Diary 2

Session 2



Preparation:


This time I was more or less successful in covering the required reading tasks which were about learning and learning process. So I’ll have a better feeling & a better week ( I suppose).
While I began reading there was one part I couldn’t get well. The part about the elicitation device and forced production task was not much clear for me. The part spoke about the comparative studies into language processing by L1 and L2 users. It was said that these experimental studies, which employ some sort of elicitation device are not much reliable.

The other part which seemed of importance was the different studies on the relationship between instruction and acquisition. The outcomes were varied but common in some points: The fact that instructed learning does not necessarily end in acquisition. Communicative classrooms with instruction plus opportunities for interaction were superior to the traditional ones. It was better that the instruction include both meaning and form rather than just form.
Also studies showed that tasks which focus on meaning and the grammar within meaningful contexts work better than one dimensional ones.
The other interesting topic was the one about good lang learners. I’m not sure if we can generalize these to any learning process but I tried to trace them in my own study habits.
Among them the most important was the ability to reflect on the processes underling their own learning. They find their own way of learning and tend to use strategies more frequently.
The last point which seemed of attraction was the fact that opportunities for reflection ,self reporting and monitoring lead sts to a greater sensitivity to the learning process overtime and help them to develop skills to say what they want to learn and how ,and this is what I hope this dairy will help me to achieve.

Assistance:


The first thing was presenting a good definition of learning itself which is defined as a process if getting in information through five senses, then attending which means pay attention to them, then store them and finally recall what was stored.
One of the main topics which were discussed in the class was Krashen’s main hypothesizes and that he was in favor of acquisition rather learning and he believed that learning is a conscious process of taking in information through what the teacher instructs which will not end in acquisition which is an unconscious process of getting. we also can say that acquisition is pro-declarative knowledge which is procedural while learning is declarative which is generally the ability to identify errors and state rule violation.

Another important thing was the theory of natural-order.We must allow a silent period to sts.If sth doesn’t follow this natural-order which we acquire L1 we must wait until sts come to that state so that they themselves comprehend everything.
We also talked about the teachers’ role according to modern theories .It’s not de emphasized but has got more complex and complicated coz in the past the teacher only needed to have topic competence and maybe we can add to this the matter of pedagogical competence but sth they lacked was the personal competence .Nowadays teachers must have a psychological knowledge to know her sts and their feeling at any particular time. So it is obvious that successful teachers according to modern theories must be more proficient in their jobs from 3 different aspects and of course must be really knowledgeable since sts may really ask any questions.
All the time I’m thinking about being a better teacher and that how I can help my sts in the best way which is possible. I really try to do my best but I know that I’m yet far from being a perfect teacher.
The last question raised by the instructor was that shall we choose among the old theories and apply them to our classes or not. There are three different ways to deal with question:
1-We don’t need new theories and the old ones are good enough.
2-We can imitate the process which is in L1 acquisition and follow the same procedure in L2 learning and teaching process.
3-A teacher should search for the best theory according to each classroom and students’ needs. She should do both ethnographic and experiential research. The reason is that it is only the teacher who knows what will work or will not work in her classroom. She is familiar with everything and is an insider ,so is the best person to work in this area,which again refers to the important role of a teacher.

Application:


When we talked about the role of teacher from new perspective, as I mentioned before it made me ponder again the delicacy needed in teaching and think of the ways to improve the required qualifications. My concern is the part which deals with a kind of innate talent for teaching.