Gord writes:
And that’s the last thing I’m doing, is conceiving of learning as a kind of task-fueled process.
That's one of the mantras I've got on an A4 sheet of paper taped to the wall above and behind the computer in my office: "Task-based; student-centered."
Gord's post mentions his efforts at breaking conversation classes out of the usual stultifying mold; I know where he's coming from. My Freshman English classes last semester were, overall, a resounding success largely because I decided to forgo the usual textbook-centered approach and try something different.* My point of departure was: FroshEng is primarily to introduce students to Smoo. Everything followed from that, and a project-oriented, content-based curriculum, set to a demanding schedule that kept things lively, was the result.
Orienting my classes toward the goal of producing something large and concrete (in our case, The Freshman's Guide to Smoo), delegating assignments that each had a specific purpose, encouraging students to work with their own groups and to dialogue with other groups-- these factors added up to far more interesting and productive classes. Evaluation was a bit messy, but it's a mistake to view language teaching and learning as a rigidly scientific process. Messiness is part of the job.
Many thanks to EFL Geek for having pointed Gord's post out.
*Credit must also be given to the students; barring two or three exceptions, the students were quite good-- very motivated and focused. That was a relief, especially when that semester is compared to the nightmare of last summer's crappy crop of freshmen.
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Hey, thanks! I'm glad you thought the link worth mentioning. I sometimes wonder if anyone reads any of the EFL-related posts I write.
ReplyDeleteI agree, when my classes work, credit has to be shared with students. But it's also because I subvert, and help them to resist, the models of learning they've internalized throughout their education. Passivity, embarrassment, conformity, and fear of making a mistake are all less easy to be distracted by when someone's actually stuck doing something.
As you can imagine, my recent reading of John Taylor Gatto has made a big splash in my thinking.