Saturday 29 January 2011

Teacher Talk 14: English Teachers and Their Complicated But Boring Way of Teaching

How about this for thought teachers? Comments welcome.

 
(credit: The Star Online)

Thursday, November 25, 2010

English Teachers and Their Complicated But Boring Way of Teaching
Posted by: frodonet
 
When I was a student, I find it hard to go to school because school is boring.Not only have to endure boring subjects, but instead have to endure the boredom of the
subject itself. Not only that, listening to few hours of lessons and 30 minutes of miserable recess
where you might spend 20 minutes just to queue and fight for food.

But of all the dry subjects that we learn in school, english would have to be the only salvation for a little bit of smile. But there's a big NO NO. There's not even a single English teacher that really made the subject fun. Most of them would do the same thing all over again.

Year after year, it is the same old thing about verb, noun, clauses, grammar and bla bla bla. Seriously, until now I don't really know what is a verb. Personally I do not care. I find that teaching English should be different. It should be fun.

Have you guys forgotten how stale the teachers made it to be? They probably will ask us to write a sentence, if you are right, you get a long tick, but if you are wrong you must just get a big spanking and the worst of all, they will ask you to write a proper sentence with verb
and a noun and another noun and all the other things they'll ask you to do.

Well, fortunately, I learnt English a different way. I manage to get through and I find it a little
disturbing that my younger youths would go through the same boring, stale, and yawning process.
I just don't understand why English teachers in Malaysia can't make the subject fun.

What's really wrong in cracking a couple of jokes and being more creative? Is it so hard to smile and
encourage participation from students. No, you see a lot of teachers, they are really not that open and creative.
I was thinking about the bad english we have it here. How can students learn English if they are not taught in a fun and interesting manner?

And, What's really the big hooha with the recent PMR english mistake, wow, wooo ~ there were 2 experts arguing with each other in the paper. She's wrong, No, She's right, and no he's right???. Seriously who cares.
I was reading the arguments between these 2, with all the complicated explanations about clauses and pre noun, and whatever..

I was like what the...

English is NOT supposed to be constricted. English is supposed to be outside the box. So what if there's some big mistakes, the world not going to stop rotating anyway.

Seriously, if people read the amount of books I have, maybe they really understand what is English really about.

And currently I'm teaching a foreigner some English after all, and at the same time, that person is taking a paid course in English.

That person told me that's there a huge difference and that person progressed a lot as well due to me, better than the paid course.

PS : I personally believe English is about communication, rather than some text book premonition...






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