Language Pedagogy

Language Pedagogy - lecture BA studies - year V
24 February 2014

Component A

Once Oscar Wilde said, “There is no mode of action, no form of emotion, that we do not share with the lower animals. It is only by language that we rise above them, or above each other---by language, which is the parent, and not the child, of thought” and I couldn't agree more. The question is, what happens if people speak more than two languages, or they find themselves living in a foreign country for many years? Do these situations significantly affect how they interpret language? A truly amazing quote, Oscar Wilde’s words inspire me to think a lot about the subject of the “learning experience” and whether this phrase can be adjusted to me personally due to my own language experiences: from living abroad to what I have experienced throughout my schooling.
Nowadays, when I am contemplating my own learning experiences; for example my time in high school, I would never have considered myself as a candidate to become a teacher. In my opinion, that feeling can be attributed to my English and French teachers whose reluctance to get involved with students on any level except for mundane systematic testing and questioning was far from inspiring. At that time, I always thought of myself as a person with inability to perceive and memorize all the grammar because I was unable to understand tenses and could not learn by heart the structures and expressions and so was unable to expand my langusage. In addition, I lacked the motivation to study as a consequence of my lack of progress in my studies. I think that this problem was deeper than I could have possibly thought at that time, and I feel that it was caused by the constant changing of English teachers; at least twice a year, amounting to a total of eight during my eight semesters in high school. All of my teachers were representative of the autocratic style of teaching and that is why there was no place for ideas on how we would like to learn. The teacher was only there to evaluate and manage the class during the semester, and not to encourage us or interacts with us. We simply never had the opportunity to study in the way that students nowadays do, and maybe I go too far by suggesting that all the material used to teach and how to work with students was outdated when I was in high school. I really connect with the words of Dakowska Maria when she speaks about the personality factors that affect learning:
Students are motivated when the subject matter is interesting. The content of the course should be as close as possible to their interest areas. Students remember the material better if it refers to real life situations. Language instruction is more effective when learning is considered to be a creative process.
There is another factor that gives me a lot to think about and that is the differential modality and lateralisation, I knew that there are various learning styles and that people are diverse though I would never think about making an expertise about those students who act differently than the majority of the class. Thanks to the lecture series I have realized that I am a kinaesthetic person who constantly moves during classes and that this behavior does not results from lack of interest. My textbooks are full of my drawings and doodles and I have been often been mistaken for a disobedient child that does not want to learn. I have also learnt that the teaching process involves constant work between students and teachers; it is not enough to hand out worksheets, set exams and only evaluate students from time to time. The interesting thing is that my friends frequently ask me if I really want to become a school teacher; they do this because they imagine that there is no possible way to spread one's wings in that field, but in my opinion, this is not the case. I am absolutely sure what kind of teacher I do not want to become. I know exactly which direction I would like to go, there are still many approaches to be discovered and many ideas to be developed about how to raise productivity among students and how to raise their interest towards foreign languages.
Taking a close look at my own learning experiences I can truly say from the teacher’s perspective I wouldn’t consider a model any of my high school teachers, but thankfully I have found some at the university. In accordance with new system of teaching every single teacher is obliged to present a course planning and syllabus by which he or she is going to obey. That is why, students will know exactly what kind of material are they going to cover, and nowadays this is not only an obligation at the universities but also in primary, secondary and high schools. As I said before, I had various English teachers during high school and all of them repeated the same material and that is why my knowledge did not get any deeper, there was no continuation in my learning process.
Furthermore, on the grounds that I had the possibility to do a teaching specialization at SWPS I gained knowledge which I will try to introduce into my future teacher’s career. For example while filling the EPOSTL (The European Portfolio for Student of Languages) I realized many things which I have learnt doing teaching practise at the primary school, and that is only because of great planning of a EPOSTL which is divided on parts and explained quite accurately. It means that you cannot realize the abilities that you gained unless you will find them written somewhere. Also it helped me to understand on which points I still have to work on and improve, and how to perform in various situations. Finally, I found my practical vocation. Now I know that my target work will be teaching kids in preschool.

Sources:
Dakowska, Maria: Teaching English as a Foreign Language. A Guide for Professionals.
Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN. Warszawa 2007: 139. Print.
Komorowska, H. 2009. Interakcje i komunikacja w nauce języka obcego. Trudności interdyscyplinarne i sposoby radzenia sobie z nimi. W: Komorowska, H. (red).2009.
Newby, D. et al. 2007. The European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages.