How to approach the language?
The society evolve, so does the language, so does the way we learn to communicate, and also does the way we acquire that language we pretend to use when interacting. So, up to these days we need to get some answer about what's when we approach a language? and stepping on our own field, what approach or approaches should we use when teaching a language? These type of questions pretend to open a wide discussion in terms of how should the interaction, teacher-student-language, take place?
It would be interesting if we get to reflect on this questions and start this discussion by posting some interesting aspects of what we have read in terms of the approaches that pretend to lead a meaning process of acquiring a language; English in this case. So, is there any approach that really fullfill the needs in terms of learning another language? or are we far away from sticking to a stablished approach and look beyond?
Let us see what comes next. let's read us all!
By: Diego and the rest of the mates in the Black list.
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ResponderEliminarDeciding which is the best method is difficult because each has strengths and weaknesses, and the nature of a student’s goals will determine which is best for that student.
ResponderEliminarI consider that, the best way to acquire a language is to be related to its context directly or indirectly more than choose a method or approach. From here I want to propose a reflexion: Our country has been carried on some bilingual programs in which native speakers come here and assume a teacher role, sometimes without any methodology. So, the idea is to become to Colombia as a Bilingual country or to become only the educative field as an alternative to train people to be Bilingual?
I mean, what about the watchman, maid or the man who has dropped off me at University everyday? They are Colombian people but they don't know a second language and even, some of them doesn't care about it. What will be our role as Colombian teachers to support and to achieve then the Government purposes?
I think the government has given us almost all responsability of teaching English in Colombia as a foreign language, because English is studied all over the world, it means that can affect other areas; in other nations where English is not only subject of language but is integrated with areas like History, Biology and mathematic in which student has to know ever The main problem autonomous curriculum, is that the majority of school just have to chance the name of institution and after to implement it without having into account context's needs,that is why we have the same effect in Pruebas saber.
EliminarBased on Marcela's comment, I agree that there is not an only too broad approach for acquiring or teaching a second language; it is necessary to use the most of them we can as an answer to our students capabilities and necessities, however it is possible to adapt this approaches to our students' context. On the other hand, now that I am a preservice teacher, I am able to recognize that in so many cases English teachers in public school are not aware about this approaches and they just teach in the same way they teach every single year, and because he or she teaches in the same grade it does not mean that they should do it exactly as they used to; teachers should keep reinventing their practice.
EliminarI think the main problem is that the Government does not consider each context's needs. It is like they only think about making Colombia a “competitive country”. In the Anexo 19, it can be clearly seen that education and learning a second language are conceived as ways to become a global citizen with better opportunities in life.
ResponderEliminarHaving said that, I think English should be taught to everyone, but the issue relies in the fact that the Government focuses too much on it and they make it seem that by learning English, everyone is going to overcome poverty. Instead, they should be creating educational plans according to each context: Why they do not create a plan for the countryside which focuses on the good administration of the land?
We need to think first about what we have here and how to improve it and then we can worry about how to look "competitive" to the rest of thr world.
I am agre with you Sebas, government need to change many of them education ideas and the first one is that they need to not allow other educational models to enter to Colombia, maybe they can use some positive aspect to improve education but they can not pretend to implement a ' complete educationa system' believing it is going to work, without taking into account colombian needs related to the context and realted also with the students, the most important factor in the learning process.
EliminarIf Colombia's government do not put to much attention to this, it is going to be impossible that Colombia achieve the goal of becoming a country in which students have a second or foreign language acquisition.
It is a difficult question, because I consider that there are no perfect methods or approaches, they are not magic wands to make learning happen. The effectiveness of a method or approach resided in how you use them as a mean to engage your students in learning, in how a method eases teaching and learning processes, and that only can happen when you explore them, research about them, and create activities based on them. I personally like content based approach, because you can teach English through a big amout of disciplines, and it fits more with the context, interests, and needs of students.
