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On Failure, reflection, and learning

9/28/2013

“Failure is instructive. The person who really thinks learns quite as much from his failures as from his successes.” – John Dewey.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to live in a world in which you never made mistakes and were still able to do everything you set yourself to do? I’m sure that nobody enjoys the feeling of disappointment that mistakes bring about; however, if you never experienced the pain of making mistakes, would you really be learning? While I am not saying that we have to make mistakes in order to learn, I would argue that some of the most valuable learning moments in our lives, as teachers or language learners, come from identifying what has gone wrong when we've followed a less than ideal course of action.

In my experience, as painful as it can be to realize I have not done something the way I anticipated I would, it is liberating to realize that every day brings a new chance to do things better and to not repeat the same mistakes. Call it processing or reflective teaching practices, this semester more than ever, I have taken to journaling after each and every class in order to process what went well, what could be better, and how I feel about those objectives I set for myself and my students each lesson. My teaching journal has also helped me deal with those emotional moments in which I may feel insecure or uncertain about something. Sometimes possible solutions to my issues come up as I write –always a welcome result of journaling.

As a teacher, life would be really hard if I don't embrace my own mistakes or if I am not willing to even admit to them in the first place. Of course, this is easier said that done. Who can honestly say they like how they feel when they make a mistake? It is also much easier to always look for an external reason justifying why things didn't go the way we expected. What I do know is that I internalize a better course of action much more easily when I've experienced the incorrect or least preferable way to go about something. If I blame someone else for my mistake I will miss an opportunity to better my teaching practices. Take, for example, giving clear instructions. When I began teaching, this was one of my weakest points. Nothing like 20+ people staring at you and doing something completely different from what you “instructed” them to do (or not doing anything at all) to make you realize that you need to you need to change your course of action. It does not feel good at all to make the mistake of giving instructions incorrectly, but because I know that giving clear instructions does not come naturally to me, I now focus on this each time I write a lesson plan. Most importantly though, I keep reminding myself to be patient with myself and not expect perfection. We all make mistakes and those mistakes teach us something about ourselves. What matters the most is how we deal with them.

I have always reminded my students to embrace the mistakes they make when learning a new language and take them as an indicator of growth –our mistakes allow us to identify the areas we need to focus on. This semester I have had to put my own advice into practice as I am not only teaching a new subject, but I am also learning a very foreign and challenging language to me: Turkish. As a student, I see how the languages I speak (including my attempt to learn Mandarin) permeate this new language I’m learning. I feel uncomfortable every time I can’t understand my teacher’s instructions or can’t remember a new word, but I can only hope that I will continue embracing my mistakes and continue reflecting and implementing changes with an open mind (and heart). I have a feeling my teaching journal will run out of pages very soon, and that is OK. When it comes to learning, as long as I don't run out of patience and self-compassion, life will be all-good.

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computer-ASSISTED language learning in china

5/26/2013

3 Comments

View in front of our school building

Using computers and the Internet has been extremely valuable in my current teaching context, especially considering I don't have a course book or a predetermined set of already-made materials. I am working with large mixed-level groups, and it is dreadful to have to base classes on content that is only appropriate to some students. When I get to involve them in activities in which they use resources from the web, students can work at their own pace, and most importantly, with materials that might be closer to their level.

When I am not using the computer lab, sometimes I end up bringing texts to class that are too complex. There's not much I can do to change this situation, but at least I have the freedom of adjusting the materials and lesson plan so that students help each other learn.

On those days we go to the computer lab, differentiated instruction becomes feasible for these large groups of students. Using a good learner’s dictionary online (not easy to get printed ones here in China) and getting authentic content to read are just a couple of the many advantages of computer-assisted language learning in my teaching context. A lab makes it easier to to manage a large classroom, as students can advance at their own pace if you place written instructions on the Web and give them the links to materials. One example of this would be Webquests, but I'll blog about that on a different post.

