Hi All, Thanks Rob, and others. I'm rather humbled by the amount of responses and how positive they all were. Today was an interesting mix of practice tests...
17299
Mat
matsimpson93
May 2, 2012 1:31 am
I just found this on a blog about teaching in Korea. It's from 1965. I don't know if I'm allowed to pinch it or not but if you skip to the end it sounds to me...
17300
mcjsa@...
mcjsa
May 2, 2012 3:11 am
Hi Mat, Thanks for this interesting account from Korea. This description of students and their educational and social culture is very similar to what I see in...
17301
Mat
matsimpson93
May 2, 2012 3:51 am
Mark, An interesting response. He was incredibly negative. I saw similar things when I taught in Korea. You're absolutely right in what you say. It sounds like...
17302
mcjsa@...
mcjsa
May 2, 2012 7:06 am
Hi Mat, The account resonated with me because it's what I see so often where I work. I think this person is a good teacher. Simply writing this up shows a lot...
17303
Mat
matsimpson93
May 4, 2012 1:37 am
Mark, Very well put. The guy in the account clearly did none of the things you mentioned, but still arrived (from the sounds of it) with a decent outcome....
17304
Me
jeffreytaos
May 4, 2012 1:09 pm
regards being too burnt out after ten years.......perhaps a dose of dogma early on would help. A guy who brings in the same xerox copies year after year has...
17305
mcjsa@...
mcjsa
May 4, 2012 2:45 pm
Hi Jeff, I agree with you about burn out and that taking an interest in your students and trying to match what you're doing with what they think they need is...
17308
feinoplayx
May 17, 2012 3:00 pm
99.9% of kids who take their first step into a classroom, already speak at least one language fluently. They did it without ever using the conventional...
17309
Dennis Newson
dnewson2001
May 17, 2012 3:08 pm
Feino, Surely you answer your own question. Kids in classrooms are learning a second language and in important respects that is different from acquiring one's...
17310
Alan
manxli
May 17, 2012 4:39 pm
Hi I don't think it's so black and white. Learning a language (L1 or L2) is much more than just vocab and grammar, it also involves society, culture and human...
17311
Robert Haines
romiha1
May 17, 2012 4:58 pm
Hi Alan, I like your inclusion of society and culture (all of which involve human relationships). I'd like to share two articles with regard to what you've...
17312
Dennis Newson
dnewson2001
May 17, 2012 6:18 pm
Hi, Alan and Rob, Essentially, I agree with you both and am fond of quoting the example of waiters, taxi-driver and Turkish carpet sellers who certainly do not...
17313
Alan
manxli
May 17, 2012 7:07 pm
Hi Dennis Yep, my questions were rhetoricial in that sense. We need schools, just like humans need shoes, although our bodies were never designed for them and...
17314
Dennis Newson
dnewson2001
May 17, 2012 7:24 pm
Yes, Alan. Can only agree. "Linearity" seems to be neat and tidy and appeals to planners. Dennis...
17315
mcjsa@...
mcjsa
May 17, 2012 8:27 pm
Schools are not like shoes. Schools are custodial care for the young. The best thing to do with schools is to shut them down permanantly. If this surprises...
17316
Matthew Noble
mattnoble4
May 17, 2012 11:48 pm
"99.9% of kids who take their first step into a classroom, already speak at least one language fluently. They did it without ever using the conventional...
17317
Robert Haines
romiha1
May 17, 2012 11:54 pm
Hi Matthew, We are the 99.9% in your message. And who is/are the "you" in "as you seem to imply". Knowing that might make it easier for him/her/us to reply. ...
17318
Matthew Noble
mattnoble4
May 18, 2012 1:01 am
"We are the 99.9% in your message" Hi Rob, Thanks for replying. I don't get the message of the above. Matthew ... [Non-text portions of this message have been...
17319
Robert Haines
romiha1
May 18, 2012 2:00 am
Sorry if my message was cryptic, Matthew. I was playing on the We are the 99% movement, saying that all of us are the 99.9 % of people who learned a language...
17320
Matthew Noble
mattnoble4
May 18, 2012 5:15 am
I thought as much but I wasn't sure what it meant in terms of the discussion....
17321
mcjsa@...
mcjsa
May 18, 2012 7:25 am
Yes. And you can see the linear thing in any set of coursebooks. It's often interesting to look at the beginner books for a good view of this, and to see the...
17322
Alan
manxli
May 18, 2012 10:20 am
Hi Mark , all Thanks for the detailled response. My point with Vygotsky was just really to contrast the natural way of learning amongst peers with traditional...
17323
Robert Haines
romiha1
May 18, 2012 7:57 pm
... I've just cited David Block's book, The Social Turn in Second Language Acquisition (2003), over on Scott's A-Z blog, and I found a passage that seems...
17324
Robert Haines
romiha1
May 18, 2012 8:00 pm
Hi Alan, When you write "[t]his has revolutionised our teaching and results to date", which results do you mean? Are you testing or assessing these learners? ...
17325
Alan
manxli
May 19, 2012 3:17 pm
17326
Alan
manxli
May 19, 2012 3:23 pm
Hi Rob The school is small (46 pupils) and it is very easy to see that their acquistion of English is much much better than previously. In fact it was almost...
17327
Robert Haines
romiha1
May 19, 2012 4:29 pm
Thanks, Alan. I think your style of assessment can be less stressful for students and often more accurate for teachers. I was curious about this aspect of your...
17328
Robert Haines
romiha1
May 19, 2012 5:12 pm
This short article has me reflecting on my teaching practice: http://www.npr.org/2012/05/19/153075840/parents-and-children-learning-a-sense-of-balance Is...
17329
Alan
manxli
May 19, 2012 8:33 pm
Hi Rob I think that's the very point about ZPD. It is not fixed or definable on any linear axis or spatial room. In my mind it is dynamic and occurs...
