THE LEARNING PROCESS

THE LEARNING/TEACHING/PROVING PROCESS
Or, "How to become a self-confident learner."

This exercise 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", the basis for communication.

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.