1 Introduction
Working in an environment where language teaching and
learning is exam-oriented, it is easy for the educator to forget some of
the basic human elements of the teaching profession. Moreover, if we
take a close look at the fairly high rate of failure in the exams, then
it is obvious that there is room for the educator to make some changes
and to improve the situation. This workshop shows how the changing role
of the teacher can help the language learner in a practical way to fulfill
his/her potential. It also shows the teacher how to develop
his/her ?new? role.
Before going any further, I would like you to ask
yourselves one question: ?How does the way I teach affect the language
learner?? I hope that by the end of the workshop there will be some
changes in the way you answer this question.
2 The Educator
There are three important factors that educators need
to be aware of before setting foot inside the classroom:
1.1 The educator is a member of a caring profession.
Teaching is service-oriented and, therefore, the quality of the service
provided is of utmost importance. Is the product (the English language)
of the right quality for the customer (the learner)?
1.2 The educator is the one who understands the
subject being taught. We are the ones who have the knowledge and so our
main role as educators is to share this knowledge. Do I share my
knowledge with my students, or do I force them to learn just for the
sake of a goal (the exam)?
1.3 The word ?facilitate? when translated into
Greek (διευκολύνω) means to make something easy. As a
facilitator in my classroom am I making learning easy for my students or
do I make their lives difficult?
3 Traditional Teaching Methods
Traditionally, the educator?s role was manifested
through conductive teaching methods, where transactions in the classroom
were teacher-centered. It was a case of ?I am the teacher, so I know
best?. In terms of language teaching, this often meant teaching lots
of grammar and vocabulary as well as doing a lot of drills and
exercises. No regard was given to the real needs of the student.
As further developments in education evolved, the
shift from teacher to student became more apparent. Using a more
deductive approach, students were given some responsibility and
encouraged to work things out for themselves. However, although students
were motivated to come to their own conclusions, they were still very
much molded to particular ways of thinking and doing to suit the
convenience of the educator, the institution or the requirements of
examinations. Many of the books we are using at school today use the
deductive approach, which is not bad in itself, but it remains limited
and does not necessarily help students learn effectively or without ?pain?.
Following on from this, an inductive approach was
deemed more appropriate in that it enabled students to fulfill their
potential by way of a process of self discovery. In following this
method, it was assumed that the educator had the capacity to accept the
student?s strengths and weaknesses and to allow the student freedom to
build upon these. Unfortunately, because this type of approach requires
a lot more flexibility on the part of the educator, it has not always
been welcomed with open arms.
With these changes in approach, it has been seen that
the role of the educator has become more one of facilitator than
teacher, which requires a completely different set of tactics in the
classroom. The facilitator?s first step is to initiate and to create
the right atmosphere for the child to learn in. Next the facilitator
needs to observe the child?s response to its learning environment and
then respond to the child in an appropriate manner. This in turn
requires that the educator works through the process that is needed with
the child as a partner. In order for such a change in role to take
place, the educator needs to have clear focus and a specific set of
attitudes and values.
4 Understanding Learning
How do we normally plan our lessons? Most teachers
will agree that the lesson has three main stages: presentation, practise
and reinforcement. Let?s look at these in more detail.
4.1 Presentation
We take a point of grammar that we want the student
to learn, we find a lively and relevant way to present it to the student
and we expect instant understanding. The presentation part of the lesson
is the part that works with the conceptual or rational aspect of the
mind. I will call this the ?head?.
4.2 Practise
Once we feel the learner has understood the point we
are trying to teach, then we get them to practise in a variety of ways.
The practice part of the lesson works with the emotional aspect of the
learner. Let us call this the ?heart?.
4.3 Reinforcement
Having understood and practiced the grammar and
vocabulary, we expect the student to have assimilated all this ready to
put it into everyday use. We will call this ?direct experience?.
What I have just described might be called an ideal
(or text book) lesson plan. Of course, most of the books we are using
follow such a plan so teachers nowadays don?t even have to plan their
lessons. If they have a good teacher?s book to go with the course
books or skills books, then there really isn?t too much to think
about, is there?
So why do students fail? Why are teachers and
learners frustrated? I believe it?s because we are not addressing the
real needs of the learner and we are definitely not making life easy for
anyone in the classroom.
5 The Educator?s New Role
If things are not working as they should be, then
there must be room for change. In fact, the modern educator needs to
understand that his/her role has changed. As mentioned at the beginning,
the new role comprises three main factors: initiation, observation and
response. Let us look at these in some detail.
