Autonomous Learning: a Dream or a Reality?

By Flor de María Vila

       Nowadays, in the technological and digital era, acquiring knowledge is at the tip of our fingers or should we also say that an oral message would be enough to search what we want?

      Even though the answer may be affirmative, we need to consider that finding the right information does not necessarily mean learning takes place. If we want learning to be achieved, we must at least have a plan and other components. Nevertheless, even if we did, we may still need the help of a professional, the teacher.  

 What happens in an everyday class? Who decides what needs to be learned? 

        Apparently, that is the teacher’s job: to decide what has to be done in order to help students achieve their goals. In fact, that is why everybody registers for a course in an institution or takes classes with a private teacher. Most of us need somebody to instruct us in what we need to do. Thus, a teacher would perform many of the following tasks:

1. Identify what students want or need to accomplish.

2. Make a diagnose of students’ level of English.

3. Determine how much time the student will need to reach the required level.

4. Choose the best material: a textbook if possible, and additional material to provide
 further practice. 

5. Others.

What else do you think a teacher must keep in mind?

What about methodology? 

         This must be connected to the students’ learning style, rhythm, and skills. We teachers always have to adjust our teaching strategies to our students’ needs and interests so as to keep their motivation buzzing. 

If we do all this, why are there still students who either take too much time to learn or seem to learn nothing at all?

  Unfortunately, many times some students think that because they attend classes, they would just learn magically as if we teachers had a sort of powerful mind able to transfer all our knowledge and enable them to either speak or write, for instance, in the blink of an eye. It is true that a good class should be such that students will leave the classroom knowing what was taught; however, what the teacher does in the classroom is not the only element that should be considered when measuring results. Actually, there are many other factors intervening and the students themselves constitute an important one. Thus, whatever they do or fail to do certainly affect their learning as well. Acquiring would depend on a number of different experiences provided by the teacher as well as by the students themselves. This number of experiences will affect learning as you will see in the following simple graph.

         I also need to underline how important it is to recognize that the more learners practice, the better and faster they will learn. Experience in this context will be connected not only to what students do in class but also to what they do outside the classroom. Furthermore, we need to remember that mastering a language is the result of developing both, motor and cognitive skills, which are closely related according to Piaget (1). I always compare mastering language with flying an airplane or how driving a car. Nobody, as far as I know, would be able to fly a plane or drive a car by just reading the manuals. It is necessary to practice an extended period to begin doing it and then a large number of hours to overcome the skill. Thus, anybody who thinks that attending classes will be enough to gain control of a language is mistaken. In order to make it possible for a person to lodge something into their long term memory, they have to “experience” or practice many times, especially if he wants to learn fast. If a student relies only on what the teacher offers in class, he will certainly take more time to absorb anything. 

What does a learner have to do then? What suggestions could we give him? 

   In order to help students practice intelligently, the teacher has to help him by recommending the following:

1. Review what has been done in class

2. Apply what he has done in class in something he is doing at school, university or work.  That is, if he has learnt how to give suggestions in class, he could start writing or recording recommendations to people in his environment. The student must experience that what he has been taught proves useful.

3. Watch videos. Just make sure to teach students how to take advantage of the videos. It is not useful at all to only share links without telling them what to do. Even better, open one of those links in class and model how to use them. Otherwise, watching videos or listening to them would be a waste of time and energy, yours and his.

4. Organize his time to practice constantly. There is not much efficiency in doing some exercises from time to time. Just remind them how many hours pilots, for instance, invest in their flights before becoming authorized pilots. 

5. Monitor their progress. For this, they first need to set objectives. Without them is like going to the supermarket and buy something and then return home and start wondering: What can I cook today? A waste of time and money, isn´t it?

By the way, some of these suggestions could also be useful for self-taught students who would try skipping classes or saving some money. In any way, one always needs some guidance. If one happens to have a kind of coach, as most of us teachers are, it could be better because we will save them time relying on our experience and knowledge, though I have met some students who needed merely very little help because they were already accustomed to studying on their own. 

