A couple of years ago I went to an English Language conference. It was my first and the reason I am remembering it now is because I have been invited to attend one more this year.
"Be-e-linger! stop that smirk. So I am a housewife and you can't for the love of God figure out why anyone would want me to be present at one, right?"
"Did I say anything at all?"
Let me just ignore the smarty pants B and share my thoughts on that conference....just remember it is a very layperson's observation....
The conference was intended for teachers, teacher educators, researchers, administrators, professionals from the corporate and public sectors who were linked to English Language teaching, and material and curriculum developers who have worked in ESL (English as Second Language) situations. I looked at the list and wondered where I would fit in. If this was two decades ago my presence would have been somewhat relevant. I had worked as a teacher of English.
At that time I had taught English Language for students who were taking the ‘A’ Level examinations under the London Examination Syndicate and Communications for those who were pursuing the Private Secretarial Course and ICSA studies. I had thoroughly enjoyed teaching. Some of my students had been older than me but this had not hampered my teaching capability.
"Ahem!"
"Oh please B, don't underestimate me. Although I was fresh out of college I was pretty confident because I had done very well in English Language studies. I was aware that I wasn’t trained to teach and my points of reference were merely my own experiences with my English teachers who had taught me. They had been excellent teachers, those Scottish and Irish nuns. "
When I was given the conference guide I was overwhelmed by the number of presentations, workshops and demonstrations that were to occur over the next three days. And for the first time I had questioned if I should be there, in the midst of all those educationists.
"It's good to know you get doubts now and then about yourself. A little lack of confidence never killed anybody!"
Like every other profession, teaching too had become sophisticated in its research and approaches. There seemed to be a need to keep up with the newer developing styles of learning and keeping the learners interested.
"B, I can get critical too, you know, and thats what I did."
"Yes, yes, that's one of your finer qualities, my dear."
I had very limited tools of analysis, no theories and such, but all I was trying to figure out was if all this was taking teachers somewhere important - to the classroom. After all, at the end of the day the teachers work is not done if she has not been able to spark an interest in her students on the subject at hand.
There were quite a few presenters form overseas, obviously well-known experts in the field. Together with some of the local professors and associate professors, I surmised that their primary purpose, was to show how the teaching of language can be made interesting through creative usage of methods and materials and how literature and IT can be incorporated into lesson plans to make learning both creative and exciting.
There were also quite a few ‘student’ teachers who were in the process of acquiring their Masters or PhDs. The conference provided a platform for them to report on their research studies. This was probably a requisite towards achieving their degrees. I have to say that most of their ‘findings’ were not newsworthy but it did provide statistics. A good teacher could arrive at these same conclusions through instinct. But then instincts were never accepted in research studies, so they did spend a good portion of their time querying students through various survey methods, proving theories over and over again.
"Did you not find this a life-changing experience?"
"Frankly my dear, no.... I mean I felt that the answers to many questions that kept sprouting in my head weren’t complete or satisfactory. Perhaps I was the 'defective' party there."
My final BIG question was - Will all that was learnt in the three days of the conference be translated to benefit the students in the classroom? That is the crucial question - one that should matter most.
"Your conclusions are sharp, I have to give you credit for that. Come now and take a sip of my vodka and lemon...."
Sometimes it's good to see beyond the sarcasm.
"Be-e-linger! stop that smirk. So I am a housewife and you can't for the love of God figure out why anyone would want me to be present at one, right?"
"Did I say anything at all?"
Let me just ignore the smarty pants B and share my thoughts on that conference....just remember it is a very layperson's observation....
The conference was intended for teachers, teacher educators, researchers, administrators, professionals from the corporate and public sectors who were linked to English Language teaching, and material and curriculum developers who have worked in ESL (English as Second Language) situations. I looked at the list and wondered where I would fit in. If this was two decades ago my presence would have been somewhat relevant. I had worked as a teacher of English.
At that time I had taught English Language for students who were taking the ‘A’ Level examinations under the London Examination Syndicate and Communications for those who were pursuing the Private Secretarial Course and ICSA studies. I had thoroughly enjoyed teaching. Some of my students had been older than me but this had not hampered my teaching capability.
"Ahem!"
"Oh please B, don't underestimate me. Although I was fresh out of college I was pretty confident because I had done very well in English Language studies. I was aware that I wasn’t trained to teach and my points of reference were merely my own experiences with my English teachers who had taught me. They had been excellent teachers, those Scottish and Irish nuns. "
When I was given the conference guide I was overwhelmed by the number of presentations, workshops and demonstrations that were to occur over the next three days. And for the first time I had questioned if I should be there, in the midst of all those educationists.
"It's good to know you get doubts now and then about yourself. A little lack of confidence never killed anybody!"
Like every other profession, teaching too had become sophisticated in its research and approaches. There seemed to be a need to keep up with the newer developing styles of learning and keeping the learners interested.
"B, I can get critical too, you know, and thats what I did."
"Yes, yes, that's one of your finer qualities, my dear."
I had very limited tools of analysis, no theories and such, but all I was trying to figure out was if all this was taking teachers somewhere important - to the classroom. After all, at the end of the day the teachers work is not done if she has not been able to spark an interest in her students on the subject at hand.
There were quite a few presenters form overseas, obviously well-known experts in the field. Together with some of the local professors and associate professors, I surmised that their primary purpose, was to show how the teaching of language can be made interesting through creative usage of methods and materials and how literature and IT can be incorporated into lesson plans to make learning both creative and exciting.
There were also quite a few ‘student’ teachers who were in the process of acquiring their Masters or PhDs. The conference provided a platform for them to report on their research studies. This was probably a requisite towards achieving their degrees. I have to say that most of their ‘findings’ were not newsworthy but it did provide statistics. A good teacher could arrive at these same conclusions through instinct. But then instincts were never accepted in research studies, so they did spend a good portion of their time querying students through various survey methods, proving theories over and over again.
"Did you not find this a life-changing experience?"
"Frankly my dear, no.... I mean I felt that the answers to many questions that kept sprouting in my head weren’t complete or satisfactory. Perhaps I was the 'defective' party there."
My final BIG question was - Will all that was learnt in the three days of the conference be translated to benefit the students in the classroom? That is the crucial question - one that should matter most.
"Your conclusions are sharp, I have to give you credit for that. Come now and take a sip of my vodka and lemon...."
Sometimes it's good to see beyond the sarcasm.
3 comments:
Very nice read, Maya.
Well Susan, I find my kids lack that passion for English that I had when I was in school. I remember when Sister Mary was doing The Charge of the Light Brigade, I went to school in full throttle ready to fire! Granted, kids aren't easy to excite these days, but then the teachers are walking the same turf. Where is that passion and creativity to inspire the kids? Yes, yes, I try and inspire them...a mother's work is never done, eh?
Maya,
Since you taught A levels, you must secretly know how bad my own grasp of the English Language really is...
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