Languages
Big question(s)
Should teachers speak to students in their first language when teaching them another language? Will this cause students to lose the motivation to practice speaking in the target language?
How are these questions relevant to me?
For my Community Field Experience, I taught several English lessons at a high school in the small coastal city of Hualien in Taiwan. I debated over whether I should speak to the students completely in English or sneak in a little Mandarin here and there. My sponsor teacher told me to gauge the reactions of the students and use Mandarin to supplement my instruction if the students give me really blank stares. For the most part I allowed students to speak to me in Mandarin, but I would respond in English and use Mandarin only if I really felt like they were not able to understand what I was saying. I found that my ability and willingness to communicate with the students in both languages actually helped them to feel more at ease with me and motivated them to try to converse with me.
Literacy and Cultures
Big question(s)
How do I teach cultural background information and language skills to students with no pre-existing connections while keeping the students who already have the pre-existing background knowledge engaged?
How is this question relevant to me?
During my practicum, I taught a class of grade 9 Mandarin in which all of the students except two were third or fourth generation Chinese immigrants. Most of these students also attend Chinese school in addition to the Mandarin class at school and have at least a decent foundation in the language skills and cultural background, so they would rush through the class activities while the two Caucasian students were still having trouble understanding things like why last names come first in Chinese culture. I would sometimes forget that these two students may have trouble keeping up with the rest of the class, and my school advisor would remind me that I need to slow down the pace of my lessons to accommodate them because ultimately this was still an introductory/beginner level course. Eventually I learned to use questions about Chinese culture as hooks for my lessons and encourage those students who thought they already knew everything about Chinese culture to re-examine their cultural heritage and think critically about how or why they know what they know. This was also an opportunity for students who already had the background knowledge to be “little teachers” and help their classmates.
Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Assessment
Big question(s)
How do you engage students who simply have little or no motivation to engage in the course curriculum? What if you have tried a wide variety of teaching strategies to little or no avail?
How these questions are relevant to me
Teaching my grade 10 Mandarin class was the greatest challenge during my long practicum in terms of both classroom management and designing curriculum. The students in that class were very difficult to motivate and always needed fresh stimuli to keep them engaged. I wracked my brain for creative ways to present the course content in a way that was fun while still educational. I came up with different games and activities, but I kept getting responses such as “OMG, we actually have to MOVE?! Ugh…” or “Can I just draw stick figures? Do I have to colour my illustrations? Can this be due on Thursday instead of Tuesday?” I put in so much effort to give students leeway in how they demonstrate what they’ve learned and make assignments meaningful, but they constantly tried to find loopholes in order to do the least amount of work possible which sucked the enthusiasm right out of me. With that class I really learned how to draw the line in terms of my expectations when I was sure that my expectations were not unreasonable.
Diversity and Social Justice
Big question(s)
How do I introduce controversial topics in the classroom? What if I face opposition from parents or students regarding the subject matter because of religious/ethical concerns?
How these questions are relevant to me:
I was very lucky not to have encountered any issues with objections from parents and students during my practicum even though I taught a novel study unit on Brave New World by Aldous Huxley for my mini school English 10 class. The novel is full of controversial issues such as gene modification, totalitarian regimes, and polyamory. I debated sending home permission slips with the students, but my school advisor and the students all said it was not necessary. I was able to facilitate very intellectual class debates with my students who are mature and wise beyond their years. However, this is still a concern that I have for the future because I do not know how I would accommodate students and or parents who object to the course content.