"Teaching Dialogue" with my students

So many of my students have asked me this question:

How can I learn/study English very well?

I actually do not answer this question right away, but ask them a question myself instead...

Before I answer your question, I want to ask you this question...

"What is something you are very good at or something you can do very well...like playing a certain sport, cooking, doing laundry, playing the guitar, etc.?"

So, some students have chosen playing football (aka soccer), playing the guitar, and drawing just to name a few.  Once they've decided on the one thing they are very good at, then I ask them...

"The very first time you played football, guitar, or drew....were you very good, so so, or not very good?"

Most of the time my students would reply...

"So, so or not very good."

"Ok, now the second time you played football, guitar, or drew...a little bit better...yes or no (as I use my thumb from the down position and slightly go up a little bit)?"

My students nod their heads...yes.

"Yes? Ok, now the third time...a little bit better?"

"Yes, ok...now fourth, fifth, sixth, etc.?"

"Always a little bit better each time right?"

"Now, do you practice football, guitar, or draw every day?"

Most of my students replied...

"Yes, everyday"...while some said..."Sometimes a few times a week"...

"Ok, good...NOW...do practice English every day?"

My students sat quietly as their faces turned red, hit a moment of AWE/REALIZATION and laughed.

I smiled very big at them and responded...

“OH, you see...there...you need to practice English like you practice a sport/draw/etc....always trying to improve yourself.  If you put the same amount of time you do playing football into learning English...I'm pretty sure you will learn English very well.”

So then I tell them my 3 steps to learning/studying English very well:

Step #1

Practice

Step #2

Practice

Step #3

More practice

Then I SMILE. =)

But in order to practice well...you must overcome these 3 things that I see Lao students struggle with:

#1

Being shy, you cannot be shy when learning any kind of language especially if you want to improve your speaking ability...you cannot just sit there and be quiet...it doesn't work that way...

#2

Being afraid to make mistakes and asking questions...if you do not make mistakes or ask questions, it only means you already know the knowledge and understand it or you are not challenged enough....the GREATEST LEARNING COMES FROM MAKING MISTAKES and ASKING QUESTIONS...you learn best when you make mistakes because you remember them and know not to do the same mistakes again...I mean even Teacher John makes mistakes all the time...make "making mistakes" a learning opportunity...and by asking questions...you get to clarify your understanding and find insightful knowledge...

#3

Being confident in yourself...many Lao students do not believe in themselves and their true potential...you are your own Master of Will as I stated in one my poems...you have to believe in yourself to do anything...saying, "Yes, I can learn English" instead of saying, "Teacher, I cannot learn English very well" because negative thinking only leads you to negative results...you have to think positively...YES, I CAN...this is the MOST IMPORTANT challenge I believe Lao students must overcome to be a successful English speaker!

Once you've learned to overcome these challenges...I TRULY BELIEVE YOU will learn/study English better than before!

If you know you are not learning English very well, understand why you are not learning English very well...identify your problem, understand it, and make a change...the teacher cannot change it...only you, yourself can...it has to come from within you first...then the teacher teach and facilitate the learning process with you.  This is how the learning experience begins and your confidence will only increase with each and every learning experience you put yourself into.

My philosophy is not to tell the answers to my students right away, but to facilitate and cultivate their curiosity to make them own their learning experience.  Take them step by step...in this case through a series of questions to allow them to understand the meaning of learning English very well and how to learn English very well.

Black Hearted but a BIG HEART =)

Black Hearted Teacher

Let me tell you,

Not to be mistaken with a fool,

I am a black-hearted man,

Whipping out his teaching plan,

Giving out zeroes left and right,

To those students who are not so bright,

When in fact they are,

I believe they can go so far,

They just lack the study skills,

To be their own Master of Will,

Cause all they know is how to cheat,

Living in a system which they dare not beat,

Am I too hard on my students,

I only want to be teaching them a life lesson,

So many students have told me, “Teacher jai dahm,”

Man-Le-L, tell me something I don’t already know,

Like how I am jai dahm,

The black-hearted person that I am,

It may seem I have no sympathy,

But believe me, I care for you all truly,

This is my way of teaching,

Not just some systematic way of lecturing,

My way is showing my feeling of caring and loving,

This is the source of my teaching and your learning.

The "CHEAT" Lesson

The Cheat Lesson

So here I am,

Listening to what my fellow ETAs have to say,

About their experience with students cheating,

They said, It is nothing but a soul beating,

Or that...its quite amusing,

To see the students not direction following,

When in fact the teacher bluntly preached about the meaning of cheating,

That is..."cheating" equals= ZERO (0)...a big fat zero,

Now hear me out

Example #1=Looking at the next person's paper,

STOP! Can't you see I'm standing right in front of you...I have TWO eyes TOO!

YEAH! UH!

Example #2=Opening up your book to look at notes,

COME ON, do you think you're really slick,

NO! UH!

Example #3=Whispering to your classmate about a question you don't understand,

HEY! HELLO, I'm your teacher. I made the test...ask me to explain so you can understand,

With all of this said and DONE,

This is what happened which is not cool,

I gave 33 ZEROS out of 35 in one class,

Oh yeah, I'm a bad man,

My students even called me a black heart man,

Lao Version, Ajaan John ben kun jai-dam,

Man-le-L, yes I am!

What can I say,

This is the cheating lesson you all must face.

I'M TEACHING...REALLY....I AM!!??YEAH!!!

Feeling of a Teaching Moment

Wow, today was great,

Not that I found a date,

But I was well prepared,

Teaching my own fair share,

My body not physically exhausted,

My mind not head-a-exhausted,

Dang it feels good,

To not be teaching from the book,

But to be teaching so my students understand,

Just lending my right-hand,

This is how it feels to reach a breakthrough,

I’m finally not a fool,

Not just me here to be preaching,

Modeling my own teaching,

Allowing my student to sing,

Spreading his or her wings,

To reach places they've never seen,

Or just seeing the places in between,

Whatever the case,

Time is sure not a waste,

I'm sure at my happy place,

Just here giving you a taste,

My life of a Lao-ETA.

BLAH!!!

A Moment of REALIZATION...BING...from teaching...

I do not know everything, but I do know somethings.  That is why we need each other because we each know something different that may bring a different perspective or insight and teach one another and each other something new and different...

there are days I wish I was not a teacher, but a student because I hate having the answers or the person who suppose to know the answers...I keep telling myself I must be a good teacher to my students because to have good students...they must have a good teacher...I, the teacher teach what and WHO I AM to my students....and my students become WHO I AM in them because they are a mire-reflection of me.

This teaching role is not easy and I want to thank all of my informal and formal teachers all throughout my life because I carry a little piece of your teaching and who you are in me...