more. It’s never-ending!

Now, I'm on the other side playing the part these people I've always looked up to have played. Will I ever achieve their level of excellence?

One thing I know... Causing learning or not, the way you have scaffolded my learning has definitely taught me great lessons!

For having guided me through so that I could walk on my own (and allow me to get back to you whenever I get stuck) I thank you!

Happy teacher’s week!

'Affective' or 'Effective' teaching: which shoes should we wear?

#ELTchat summary for the evening session on September 14, 2011.

The writing of this summary came as a strong response to my previous post. YES! Collaboration DOES happen in the ELT world. I am just so glad to have been given the opportunity to co-write this summary with lovely Ceri Jones!

Thanks for accepting my suggestion... I've learned a lot!

Prix. =)

@teacher_prix

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#ELTChat Summary: 

'Affective' or 'Effective' teaching: which shoes should we wear?

INTRODUCTION

A note on the summary:  this is a two-headed summary, a collaboration between someone who was there (@cerirhiannon), and someone couldn't be, but who followed the chat on the transcript (@teacher_prix). We wrote it together on typewithme.com, both synchronously and asynchronously, across a 5 hour time zone. 

Ceri's introduction 

Last Wednesday's 9pm chat was a discussion of affective and effective teaching, and the relationship between the two. We touched on a whole range of issues and questions, including whether the two can actually be separated one from the other- The chat kicked off with a definition of terms, which had initially confused some chatters, and a re-casting of the opening question and moved on to discuss first affective teaching and then the relationship between affective teaching and effective learning. Towards the end quite a few big questions were raised which we didn't really have the time or space to tackle, but which could well be put forward for other chats in the future. 

Priscilla's introduction

In a humanist classroom for teaching to be taken as 'effective' the affective variable should be taken into account. As most humanistic approaches claim the learners' feelings and reactions regarding the learning process are of crucial importance to the success (or failure) of the learning. The more we get involved with our students the closer we get to this humanistic way of teaching. What is the impact of this closer contact with our students in our teaching? How far should we get involved? Should we ever get involved?

The chat started with a definition of terms. Quite a few chatters seemed a little confused by the question: 

@sandymillin My first questions is: what exactly are 'effective' and 'affective' teaching? Not really sure I know what they are! #eltchat

SOME SUGGESTED DEFINITIONS

A number of answers were offered as the chatters moved towards a working definition.    

@Marisa_C Effective = it works Affective= appealing to the emotions?

@perkypawn: isn't 'affective' ..   what impact we have on a students life  and "effective" simply   doing a job efficiently ? 

    

The emphasis moved away from effective to affective: 

@pacogascon dont think the point's highlighting ss affective   needs when teaching,jst being aware of em & predicting hw they cn affect   t process #eltchat

@hartle RT @Marisa_C: An encouraging teacher sees mistakes   as learning opportunities #ELTchat

@mscro1 RT @pacogascon: affective teaching: being aware of   ss differences, shy, naughty, bold, talkative and trying to   balance/compensate for deficiencies #eltchat

And then the chat focused back on the original question: 

@Marisa_C: 'Affective' or 'Effective teaching': which shoes should we wear? 

There was a general consensus that there really isn't a conflict here. Throughout the course of the chat, chatters reiterated that it was not a matter of choosing one or the other way of teaching, but that both should combine to achieve positive goals. 

       

@esolcourses RT @Marisa_C: RT @cerirhiannon:  I   don't really see a dichotomy...

@mscro1 I think we all combine effective with affective teaching

@SueAnnan surely they are both needed and not a question of either or?

@Timek: Isn't this a false opposition? If positive affect enhances learning, then it's a factor in effective teaching

@Raquel_EFL: I personally believe there isn't a dichotomy...

@Marisa_C Indeed is it possible to be an effective teacher without connecting to one's learners at the affective level as well?

@pacogascon: kind of bringing together teaching, counselling and group dynamics #eltchat

Having agreed on this basic premise, it was time to redefine the question. Sandy Millin was the first to take the chat in a new direction: 

AFFECTIVE TEACHING & LEARNING

@sandymillin How would you define a learner's affective needs? 

A question which received the following responses: 

@cerirhiannon  how about to feel comfortable and not threatened / daunted?

