Teaching philosophy, by Senaid Bolić
Teaching purpose: Learning new language can be terrifying. Sometimes it seems like long, painful process and for some people it can be so terrifying that they consider it impossible. This is quite easy to understand: not all people are same. Some are introverts, some feel insecure, some are simply shy and some, like myself, have bad memories on their old language teachers from school who never taught them anything. All of them have a barrier to overcome, and ...
Teaching philosophy, by Senaid Bolić
Teaching purpose: Learning new language can be terrifying. Sometimes it seems like long, painful process and for some people it can be so terrifying that they consider it impossible. This is quite easy to understand: not all people are same. Some are introverts, some feel insecure, some are simply shy and some, like myself, have bad memories on their old language teachers from school who never taught them anything. All of them have a barrier to overcome, and this is one of the essential roles of the teacher in the classroom and one of the main reasons why I teach English.
As a teacher I want to facilitate learning new things as much as possible, especially to those who never had real opportunity to learn English language at school. I want to show to my students that even though it can be hard at times, that they can do it, and that in my classroom they feel safe and protected. Sometimes, students are simply afraid to speak in front of the class because they feel they didn’t learn enough or they don’t have enough knowledge. I say make let them make a mistake! Let them make two, five, ten, but in my classroom I will appreciate their courage more than anything else, and in very short time they will learn basics of the language and begin to use it to communicate. On long – term I want to show to my students that learning can be fun and that with right approach and a lot of fun anything is achievable.
My teaching style is closely alligned with my teaching purpose. I try to make my classes as engaging and interesting as possible, with practice being essential part of every class. Practicing makes 80% of my classes while lecturing makes 20% of classes. I believe that students will master language best if they are put in situations which are similar to real life. During practice I use role plays, dialogues, presentations, pair and group work, and various other exercises so students could get confidence in the classroom. I always encourage them to try to use as much practice as possible even outside of the classroom. These techniques are derived from Communicative approach (developed in 1980's) in learning language which represents cornerstone of my teaching style. I often invite students to discuss and express themselves and while engaged in various activities I am able to assess their strengths and weaknesses and correct them from class to class. If students need to learn language quickly and are with me only for short period of time I sometimes use Direct Approach (developed in early 1900's) and Audiolingual Approach (developed in 1940's) so they can master basics of pronounciation,speaking and listening quickly.
In my classes I use number of teaching techniques to help my students to overcome obstacles on their journey in learning language. I usually use diffused mode of learning wherein lessons are not centered only on one topic but are rather connected with several other topics and prior knowledge acquired during our classes. However, if students need more help with certain grammar structures, I use focused mode where I try to dissect problem and solve it while at the same time engaging students to take part. During our time together in classes I often imagine myself and my students as actors, and classroom as a stage where we have to perform certain roles in order to acquire new knowledge.
As „acting and performing“ takes place, I try to explain to the students that pressure is part of the learning process and that classroom is safe environment where mistakes are allowed, and that I am not a judge but rather a guide who describes mistakes as normal. While learning, I try to guide them through exercises and through this guided practice they become more independent. When „stage“ is ready for final act, and enough of guided practice is done, students are ready to practice independently through various activities: group projects, dialogues, writing, presentations etc, and through independent practices I am able to assess students individually and correct mistakes if necessary.
As their guide I always try to relate with students and share some of my own failures and setbacks so they could connect with me, and gain confidence to communicate more by using language knowledge we acquired together. This way, their affective filter is lowered and they feel more relaxed and confident to communicate on English language more.
