Estilos De Aprendizaje

I interpret the verse by the poet inviting the reader to continuously seek for exploration. We as teachers of English as a Foreign Language might relate this to the continuous exploration of our practice as it is a vast field where nonetheless there are many theories written, yet there are surely more to be discovered and some others re-discovered. Language is alive and in continuous movementand change.

We as teachers perceive those changes in our practice as we notice there are changes in our teaching environment. Every time we start a new course, there are new students, with similar assumptions but not equal to others. Our own practice should change according to those new perceptions of our reality. And usually there isn’t one class equal to another. Even when it is the sametopic, the same text book, the same activity or strategy we decide to use, it is not the same.

In this process as I’ve stated in previous reflections of this module in order to have the desire of becoming a liberating instrument, after being trained as teachers, we need to first understand our student’s needs, which it’s been identified by scholars as one of the hardest things to handle as far astransmission of knowledge is concerned. Make them participate in the learning process can be difficult sometimes specially when we become part of the system, without thinking, without arguing, without questioning, being comfortable with whatever situation, in spite of how unfair it could be, “we lose what is essential in our quality of life —freedom” (paraphrasing Eric Fromm. Ref. Eric From, TheHeart of Man New York, 1980, p. 32).

That exploration the poet says may refer to us as teachers needing to be in constant examination of ourselves, always taking over our will and our feelings to be as focused and critical as possible, because teachers are given a huge responsibility, when teachers really want to be part of a change.

In my opinion, the difference between being only aninstructor and being a ‘good teacher’ lies on becoming a coordinator rather than just giving instructions. To be an instructor that passes on information, may only accomplish learning, but we need to make our students to find their way to acquire it as well, at their own pace and in their own learning strategies.

There is when we realize that the human factor makes the process of teaching/learningdifferent. We make it different. The process and interrelation teacher/student and the feedback involved in the process makes it different. Or at least that is the way, as established after studied this model it should be.

So if we as teachers should continuously develop, then we should come to the point of asking ourselves one of the most important reflective questions Woodward (1991) pointsout: What is a good teacher?, further questions follow from this reflection like: is it possible to ascertain what a good teacher is? Is a good teacher someone with charisma or someone with skills? Despite the good intentions we have, as teachers, these are never good enough to complete the task of being a good teacher, without having the knowledge. We need to be aware of the practical side of ourlabor.

There’s when teachers need to be aware of the training we require to become the good teachers we want to become and of the willing to continue growing, which is identified as the development. Woodward cites Prabhu who made a distinction between two perspectives on language education. “One is that it equips learners in specific ways with knowledge, skills, or patterns of behavior that theywill need later to be useful and productive. The second view of language education is that it gives learners the opportunity and support necessary to realize their own potential.” (Prabhu cited by Woodward, 1991) In order to equip the learners, the teacher herself needs to be trained to provide that equipment.

When we think of the terms suggested by Freeman (1989), they may take us back to...