When I was planning the curriculum for my two groups, I had no idea of what our real access to technology would be. I was told there were a couple computer rooms in school, but they were not used for English classes. Fortunately, after teaching a few weeks here, I was able to get 3 periods a week for each one of my groups at the computer labs. Sure, the rooms are incredibly dusty and dirty, but I am convinced that the time my students spend at the computer room is some of the most productive time in our class.

Many times in the past I've wondered (and complained) about my students not being able to send emails properly. It may seem surprising in this era of smartphones and tablets, but it's not unusual to see emails without a subject line or signature. Here in China I've had to teach a few students how to actually open their email inbox and send a message as they only use their QQ (Hotmail-like service) for instant messaging. It's quite annoying to get an email message without a name, leaving you to guess who is writing.

I've also gotten frustrated at the students' overuse of online translators and lack of basic Word processing skills. Some of my most frequently used lines in class are, “Please don't use online translators! I can tell when you use them, and I'd rather read your mistakes than the computer's weird sentences.” Inevitably though, I always end up getting at least a couple online translations. I know I am not the only EAP instructor facing these issues, so I've decided that as important as it is for students to come to class with paper and pencil, it's important for them to know how to use Word, send an email properly, and have some basic Internet search skills.

I am a firm believer that we need to teach how to use computers and the Internet wisely. There are so many available resources out there, but it's easy to get lost with all the digital garbage on the Web. If I want to help my students avoid plagiarizing, I must help them learn to paraphrase and cite properly using online sources. After all, that is most likely where they will turn for information. If the class objectives include students actively using new vocabulary and expressing their own opinions, I have to think of ways in which they can use the technology they already have to do this, but use it responsibly. In my view, teaching students how to use the web to learn English is one way of 'learning how to learn'.

I'm curious to learn about what other teachers are doing, so I'd like to ask:

What are ways in which your students can benefit from using computers and the Internet in your class? What are the challenges? Let's open up the discussion here!

Below I've listed some of the activities we've done so far.

Reading

1. Objective: Identify main ideas and supporting details

I model the use of a highlighter (two different colors) to mark main ideas and supporting details in an article. Students then go to www.VOAnews.com (could be BBC or CNN) and read an article of their choice. This is helpful because they choose something of interest to them. The article also tends to be text that is closer to their level. After they are done highlighting, I ask them to write a short summary, their opinion (separately) and to email the article to me. When emailing, I also remind them of naming files correctly. It's quite annoying to get 35 “doc1” or “homework” files and have to rename them when saving them to give feedback. While students are working, I encourage them to use a learner's dictionary, and I monitor the use of online translators. Students will probably still go back to online translators at home, but at least during class I try to coach them to read without them.

Note: while this is not an activity that has to be done using computers (a highlighter and a printed news article will do). Working online allows students a greater choice of articles, access to online learner's dictionaries, and practice using Word, naming files correctly, and sending emails.

Making a lexical set on Quizlet

Vocabulary acquisition

1. Objective: Review recently learned vocabulary

Students create www.quizlet.com accounts to create vocabulary flashcards. I ask students to join my class so I can see everyone's work and they can share their vocabulary sets among each other. Every other week, students make a vocabulary set of new words. I let them choose the words by reviewing their notebooks and each card they make has the definition in their own words.

2. Objective: Examine academic words by exploring how they are commonly used

Lately, I've asked students to make lexical sets by selecting target vocabulary first and then finding collocations. Some of my students have used the AWL highlighter to get a list of academic words in their reading passages. All they have to do is copy the text and put it in the website. After that, I ask them to go to www.just-the-word.com so they can see frequent collocations of the word. Once they get three common collocates for the target word, they make a set on Quizlet and practice the new vocabulary.

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On Learning a (very!) Foreign Language

4/14/2013

1 Comment

This is how I felt at first when I tried to say I did not eat meat and still got dishes with meat in them. Getting these tones right is hard!

For a couple of months now, I’ve experienced what it feels like not to understand a single word people say around me, not being able to read signs or chat with neighbors, not to know how to make simple requests or share basic personal information with others. Unfortunately, since I will only be in China for 3 more months, I can’t say that I will learn a whole lot of Chinese. I have, however, already gained invaluable insights into what it feels like to be so vulnerable when you cannot a common language to communicate. I am discovering what kind of language learner I am, and it is extremely entertaining to try new ways to hopefully end this journey in China with a few useful expressions under my belt. More importantly, I’m hoping that this self-discovery process will ultimately benefit my future students and make me a better teacher.