  

                                   What else can we suggest to our students? 

                                    Share your experience and ideas with us* 

Reference:

(1) Piaget, J. The origins of intelligence in children. Norton & Company, New York,   NY; 1952

BIOGRAPHICAL DATA

M.A. in Cognition, Learning and Development from PUCP, B.A. in Education with a major in English Teaching. Ms. Vila is currently Teacher trainer, Pedagogic Consultant and Member of the Research Team at Centro de Idiomas de la Universidad del Pacífico. She is Academic Director of International Contacts (test training & foreign applications advisory) and relationship manager for American universities´ MBA admissions officers with International Contacts. 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)

*Los mensajes y/o comentarios de publicidad u otra índole, no relacionados con el artículo, serán eliminados y reportados como SPAM*

Is it Really Vital for a Teacher to Become an Innovator?

By Flor de María Vila A.

There usually comes a time when we ask ourselves: “Is teaching what I want to  do the rest of my life?” “Is this all I can do?” Our first answers could be: “Well, I studied to become a teacher,” “I wanted to be a teacher,” “This is what I set off to do because there was no other option,” “This is the job I found and I‘ve become accustomed to doing it.” The concern here resides neither on the questions nor on the answers we could give after granting it some thought. The main issue is why we are asking ourselves those questions! I may dare to think that possibly we are not happy, neither are we satisfied with the routine that our lives have espoused. This could be true if we found ourselves responding: “This is what I am paid for,” “There´s no need to do things differently,” “I do not need to run the extra mile, why would I?”

In an effort to break the routine of those wonted days, weeks, months or even years, I started trying some new things, activities, or strategies. As many may have guessed by now, my resources soon uncovered the end of the tunnel. I found myself posing questions about the formula to innovate, to be creative, and to make my job more worthwhile and enjoyable. Eventually, I did find a way out.

Are people born gifted with creativity and the chip of innovation?

One of the mistakes I realized after talking to some people was precisely the belief that being innovative or creative is a trait you are born with. Crass error! Innovation is a capability and a closed system which needs to be developed. Process is a key word since innovation won´t happen overnight. We need to drop the idea that innovation is a tool or a single activity which can be done once in a while.

How can we self-generate some fuel to restart the engine?

         First of all, we need to convince ourselves that we need to find a reason to walk perhaps not the whole extra mile, but just an extra meter. This is not a joke, it is real! We need to find an incentive to move forward and leave behind the cycle that has engulfed us for so long. The answer could stand in the following five steps. I have tried them over and over and I can say now I feel I have found that my professional life is meaningful.

#1: Every beginning is always difficult, but I feel this one could not necessarily be so hard. Identify any possible problem or difficulty observed in any of your lessons. For instance, your students find it difficult to understand what two native speakers say in a conversation. You repeat the audio again and again and the results hardly provide significant improvement.

#2: Think of possible reasons why your students face this problem. Do not focus only on the problem. Try to determine what might go wrong in the process before playing the audio. This step is crucial! Do not cling yourself to what you already know even if you are knowledgeable. Be humble and explore other teachers’ ideas by asking your colleagues or by reviewing research in the subject. You will be surprised and able to connect-the–dots more easily. Once you have collected ample information, you will be ready for the next step!!

#3: Build up your archetype. At this point, you will be more aware of what the problem in the procedure is. Thus, you will be ready to design a solution to the problem identified in step #1. Do not worry; it doesn’t have to be perfect! It´s just your first attempt. The next one will surely be better. Don’t quit! Remember that you need to find an incentive to get rid of the routine that has wrapped you! Now, you are equipped for the next step!

#4: Test your solution. Here, you will need to put the newly found solution into practice. But, before that, keep the following in mind: remember the objective of the activity, give clear instructions and monitor the development of the exercise. For this, you need to be alert in order to identify the signs that will reveal the achievement of your goal: the solution of the problem or at least some form of improvement.

