Week 3

Week 3: Learning Log Reflection inside the Classroom

        Today is Monday on June 17, 2013. It is the second week for presentation teaching method again. A teacher tells students about a basis for assessing for presentation. Every presenter has to prepare themselves and has eye-contact with listener all the time as an example. Furthermore, their content is clear in four topics such as meaning, principles, process of teaching and application. Task-based learning, project-based learning, listening, writing, reading and speaking teaching are the topic presented for this class.

    Task-based learning (TBL) is presented by the first and second group. It means learning of students that focused on students’ assignments. It starts from (a) production----(b) practice----(c) presentation. It is different from content-based learning because it starts from (a) presentation----(b) practice----(c) production. The teacher should teach from easy unit to more difficult unit as scaffolding or teach from each step. TBL is teaching that focused on students to use thinking skill to do assignments. Unless the students understand about each assignment, the teacher will be a person who advice what they want to ask again.

   Project-based learning is presented by the third and fourth group. It is teaching method that based on projects and focused on learners. The teacher teaches them by using projects to connect with their own real context or apply to their real life situations. There are five steps to learn with project-based learning, including (1) choosing a topic or problem (2) planning (3) acting (4) writing report and (5) presentation. The teacher can apply project-based learning with other subjects. Most teachers tell the students to search and learn projects outside the classroom.

      Listening, writing, reading and speaking teaching are presented for the last teaching method. Reading, writing and listening teaching have the same three steps: pre, while and post. For example, teacher allows students to review test about “at the office” before listening. While they are listening to dialog and answer some question such as “What are relationship between A and B?” or “What are they talking about?” The teacher may allow students listen to dialog two times. After the students finished test, the teacher may show answer. Practice each skill of English leads to guide the students to gain new techniques in learning and testing next time.

     Summary, good teaching approaches are timeless. A teacher has to apply some techniques or ideas into real classroom (small and large group). The teacher can teach the students by using TBL, CBL, PBL (Project-based learning or Problem-based learning), CLT, teaching pronunciation, culture teaching, teaching English language teaching, and writing-reading-speaking-listening teaching. English is focused on practice repeatedly and apply with other subjects. The teacher gives the students to search information about an important day of a year (New Year Day, Christmas’s day or Thanksgiving) and present in English in front of class as an example. Moreover, I think effective English teaching connected with communication, society and grammatical structures. I think good teaching is based on using authentic materials and connect with the world.