@sandymillin Need for love, praise, belonging,   positive self esteem, encouragement, security, acceptance.... I could go on

@cerirhiannon to feel confident that their contributions will be   valued and their questions listened to

@SueAnnan to feel safe in the environment and able to make mistakes #ELTchat > @Marisa_C feeling safe v important

Sandy then led the chat on to another tack, asking the chatters to think about:

@sandymillin ... how you ensure that you can creative an atmpsohere which takes care of your learners' affective needs

Various suggestions were offered: 

@sandymillin for YLs creating an atmosphere to cater   for their aff needs would involve: praising production of lang

@janebarden affective teaching for me is ALWAYS asking the question before nominating a student to answer. This stops sts feeling so nervous

@sandymillin create a positive atmosphere in class by giving all SS time to speak/listen & try not to let SS dominate

@hartle important to make each std feel their contribution is valued and wht they say is important

@naomishema maybe the Q actually refers to the Ts having to be careful not to let emotions take over, like when there's a S she doesn't like?

@mscro1 have to be careful with Ss domination I agree @sandymillin

@hartle #eltchat feedback activities that really foster discussion and exchange rather than simply display questions help too

EFFECTIVE TEACHING & LEARNING 

The conversation then shifted to discuss effective teaching and learning.     

    

@sandymillin what can you do to help learners work together to become more effective learners? #eltchat

This last question derived a new round of definitions and discussion, with chatters listing some of the key factors in effective teaching and learning:

@Raquel_EFL What makes an effective learner and what makes an effective teacher? Just a case of Motivation?

@sandymillin An effective learner has one or more goals for their learning> @cerirhiannon realistic, achievable goals

@sandymillin Motivation key for both. Without it you get nowhere

@Marisa_C An effective learner=a good language learner - is not inhibited or shy (which means s/he feels safe in class)

@mscro1 So teachers need to be also very motivating in the class, I use a lot of demonstration to engage Ss in their work

@SueAnnan yes enthusiasm very infectious

@cerirhiannon I think patience and knowing when to take a back seat imp [for the teacher] too

@mscro1 I had one [an effective learner] during holidays, she kept asking me for more ideas to work on her glogsters- was very enthusiastic

@SueAnnan I think preparation is key [for teachers]  #ELTchat

@sandymillin First part of effective teaching is knowing what makes an effective learner ;-)

@Timek  yes, but an effective   learner can learn even with an ineffective teacher.

@SueAnnan So if they've been taught how to be effective learners, they can cope when better when they get ineffective teachers!

Once more, as in many previous chats, chatters agreed that motivation was one of the main keys to both affective and effective learning. The links and suggestions at the bottom of the page include some useful  ideas for fostering motivation in the classroom:

SUMMING UP

At the end, the chat came round in a full circle in this final exchange between Raquel (@Raquel_EFL), the proposer of the topic, and Marisa (@Marisa_C), our moderator.

       

@Raquel_EFL I like wearing one shoe from each pair (Affective Teaching-Learning X Effective Teaching-Learning)..

and Marisa's parting tweet closed the chat on a very positive note. 

@Marisa_C @Raquel_EFL Hope ur shoes shine bright in the affective glow of your classes :-) 

    

[A final apology to everyone who took part: the chat was a little bit difficult to follow at times, both on twitter and on the transcripts, please let us know if we left anything out.]

LINKS, SUGGESTIONS AND FURTHER READING

@Timek A is for Affect - Tips for YLs: http://t.co/GoD927Ab

@Marisa_C Can I suggest a great book for improving Classroom Dynamics by Jill Hadfield? I love this book #ELTchat

@Marisa_C Here is a great article by Rebecca Oxford #eltchat http://t.co/I6odypQb

@Timek Lessons from Good Language Learners by C   Griffiths is a gr8book on effective Learner Strategies:http://t.co/RWUavaM2 #eltchat

@Marisa_C Here are pages from the original book on Good   Language Learners by Naimn  & Frolich http://t.co/kNHbsrtI #ELTchat

@Timek @Marisa_C yes, Rebecca Oxford has written good stuff on area of Learner Strategies also - http://t.co/cIeGx3qZ #eltchat

@sandymillin RT @Marisa_C: RT  @Raquel_EFL #eltchat turning some of their work into displays makes them proud of ...(cont)http://t.co/OZYZep3L

@Marisa_C Here is a link I found on affective teaching - receiving, responding & valuing seem to be key conceptshttp://t.co/9rL7gqAy #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!

What do you think? Leave a comment!

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!

What do you think? Leave a comment!