I was not sure what I expected when I arrived at Gymnasium 18, because my experience with foreign language instruction and foreign language acquistion is quite limited. I had two years of Spanish in high school and a semester of French in college. These experiences were all more than 20 years ago and I've had little cause to use either since then. Whenever I've travled abroad the English skills of those I've met have far exceeded my own language skills.
So when I was introduced to the eleventh form students, I was thoroughly impressed with not only their language skills, but more so by the fact that their discussions in English were not about holidays or natural disasters, but instead about how they can work together to make their community a better place for their fellow citizens. To be clear, the discussions in the lower forms did indeed concern natural disasters and holidays; these were discussions that included me while I was there as I could speak about the traditions of Christmas in America, or about what we do to address hurricane relief or tornado preparations.
But these eleventh form students were discussing how to develop a playground that could be accessible to students with disabilities. And while I did not see any students with disabilities at Gymnasium 18, the discussion was heartening. Not only were these students practicing their English, which I could help with, but they were discussing issues that plague students and citizens all over the developed and developing world. I was impressed with the careful ways the teacher directed the discussion, eliciting ideas from all of the students and asking questions rather than giving explanations. This is of course a common approach in the U.S., but for whatever reason I was unsure it would be common practice elsewhere.
Yeah, exactly, we r also following here elicitation technique with the further focus on free speaking thru problem- or project-based learning in the team work.It sounds like Ukraine is rather advanced in TEFL,which can be really surprising for many visitors.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments. I was surprised, but had no reference point, not having visited other TEFL schools in other countries. I can tell you the level of English in Lutsk Gymnasium 18 was far superior to the level of French or Spanish in my school in Michigan, USA.
ReplyDeleteThx for ur feedback,Glen.Know why the level is pretty hi? Cos we combine here modern trends not rejecting the classical ones also, like GTM,e,g, We lay the solid foundation thru the classical methods and build up the walls with the peer-interaction development.Greatly pleased to participate in the discussion.
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ReplyDeleteThis approach worked well in Gymnasium 18 from what I could see. What I see happening all too often in the U.S. is we throw out a viable approach to try the new method, then find the new method doesn't work any better than what was being used. It is difficult to keep moving back and forth from one approach to the next when what is needed is consistency. We also need to be more insistent that students learn foreign language in elementary school. Where do you teach?
Definitely so. I mean the elementary beginning is the significant part of the teaching process. " The way u start riding the horse the way u will succeed in travelling"(Ukr.proverb, sure u will find its equivalent in ur language).I teach in the comprehensive school of 1-3 levels (elementary, secondary and high ) in central Ukraine (not less beautiful than western part by the way), Korsun-Shevchenkivs'kyi community.I would agree to ur point that it's useless to copy blindly everything which is declared "advanced and newest one just for the sake of keeping abreast of the modern trends".neither should we reject the collaborative learning.It should be a kind of mix, i think, taking into account the learning styles of kids and teaching objectives.But one thing is prior and clear here:it should be communicatively focused.Greatly honored to feedback, Glen.Nice blogger,really.
ReplyDeleteAnother difference I noted in Lutsk,was the language classes tended to be small. Our average class size at my high school is nearing 30,in language classes as well. It is much more difficult for a teacher to monitor the progress of each student when you have this many students in a 55 minute class period. I think the class size was an advantage in Lutsk, as teachers could monitor each child's progress more than once during each class period.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely so.In Ukraine the class size cant be larger than 28, in that case it splits into subgroups.In the specialized schools(like the one u were assigned to)the average size of the group covers approxim. 12-13learners.But u've got another advantage in ur schools. All of them r well-equipped with overwhelmimg sets of teaching tools and language materials, net access is included everywhere.Unluckily, not here.That means v r equally the same at the start.Thus, I'm fully convinced the teacher's proffessional background and his/her leadership qualities contribute mostly to the kids'proficiency at the end.What do u think, Glen?Would love to hear urs.
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