Do you think teaching EFL to teenagers can be a tough task? I know how lack of motivation and behaviour problems can make it extremely hard at times. And what about teaching adults? Is it difficult? Well, I have worked with young professionals and travellers for many years and the truth is teaching adults can be a fine art. In general, they have other things on their minds. Family, work and a variety of other circumstances can make staying focused on learning difficult. Couple that with bad previous experiences and the result is a really complex picture. However, there’s something much more challenging, something that is testing my teaching skills: training educators in the use and application of technology. Delivering an ICT course for colleagues at school is one of the most complicated tasks I have ever undertaken. Even those who are extremely motivated find it hard to learn to work with computers or other forms of technology. Is it because they are intimidated by new tools or uneducated on some technology terms (which makes it difficult to understand what is being taught)? Well, these are some of the problems they face, but not the most important. Learning new skills will take a long time, of course, but in my experience, the hardest aspect is reconsidering old ideas and unlearning reinforced habits. Alvin Toffler brilliantly explained this in one of his famous quotes:“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” In the era of technology it seems we, teachers, have a lot we need to unlearn. “Turn off your mobile” used to be my mantra. Now, I’m learning mobiles can be a useful tool. Writing as much as possible on one page was the norm in the age of photocopies, but not including too much text on a single page is what designers recommend if you decide to have your own website. Countless examples of these paradigm shifts could be mentioned. A few weeks ago, when I was precisely looking for material to help my colleagues learn, unlearn and relearn, I came across “Eight Big Ideas Behind the Constructionist Learning Lab”, a list of suggestions written back in 1999 by Seymour Papert, the father of educational technology. These are great tips for those learning technology skills, EFL or anything in the modern world. I have discussed them with the teachers I’m training and they also feel the tips have helped them re evaluate some pre-conceived ideas. These are my favourite 5:
Learn by doing. When it comes to technology, theory is definitely NOT enough. When you need to install a new programme or use a modern gadget, do you ever read the instructions? Most young people just learn by trial-and-error but, if you are not so brave, you can always watch video tutorials. Having a look at how people do things is much more enlightening than reading. I have encouraged my colleagues to forget about theory or instructions and JUST DO IT!
Technology as building material. Many times ICT courses focus on the “how”. If you are lucky you end up knowing how to use “Prezi”, “Voki” and “Glogster”, but what can teachers or students produce WITH these tools? Technology itself is not what we should focus on. It’s the things you can make with technology what should matter. I have kept this in mind when delivering the classes. I always ask myself (and everybody else!) :“How can we use this in class?” The answers have been really interesting!
Learning to learn. “Nobody can teach you everything you need to know. You have to take charge of your own learning”, says Papert. This is probably the best tip (well, I wrote a post explaining how important I believe being an independant learner is!). Every day new things are being discovered and there are no “experts” we can refer to. Any ICT course should be a starting point. I hope I have given my colleagues enough strategies so that they can continue experimenting after they finish the course.
You can’t get it right without getting it wrong. Papert says, “Nothing important works the first time.” I wish all of my students could understand this! He explains,“The only way to get it right is to look carefully at what happened when it went wrong. To succeed you need the freedom to goof on the way.” I couldn’t agree more! Mistakes are a substantial part of the learning process.
Do unto ourselves what we do unto our students. The 21st century world is an uncertain place. Jobs have changed, social interaction has changed and most aspects of life will probably change. Most of us have been trying hard to adapt and know how frustrating it can be. Papert says,“The best lesson we can give our students is to let them see us struggle to learn.”
So, what 21st century skills do teachers need? What things do we need to learn, unlearn or relearn?
You write a sentence on the board and continue explaining an activity. Then you go to the back of the classroom to answer a student question, look at the board to give the sentence as an example and there it is: a mistake. There’s a mistake in the sentence YOU wrote. If you are lucky, it’s just a silly spelling mistake anyone can make, but what if it’s more serious? Well, let’s turn this into a real nightmare. Imagine it’s not you, but your students who notice it, decide to record your inaccuracy with a hidden mobile phone and (to your horror) upload the video to youtube. You may think I’m exaggerating but, believe it or not, that’s what happened to a Maths teacher from Catamarca a couple of months ago. The result? The video went viral and hit the headlines last week (if you haven't seen it yet, click here).
Why did national newspapers talk about this if we know nobody is perfect? Why did some reporters and parents say she should resign? Well, I suppose this incident exposes a deeply rooted misconception: teachers are the experts and therefore should NEVER fail. Unfortunately, we have been socialised into the idea that teachers should know how to respond to EVERY situation. And, would you like to know what really horrifies me? I have even seen teachers taking down notes of colleagues’ mistakes during presentations. I suppose it is some kind of guilty pleasure. It has happened here, abroad, both with experienced and student teachers. It’s sad, don’t you think? A teacher who makes mistakes is not understood or respected by their peers. For all of society if a teacher shows their knowledge is somehow limited, they do not deserve the job. It doesn't matter that we have to make decisions when there’s not enough time, that our context shifts from hour to hour or that we try and look enthusiastic in the 2nd period even if we have been demoralised in the 1st. No, society wants teachers to be 100% reliable all the time.
I don’t believe teachers should strive for perfection. For me even the most decorated and experienced teachers make mistakes every so often. Solid preparation and constant training are necessary but we must stop being "the experts" (I can’t help but associate that term with obsessive, boring and somehow authoritarian people). I see myself as a facilitator and that’s why I usually tell everyone I’m nothing but an advanced student who can help others understand what I know and will learn with them what I don’t. The only difference between my students and I may be that I am more resourceful than many of them. What happens if I make a mistake or don’t know something? Well, I say “Oops, sorry!” explain what is wrong or find out whatever it is I don’t know, and gather my mental strength for the next time it's needed. Teaching is hard enough without the additional challenge of mental anguish over slip-ups and imperfections.
In the era of the internet encyclopedic knowledge and accurate retention won’t be as useful as they used to. Do we (or students) need to remember it all if we can simply click on an icon and find more information than we need in a matter of seconds? Guy Claxton, an expert in education, identifies being a better learner in the 21st century with having the ability to tackle problems confidently and having the appetite to keep on learning throughout our lives (click here to listen to him explaining his point of view). Well, that’s the kind of role model I want to be, but what do YOU think? What should the Maths teacher I mentioned before do? Should she be left out of the system, study more or show students that life goes on, even after being bitterly criticised?
