The
For many parents of school children the
students’ notebooks reflect the work they have done in class in a particular
subject. Even some teachers equate a robust notepad with hearty work by
instructors and students during the school year and that means, according to
them, a successful and productive labor for all involved. But we deem that as an
absolute falsehood which is particularly untrue in the case of the English
course.
Colombian
professor Luis Hernando Mutis Ibarra had told us: “…the notebook is a powerful
educational tool: there is evidence of what the student can do of what he is
learning and how he learns it. The notebook is a mirror of the work that the
educator does in the classroom.” So he takes the notebook as proof of the work
done in class, which is what many parents do. That leads us to believe that
those parents do not trust their children’s teachers and they need to
invigilate what they do. Not a very healthy attitude.
Professor
Mutis ratifies this when he says: “On the one hand it is an instrument of
evidence of educational work, in which the majority of parents, authorities and
managers supervise the work of teachers, who are often guided by the culture of
the hefty volume, that is, the larger ‘The more effective,’ or the more
complete the notebook is and the more orderly it is, the more the teacher will
have taught.
In the communicative approach, that in the
English teaching world we still follow today, the same importance is given to
oral skills as to written ones. Although, remember that the emphasis is placed on communicating. And it is undeniable that man’s main means of communication
is the oral language and not the written one.
Now
there is general agreement among linguists that the way to best learn a
foreign language is by communicating in it, that is, transmitting ideas,
desires, requests, opinions, news, feelings, etc. The way people normally do
it, by talking to each other. So much so that now “Teacher Talking Time is minimized to facilitate more “Student Talking Time.” So the
idea of a teacher writing on the board for the students to copy, or never
ending dictation or other ways of fattening students’ notebooks are considered
obsolete in the best of cases. Now students should talk.
And
even then it doesn’t seem enough. Professor Martha Bartoli Rigol, of
Universidad de Barcelona, warns us: “In the communicative
approach, written language is still used as a support in the teaching of oral
language and pronunciation.” Just remember that when a new word appears in the
classroom, the first thing the teacher does is write it on the board.
Consequently, students immediately read it and remember it with the sounds they
know, those of Spanish. No wonder learners tend not to pronounce well and
remember more the words as they are written rather than uttered.
So, fat notebooks that nobody is going
to read do not either evidence communication or good language work. In a
language lab students could exchange messages. That would be chatting,
something that kids love to do and real communication practice. If a teacher
doesn’t have access to those facilities he could device a scheme for
interchanging handwritten notes, legalizing and sublimating something that kids
sometimes do surreptitiously. And you can be sure they will be communicating in
the target language!
Now
is your turn
Are notebooks or workbooks the most
important part of your English class?
References:
Bartoli, M. (2005) La pronunciación en la clase de lenguas
extranjeras. PHONICA, 1). [Applied Phonetics Laboratory, Universitat de
Barcelona]
Mutis Ibarra, L. Las
Tareas y Los Usos Del Cuaderno. Retrieved from: https://es.scribd.com/doc/19480003/Las-Tareas-y-Los-Usos-Del-Cuaderno-doc
BIODATA
Graduated in Journalism at the PUCP, Peru, Enrique Rojas R. holds a MA
in Journalism and MA in Inter American History from Southern Illinois
University, USA; a MA in Linguistics from Universidad Iberoamericana del
Atlántico, Spain; a MA in Literature from University of the Americas, Puebla,
Mexico, all the coursework for a MA in TEFL at Universidad de Piura, Peru and
BA in Education from Universidad Federico Villarreal. He has also obtained
Certificates of Proficiency in English both from Cambridge University and the
University of Michigan and the Diploma for EFL Teachers from Universidad del
Pacifico. He is an Oral Examiner for the Cambridge University exams and has
been awarded the title Expert in E-Learning from Asociacion Educativa del
Mediterraneo and Universidad Marcelino Champagnat. He has worked as a professor
in universities in Peru, Mexico and the United States; as a newscaster and a
producer in radio and television stations in the United States and Mexico, and
as a writer and editor in daily newspapers of the same countries. He has been
in the staff of CIDUP for 20 years teaching English and Spanish specializing in
International Exams, English for Business, ESP and Teacher Training. He has
been a speaker in every Congress of English for Special Purposes organized by
Centro de Idiomas de la U.P. He is also a member of its Research Area
*Los mensajes y/o comentarios de publicidad u otra índole, no relacionados con el artículo, serán eliminados y reportados como SPAM*
