Be Chained to the Textbook or be Creative?

By Flor de María Vila

When teaching English, we, teachers, always try to find the best way to help our students achieve their objective: to communicate in English. In this process, we need to take into account our students’ needs, their preferences, their interests as well as the reasons why they are studying. Furthermore, we should enable them to convey their message beyond the topics offered by the course. Thus, to offer the opportunity to express themselves regarding different themes is crucial because of the following:

1.  Students must have a real motivation. Sometimes, unfortunately, the only motivation is to pass their course, exams and so on. Probably this answer varies according to the place where English is taught. It might not be the same to learn English at school as it might be to learn it at a private institution. Nevertheless, in any of the cases, there are pupils who are studying this language because they “have to,” because of either work or studies requirements. The latter may be because they need to study abroad or they need to finish a school or university term successfully. Having further information about what engages students will definitely become a valuable asset.

2. Students must be able to use English in contexts beyond the ones presented in the coursebook. The idea is not necessarily to teach English through different contents as suggested in the article http://languageteachingblogger.blogspot.com/2018/08/teaching-foreign-language-are-we-on.html. The plan would be to use the same themes used in other subjects at school or propose themes that are relevant for the students who are not studying at school or university. In the first case, pupils may consider one of the themes worked in other courses. This is really advantageous because the student would have to deal only with the language (structure & vocabulary) and not the topic which many times inhibits participation. Since students would have already worked with the concept of the theme, they will find less threatening to try to communicate. In fact, they may feel more comfortable because not everything is new. For instance, if at school all courses are working with the topic of “drugs,” the English teacher can use this topic to help students communicate giving their opinions in a debate organized with students from different classes. Students from different levels and years could participate. Even more, if possible, the whole school could organize things in such a way that different places at school could display banners with information related to the topic.

Regarding our students of the second group, they will always find it more appealing and useful to exercise using English in contexts that are more meaningful for them.

3. This way of working adds variety to the lessons: Not following always the material presented in the texts makes our teaching less predictable and thus more stimulating for both students and teachers. Contemplating other themes whether they are transversal like the ones worked in schools or just different and relevant for students automatically generates a different environment in the lessons. Experience shows that students are more willing and engaged when they are challenged with useful and interesting issues they can use to communicate. 

Are there any other advantages? What about the disadvantages? Do the benefits outweigh the drawbacks?

BIODATA

M.A. in Cognition, Learning and Development from PUCP, B.A. in Education with a major in English Teaching. Ms. Vila is currently Pedagogic Advisor and Member of the Research Team at Centro de Idiomas de la Universidad del Pacífico and Academic Director of International Contacts (test training & foreign applications advisory). She is official Examiner for several University of Cambridge tests, freelance consultant with Universidad ESAN, experienced speaker on diverse English teaching issues for prestigious institutions, and senior international examinations trainer (GMAT, GRE, TOEFL, IELTS).

Studying English Online or Face-to-Face? Two Sides of a Coin

                                                                                                      By Zarela Cruz

Currently there is a wide range of options available when it comes to studying languages. Some websites have a very well structured marketing; others are on the web, waiting for a chance to catch the learner’s eye offering them a trial session, course, or update.  The question your students may ask you is: when it comes to languages, which is better: to study English online or to register in an institution to have fixed-schedule classes?

Let’s start by listing some of the alleged advantages of studying a language online:

• It saves money.
• The learners study when they feel like doing it.
• They can have access to class from their own phone.
• Weekly tasks can be done at any time during the week.

But, can we call them advantages? To start with:  Do they save money because they have a sort of token to be used all year long? It may end up like registering to the gym for a year and attending sessions just one or two months! What is the gain, then?

It is true that studying when they are in the mood is more productive, but, what happens if they are never in the mood? They will not take any lessons, will they?

Everyone has a smartphone, but how smart is it to study using one’s phone? Unless the sessions are micro sessions and/or one has permanent Wi-Fi access, it will not be that cheap in the end.

Let’s talk about weekly assignments now: Are they going to be done in the last minute? What is the aim of doing homework then? (See https://languageteachingblogger.blogspot.com/2018/05/is-doing-homework-must.html)

As teachers with extensive experience in the teaching field, we are definitely in favour of students attending classes regularly, not only because “Practice makes perfect,” but also because the learning environment promotes participation, working in pairs or groups. Interaction in class has obvious benefits:

     

• Make a study time part of one’s routine.
• Take notes depending on one’s own learning style.
• Find at least one learning partner.
• Make sure they track their progress.

When they have fixed-scheduled-classes, they develop self-discipline and they are focused on learning.

On the other hand, everyone wants to be understood and in class, their teacher will be eager to help them fix mistakes that can be fossilized if repeated over and over.

When working with a classmate, benefits are multiple: not only they may find interest and academic background in common, but they can socialize in a real learning environment.

What is not easy to admit for some people is that not everyone is a natural born self-learner. Some guidance is needed and functional language requires a real interaction environment.

To make the right choice, students should set their aim first: What do they want to learn English for?

They must keep in mind their level of English. How long ago did they take formal lessons? How often would they like to have classes? What kind of student are them? Has their learning experience as a language student been successful so far? Do they know other people who have had positive experiences? Are they ready to do their own research? Once they gather all the answers to these questions, then they will be ready to choose the most suitable side of the coin for them.

NOW IT IS YOUR TURN:

Do you have experience as an online instructor/teacher?

 Have you always been a face-to-face teacher? 

Which one do you prefer and why?

References

Retrieved from

https://www.developgoodhabits.com/study-schedule/

https://www.quora.com/Should-I-take-language-classes-or-teach-myself

Biodata

Zarela Cruz graduated from Ricardo Palma University as a translator.  She also finished her master’s studies in Linguistics and took some specialization diplomas in the Teaching of English and Spanish. She has also completed some online certificates:  Teaching the Working Adult, Online, Hybrid and Blended Education, among other self-study courses. She has taught different courses, programs and levels and has been a teacher trainer, a lecturer and online instructor for more than 25 years. She is currently studying a master’s degree in Translation. This article aims to reflect on the convenience of taking fixed-schedule courses over online ones.