Post #2: Teacher Role

            Kumar chapter one was about the role of the teacher and the difference between theory and practice. According to the chapter, there are three different roles that teachers can play in the classroom. The first role is the view of teachers as passive technicians. The primary focus of teaching with this role is content knowledge. Also with this view, teachers and teaching methods are not seen as important. For this reason, there is more concentration on the education part than the teacher part. The second role is teachers as reflective practitioners where teachers are seen as “problem solvers possessing the ability to look back critically and imaginatively” (10). With this view of teachers, there is an emphasis on creativity, artistry, and context sensitivity. The final role of teachers is teachers as transformative intellectuals. In this role, teachers “strive not only for educational advancement but also for personal transformation” (14). Teachers help students function in society. In my opinion, none of these seem adequate enough to define a teacher’s role. I think that a teacher’s role should be a combination of all of the three, along with other components as well. The first role, teachers as passive technicians, bothers me since it follows the idea that teachers and their teaching methods are not important. Teachers are an extremely important component of the classroom. On the other hand, though, I do believe that there is a happy medium as far as how much the teacher should be the one leading the classroom. Sometimes, in specific contexts, it is necessary for students to take the reins and lead the learning. I agree with the second role, which states that teachers are problem solvers, but I don’t believe that this is a main component of their role. Yes, if a problem arises or students don’t understand a concept, it is the teacher’s job to solve those problems. I also agree that teachers have a hand in helping their students function in society. A teacher’s role encompasses so many different characteristics and duties which is why their job should not be labeled as including only specific components like the three discussed in the chapter.

            A question that was brought up towards the beginning of the chapter stuck out to me, asking whether or not teaching actually causes learning to occur (6). This is something that I feel like many people, including myself; just assume to be true since it makes sense. The text goes on to explain how teaching doesn’t always have to lead to learning since “learning can take place in the absence of teaching” (6). I never really thought about this idea until it was brought up in the chapter. I guess students can technically learn without a teacher or facilitator but I think that the learning of material is definitely easier when you have a teacher or someone who can be considered an “expert” on the concepts you are learning. Even though teaching doesn’t always have to lead to learning, Kumar explains how the entire “edifice of education is constructed on the foundation that teaching can contribute to accelerated and accomplished learning” (7).

Post #1: Language-Teaching Methods

 The first chapter by Brown looks closely at an English language lesson about movies and entertainment. The goal of the lesson is for the students to be able to talk about their likes and dislikes using the new vocabulary. All parts of the lesson are broken down by steps, explaining exactly what was done and said by the teacher and the activities the students did. The next section analyzed the lesson. Something that stuck out to me is when Brown states, “for every tiny moment of the classroom hour, certain choices were made” (Brown 8). I believe this quote to be important because one of the many jobs that teachers have is making choices. Teachers make choices about everything that is done during the class period. Many of these choices are made spontaneously. Teachers have a lot of pressure put on them since they are in charge of deciding the choices that will and will not benefit their students’ ability to learn the material.

 

            Brown chapter two is all about language-teaching methodology. There are many different definitions for the word method. Page 16 uses a visual map to organize and break down the word.  The remainder of the chapter discusses the different methods of language-teaching that have evolved over the years. Some of the methods stuck out to me, seeming a little strange. One of which is the grammar translation method. I wasn’t too fond of this method since the classes are taught in the L1 and not the TL. The explanation of the method goes on to explain how there is very little use of the TL and hardly any attention is given to pronunciation. This method definitely does not support the communicative part of learning an L2. Two other methods that interested me since they’re quite different are suggestopedia and the silent way. Suggestopedia suggests that the “human brain can process great quantities of material if given the right conditions for learning” (Brown 27). Examples of these conditions include the state of relaxation and the use of baroque music. The other method, named the silent way because the teachers stays silent for most of the lesson, involves the use of objects that are different shapes and colors. The objects are used to represent parts of speech and syntax, such as verb tense. Both suggestopedia and the silent way have received a lot of criticism since the “teacher is too distant to encourage a communicative atmosphere” (Brown 29). I agree with this criticism. When learning an L2 it is extremely important for the teacher to communicate with the students and encourage communication as much as possible. Unlike the previous two methods, total physical response seems like a great method for language-teaching. In my opinion I think it would be a great method to use for vocabulary activities and maybe some grammar concepts. Getting the students up and moving around the classroom is a great idea since it increases their motivation and participation in learning the material.

            The article by Prabhu argues that there is no best language-teaching method to use. One of the statements that is made is that different methods are best for different teaching context, but later the author goes on the say that this idea still raises too many questions since we would then be looking for the best method for each teaching context. According to Prabhu, it all comes down to the idea of the teacher’s sense of plausibility. A teacher’s sense of plausibility is “how learning takes place and how teaching causes or supports it” (Prabhu 172). The author concludes that the best method varies from one teacher to another but only when the teacher is operating with “his or her own sense of plausibility at any given time” (Prabhu 175). I like the author’s idea of plausibility and also agree with the argument that there isn’t one best method. A teacher should use whatever teaching method they believe helps their students benefit the most.