SIOKASI

To learn a language quickly, immersing oneself in an environment where the language is spoken fluently and practicing speaking as much as possible is key. Enrolling in regular lessons with a proficient English teacher is bound to significantly improve your fluency and enhance your language skills. This can be supplemented by consuming media in the target language. However, there are no shortcuts to becoming fluent quickly and learning a language requires consistent effort and dedication. Understanding the purpose of learning the language can help set achievable goals and staying motivated throughout the learning process.

I strongly believe that the time we live in plays a crucial role in what a teacher’s role is supposed to be. I feel that today, teachers are viewed more as facilitators of learning rather than just dispensers of knowledge. They are expected to create a learning environment that encourages student participation, collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving.

I’ve noticed that the focus of teaching has shifted towards personalized learning. We recognize that students have unique needs and abilities, so as a teacher, I make it a point to personalize my teaching methods and adapt to diverse learning styles. This involves providing differentiated instruction and creating opportunities for student choice and voice in the learning process.

Another important aspect of modern teaching is the focus on soft skills. As a teacher, I believe it’s not just about developing the academic abilities of my students but also their social-emotional skills. Creating a safe and supportive classroom environment that promotes mental and emotional well-being, empathy, and communication skills is crucial in helping students develop these skills.

Moreover, technology has changed the way students learn, and teachers are expected to integrate technology effectively into their teaching strategies. As a teacher, I use digital tools and platforms to enhance learning, provide feedback, and facilitate communication among my students.

Overall, I believe that as a modern teacher, I need to be adaptable and innovative in my approach, ensuring that I provide a learning environment that meets the needs of my students in the 21st century.”

I would like to answer this with an analogy I like to make. At the beginning of every school year, I like to teach my students about the importance of understanding the underlying structures of a language, such as syntax, semantics, morphology, phonology, and pragmatics. But instead of just lecturing them about it, I like to show them with a simple experiment involving a house plant.

I ask my students to bring in cuttings from a house plant, which we place in an opaque container filled with water. Over the next month or two, we make sure the cuttings get fresh water regularly. During this time, we often check on the leaves of the cuttings, but we see no visible growth. This can be frustrating, especially for impatient students who want to see results right away.

However, once we lift the cuttings out of the container, we see that the roots have grown significantly. These roots are the underlying structures of the plant, just like syntax, semantics, morphology, phonology, and pragmatics are the underlying structures of a language. They are not visible to the naked eye, but they are crucial for the growth and development of the plant.

Similarly, in language learning, it’s essential to develop a strong foundation of the underlying structures before focusing on the surface structures. Surface structures are the visible expressions of the underlying structures that shape the language, just like the leaves and stems of the plant are the visible expressions of its roots. Although it’s easier to measure progress in language learning through surface structures, it’s important to remember that without a solid understanding of the underlying structures, it will be difficult to make meaningful progress in the language.

Every student has their unique strengths and weaknesses, and it is unfair to label them as good or bad based on their academic performance alone. 

Instead, I believe that a student’s motivation and interest in a subject play a crucial role in their academic success. A student who is motivated and interested in a subject is more likely to put in the effort to learn and improve their skills. On the other hand, a student who lacks motivation or interest in a subject may struggle to understand the material and perform poorly in class.

It’s important for teachers and educators to identify and address the factors that affect a student’s motivation and interest in a subject. By creating engaging and relevant lessons and providing students with opportunities to explore their interests, teachers can help students develop a love for learning and improve their academic performance.

The impact of a competitive environment on student achievement and success can vary depending on the individual student and their characteristics.

While some students may thrive in a competitive environment and be motivated to excel when faced with competition from their peers, other students may find competition to be stressful or demotivating.

Furthermore, competition with oneself, or setting personal goals and striving to improve, can be a more effective and positive approach to achieving success than competing with others. When a student focuses on their own progress and development, they are more likely to be intrinsically motivated, which can lead to greater success and satisfaction in the long run.

It’s important to note that healthy competition can have its benefits, such as promoting teamwork, collaboration, and a sense of accomplishment. However, competition should be balanced and approached in a way that does not put undue stress or pressure on students, and should always be secondary to the student’s individual growth and development.

My approach to error correction is to prioritize the freedom of speaking, especially for students at lower levels of English proficiency. I believe that correcting every single mistake can be overwhelming and can hinder the student’s confidence and motivation to communicate.

Instead, I encourage my students to express themselves freely and try to understand their meaning, rather than focusing too much on the correctness of their grammar and vocabulary usage. Of course, if a mistake significantly affects the understanding of the message, I will intervene and offer immediate correction.

As students progress and become more advanced, I believe that more immediate error correction is necessary to help them continue to improve, especially if they request it. I also find that peer correction can be effective, especially in a strongly bonded class, as it promotes collaboration and active engagement among the students.

Lastly, I believe that self-correction is a valuable skill for language learners to develop. I encourage my students to reflect on their own work and identify areas for improvement, as this promotes independence and critical thinking.

It is certainly possible for the English lessons provided at school to be enough for achieving fluency, but it largely depends on various factors such as the teacher’s approach and the size of the class. However, in the private sector, we have the advantage of keeping the classes small, which can significantly increase student talk time. Additionally, clients are allowed to sign up for group classes with their friends, which may help them to open up and participate, especially if they are introverted. Last but not least, it is much easier to personalise a class of 2-7 students compared to one with 27. This personalization is key for boosting motivation and keep progressing.

Students can use AI in various ways to enhance their learning experience, such as personalized AI-powered tools to identify learning gaps and provide customized feedback, virtual assistants or chatbots to answer questions and provide guidance, AI-generated summaries to help absorb key information, and collaborative learning opportunities. The possibilities are vast, but the effectiveness of AI ultimately depends on its integration into the learning process.

Even though I do see possible dangers, I feel that teachers and students should be working with AI, not against it.