5.1 Initiate
The educator?s first step is to create a positive
learning atmosphere. At this point, we are not just talking about having
a pleasant physical space where the lesson takes place. Rather, we need
to understand two specific skills that the educator needs in order to
become a successful facilitator. By understanding these, the educator
will be able to initiate the learning process. What are these two
skills? First is the ability to listen accurately and the second is to
have an attitude of availability.
Activity 1
Give each participant a sheet of paper and ask them
to draw a picture of a child in the middle of it and then to draw or
write around the outside of the paper what environment they would like
to provide for the child. Then work in pairs to discuss the question:
What part do I play in the learner?s environment?
Activity 2
We will use a process of visualisation to answer the
question: Do I understand the learner?s needs?
Imagine that the room I am in is empty ? nobody is
around ? Now I see myself as a small child ? as innocent as a rose
that is just beginning to bloom ? I am curious, but a little shy ? I
am mischievous, but I am looking for approval ? I am looking for
people, for things, to experiment with ? I see myself as a child ?
walking into this room, this classroom ? It is an empty room ? I
stand for a while, waiting, holding onto my bag ? I hold my lunch box
close to my heart ? I look around, wide-eyed and lost ? and then I
hear a voice asking ?What do you need, child?? ? and I sit in the
middle of the room and make a list of what I really need, feeling
comforted that somebody wants to know what I want ?.
These two activities show how accurate listening
means understanding what position I come from and what position the
learner comes from.
5.2 Observe
The next step for the educator is to observe how
learners respond to their ?new? learning environment. To observe the
learner means to recognise the potential within the student and to
accept the learner?s response, whatever it may be. For example, if you
are doing oral work in a group and one student remains silent, how often
do you tell students ?If you don?t speak, you won?t learn? or
?If you don?t speak, the examiner won?t be able to give you a mark??
These are, in fact, subtle threats that do not promote learning, neither
do they encourage the student. Let me, as the educator, understand why
sometimes a student is quiet and accept the situation as it is. I can
encourage, but I don?t need to force.
Activity 3
Individually, think about any aspects that you don?t
like in the students you are teaching and what changes you would like to
bring about in them. Then work in threes to think about WAYS in which to
bring about the desired changes. Bear in mind two questions:
What is the learner?s potential?
How flexible is my attitude?
5.3 Respond
The final, and most important, step is for the
educator to develop a method of working with the student as a partner in
his/her learning process. Often, teachers are the ones to wield power in
the classroom: they are the ones who have accumulated knowledge, they
control the teaching situation, they are the authority in all senses of
the word and they donate that knowledge to the learner. However, there
are other ways of doing things. In fact, there are two main responses to
a learner: the direct response and the indirect response.
Activity 4
Work in pairs to answer the questions:
Do I give advice or instructions?
Do I make suggestions or ask questions?
When you have done this, think of a lesson you are
planning to teach tomorrow and devise a completely new way of giving
this lesson (e.g. Will you consult the learner first? What cooperation
will you generate in the classroom?). Share your practical examples with
one other pair.
6 Facilitation Skills
To be a good facilitator we need three skills:
balance, silence and the willingness to change. There has to be a
balance between rules (the head) and creativity (the heart) and
learning, especially language learning, needs a period of silence in
which to absorb the newly learnt material. This silence is not
necessarily physical silence, but it can be in the form of allowing time
for new facts to be absorbed before rushing on to another grammar point
just because it?s the next unit in the book, or because an exam is
looming on the horizon. Change is necessary, but it takes effort - isn?t
it easier to carry on doing things the way you have always done them?
However, the results will also remain the same. Change also requires
give and take - let me learn from my students, too.
7 Conclusions
While educators are under pressure to fulfill the
needs of their syllabus and requirements for examination courses, they
are also in a position to bring about change and a positive learning
experience for their students. By working on the role of facilitator
they will make life easier for themselves and for their students and, in
such an atmosphere, the learners will make more progress.
Sue Emery is an honours graduate in Language and
Linguistics and has over 15 years experience teaching French, EFL, ESP
and EAP and several years? experience training educators in
communicative methodology and values education. Sue has taught in
France, the UK and Greece and has published several course books and
skills books for Pre-FCE and FCE levels. She has trained teachers in the
UK, France, Greece, Turkey and India. She has also taught computing and
typewriting skills to adults on a Back-to-Work programme and teaches
English to adult refugees on a voluntary basis. Sue is coordinator for
Greece for the Living Values Education (LVE) and
is the Editor for New Editions publishing house.
