Changes in My Teaching Beliefs
CHANGES IN MY TEACHING BELIEFS
My beliefs before I took this course.
My students are High school students in poor rural areas, no chance of contact with foreigners. They are different level in knowledge. They finished Secondary school but their knowledge is also uneven. There are very good students, but some students do not even know the basic knowledge of whether learned at the lower levels. They think English is not important for them. My students are studying English for having the basic knowledge to pass the graduated exam.
Before taking this course, my beliefs about teaching English were simple. I taught “traditional pedagogy, emphasizing the acquisition of grammar and vocabulary rather than communicative competence”. According to the standard of knowledge and skills instruction, there are five skills in each lesson (reading, speaking, listening, writing, language focus) in the text book. I tried how to convey the content of 5 units. Here is one example of how I taught. In lesson reading, I usually taught by the following way. The first, warmed up depending on the theme of the reading that I had in all different ways, after leading into the topic I helped students some vocabulary through practical examples for the student to pronounce some difficult words. Then, depending on the types of exercises in the textbook that students worked in pairs or groups read silently, discussed and provided answers. In lesson speaking, I just stuck to the content and the conversation in the form of textbooks, for students to practice in pairs or individually. I did a lot with my thought and I spoke more than my student did. I didn’t give chance to my students to talk and correct them directly when they made mistake. My students were less interested in communication skills as they think graduated exam had not to test this skill. In lesson listening, I often taught with my own way such as: using tape and turning on the cassette then let students listen, in the mean
My beliefs before I took this course.
My students are High school students in poor rural areas, no chance of contact with foreigners. They are different level in knowledge. They finished Secondary school but their knowledge is also uneven. There are very good students, but some students do not even know the basic knowledge of whether learned at the lower levels. They think English is not important for them. My students are studying English for having the basic knowledge to pass the graduated exam.
Before taking this course, my beliefs about teaching English were simple. I taught “traditional pedagogy, emphasizing the acquisition of grammar and vocabulary rather than communicative competence”. According to the standard of knowledge and skills instruction, there are five skills in each lesson (reading, speaking, listening, writing, language focus) in the text book. I tried how to convey the content of 5 units. Here is one example of how I taught. In lesson reading, I usually taught by the following way. The first, warmed up depending on the theme of the reading that I had in all different ways, after leading into the topic I helped students some vocabulary through practical examples for the student to pronounce some difficult words. Then, depending on the types of exercises in the textbook that students worked in pairs or groups read silently, discussed and provided answers. In lesson speaking, I just stuck to the content and the conversation in the form of textbooks, for students to practice in pairs or individually. I did a lot with my thought and I spoke more than my student did. I didn’t give chance to my students to talk and correct them directly when they made mistake. My students were less interested in communication skills as they think graduated exam had not to test this skill. In lesson listening, I often taught with my own way such as: using tape and turning on the cassette then let students listen, in the mean