Please Help me. I need some support

[Uğur Keskin]

Hi Dear Teachers

I want to learn something about language teaching. I am a novice teacher and I am on the fence about using repeatation technique for my students. Should I use this technique a lot? What is the role of this technique in language teaching? or in other way, What is the best way of using it? Because i am afraid of being one of the traditional teachers.

Thank you so much for your consideration.

 

[Tdol]

If you mean just repeating words or phrases, it's not a technique that engages students' interest, so I'd use it sparingly.

 

[Uğur Keskin]

If you mean just repeating words or phrases, it's not a technique that engages students' interest, so I'd use it sparingly.

I mean conversational drills. For example, I am trying to teach like\dislike structure and I am asking same questions to different students like; What do you like? Each time, students say 'I like ..' Is this a beneficial one? or What might be the better way to provide communicative interaction for my students?

 

[Esredux]

Do you mean drills? If so, this method can be highly efficient provided you know how to make it enjoyable to your learners. You could google ESL drills - these days they come in all shapes and sizes: just drills, substitutional drills, tongue twisters, communicative games, songs, chants and many others.

To make the most of this technique, however, you should consider the outcome you expect and, more importantly imo, to what extent the type of drilling you are going to employ is relevant to your students, their age group and interests. There's also a cultural thing to be warn of.

 

[Esredux]

I mean conversational drills. For example, I am trying to teach like\dislike structure and I am asking same questions to different students like; What do you like? Each time, students say 'I like ..' Is this a beneficial one? or What might be the better way to provide communicative interaction for my students?

imo, the best way to inspire communication is to give a meaningful task. To teach 'I like / don't like...' you might want to ask them to write a questionnaire and then conduct a survey around the class. How many times they will drill this pattern depends on the total number of students.

 

[Uğur Keskin]

imo, the best way to inspire communication is to give a meaningful task. To teach 'I like / don't like...' you might want to ask them to write a questionnaire and then conduct a survey around the class. How many times they will drill this pattern depends on the total number of students.

Dear Esgaleth,

Do you mean using contextualization technique?

 

[Esredux]

Dear Esgaleth,

Do you mean using contextualization technique?

The common problem with labelling is that the sides should first agree on what each term means and more importantly what it does not. I wouldn't mind 'contextualising' as such but judging by the way it is used in today's TEL world you might well imply something very different.

From my perspective, each time the teacher enters the classroom he or she sets a certain context. To what extent this context can facilitate learning is a whole different ball game. It would arguably help to know various approaches and techniques but only to have enough to choose from to meet your learners' needs and engage their interest. Still, there is clearly much more to being a teacher than simply varying techniques.

ps. I'd think discussing particular issues could be much more productive, if you have any.

 

[Uğur Keskin]

The common problem with labelling is that the sides should first agree on what each term means and more importantly what it does not. I wouldn't mind 'contextualising' as such but judging by the way it is used in today's TEL world you might well imply something very different.

From my perspective, each time the teacher enters the classroom he or she sets a certain context. To what extent this context can facilitate learning is a whole different ball game. It would arguably help to know various approaches and techniques but only to have enough to choose from to meet your learners' needs and engage their interest. Still, there is clearly much more to being a teacher than simply varying techniques.

ps. I'd think discussing particular issues could be much more productive, if you have any.

Thank you for sharing your perspective. The confusion that I have is the difference between theory that we learn at university and real life. That's why, I really wanted to learn some ideas from a person who experience these main concerns at real life, real classrooms because what we have done, in university is playing a kind of simulation. If i start to teach in real conditions, i will probably have much more productive issues to share with my dear experienced teachers. I am still a teacher candidate, I know it.

 

[pyrrho]

Thank you for sharing your perspective. The confusion that I have is the difference between theory that we learn at university and real life. That's why, I really wanted to learn some ideas from a person who experience these main concerns at real life, real classrooms because what we have done, in university is playing a kind of simulation. If i start to teach in real conditions, i will probably have much more productive issues to share with my dear experienced teachers. I am still a teacher candidate, I know it.

You've hit the nail of the head! You have to go in with some ideas of what you could do, then see what will work and what won't in the hard light of experience. Then you will have specific experiences to ask advice for.

 

[renard]

I use drills for adults because they can be useful in a classroom (there has been a lot of anti-drill backlash which has a point, but I don't believe they are completely useless!). Many adults are used to drilling as a learning method from when they were in school and it can help them feel more comfortable with sentences before using them in a communicative method. I do not generally use drills for children and find songs/poems to be more engaging for them.

 

[sabysmith]

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