Journal entry 4

Upon reflection I feel everything that was taught was relevant and always reused in following lessons. There seemed to be a point to it all, and not just being taught it for the sake of filling lesson time which I have experienced previously. One of the more useful aspects for me to take away was seeing the benefits of going through the homework that was set and it being corrected, either via email/eBridge or in the lesson itself. As a learner I feel this is a very important part of learning, as I find in other languages I do homework on a weekly basis, but as it is never corrected, I sometimes struggle knowing if I am correct or not, and find other learners never do the homework set as they know it will never be checked. This course has shown me that there are other ways for a teacher to mark homework without taking up valuable class time which can be more beneficial for the whole class, for example having it submitted and marked before the next class which then can be corrected and the teacher can spend part of the next class going over problem areas and common mistakes if need be.

The lessons were varied which made them interesting (and to all students it seems, not just me) and the teacher was always open to questions. All handouts were clear and well organised, i.e., in the order they were being used.  The lesson in which STT and TTT were analysed showed me the importance of having a balance of both when possible and getting all the students to partake when necessary.

Overall there are definitely certain teaching methods that I have seen over the 4 sessions that I hope to remember and use when I do become a teacher. From the varied lessons, to getting the students to participate when possible and in different ways e.g., not always with the same partner or group (although I am aware that there will be occasions that this will not be appropriate), to the usefulness of handouts if presented well, to making sure everyone is clear on the aims and outcomes of the class to the different ways to mark homework.  

What struck me the most was the importance of refreshing what the students have previously learnt before moving onto the next stage. As a learner I have seen both sides – not recapping (normal in my languages) and now recapping and I believe it is essential to recap as if the students have not taken in nor understood what they were meant to, they will not be able to advance to their full potential. It is also important for the teacher as they will be able to gauge whether the outcomes of the previous lessons have been fulfilled or whether they need to clarify something.  

This learning experience has been completely new to me.  I have not studied a language from ‘scratch’ where I have been unable to use my knowledge of other languages to assist me, since I first started learning languages in a classroom setting - about 26 years ago!

I felt that learning Dutch in this way opened up my eyes to very effective and good ways of teaching a language, and I am not just saying this to ‘please’ the teacher.