It's been my observation for the past 26 years of teaching that students today hate the idea of reading. It is therefore a big mistake to assume that students actually read any assigned reading given by the teacher. In college,for instance, teachers would assign selections to be read at home in preparation for the discussion that will happen in the class the following meeting. This would often turn out into one futile exercise because in a class of say, 40, a teacher would be lucky to have two or three students who read and understood the assigned selection to be read. Chances are, no discussion involving majority of the students will happen because nobody bothered to read the assignment. The teacher then could not expect any class discussion to happen. Frustrated, she makes the students read the selection silently. This method of making the students read the articles silently can be tricky. Students who do not like to read will always find a way to avoid reading even when the teacher is around. Why? Why do some students just hate reading?
The onset of modern technology has made life faster and easier for us. Everything can happen so fast that any activity that requires much time and attention will be deemed boring and laborious. This is what is happening now with reading. It is therefore one challenge a teacher must face--- to make students appreciate reading. How do we do this? Aren't students in college hard to teach the habit of reading?
It is really hard to make students develop appreciation for reading, especially students in college who have already their own set of fixed habits in which reading is unfortunately not one of them. Is it too late then or do we have a hopeless situation? The answer depends on the teacher's initiative and creativity. A good teacher should be able to make this happen.
Showing posts with label teacher. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teacher. Show all posts
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Monday, May 14, 2007
how do we make students speak up in class?
This is one problem many educators face today---making college students speak during class discussions. If a teacher is lucky he or she might be able to elicit the participation of one or two students in a class of say, 40 or 45. Whyyyyyy???
That is the big question.
Having dealt with different kinds of students for the past 25 years of teaching, I have heard students give almost the same reasons for this reluctance:
1) They are not used to it. They were never trained since elementary to high school to speak in front. The only time they spoke in front of their classmates was when they were asked by the teacher to recite the Panatang Makabayan from memory.
2) They are afraid to be ridiculed or laughed at when they make mistakes. This indicates low self-confidence resulting from poor or inadequate exposure.
3) Feeling of incompetence in speaking English which again is closely related to number 1 & 2.
When students are given more drills or practice in correct conversational English, this will give them the opportunity to use the language as often as possible and improve their fluency, thereby reducing their fear of making mistakes and developing them into better speakers of English.
However, this type of activity would need a lot of feedbacking from the teacher who should be actively listening and noting down errors in the students' use of the language. The teacher should not only sit there and listen to the students commit blunders and not do anything about it. The school did not pay her to just sit down, do nothing but wait for the bell. Her role is to improve students' performance. Feedback should be given at the end of every period, giving emphasis to the most common mistakes students make.
With such a class, the teacher starts with a motivation, reminding students what good speaking means, how important are audience contact and appropriate gestures, the significance of delivering the speech with a punch, the use of humor, poise, etc.
After a very good motivational opening, students begin their activity while the teacher should be actively noting down errors in language and delivery. Ten minutes before the time, the teacher goes up front to give the necessary feedback for the improvement of the students.
That is the big question.
Having dealt with different kinds of students for the past 25 years of teaching, I have heard students give almost the same reasons for this reluctance:
1) They are not used to it. They were never trained since elementary to high school to speak in front. The only time they spoke in front of their classmates was when they were asked by the teacher to recite the Panatang Makabayan from memory.
2) They are afraid to be ridiculed or laughed at when they make mistakes. This indicates low self-confidence resulting from poor or inadequate exposure.
3) Feeling of incompetence in speaking English which again is closely related to number 1 & 2.
When students are given more drills or practice in correct conversational English, this will give them the opportunity to use the language as often as possible and improve their fluency, thereby reducing their fear of making mistakes and developing them into better speakers of English.
However, this type of activity would need a lot of feedbacking from the teacher who should be actively listening and noting down errors in the students' use of the language. The teacher should not only sit there and listen to the students commit blunders and not do anything about it. The school did not pay her to just sit down, do nothing but wait for the bell. Her role is to improve students' performance. Feedback should be given at the end of every period, giving emphasis to the most common mistakes students make.
With such a class, the teacher starts with a motivation, reminding students what good speaking means, how important are audience contact and appropriate gestures, the significance of delivering the speech with a punch, the use of humor, poise, etc.
After a very good motivational opening, students begin their activity while the teacher should be actively noting down errors in language and delivery. Ten minutes before the time, the teacher goes up front to give the necessary feedback for the improvement of the students.
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