Some people assume that because I speak more than one language, I must be a good language learner. I wish that were true, but this is actually the first time I’ve had to start from cero learning a foreign language. It seems to me that being a good language learner is more about figuring our what works for you and how you like to learn. As a foreign language teacher who is now learning a language, I think I suffer from the disadvantage of overanalyzing what I am doing and setting unreasonably high expectations for myself. It’s funny how I would never expect my students to remember vocabulary or concepts immediately after they come up in class, yet for some reason, when I first arrived in China I started to get a bit down at the fact that it was taking me so long to learn basic things, like the numbers from 1 to 10. In fact, it took me almost 4 weeks to learn these numbers (and sign them), but now I think I’m a lot more patient and persistent than I was when I first got here. Also, it wasn’t like I was practicing them every day. I was avoiding learning them because it just seemed too hard at first. Being able to finally able to count from 1 to 10 to the ladies playing cards outside of my building was so rewarding though! Maybe I’ll learn how to ask if I can play with them sometime. So what if it takes me a while to learn new words and expressions? At least I will eventually learn something if I don’t give up.

In the past few weeks, I’ve discovered that I learn better from using the language immediately and figuring it out myself. I also, to my surprise, need a lot of repeating out loud the same words over and over. Getting some basic grammatical explanations was useful to figure out the negative and interrogative forms, but I don’t think I’d do well just talking about the language. They mainly serve as that final “click” if it’s taking me too long to notice a pattern, like it did with the particle ‘ma’ for questions in Chinese.

The people I try to learn from and communicate with the most are street vendors, the women at the grocery store, and the cleaning crew at the school. They’ve been the most willing and patient with me. Best teachers so far. Sometimes I repeat what they say over and over. Other times, when I get frustrated at not understanding something and I really want to know what it is that I’ve been repeating for a while, I record what they are saying using my iPod and ask a student to translate it for me later. Using some translation has been the way in which I’ve been able to cope with not understanding a lot, but still getting some information that would be impossible for me to access with my lack of Chinese language skills.

What’s been amazing to experience too is the value of getting meaning from context. Depending on where I am, I’m starting to feel like I understand what is being said (if it’s basic, of course) and that’s only because I get it from the context we are in. It doesn’t matter if I don’t know the words, but if I can match gestures to expected behaviors, then I am able to answer yes/no and do what I need. I think sometimes we might not give students enough opportunities to try and practice identifying meaning from context in class. To me, understanding the general meaning of what is said by use of context clues has been helpful because then I don’t feel like I need to understand every single word. Instead, I can focus on learning one or two useful words from the exchange. Sometimes I feel like a little kid, but that’s precisely when I try to relax and tell myself, “You are like a little kid right now, enjoy it!”

But now, what’s the lesson learned as a teacher?

Well, for one, I think if I were ever to teach beginners, I would probably not frown upon translating a bit –something I wouldn’t have accepted before. What I would do though is try to incorporate opportunities for students to reflect on how they feel learning the language and what they think works best for them. If they were beginners, students would need to do this reflection in their first language. I still think, however, that it could be really beneficial to personalize learning strategies and not feel forced into learning only one way. We all communicate and relate to the world in such different ways, why try and learn how to BE in a new language by following someone else’s style?

Finally, as a teacher, I think it’s important to keep in mind that our experience as learners cannot be fully equated to that of any language learner. Many people learning English are immigrants in a country where they may experience discrimination and lack of access to employment or housing because of their limited language skills. The challenges each language learner faces also vary. Perhaps the biggest lesson learned is that if we want to help our students feel successful, we need to help them learn more about themselves and what they need in order to achieve their goals -sometimes that might also mean setting realistic expectations.

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On Failure, reflection, and learning

computer-ASSISTED language learning in china

On Learning a (very!) Foreign Language

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