SKBI 6013

THEORY AND PRACTICE FOR ESOL

MONALISA SMILE
NAME: ROSENANI @ AZURA BT. RIZAL AZIZI MATRIC NUMBER : P55361 SEMESTER 2 / 2010-2011

a) In the story Monalisa smile, the main character, Catherine Watson is a teacher from California who just started teaching Arts in a prestigious womens College, The Wellesley College in New England. She is a new teacher with only a year experience as a teacher. She is full of ideas and expectations and she thinks she can apply all her ideas to the students at Wellesly not knowing that the college is a traditional college that practices very conservative approach in teaching and learning. The college practices rote learning that strictly follows the textbook. The teacher however beliefs that Art is subjective and cant be interpret just by memorizing the textbook. She wants the students to be critical and explore their potential. She feels that the students are intelligent and they should voice out their opinion which is something that does not happen during that time. The role of women during the 1950s is only limited to being a wife and mother to children. b) The teacher in the story, Catherine Watson, views herself as facilitator. students applies a student-centred rather than teacher-centred class. She encourages the students to give their opinion when talking about the subject. The students do most of the talking and the role of the teacher is to facilitate, advise, assist and offer direction. She applies informal approach with her students. She sits together with her students and takes them to an Art warehouse to experience real art. Although in the beginning she was intimidated by her students knowledge and arrogance, she rises up to the challenge and able to get their attention and respect. The students eventually acquire the critical thinking skill that enables them to be independent. They acquire it by exploring their knowledge and potential guided by Ms. Watson and not through a strict syllabus practiced by the college. The students in the story are able to build up their confidence in voicing their opinion based on what they think rather than referring solely to the textbooks. Students learn to explore all possibilities and not just look at things through face value only. c) Ms. Watson in the story prefers an informal approach. She discusses the topic by urging the students to give opinion and acts as facilitator to accommodate the students needs. This teaching style emphasizes student-centred learning and more responsibility is placed on the students to take the initiative for meeting the demands of various learning tasks in a lesson. For example, she let the students come to the conclusion about the advantages and disadvantages of mass production of famous paintings when she showed them the Van Gogh by numbers kit. She trained the students to look at things in different perspective when she took them to the painting warehouse. She did not even

explain anything. She just asked them to look closely. Her holistic approach helped the students to develop their ideas and be more critical. d) Ms. Watson had succeeded in making learning happened. She was able to change the students attitude from a passive text book learners to become critical learners who participated in class activities. The students were able to activate their cognitive, affective and psychological traits guided by her. She also succeeded in cultivating good values in her students. One of her students, Betty Warren, at the end of the story was able to have a better perspective in life, and not living as a wife to an unappreciative husband. The students became matured and ready to face lifes challenges through Ms. Watsons guidance. e) Yes, because ESL/EFL classes should be an interactive class that gives a chance for the students to communicate and correct themselves through their errors. It will give more impact to the learners. ESL/EFL in classes should be using texts and situations that relate to the local contact, therefore teachers who are teaching ESL/EFL should not confine themselves to the textbook only. Just like Miss Watson, teachers of EFL/ESL should bring the students to a more natural environment and situation to give the learning process a greater impact. Rote learning will only produce rigid learners who cannot adapt themselves to a foreign language. Most importantly, the learning process must follow students abilities. Teachers must find out students learning styles to build up suitable strategies. They must give more motivation and to control students anxiety. This is also depicted in the film when Ms. Watson was conducting her art class.