Another school year passed and the same questions cross my mind :
-How can we apply the four skills of learning English at schools ?
-How can we change the old ways to better ones if the number of the students is large and the textbooks should be finished during the school year ?
The teachers in most countries still practice the traditional teaching method which is :
"Chalk and Talk ".This phrase often used to describe traditional teaching. It describes the teacher in front of the group of learners, giving a talk on some topic. This method is suitable where the teacher wishes to impart theoretical knowledge to the whole group of learners .This old method can be described like this :
1- writing:Students can write some paragraphs and sentences and their homework, only.
2- Reading: They can read aloud the stories and texts in their books .
3- Listening :only to the teacher in front of them and to each other, sometimes .
4-Speaking : They hesitate and speak only few words.
So, the change is required if we want to apply the four skills in teaching English.
I read once that "language is not a sterile subject to be confined to the classroom. One of two things must be done: either life must be brought to the classroom or the class must be taken to life".
I think learners absorb more information from what they see than from what they hear. So it makes sense always to include visuals, either on the board, chart or screen or through handouts or posters. The learners'attention will be limited when they are required only to listen to someone talking.
Good practice is to introduce a variation by asking questions and also encouraging the learners to ask questions with group discussions.That means :
"Let the students help you to teach; they will then have the happiest of feelings about all their English lessons".
Now, what do you think ? Is the old teaching method "chalk and talk " enough to teach English ? and what are the ways to develop it in a classroom with more than 30 students ?
Thank you for reading !
-Hala -
Comments
Salam ya Hala, (Annisa gadeemu tah). We need the old process to explain from time to time. Using the computer and the internet is very easy for the teacher. It can be interesting for the students too. Certainly, he needs to illustrate certain matters or difficult subjects.Hala, can you see my blog, The Wedding and give me your idea about it?
@AReality:
You are totally right ! The process of teaching needs more revolutionary steps to suit the new life and technology and the increasing demand to practice speaking the language more. Thank you so much for reading .I appreciate it!
@Nina :
I can see that you will be a great teacher in the future .That's obvious from your deep understanding to the process of teaching to different ages of students .No doubt ,you are on the right track in the world of teaching another language which makes it different from teaching any other subjects .We are teaching many kinds of lessons in a new language for example ,I can teach in one month a lesson about computers and another one about science and health and a third one about history and so on ...so many topics in addition to poetry ,grammar and how to speak ! So ,English teacher should always keep up to date with the language and many other branches of knowledge ,too.
Thanks a lot my dear friend for this wonderful comment .I appreciate it !
Best wishes ,Nina !
@Butterfly :
Your words are so important ,It's necessary to sow the creativity in the students by interaction.That's exactly the point ,to make students more interactive so that they can get more information without feeling bored .
Thanks a lot for dropping by and leaving your relevant comment . Best wishes ,dear!
Dear Hala!
it was nice reading your blog!as I'm into teaching in near future-in some months maybe-i think and should think more about the methods which i can use in the classroom!undoubtedly,that very Method is not enough!the age of the students is very important so that you would find out how they look at the world and you may be able to connect that vision about the world to the methods being used in the classroom.in my opinion, although the teaching materials seem to be a determined strict set of rules,words and etc,they can be revived lively when we flow them into the daily life facts and ideas!undoubtedly the student may take the word *delicious* by heart better and more significantly when he uses or hears it while describing the tempting ice cream he had eaten an hour earlier_my mom bought a delicious ice cream for me- rather than bringing a tough definition.even painting can bring up many advantages!and then in higher levels ,greater concepts and facts can be conveyed in the same way!I accentuate again that As you all know, the method may vary in different ages!and you know what is interesting for me?teaching another language is not only teaching A language!it can be teaching a great thought,belief ,factual idea,since you wanna learn to talk so you need to have something to talk about!this is another aspect which i like !
thanks for your nice,useful blog!let me know if I'm on the right track in the world of teaching!
Wish You ALL The Best
U r more than welcome dear Hala
Wish u the best, God bless u dear...
@ chandramathi v :
That's true !The interactive methodology in teaching is more beneficial because students can learn more from what they see and do ,and as you wrote the different levels of students and their backgrounds are also necessary in the way we teach .
Thanks a lot ,dear for your useful comment !
Best wishes!
@shabeen :
I agree with you ! The old method is not enough nowadays ,we need more creative ways to attract the attention of the students and make them interest in learning English and the most important thing is to make them listen and speak ,too.
The problem is in the large number of the students and the lack of helping materials at many schools ,but even though we should always change our methods and do our best .
Thanks a lot Shabeen for the informative comment and the links .I appreciate it !
Best wishes !
@ Expector Smith :
Thank you for reading ! I think how to teach ,or how to be a good teacher depends mainly on our personality and how can we apply the information correctly .It's not an easy job but so interesting !
Thanks a lot to our EC moderators for featuring my blog ! I appreciate it .
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