#5: Prepare your deliverable. Once you have tried the solution you will be ready to officially propose it as a good end result. If, by any chance, the proposed solution didn’t work, don’t worry. Remember this is just the first attempt and a way out may appear soon. Little by little, you will learn to adjust details. In either case, you will need to go back to step #1. Take into account that even if the solution is perfect for one group of students, it may not be the same with all students. For that reason, you will need to adjust or reformulate the remedy. Analyze the situation and try to find out what needs to be changed or what can be improved.

This cycle can be repeated as many times as needed, and it will always keep you rolling. 

Have you ever tried this cycle? How do you help your students to overcome the problems they face when learning?

Share your expertise with us and let us try new things. 

BIOGRAPHICAL DATA

M.A. in Cognition, Learning and Development from PUCP, B.A. in Education with a major in English Teaching. Ms. Vila is currently Teacher trainer, Pedagogic Consultant and Member of the Research Team at Centro de Idiomas de la Universidad del Pacífico. She is Academic Director of International Contacts (test training & foreign applications advisory) and relationship manager for American universities´ MBA admissions officers with International Contacts. 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).

Can Circumstantial Burdens Hinder Teachers’ Professional Development?

 By Flor de María Vila 

Sometimes when we stop to think about our professional life, we feel as if our career has grown unruly and probably it has reached its peak. Suddenly, we may feel as if nothing about it could be changed since we have already tried everything there was to be tried. This fatalistic way of thinking comes together with other ideas that support or excuse the fact that our professional life cannot become any better, so we do not even think of changing anything because the die is cast.

One of the reasons why we take no further action is that we have faced situations that have blinded us and instead of having taken them as challenges, we have considered them as impediments.

Which are these obstacles?

1.  Lack of time: We spend many hours preparing and conducting classes, creating materials, writing lesson plans and other documents, and even commuting to our workplace. Furthermore, probably we have more than one job in order to make ends meet. Consequently, we can rightfully exclaim that there is no time to develop our professional life.

2.   Lack of money: We have just remarked that we work hard and likely in more than one place to earn enough money so that we can support our family. Hence, we may not have enough income to afford any other expenses such as the ones required to pursue further studies, leave alone expenses on books or online material.

3.    Lack of opportunities to improve the level of the target language: This could be true for us who teach the same course, level, etc. every month, cycle, or year. We may even employ the same books we used years ago which will not defy us to learn even new vocabulary.

It is true that our profession is no longer wholly valued and very likely fits among the most scantily salaried. However, it is also real that when one really wants to advance, there are no barriers but challenges.

It is a matter of changing the perspective:

1.    Lack of time: The ones who feel that their effort will have a reward do walk the extra mile while the rest of them sleep. They know that spending more time on their improvement will mean a better pay and thus the need of working so many hours will be reduced because a higher payment will allow them to work fewer hours and earn the same or more than before. Their improvement in teaching or level of language will enable them to apply for better positions.

2.   Lack of money: I remember that when I began teaching many, many years ago, I did not earn much money but I still managed to save a little money to buy books that would help me learn more about teaching. I already had children, but instead of spending money on treats I would put that money in an envelope and save it until I could have enough to buy that special book. (Probably, you remember the book The Practice of English Language Teaching by Jeremy Hammer (1991) or maybe Grammar Practice Activities by Penny Ur (1988). I found them the other day when I was moving to a new home. I realized that they were two of the best investments I had ever made).

Do not consider these disbursements as expenses but rather as investments which will pay back and bring you a better professional and personal life.

3.   Lack of opportunities: Even if you do not have the chance to ask for another course or level, do not give up so easily. Fight! Try to see it as a new beginning and reinvent yourself. Look for other ways of giving the lessons. Find other sources, activities, exercises and avoid the routine. If you fall into a rut, you will lose interest. And if you get bored, you will start working wrongly. If that happens, you will hate yourself because you will know that you have become dull. In addition, if you get bored and your students get jaded, your boss will most likely get fed up too and get rid of you. Thus, take chances. If you do not do that, you will not ever win and, even worse, you will miss the opportunity of learning and improving.

Do you agree with these ideas?

Are there any other impediments? Do they stop you from advancing?

Biographical Data

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)