What characterizes a competent English teacher and how does it facilitate good language teaching? These questions are for endless discussions, and of course, as a teacher, I find the subjects interesting. I have been teaching for several years and met many pupils. Therefore, my starting point for this discussion is that I want to share my thought and my teaching experiences about the two central themes, the teachers’ role and language learning environment.
A teacher must function as a class leader, structure the teaching and be a motivator for the pupils. For instance, a leader leads the class in order to get attention to the subject and establish good routines. Creating rules for how to behave towards each other in a learning process, give …show more content…
To sing a song or a rhyme together makes us practice the language, to use the right intonation pattern, helps us to pronounce the words correctly, and do something together as a group. Then we talk about the day, the weather and the aims of the week. After three months as an English teacher in grade 3, I had a lifetime experience. I noticed that some of my pupils wanted to tell me something. Four of them told me about a football match they played the previous day. I had prepared something else, but I grab the moment and listen to their stories. Surprisingly for me, not for the rest of the class, they spoke English! However, I knew my pupils could speak English, they learn English through English, and are orally active, but I did not know they were so good at it. They showed me that they had reached the competence aims after Year 4, oral communication; “participate in everyday conversations related to local surroundings and own experiences” (Kunnskapsdepartementet 2013, p.7). Afterwards, I wrote down the story, hung it up on the wall in the English corner, and thought about how important it is to have a good teacher-pupil relation. A good teacher-pupil relation gives the pupil confidence to speak and not be afraid to feel rejected by the …show more content…
If a teacher does not have the necessary knowledge and skills, it may result in less motivated pupils (Pinter 2017). Earlier, I told about the importance to learn English through English, but even today, we hear about teachers who teach English through Norwegian. If the teacher does not speak English in class, just think of the learning outcome to the pupils! Another essential point is that the teacher must know is where the pupils are at their learning level and know how to get them to a higher level. Munden (2006), say that we need to know what the pupils should learn and how the teacher can help them. In a class, there will be pupils who easily adapt new knowledge and pupils who need more time to learn. Therefore, when the teacher plans the lessons, he/she must think that all the pupils are entitled to learn at their level and give rich and open tasks everyone can manage. I want to mention Vygotsky`s theory about how pupils learn in social interaction with others and they need a scaffolding to reach a higher level/zone (Pinter 2017). In a learning process, we often think of the teacher as the scaffolding. On the other hand, it can also be a more knowledgeable classmate. Earlier I mention the importance of a good teacher-pupil relation and want to add that a good relationship between the students is equally important in a learning process. Learning is a dynamic process, sometimes you need
A teacher must function as a class leader, structure the teaching and be a motivator for the pupils. For instance, a leader leads the class in order to get attention to the subject and establish good routines. Creating rules for how to behave towards each other in a learning process, give …show more content…
To sing a song or a rhyme together makes us practice the language, to use the right intonation pattern, helps us to pronounce the words correctly, and do something together as a group. Then we talk about the day, the weather and the aims of the week. After three months as an English teacher in grade 3, I had a lifetime experience. I noticed that some of my pupils wanted to tell me something. Four of them told me about a football match they played the previous day. I had prepared something else, but I grab the moment and listen to their stories. Surprisingly for me, not for the rest of the class, they spoke English! However, I knew my pupils could speak English, they learn English through English, and are orally active, but I did not know they were so good at it. They showed me that they had reached the competence aims after Year 4, oral communication; “participate in everyday conversations related to local surroundings and own experiences” (Kunnskapsdepartementet 2013, p.7). Afterwards, I wrote down the story, hung it up on the wall in the English corner, and thought about how important it is to have a good teacher-pupil relation. A good teacher-pupil relation gives the pupil confidence to speak and not be afraid to feel rejected by the …show more content…
If a teacher does not have the necessary knowledge and skills, it may result in less motivated pupils (Pinter 2017). Earlier, I told about the importance to learn English through English, but even today, we hear about teachers who teach English through Norwegian. If the teacher does not speak English in class, just think of the learning outcome to the pupils! Another essential point is that the teacher must know is where the pupils are at their learning level and know how to get them to a higher level. Munden (2006), say that we need to know what the pupils should learn and how the teacher can help them. In a class, there will be pupils who easily adapt new knowledge and pupils who need more time to learn. Therefore, when the teacher plans the lessons, he/she must think that all the pupils are entitled to learn at their level and give rich and open tasks everyone can manage. I want to mention Vygotsky`s theory about how pupils learn in social interaction with others and they need a scaffolding to reach a higher level/zone (Pinter 2017). In a learning process, we often think of the teacher as the scaffolding. On the other hand, it can also be a more knowledgeable classmate. Earlier I mention the importance of a good teacher-pupil relation and want to add that a good relationship between the students is equally important in a learning process. Learning is a dynamic process, sometimes you need