Teachers and learners

Many trainers are fond of quoting from a work called “The prophet” by Kahlil Gibran. ‘If (the teacher) is indeed wise, he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind’ (Gibran 1991:76).

Such humanist sentiments expose a dilemma in the minds of many trainers and trainees. Is teaching about the ‘transmission’ of knowledge from teacher to Student, or is it about creating conditions in which, somehow, students learn for themselves? To put it another way, if you were to walk into a classroom, where would you expect to see the teacher - standing at the front controlling affairs, or moving around the classroom quietly helping the students only when needed?

In recent years, under the influence of humanistic and communicative theories, great emphasis has been placed on ‘learner-centred’ teaching that is teaching which makes the learners’ needs and experience central to the educational process. In this framework, it is students’ needs which should drive the syllabus, not some imposed list; it is the students’ learning experiences and their responses to them which should be at the heart of a language course. The measure of a good lesson is the student activity taking place, not the performance of the teacher.

The physical manifestation of this trend is to be found in classrooms where, in the process of performing these tasks (with the teacher’s help) real learning takes place. In these situations the teacher is no longer the giver of knowledge, the controller, and the authority, but rather a facilitator and a resource for the students to draw on. One writer has suggested that teachers in such learner centred classrooms need special qualities including maturity, intuition, educational skills (to develop students’ awareness of language and learning), an openness to student input, and a greater tolerance of uncertainty. These qualities, he suggests, are in marked contrast to more traditional teacher behaviour. Yet they are precisely the characteristics most people would expect of any teacher, traditional or modern, who has their learners’ best interests at heart.

? 1. Give Russian equivalents of the following phrases:

We are always on the stage; they are like orchestral conductors; indicate the range of views; under the influence of humanistic and communicative theories; is indeed wise; the teacher is no longer the giver of knowledge;

2. Say if the following sentences are true or false.

1. Dictionaries also give a variety of messages about teaching. 2. It is because views aren’t anywhat mixed as to what teachers are, and because different functions are ascribed to teaching, that we need to examine the teacher’s role not only in education generally, but in the classroom itself. 3. The measure of a good lesson is the student activity taking place, not the performance of the teacher. 4. The physical manifestation of this trend isn’t to be found in classrooms where, in the process of performing these tasks (with the teacher’s help) real learning takes place. 5. One writer has suggested that teachers in such learner centred classrooms need special qualities including maturity, intuition, educational skills (to develop students’ awareness of language and learning), an openness to student input, and a greater tolerance of uncertainty.

3. Insert missing words, use the text’s vocabulary:

1. Others think they are like orchestral conductors, ‘because I direct conversation and set the … and …’. 2. The range of images - these and others - that teachers use about … indicate the range of views that they have about their profession. 3. Such humanist … expose a dilemma in the minds of many trainers and trainees. 4. To put it another way, if you were to walk into a classroom, where would you expect to … the teacher - standing at the front controlling …, or moving around the classroom quietly helping the students only when needed? 5. In these situations the teacher is no longer the … of knowledge, the …, and the …, but rather a facilitator and a resource for the students to draw on.

4. Translate these sentences into your native language:

1. Sometimes they say they are like actors because ‘we are always on the stage’. 2. Is teaching about the ‘transmission’ of knowledge from teacher to Student, or is it about creating conditions in which, somehow, students learn for themselves?

3. The measure of a good lesson is the student activity taking place, not the performance of the teacher. 4. These qualities, he suggests, are in marked contrast to more traditional teacher behaviour. 5. Yet they are precisely the characteristics most people would expect of any teacher, traditional or modern, who has their learners’ best interests at heart.

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