Senghtoi's thoughts

MY REFLECTIVE DIARY

9TH OCTOBER 2008

I started to write this yesterday but then got side-tracked by preparing for today’s lesson, which I missed because the cold that I managed to get from Tuesday got worse. So, this entry has taken even longer than expected! I will also be keeping this short, unlike my language story.

The red-headed thief exercise really got me thinking about how speaking and writing English seems to have a different standard although the message being conveyed is still the same. It seems that those of us who have received traditional education on the art of English, we have all learnt that formal writing has a standard which we must all keep to. The reason why we need to is something I do not actually know. It is just one of those things you just know because it is something ingrained into you from an early age. Like how we are told not to talk with our mouth full and never to ask any female over the age of 21 how old she really is.

The lesson on Tuesday actually gave me more questions than answers, but it was helpful to start thinking about these types of things. As a teacher, we will all be faced with such issues when the pupils were try to teach begin to question our authority on the matters of English and its standards. They may ask why they have to write they would not normally speak. And, ‘why?’ indeed. If we all take time to consider the possible answers to this question in greater length, I am sure we will all find satisfactory reasons for ourselves.

Another thing from the lesson that was thought-provoking was the exercise we did in threes and trying to explain the meaning of a word as you would to a three year old. A simple task it was not! We had just begun to see the intricacies of language and how children develop their learning of it. I’m sure we will also find techniques that work for us when it comes to relating to a child’s concept of learning but at the moment I am riddled with further questions.

All in all, Tuesday’s lesson was invigorating for my mind. I am so glad I took this 2 yr conversion course as opposed to going straight for the one year course. I hope to discuss more difficult questions about educating children with the rest of the class. But for now, these are my thoughts so far on the matter.

Senghtoi/wendy

Thanks for this. I always prefer questions to answers, so expect more days like that!