ResponderEliminarLanguages are something very complex that cannot be limited to a single method. We have said in class many times (Through the career) that everyone approaches languages and knowledge as a whole by different methods. Sure, there are multiple way to teach in the different contexts, but methods are like food: they have a due date. This due date is caused by the students which change their learning preferences as generations move. The old methods will sooner or later be invalidated and forcing students to adapt will just break their motivation.
ResponderEliminarWe as teachers must overcome the technical teaching method which only allows us to replicate existing methods and become educators which transform the classroom based on their developments.
Good afternoon,
ResponderEliminarAs my team aimed at providing understandings of the dialogical interaction between The sociocultural theory and Bahktin's Heteroglossia, from my personal point of view I am still believing upon it, as a well-constructed proposal to approach lenguages.
Whether in Colombia I could work or not, it is mandatory that teachers start integrating real-like situations within the classroom programmes. By those real-like situations or "simulations" knowledge becomes on meaningful.
Besides, it is also important to highlight the local folk-wisdom as medium for learning. If we began including and minding our settings, The experience of learning would be meaningfully getting.
So approaching a language raise countless of options, and from my experience these two options (Vygotski and Bahktin's, and Folk-wisdom) could be reliable the most.
Greetings, dear colleagues.
ResponderEliminarIn order to address the issue of language teaching approaches and teacher-students interactions, I would like to synthesize for you the key elements of ELT "methodological effectiveness", as stated in the Curricular Guidelines of Foreign Language by the National Ministry of Education (Lineamientos Curriculares de Lengua Extranjera, 1996, pp. 15-16), which are: an active and interactive inclusion of ludics, interesting and meaningful learner-centered activities allowing the potential development of each student, an integration of already acquired and new contents (L1-L2 transference), flexibility through a wide selection of techniques and procedures, plenty of cultural experiences and, last but not least, an assertive management of attitudinal factors, such as lowering students' affective filters and eliciting opportunities to increase their self-confidence, autonomy and creativity. As you may realize, these methodological suggestions are not reduced to a single language teaching method but, instead, as Graham Hall (2011) concludes in his chapter about the theoretical insights for a Postmethod era, they consist on a whole set of teaching and learning practices which have to be considered by us, teachers and learners, in light of our own experiences and classroom (and I would add cultural) realities. However, as a way to expand our academic discussion, here are some questions that persist in my mind and in my scholar agenda:
- How can we approach to language teaching beyond the classroom settings? In such case, what is the role of learners within that interaction?
- What notion of cultural integration, if there is such, can we identify in the referred key elements of ELT methodological effectiveness? Is there an inclusion of our local contexts to actually achieve such integration?
Good Night.
ResponderEliminarAs far as I concern, I think that nowadays most of teachers are using a Post-Method because it is a way to encompass different strategies and alternatives to teach a language according to each classroom context and teacher competences. But also, I think that the main problem related to any method, approach or technique in languages teaching, is that many times, the theory does not include real problems inside classroom, and it does not take into account the social problems outside of school that are affecting students. On this way, the teacher´s experience plays an important role in teaching, because it means a form to recognize which belongings from theory could be applicated in real life in relation to students’ necessities and their motivation.
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ResponderEliminarI consider that the discussion would be interesting if we address it from the next question: teaching a method or teaching through a method? there are instructors focused merely on conveying a content by means of specific and rigorous rules, they do not open their possibilities because seem like absolutizing the way in which knowledge is acquired. The situation is reflected in the lack of motivation of students. I have noted that they are not interested in learning English, maybe because their needs and real life are isolated.
ResponderEliminarHaving said that, I assume that most of teachers are often unaware of the focus of learning, which is not the language as such, but the student as a learner, who needs to discover the significance of learnings for their lives. That is the teachers’ role, to give true learning reasons, more than taking a method as the main concern in teaching.
Let's start analyzing just the word "method", which in its etymology means " the path to follow of the way to follow". Now, we do know the amount of methods and approaches, but please do not forget that what matters is the learning, not the perfect aplication of it, because as the etymology of the word said, it is just a way (in this case) to learn a language. And guess what, there are a bunch of ways to get to knowledge.
ResponderEliminar