Bin diplomierter Sprachlehrer mit vielen Jahren Erfahrung in meiner Heimat und auch im Mittleren Osten (Kuwait, Dubai).
MY PERSONAL TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
As a scholar, I remember being inspired by my Geography teacher, who could transform me from the mundane reality of the classroom to faraway places, simply by his recollections. His narratives brought to life far-off, exotic locations. Similarly, -- perhaps less dramatically so, but certainly much more impressionably – were the short stories and novels we read in the English class. I was inspired by the word, and how it could open up new worlds. This combination inspired me to become a travelling teacher. I’ve lived in South Africa & Namibia; and have travelled for studies to Germany, Sweden & Italy; and for work and my own edification to the Middle East. These experiences have inspired me to become the kind of inspiring language teacher that would inspire his students to want to explore the world beyond their daily reality – not just through crossing borders, but in their mind as well, through the power of words………
My teaching philosophy has always – subconsciously – been based on the constructivist approach to learning by Vygotsky. I believe in building on existing knowledge and progressively expanding and enriching that knowledge and making that knowledge a useful tool and a key to unlock new knowledges; the ability to see and make connections between different knowledges & skills – in short, to tap into the full range of a learner’s different intelligences, to enhance their learning experience.
I generally don’t believe in a “start-from-scratch” approach, especially to (foreign) language learning & teaching. Since we all speak a mother tongue, the instinctive knowledge of language – a kind of universal grammar – is already imprinted in our brains. The trick of the language teacher is to make the learners see the pre-existing patterns of language and to apply them to the target language they’re learning.
And since language learning doesn’t happen in isolation, language learners need to recognise the use and effect of language all around them, in their daily reality – whether it be social media or the general popular media. They are embedded and immersed in a language matrix in which they themselves are both recipients as well as active participants.
My teaching style is based on this premise. It would start off initially uncovering & learning the formal structures of the language (the Adjectives, Nouns, Verbs, etc.), the mastery of which would enable the learner to become a wordsmith themselves, and to become a creator of texts, through which they communicate their inner self, leaving a personal language legacy – whether it be through interactive, communicative texts (writings, posters, displays, postings) or live interaction (talks, presentations, dialogues, debates, interactions). For the insecure learner, a progressive pathway to self-expression is created through interactive learning (i.e. partner and group work), gently nudged & guided through critical, but non-judgemental, Peer and Self-assessment reflections. In a group, they contribute what little they can, within their comfort zone, until they feel self-assured enough to step out and expose their talents.
A new concept is introduced (or perhaps a familiar one reiterated & reinforced) by an initial lecture-style lesson, with appropriate exercises to practice the concept and put the new knowledge to test. What follows then are regular drilling exercises, to practice the use of the concept, to make it a part of their own, personal lexicon. Finally, they are given a real-life application (e.g. a business letter), which is evaluated, to assess their mastery of the concept.
I believe lesson content needs to be relevant, realistic and authentic. My feeding my learners with texts I have penned will not prepare them for real-life interaction with the language. Authenticity is only guaranteed by using authentic texts from real life. Thus I make extensive use of language texts drawn from popular (mass) media and fiction. This makes the use and application of the language current and will reflect current uses of the language, keeping the classroom language learning abreast with the latest trends. This is particularly so in an age where the language of social media has permeated our life. Language learners need to know the different discourses within the language they are learning, because, in effect, they are learning multiple English ‘languages’. Appropriacy of language use is an often overlooked aspect in language teaching, and I draw great inspiration from authentic texts to illustrate this point during my lessons.
But learning a language is not just about learning the mechanics of the language. Language also carries the cultural values of its speakers; thus, learning the language will inevitably mean interrogating the values the language presents in sub-text, and interrogating one’s own values in response. This is where language learning becomes really interesting! And this is where learning for life occurs. It is at this juncture that critical thinking is practised, nurtured, and explored. It is here that learning to become future global citizens, aware of the global challenges we face is explored.
I believe to be successful, functional and responsible global citizens, my students need to firstly develop a sensitivity for the current critical issues of global concern. They need to understand and see the world as a set of inter-related systems and problems. Through an analysis of various texts, my students will grow to understand the inter-connectedness of all things, and how, as active citizens they need to develop an informed opinion about issues of global concern (e.g. global warming, migration, etc.). It is not only through watching television news, but by reading text with a more informed, circumspect and critical mind, they will learn to understand the world. Class reading and analysis of topical texts in the English class will develop those critical thinking skills required to be responsible global citizen.
However, the biggest challenge to teach them would be to distinguish between actual news and ‘fake’ news -- signals and signposts they need to look out for, when reading a text, to be able to make a judgement on its authenticity and veracity.
The skills needed to function in the Information Age include first and foremost, the skills related to digital literacy; i.e. being able to work the technology (PC, smartphone, etc.). But as crucial to that – and often overlooked – is the ability to read and navigate copious amounts of text. The common misconception is that engaging with the technological tools of the Information Age is a passive exercise. However, I believe that reading or scrolling through texts on the screen is a very active, engaging action of making meaning. My learners will learn the skills of skimming a text, to get its gist, and then scanning, to find specific information. These basic skills will be trained during lessons on critical reading and searching for specific information. This will be done with non-fictional texts, but they will also be entertained by reading and critically analysing literary texts (whether prescribed or not). By exposing them to a critical analysis of literary texts, I hope to inculcate in them a love for the use of words, so they can understand and appreciate the craft of the wordsmith, so they may be inspired – in their Creative Writing – to compose their own writings of (for example) poems or song lyrics.
I assess my students’ abilities by a regime of constant and consistent continuous assessment, through the study unit. This does not have to mean a slew of tests & quizzes, but rather through unique and alternative ways of testing their knowledge & skills – either through demonstrating or applying their skill(s) to unfamiliar contexts. This is where their critical thinking skills will become useful.
In practical terms, all my formative (continuous) assessments will follow Bloom’s Taxonomy of learning – starting with the familiar, and gradually building up to the application of a new skill acquired, as a result of practising it. Vygotsky’s constructivist learning theory broadly frames that kind of learning, in which I will start from the familiar and build up to mastery of new knowledge. This means that all my regular assessment activities will closely follow Bloom’s model, followed by a critical self-reflection session at the end of a unit / segment of a learning unit.
My more than 25 years’ practical experience has taught me how to adapt, and learn fast, to fit into any new teaching context. In practical terms, how to interpret the standards or outcomes of a learning unit and how to find (or produce, myself) useful lesson materials, to strengthen and enhance set. My teaching in a variety of contexts (culturally, educationally, and geographically) has taught me very valuable lessons, which have now been incorporated into my new skills set… From rural Africa (KwaZulu/Natal & Namibia) to a largely unfamiliar context (the desert settings of the Middle East).
I hope to inspire my students to become critical thinkers (where the context permits) and to question – not only of the txt, but of themselves also; to be aware of their own prejudices and how these influence on their view of the world. I would like for all my students to become wordsmiths – whether as journalists, speech writers, advertising creatives, actors, online social bots, or even English language teachers! – anywhere they will use the language with passion & effectiveness as a tool of their trade, having been inspired by my passion for the nature and use of language as a medium of expression.
MARC-ANDRE DANIELS