TESL 0130 Unit 4 Reflection

( Source: https://reflectiveteachingreflectivelearning.com/learner-autonomy/ )

This unit was all about empowering the English language learner and creating an autonomous learning environment in the class. This article New approaches on learner autonomy in language learning gave me more clarity on learner's responsibility, autonomy and motivation and how these are interrelated with each other. I agree that for making the learner's autonomous, different methods need to be used which will make students happy and generate their interest in the class, else they will feel bored and lose their motivation.

As mentioned in the text "The teachers’ vision of themselves in the future is a very important issue for their students because how students engage with new ideas and how they are grown as professionals depend on their attitudes and their teaching methods." , the teacher's motivation and vision is equally important as they will look at the learning process from different perspectives and energize their students. It will help to sustain a positive environment in the class and get students interested in the class at the moment.

Wonder approach is new to me as I have never heard of this concept before. As mentioned in the text that it is an innate desire to learn which motivated the child to learn new things and enjoy it. It is true that the presence of wonder, beauty, sensitivity, and attachment make learning meaningful. I think One way to teach adults to wonder is to encourage them to ask a lot of questions. The teacher can do it with think aloud activities, it will show teacher's curiosity towards the topic and hence, will motivate the students to know more about it.

The other way can be to tie the learning to their life events so that it becomes more related to them and they will try to connect the information they learn with their life and use it. While doing this, they will feel joy and it definitely will raise other questions in their mind and desire to find answers to those questions.

I would definitely implement happy learning approach in my class. I could not agree more that if the student is happy in their lives, they will find pleasure in the study as well. Warm up activities and group work can bring these pleasure in them.

Resources:

Brown, D. & Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy (Rev. 4th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education.

Yagcioglu, O. (2015). New approaches on learner autonomy in language learning. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 199(3), 428-435.