THE AMERICAN ENGLISH EXPRESS Chapter 3 page 1

The Learning/Teaching/Proving Process

Or, “How to become a self-confident learner.”

This is an exercise that I conduct with my student in class. It is designed to help you gain some perspective on the task in which you are engaged: learning English.

The Teaching Process

Please think of a situation when you have had to teach something to someone. What did you have to do? Say, for example, someone (a friend, a relative) has asked you to teach him or her to drive a car. What would you do first? It is likely you would have the person sit in the driver’s seat and explain the controls, such as the steering wheel, the brakes, the gas peddle, the ignition switch, and the radio. You would also want to inform your pupil about the rules of the road, road signs, safety precautions and driver etiquette (manners). Think of this as “defining your terms”, which is the basis for communicating in the situation.

After you are sure that your pupil understands what you have explained, you might demonstrate to the person how each control works, explaining the safety features and the functions. After which, you might have the person try out the controls (safely, before starting the car). When you are confident that the person understands what to do, you might take your student to a safe place, a deserted road or an empty parking lot, and have him or her try to drive the car (with you observing closely). You might try different driving situations, such as a country road, a city street, and, eventually, parallel parking. And after much practice, the individual would take a driving test and, if passed, would receive a driver’s license.

Consider the steps in the teaching process described above (or any process when you have had to teach something to someone):

Step 1 could be thought of as motivation: the student must want to learn. In the example above, you were asked by someone to teach him or her to drive. Thus, the motivation to learn already existed: your student wanted to learn to drive. If you have ever tried to teach something to someone who has not been motivated to learn, or if you have ever been an unmotivated student yourself, you will appreciate the role motivation plays in the teaching process.

Each of you reading this book is already motivated to learn English. You have your goals, hopes and dreams and these serve as your motivation: whether it is a good job, an education or putting yourself in a position to help yourself, others, or those whom you love.

Step 2 could be thought of as to define the terms of discourse (exchange of ideas). Defining one’s terms is essential, because if the person you are teaching does not understand what you mean by “steering wheel” or “parking brake”, then he or she would definitely not be able to learn to operate the vehicle.

Please note that I am a firm believer in defining one’s terms, always. I see defining one’s terms as a fundamental step in communication at any time with any person about anything. For example, suppose you are discussing “love” with someone. Well, there are many kinds of love, including parental love, spousal (romantic) love, love of family, the love one has for one’s friends, and so on. I would find it necessary to clarify what type of “love” we are discussing before proceeding.

Or suppose you are a student, receiving a writing assignment from a teacher. You would want to make sure that you understand the assignment, and this might mean understanding the meaning of some of the terms the teacher uses (employs) to make the assignment. For example, several of the exercises suggested in this book involve the direction: “Write a critical essay discussing (a topic)” As a student, you might want to know what I mean by “critical”. If I did not make this clear, you must ask for a definition.

What I mean by a critical essay is one that analyses an issue or provides an analysis of an issue. “To analyze” means to identify the component parts. An analysis is a presentation of the parts. A critical essay about love, for example, might “analyze” the concept of love by identifying and defining the different types of love.

When I ask for a critical essay about love, I expect you to think about the concept and offer some definitions of the term “love” and perhaps some observations about the significance of or role of love in human life.

Or I might be more specific, and ask for a critical essay that compares and contrasts the different types of love. Your task would be to identify characteristics (aspects, elements, parts) of the different types of love that are similar (compare) and those that are different (contrast).

Or, if your professor asked for a critical essay about the teaching process, he or she might expect something involving the different steps in the teaching process, (such as I am doing now, for example).

In the case of this book, I am following the steps in the learning process as discussed above. First I have defined the terms of discourse: chapter one discussed communication using formal and informal language. This was an exercise of defining the terms of discussion (‘discourse’).

Step 3 could be thought of as an explanation of the whole concept or how the specific parts relate to the entire task, in this case, driving a car. Your explanation would attempt to “put the pieces together” to help the student understand the goal or entire task. This could be considered providing ‘perspective’ (‘point of view’ or ‘viewpoint’) for the student. The student driver must know what would happen if he or she floored the accelerator (gas peddle) at the same time as stomping on the brake!

For example, I once taught someone to drive who thought that the steering wheel turned all four wheels! (This might make parallel parking easier, but would create chaos (disorder, confusion) when attempting to turn a corner!)

Step 4 could be thought of as asking and answering questions. This process can clarify ideas, relationships, and consequences. One of the great benefits of live interaction between a teacher and a student is the opportunity to ask questions. This is one way to determine whether the student and the teacher are communicating and understand each other.

Step 5 could be thought of as practice: the student would try each task, say, starting the car, turning off the car, putting the car in gear, taking it out of gear, and so on. This is similar to when I encourage you to read, read, and read some more. I am encouraging you to practice your communication (in this case reading/receiving written information) skills. Whether you read or write you are practicing your English comprehension/understanding skills.

Step 6 would then be demonstration (proof): the student would put it all together and can actually drive the car (in a safe place). This step may also be considered as feedback. In other words, as the teacher, you must be able to gauge whether your student understands what he or she must in order to succeed at the task.

Of course, there is a road test (driving test) in order to receive a driver’s license. This is an objective measurement/judgment of whether the student has mastered the necessary skills and information. (An ‘objective measure’ uses a standard scale to evaluate or measure accomplishments.) Teachers understand that testing their students is actually a test of their own communication abilities (their own effectiveness as a teacher).

In summary, the steps in the teaching process could be represented as follows:

Step 1: Motivation

Step 2: Define terms (establish communication)

Step 3: Explain the whole and the parts

Step 4: Ask and answer questions; clarify

Step 5: Practice

Step 6: Demonstrate (or prove)