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Teach English in Lanyi Zhen - Xinzhou Shi

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In general,the practice of analyzing oneself periodically can and usually does produce some very useful results; provided that the self-analysis is as objective and honest as possible. For the majority of people, the preceding sentence contains nothing more than a truism. In other words, most people will agree that self-analysis is a beneficial undertaking; the problem is that, while widely recognized as a useful and productive process, self-analysis is all too rarely truly practiced, let alone in an honest and unqualified manner. With reference to professionals, there are very few careers wherein self-analysis is as important and beneficial as that of the teaching profession. Teaching is a profession in which the educator has the potential to significantly influence the lives and futures of his or her students, doubly so when educating young learners. In the following paragraphs, I will expound upon the two most important concepts in reference to educators self-analyzing; those being "how" to self-analyze and "why" self-analysis is important. There are many very specific reasons why an educator should periodically self-analyze his or her professional conduct and performance, however the "umbrella" reason has to be, I emphasize, MUST be in order to provide the best possible learning environment for the students and to impart as much useful knowledge as is possible to them. One of the more common specific reasons as to why teacher self-analysis is important is because, teachers, like anyone else, can become complacent and "comfortable". If everything seems to be running smoothly and there are no glaring or obvious problems, a teacher can very easily slip into "cruise" mode and thus can become oblivious to potential problems and /or deficiencies which are preventing the students from learning to their potential. For example, if a teacher continuously relies on an identical lesson-plan format(Eg: Straight Arrow), and never varies the format to, for example, a patchwork format, the class can become predictable and thus the students will become bored. If a teacher never actively tracks actual student-learning progress in the classroom against lesson plan objectives,(learning objectives), then he or she can easily lose a feel for how close to optimum the true results are and also, it is important to gauge how often and to what degree the teacher is achieving his or her personal goals for each learning session. Another example which reinforces the "why" as related to teacher self-analysis, is that, over time, a teacher may develop negative voice inflections, negative gestures and body language which "speaks" of impatience, or even worse, lack of interest. A teacher must continually check him or herself in these areas because failure to do so can lead to students becoming discouraged, intimidated and in certain cases, even resentful towards the teacher. The preceding are but some of the reasons why a teacher must continually self-analyze and must do so objectively and without qualification. As to "how" a teacher should self-analyze, this is partially subject to each individual teacher's personality and style however there are some "tried and true" methods which can be effective for virtually everyone. Most of the "tried and true" methods are relatively obvious. One such method is to evaluate the results of Progress Examinations in order to gauge how well the students(generally and individually) have increased in overall language proficiency and to measure those results against what you(and/or the institute for which you work) consider to be generally acceptable and expected. If the results are less than optimal, one area to examine(among others) will be the effectiveness of the teacher. Another method which can be useful is to record or even videotape one or more class sessions and then later replay the recording with an objective mindset. This can provide the teacher with a wealth of insight into areas which may need improvement or modification. A third example of how a teacher is able to reach a point of self-analysis is to have the students complete a course evaluation questionnaire. This form can include questions such as "do you find classroom instructions to be clear and easily understood" or "do all of your questions get answered clearly", "does the class spend enough time on each subject",etc. Some would argue that having the students provide feedback is not truly self-analysis however if a teacher receives feedback from his or her students and this leads that teacher to evaluate his or her effectiveness in certain areas, then it has become self-analysis. Consistent monitoring of the student's motivation and enthusiasm levels is also a very useful way in which a teacher can analyze how well they are managing that aspect of the overall learning experience. If a teacher notices that the students overall are lacking in enthusiasm and it is becoming harder to motivate them, perhaps it is time to self-analyze. There are many ways in which a teacher can self-analyze.The preceding are but a few that the writer has found to be effective. Teacher self-analysis is a crucially important undertaking and should be done on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. It is imperative that an educator be constantly on guard against complacency and the development of an "its good enough" attitude. This applies to the teaching of all learners, regardless of age, however it is especially vital when teaching young learners. A young learner is more susceptible to the influence of persons who are in positions of authority or are viewed as role models. They need to see their teachers as organized, competent, kind and enthusiastic figures. Teachers who have been engaged in their profession for longer periods of time can be especially vulnerable to the negative results which accrue due to a lack of consistent self-analysis. Educators must view this practice as being integral to their roles as facilitators of learning and personal growth.


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