Pax Steve!
 
Unfortunately, the answer to that question is that content progress is
easier to track, and therefore hold teachers/organizations "accountable"
for the funds they receive.
 
Someday, we'll be able to track the brain's processes (and knowledge),
but until then....
 
Ciao!
 
Martin E. Senger
Adult ESL / Civics Teacher,
G.E.C.A.C. / The R. Banjamin Wiley Learning Center
ESL Co-Director,
PAACE
Erie, Pa
-----Original Message-----
From: professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:professionaldevelopment-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Steve
Kaufmann
Sent: Friday, September 26, 2008 10:55 AM
To: The Adult Literacy Professional Development Discussion List
Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment 2546] Re: The "Decoding" of
words,sentences, and paragraphs
 
It is curious that funding goes into content. There is an explosion of
free content on the Internet, from  podcasts, radio stations, and
elsewhere. This often in downloadable MP3 format with transcript and
includes beginner "learner" content and authentic content. Content is
easy to create. Teachers and students are doing so all over the world.
This can all be shared at little cost. I have always found the
production of essentially redundant language text books to be a
tremendous waste of resources. By the same token, the MP3 player and the
Internet make expensive language labs redundant and obsolete, yet they
are still being set up at schools and colleges.

I think that the role of the teacher needs to change from that of
someone who is explaining the language, to that of someone who is
turning students into independent language learners,and someone teaching
the skills of language exploration and language learning,providing
encouragement, feedback, guidance and support. Technology makes it
possible for one teacher to affect the lives of hundreds of learners at
a time, not just the few who are in his or her classroom.

Undoubtedly the students are not used to student-centered learning, and
are classroom dependent. Most learners expect that the teacher is going
to teach them the language. As a result, most do not do very well. If
learners recognize that it is what is done outside the classroom that
matters the most, and if they are encouraged and shown how to learn, I
think that a far greater number will improve in their language skills.

Steve
On Fri, Sep 26, 2008 at 6:52 AM, Martin Senger <MSenger at gecac.org>
wrote:
Pax Steve!
 
I agree 100% with you Steve about the content issue. That is why I try
to get my students to find their own study material. However, the
students themselves are not used to student-centered education, as
opposed to teacher-centered. Very few educational systems around the
globe stress the student's role in their own education, apart from
memorization.
 
But another problem currently is that most funding for education goes
toward specific content, and not necessarily learning skills. Alas.
 
Ciao!
 
Martin E. Senger
Adult ESL / Civics Teacher,
G.E.C.A.C. / The R. Banjamin Wiley Learning Center
ESL Co-Director,
PAACE
Erie, Pa
 



-- 
Steve Kaufmann
www.lingq.com
1-604-922-8514
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