Bringing Learning to Life

Paul Bress

Paul Bress is a freelance teacher and trainer. He works for Trinity College London, the University of Leicester,UK, - International Study Programmes and the London Tests of English. E-mail: paulbress@tiscali.co.uk, www.bemycoach.co.uk

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Introduction
Materialsh
The teacher's voice
Student movement
Student speaking time
'Genuine' communication
Transforming the classroom

Introduction

Cast your mind back to when you were a schoolchild in a foreign language lesson. Can you remember one special moment when you had a powerful learning experience? A moment when, for some reason, learning came to life? Probably most of us have had experiences like this, but they may, alas, well be few and far between. For most students most of the time learning a foreign language is possibly not a memorable experience, and, consequently, students develop proficiency in the target language only very slowly and may even completely lose interest in it.

How can a foreign language teacher, then, endeavour to bring learning to life for his/her students? How can he/she teach in a way that will both a) motivate students and b) make them more successful learners? I want now to consider some very basic ways of doing this. As I write, I'll give examples - but I'm sure you'll be able to add many more.

Materials

If you are using a coursebook, I think it's very important to be selective in the way you handle the material. Otherwise, students may well turn their attention into 'off' mode. Meanwhile, bringing props into the classroom can often be every motivating. For example, bringing in toy telephones can be fun (even for mature students!).

The teacher's voice

It's important to have some variety in the way you speak. It's possible to speak sometimes loudly, sometimes softly, sometimes with a high pitch, sometime with a low one, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. If a teacher always speaks in a dull monotone, students are likely to start dreaming about their 'extracurricular' lives.

Student movement

Even for ESP/EAP classes with mature, motivated, students, it's a good idea to get students out of their seats and milling around (in any number of configurations and activities). Breaking the class time into chunks (each involving some kind of movement) is more likely to assist learning than is, for example, giving a long lecture on a grammar topic. The latter is notoriously ineffective.

Student speaking time

A lot of teachers think they are encouraging students to speak as much as is possible - but if they saw a video recording of one of their lessons they might think otherwise. They might see a teacher who intervenes too often and does work that students could have done. Put basically, the more students get to speak, the more confident and powerful they will feel using the target language. And teachers need to monitor themselves so that they can facilitate this process effectively.

'Genuine' communication

The more you can create situations, in class, which reflect the kind of situations students might find themselves in in the future, the more memorable the interaction will be, and the more motivated the class will be. For example, it's easy to set up a café scene - with a waiter, table, and (why not?) cups and saucers. If you do this, it's a good idea to milk the situation by rotating roles.

Transforming the classroom

This goes hand in hand with the previous point. Your classroom might have a 'default' position, e.g. rows of chairs and desks, all facing the teacher - but you do not have to keep your classroom like that (unless there is some directive from your boss!). So, for each activity, think about the best way to set the classroom up. For example, if you are doing 'Chinese whispers', you might have everyone round in a big circle. Or you might have a horseshoe (allowing each student to come to the board to write on it.) Or you might have desks in all corners (with groups of students conducting research on). So, before you teach your class, it's worth thinking: what's the best configuration for each upcoming activity?

I think we all know that teaching is a very demanding profession. The administration burden is constantly on the increase, and student 'discipline' can be a major problem for many teachers in more deprived areas. However, if teachers are able to bring learning to life, they should have much more professional satisfaction - and, perhaps more importantly, they will be preparing their students for real-life communication in a very effective way.

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