So, Thea and I presented on Monday and it was so much FUN!! We played Simon Says and I did not realize that some of the international students had not played that game. I feel bad because I would have happily explained it. I hope everyone had fun with it anyway. We just used the game to illustrate the different types of listening that were engaged.
We then talked about the different types of listening activities we have experienced in our learning and teaching experiences. I shared the time I had in a high school Spanish class. We were all partnered up and one of us was blind folded. It was the partner's responsibility to direst their partner in Spanish. "Derecho, Izquierda, Derecha...etc..." I found it to be quite useful in remembering the terms because I was actually listening for fear of running into a wall. We also talked about horrible dictation is and how redundant and boring it is. Personally, I have never experienced it but I can see how out of place it can be. There seems to be no connection with what the students are listening to and the actual student. Like the M.C.M. book the students need to be able to connect with the material and it needs to be relevant. I think dictation goes against both of those items mentioned.
Solen came in and talked about his ESL 202 class. (I think it was 202 or maybe it was 101). I really enjoyed everything that Solen had to say and he seems to be very in tune with his student's needs. I hope I as good of a teacher as Solen seems to be. He seems to be constantly analyzing his students' progress and his development as a teacher along with the success that his class is having.
We also talked about the reason why some students never go to office hours. Honestly, I have never thought it to be a big deal. If a student is having trouble then they can go in and remedy the situation, however; it appears that it can be very intimidating. I bet it can be especially when learning a second language but I think it is important to be able to ask questions and receive help from our professors. I think I had a Spanish professor that was absolutely sick of me by the end of the semester. I was always asking questions before class, after class, in his tutor hours and office hours. When I do not get something I either give up or obsess about it. I suppose I would rather have the latter.
Towards the end of the class we went to the G.L.L. and talked about the assignment that is due in two weeks. I can't think about tomorrow let alone two weeks from now but hopefully I will get enough time in my busy schedule to work on it early. ]
Oh! I finally got my teacher assignment. She is in Good Thunder and I am really excited to get started!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I think you and Thea did a great job. I very much liked your presentation, especially the listening and drawing activity. It was so much fun and i think it aroused the creativity and imagination that are hidden somewhere in everyone. :)
ReplyDeleteAbout the office hours thing, i agree with what Lillian said in class that it can be due to cultural differences. In Vietnam, and i know in many Asian countries as well, our professors do not have office hours, and the only time we can talk to or ask them questions is during class hours, which is usually very limited. That's why our students do not have the habit of talking to their teachers, and would rather go to their classmates first if they have problems in their studies. Also, the way we are brought up is that teachers are usually held in high regards, and there was even a time when questioning the teacher was considered disrespectful. A lot has changed now that we've been exposed to the western teaching and learning style, but i still think it takes a while before international students can feel comfortable conversing with their professors. And i think knowing this might be hepful to American teachers who teach in Asian cultures.
What's the name of your assigned teacher??... I thought your guys' presentation was well done as well... I actually want to try that blindfolded activity in my L2 because I think it would be really helpful as long as you didn't have an evil partner. I also think that it would be a very fun and useful activity for any L2 classroom because then many students will not only remember the vocab, they will also be able to see where their language abilities in that area truly are.
ReplyDelete