experience of learning english at school

TOPIC : Think of your own experience of learning English at school. How was English taught, and what do you think were the strengths and weaknesses of your own ways of learning English? Select one weakness and how would you improve on this weakness on the basis of recent research in language teaching.

Ans : When it comes to experience of school most of us have charming memories and so do I. All of us have typical complaints and compliments regarding school days. But when it comes to particular subject such as learning English at school, I must be precise. Actually, when I was assigned the topic, I got the chance to express my inner feelings, on behalf of all the students, about the teaching of English at the school level.

Ø EXPERIENCE ABOUT HOW ENGLISH WAS TAUGHT TO US :

1. Simple to complex / difficult approach: · Teachers employed this method. They used to teach us the basics first and then to more difficult structures.

2. Rule Based Teaching : · Teachers forced on the knowledge of the rules of the grammar. It was something that was considered compulsory before using or acquiring language.

3. Text was taught in very odd way. Students were supposed to mug up the vocabulary that was to be followed in the lesson.

4. Teacher just translated the lesson before the lesson was taught and then he would explain, or say, translate the text word by word. Then he would dictate the answers to the questions given below the lesson.

5. Mostly the teaching of English was exam oriented. Teacher would some time teach only those lessons that were important according to him from the examination point of view.

6. Class was governed by teacher. In other terms it was teacher centered. Students were passive listeners. Hardly any student dared to ask something regarding the subject.

7. When teacher was unable to explain some point, he would undermine the student by subversive arguments.

8. Lots of written homework regarding grammar, vocabulary and questions. Sometimes we were obliged to written the same thing repeatedly. for e.g., 5 times.

9. There was a lacking of teacher - student rapport. Students were only listeners/observers and nothing more. The word from the teacher was considered as the final. What I mean is “what the teacher taught had to be taken for granted.

10. Teacher never used English language in his speaking, except the textual words which he used to translate.

11. No freedom was given in the answer given by the students. It means, answers that he dictated to the students were considered as the perfect and final. Sometimes he would dictate the exact line from the lesson as the answers to the questions. And every one was supposed to follow it word by word.

12. We were never introduced to the functional or communicative use of English rather we never heard our teachers talking in English with one another.

13. No particular attention was given to poor and average students. They were treated as inferior kind of students or outsiders in the English classroom.


Ø STRENGTHS OF LEARNING ENGLISH IN THIS WAY

I could enumerate hardly one or two strengths of the way in which we were taught English at the school. Actually the points that I am giving here may be consider as good rather than strengths in themselves.

§ The overall concentration on grammar and vocabulary was something good. It helped us being exact and an insist on vocabulary in itself is good point concerning any language.

§ Sometimes teachers made us read the lesson/vocabulary in advance. It was beneficial to us. Because we were prepared before the lesson was taught.

Ø WEAKNESSES OF THIS TYPE OF TEACHING :

1. Our thinking was reduced to one level. That is, we never knew the true importance at English at that time.

2. Today when we try to speak something in English, we hesitate only because we think that we may be grammatically incorrect. This is so because at the school the importance was given to accuracy rather than appropriacy.

3. At the school level, we were hardly able to speak in English except the answers that we used to cram. Our writing was also limited to some textual chunks that we crammed.

4. We are not efficient listeners today only because we were not exposed to (efficient) speakers of English.

5. We took English as something to pass the exams and some how forgot its communicative use. Let me say, “We have to wait to speak in English until we are at this level, that is, the graduate or post-graduate level.

6. English was taught to us almost in Gujarati. And the result is whenever we are exposed to any skill that is LSRW, we try to translate everything into Gujarati in mind and only then we can execute any skill, rather than spontaneously.

7. Though we scored maximum marks in exams, we were only classroom scholars rather than practical users of English.

8. Almost everyone wants to learn English so as to develop personality. But the limited knowledge and no stimulus from the teachers, worsens the situations till the person reaches at the SSC, HSC or graduate level. Here English becomes only something like a paralyzed hand which is always with the person but not of any use.

Ø ON IMPROVING ONE WEAKNESS :

As a student of English I came across many weaknesses during my study. But the weakness that I would like to improve the most is the speaking skill. Now-a-days, lots of researches are taking place in the field of language learning, keeping this in mind. I will try to improve my skill as follows.

1. First of all I will read and re-read a lot of materials in English.

2. I will expose myself to vocabulary and try to understand its uses in different situations. Dictionary and thesaurus can be good sources.

3. To be a good speaker, it is very necessary to be a good listener too. So, I’ll expose my self to good speakers of English. I will also try to improve my listening trough various modern techniques.

4. I’ll take help of the audio visual materials that are easily accessible now-a-days.
5. I will read loudly so that my articulators (organs of speech) get accustomed to English pronunciation.

6. I will try to grab opportunities where I can speak in English. And will try to get rid off the concept of accuracy and concentrate on appropriacy.

7. I will concentrate on the functional use of English. I think it will arise confidence in me and then the other uses can be concentrated easily.

8. In the classroom, I will involve myself in every communicative task assigned by the teacher.