Becoming a teacher one step at a time

I have had two aha moments during this unit; one positive and one partly negative though the negative aha moment could be turned in to a positive with work and more practical experience. At the beginning of this unit I wrote about wanting to find better ways to evaluate and assess the student I tutor. My general method has been to point out her mistakes, for instance in spelling and grammar. Because I teach her one on one I have the time to take her through whatever issues she has, showing her tricks or rules or exceptions etc. I try to focus on things that would be hard for her to learn in a larger classroom situation. My hope was to develop ways to help make this learning more evident to both her and myself. Holistically I know she has improved while I have been helping her. I am confident that it is, in part, because of this focused one on one teaching she receives and I too have learnt a lot a long the way, maybe more than her. But I also realise that this style of teaching w...

Assessments keep students on course. Assessments provide a structure to the students learning without which a student might feel that they are meandering along without purpose. A lack of purpose often leads to reduced motivation and learning slows down. The teacher who does minimal assessment both formal and informal would be allowing their students to miss out on valuable learning opportunities. For new Canadians trying to master their new language, learning time is precious. But it is important that a teacher allows students to make mistakes. Not every utterance has to be in perfect English. Learning needs time and a student should not feel the need to be perfect or they may feel afraid to participate. Setting learning goals, self-assessment and taking responsibility for one's own learning are the keys to learning and it is important that a teacher re-iterates this fact. Learning a new language as an adult can be a scary experience. You think you have nothing to work with and f...