I have learned how to approach learners. I now understand key differences between
young learners and adult learners and understand that different students will have different motivations for learning
english. I have learned that there is a time to correct and a time to let mistakes go uncorrected like in fluency exercises. I have learned that I have received useful tips about how to deal with difficulties I may face when teaching such as discipline problems, multi-level classes, and encouraging student participation in activities. I have gained the opportunity to examine the
english language from a fresh perspective. I found the reviews of
english grammar to be extremely helpful as I was made to think through grammar in simplified terms. While I am adept at using grammar, I am not adept in explaining it. After having to think through how I would explain to learners as well as activities I could use to I have been made to think through all the things that I would encounter in a real classroom, which has made me much more mentally prepared to teach. Throughout this course, I have learned how to translate concepts into activities that would elicit speech and writing. I have also learned the merits of lesson-planning. Sitting down and making a lesson plan ensures that no classroom time is wasted. Whenever I've led activities, I would tend to do things on the fly with loose guidelines in my head. However, the
teacher is the expert. The
teacher needs to make sure that the students are getting the maximum amount of learning out of the time available. I have spend a lot of time being a language student. I took
spanish classes throughout my youth and intensely studied Arabic in college both in the US and in the Arab world. I can identify with a lot of what this course has taught about. However, it has allowed me to think about these concepts from the eyes of my
teachers and professors. I will use the knowledge from this course to hopefully teach
english to refugee and immigrant populations in Chicago. Even if I do not teach
english right away, I am currently a citizenship
tutor in my community. I will be able to
apply the principles learned in this course to be the best possible
tutor for students studying for the US naturalization interview test.