On Teachers’ Role Ⅱ

I deem that a good teacher also should be a considerate counselor, which Siggy demonstrates with devise   unbelievable and involving activities in our class. She observes and understands students’ feelings and conditions and utilizes all those strategies she can imagine to stimulate our passion to learn no matter how tied or sleepy we feel before the class begins. Meanwhile, she keeps an appropriate distance to ensure we are safe and comfortable when we discuss the topic.

    Also, I am deeply impressed by our tutors including Carrie, Siggy, Susan, Betty, Allen and Lauren’s teaching belief and practice--teachers and students interact like friends. Every time they begin their class, they communicate with each other about their experience and feelings to set up and to accumulate a kind of intimate relationship, which in turn will definitely enhance their dialog based on that everyone is equal.

Last but not least, it is my great honor to learn from such excellent tutors like Siggy and Carrie, who always have magic power to involve us , to engage us and to benefit us. Although it is not time to say good bye, I begin to be surrounded by a tide of sentimental emotion about the departure now, sincerely hoping one day we will see each other in Hunan, China......

On Teachers’ Role

Donald D. Quinn has said, “if a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different need, and some who did not want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor or lawyer or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher’s job.”

To be qualified teachers in the 21^st century when students’ personality is highly empathized, we need to learn how to implement individualized teaching mode. After learning from Siggy, Carrie and many other instructors in Yale’s summer session by observing and participating the class activities, now I better understand the significance and the core of personalized teaching, which further evokes me to think about a language teacher’s role. We are not boring indoctrinators or authoritative leaders. Rather, a teacher accomplishes his self-realization as an instructor, a mediator, a counselor, and a friend.

To begin with, it is common sense that a language teacher is an instructor, who teaches some skills like reading, writing, listening and speaking. Therefore, we have to prepare our lectures on all above-mentioned knowledge before teaching. In addition, a language teacher has to set a good example for students. I still remember Siggy’s performance with her lovely expression, beautiful intonation and attractive gesture when she read the poem “three little mice” for us. 

Yet this is not enough for us to be effective teachers, for a teacher, as a mediator, is not only responsible to teach but also proposed to guide students to have access to what they indeed need to learn based on their major requirement, learning style, and personal interest. For instance, 14 colleagues of mine and I have totally different need to learn and to observe, based on which Siggy and Carrie have provided sufficient diverse class activities and teaching methods. That is to say, we can design our personal leaning scheduler for ourselves. What is more, Siggy and Carrie have provided many beneficial books, websites, articles, leading us to learn according to our major and interest. And in Carrie’s reading and writing class, her assignment also reflects a way to personalize students’ learning: going to the Art Gallery and choose one to describe, which allows students to write something they are interested in and something impressive. In this way, students become active, positive and democratic explorers rather than passive recipients. 

Nowadays in China, scholars recommend an exploratory teaching and learning mode based on students’ participation, communication and interaction. Before I came to Yale, I could only understand the requirement literally, but now I have learned how to archive this by shifting the role as a language teacher--and we have to change.

On Personalized Learning and Teaching

On Personalized Learning and Teaching

It is wildly believed in America that “learning has always been and always will be a personal matter”, quoted from Changing the School Learning Environment. In comparison, language teachers in China have begun to recognize this fact in recent years, yet most of us have not realized sound personalized teaching. Fortunately, I came to Yale and learned several effective methods from my tutors Carrie and Siggy to personalize education.

Last week, I observed Carrie’s writing class, which will definitely impact on my personalized teaching in future. Factually, I have never thought of a way to connect students personal feelings with the reading material; instead, Carrie did it by asking students to describe their sense of hearing in their house after reading a vivid description in The Class Castle. Hence, each student had solid experience to share and to write.

Also I will never forget Carrie’s beautiful tone with which she read the article for her students, successfully leading them to walk in to the author’s life. So when she asked who would like to read the next paragraph, I prayed there was no volunteer, for I aspired to continue listing to her voice, emotional and clear, perfectly matching the story. And this is the way a teacher shares her personal feelings with the students when they read together

The most forgettable scene is that yesterday Carrie shared her experience in Qinhuangdao, Hebei in China, which is also my hometown. She told her personal story and feelings so sincerely that she could not help shedding tears. At that time, I suddenly felt we were so close to each other as if we had known each other for many years although we come from different countries across thousands of miles.

In short, this is the power of sharing personal experience and feelings with students and personalizing students’ learning, thereby not only stimulating learners’ inspiration to write, but also helping them set up a harmonious relationship, which further improves students’ trust in their teacher.