Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Submitted by TE Editor on 17 April, 2003 - 13:00 In the language classroom we often ask students to talk about or refer to their personal situation and experiences. This is seemingly good practice. However, with some learners, particularly younger ones, this focus on their personal lives can bring personal problems to the fore, which may actually hinder their language learning or affect their confidence in class. This article discusses this problem through actual situations and suggests a practical way to solve the problem, a way that actually widens students' communicative abilities.
My first problem Is a correct answer a true answer? Looking for personal reasons, personal problems A real situation, a real problem A practical approach, a practical solution Conclusion
My first problem
My first experience with a personality oriented approach to EFL teaching occurred about seven years ago, when after many years as a university lecturer I began to work at school, and with junior classes at that. A ten-year-old girl, one of my best students, suddenly stopped doing homework, refused to answer in the lessons, and finally went into hysterics. When everyone left the classroom, I asked her what the matter was, whether I had irritated her in some way. A few minutes of silence, then she blurted out, "You are always by your children's side, I also want to be hugged by mum!" She burst into tears, I hugged her, feeling her whole small body shake, thinking, "That's it, our current topic is 'Family', and the Russian EFL textbooks are full of questions which children see as very personal".
reasons which have nothing to do with school or subject. Every year, when getting a new class, I check their families, talk to homeroom teachers, listen to the children themselves. Naturally I do get my share of lazybones, hooligans and incapable kids. But they are all children. They cannot always control their emotions or cope with their problems. A teacher is a substitute parent for some of them.
Conclusion
I wrote several lessons to supplement the textbooks. My students passed their final exams very well. After all, no teacher can know all the circumstances that may influence a student's answer or behaviour when an examination board member may ask any questions on the theme. My students are always ready, they know how to discourse, how to cope when they hear a 'personal' question. Nina Koptyug, Ph.D., associate professor of English, Russia