I believe that research most
definitely impacts teaching practices today. To start, we are taking numerous
classes that are teaching us how to hopefully become a great educator. Within those
classes, we use textbooks that include evidence from various sources and
researchers. If this is how we are taught in order to prepare for the
profession, then obviously research is something that certainly impacts
teaching today. We get the majority of our teaching practices that we will use
from information that is presented to us, often from research that has
occurred. A reason that research is imperative is Second Language Acquisition
teaching is because as stated by Brown and Lee (2015) “new findings and new
approaches demand reconceptualization” (pg. 67). With that being said, as time
passes, practices and the skills used to learn evolve. It can be found that
people do not teach nor learn in the exact same way as they did 50 years ago.
Fifty years from now will probably be very different from now as well. As
future teachers, we must remember to be lifelong learners. We should constantly
read research-based articles and books to ensure we are implementing both new
and old techniques to help our students learn the most effectively that they
possibly can.
It is crucial for anybody within
the profession of Second Language Acquisition to use research, as well as have
researchers who investigate how a second, foreign or additional language is
best learned. According to Brown (2014), due to the last few decades of
research, a complex storehouse of information in regards to Second Language
Acquisition has been produced (pg. 66). Although it is impossible to know
EVERYTHING about anything, this newfound research can greatly help not only
future teachers, but current teachers as well. I have seen many students who
have entered an English Second Language class, and failed because of the
teaching practices that ensued throughout the school year. That is not to say
that it is the teacher’s fault, they may have just been using the only
techniques they know. With the access to the abundant amount of research on
Second Language Acquisition, that same teacher has an opportunity to improve
and/or adjust their teaching practices to hopefully improve the following year.
When I took my foreign language
classes throughout middle school and high school, I was taught using both the
grammar-translation method as well as the communicative language teaching (CLT)
approach. I think that both methods worked for me, but I could be a little
biased being that I had some prior knowledge of Spanish before I took the
class. In regards to the communicative language teaching approach, it is an
approach that goes “beyond the merely grammatical elements of communication
into the social, cultural, and pragmatic features of language (Brown & Lee,
2015, pg. 31).” I think this approach is
crucial in the success of the students that are learning the second or foreign
language. In the book, Brown and Lee (2015) state that CLT-based classroom
practices focus on reaching the learners intrinsically to aide them in reaching
their fullest potential (pg. 31). There is so much research in regards to how
important reaching the students intrinsically, and through the use of the CLT
approach, there should be an abundance of positive results shown.
Great post Briana! I like how you mentioned that it may not be the teacher’s fault that students did not learn from their class, but also acknowledged that there is an abundant amount of research conducted on Second Language Acquisition that is available to all teachers. It is awesome how you started learning your foreign language in middle school and that you were taught through the grammar-translation method as well as the CLT approach. You made a great connection between research and your personal experiences.
ReplyDeleteI think it is important for us to remember that we are not always to blame. Sometimes the media, principals, parents, etc. are quick to blame the teacher for why a student may or may not have done well in a particular class or on a particular test. There are so many variables and factors that come into play, and there could be many different reasons as to why a student may not have done well. That's not to say that it's never the teachers fault. All we can do as educators is do our best, reflect on it, and modify as we see fit.
DeleteBriana, I wanted to point out of what you said "Fifty years from now [Education] will probably be different from now". I have participated in many discussions about this topic. It is hard to say what will happen in the future, but if you look back fifty years ago, Education has changed in many ways. What is one thing that remains almost the same? Google "classroom in the 1900's" and you will see that classrooms look almost the same. I want to believe this is because researchers have found that such classroom set-up works. The students are facing the front, the teacher is the only one standing, and the students are looking up at the teacher showing a sense of respect. This is all the same in a classroom today. I really enjoyed your blog, thank you.
ReplyDeleteActually, as I go in more and more classrooms, this is the set up that is within the classroom, but the teacher is actually "lecturing" for MAYBE 1/3 of the time. Things have definitely changed from the typical classroom where the teachers teach and the students listen. More often, students are working in groups, individually, in pairs, etc. There are so many ways that they are learning now, and it is based on the research of how students seem to learn best.
DeleteNo Maisa. There is no evidence that this method of classroom set-up works. On the contrary, there is vast evidence that pair work, group work, classroom that are not teacher centered are more conducive to learning and higher results. However, most teachers want to preserve the status quo and refuse to implement findings from research. As Briana states, there is evidence that people learning a foreign language in a CLT approach have better results that those in the a grammar based classroom. However, lesson planning and class delivery are easier with this methods and teachers who are usually not required to keep up with their pedagogical knowledge love it.
ReplyDeleteBriana, I enjoyed reading your blog entry! I feel the same way when it comes to research. Through all of our classes and through all of our textbooks, we can certainly see that what we are learning is based on a lot of research. Our classes and our textbooks practically ooze research so it cannot be said that research has no impact on teaching practices today. When it comes to acquiring a second language, through research, we know that there are eight overarching principles which is “the core of an approach to language teaching” and those principles “interact with sound practice” to form the bases of an educator’s teaching (Brown & Lee, 2015, p. 67). We know about these principles and its interaction with sound practice solely through research done. We can also see how it affected students through research done. So, it’s crucial, like you said, to use knowledge gained from research in order to effectively teach using new and old techniques to help our students learn effectively.
ReplyDeleteWe certainly must use the knowledge we gain from the research and put it to work. Of course, as times change, more research must occur. We as teachers must be able to be flexible and absorbent when it comes to new techniques. There is a reason that research occurs, and that is to teach us as society changes. We must listen and evolve along with it.
DeleteHi Briana, I like how you explained in your blog about the importance of research. I agreed with the way you started off with emphasizing how using research is how we are being taught to be proficient in our profession. I think that this also goes with what you mentioned earlier in regard to picking a teaching technique. Research has produced an abundance of information about second language acquisition and it would be wise to use that information. However I think it would be important to mention that every class is different and to keep in mind that deciding a method requires a teacher ,"...to carry it out with confidence, and to evaluate its utility after the fact"(Brown 2015, pg.66). Teachers should proceed with caution but use the research to find techniques that work for their class.
ReplyDeleteYou are definitely right about the fact that every class is different. As teachers, all we can do is try our best, assess and reflect on how things went, and modify our plans and techniques based on the needs of the class dynamic. We absolutely have to remember that what may work for one class will not always work for another. We must just evolve to what our students need and support and teach them the best way we can.
DeleteHi Briana!
ReplyDeleteI love that you mentioned that research and the information we have always changes and evolves. That is so crucial as a future to teacher to realize that we must always learn to adapt and be flexible as new research can change our way of thinking and teaching. Gaining knowledge from new research can help evolve us as teachers as well as to try and give our students the most support that we can as educators.
Briana, I enjoy what you wrote about research impact teaching practice. I think for new teachers, it is important to learn from various sources and researchers. To become professional, new teachers can learn how to plan the lesson, how to collect data, how to teach the individual student with different strategy through learning research.
ReplyDelete