Brown Chapters 4/16, Kuma Chapter 3

There was a lot of interesting and important information in these chapters. Brown talks about cognitive, socio-affective and linguistic principles and addresses how crucial they are to the education field. One of the subheadings that caught my eye was the idea of motivation, intrinsic motivation in particular. The book mentions that if all learners were intrinsically motivated to perform all classroom tasks, we might not even need teachers! That statement shows how much of a difference motivation can make, especially when learning a language. In learning my L2, Spanish, my motivation to communicate and learn the language was definitely the turning point for me and becoming a fluent speaker. I also took a minute to think about my language ego. This would entail my willingness to communicate, confidence and risk-taking in the second language. I find myself to be willing, obviously in my journey in becoming a Spanish teacher. I made the connection between Brown’s comments on the Intrinsic Motivation Principle and the good language learners. Overall, I found a common theme between the both that is a more obvious theme. In order to be successful in anything one must be motivated. Then, he talks about good language learners, which are described as learners who find their own way, taking charge of their learning, organize information about the language, are creative developing “feel” for the language by experimenting with its grammar and words, etc (Brown, 259).  All of the generalizations made about good language learners tied into motivation because one needs motivation to drive them to do things such as making opportunities to practice the language inside and outside of the classroom. Speaking of learning outside of the classroom, Kuma makes a great point in saying that teachers and learners need to maximize learning opportunities inside and outside of the classroom.

Kuma’s chapter was all about maximizing learning opportunities in strategic-based instruction. There were many different strategic techniques to promote interaction in the classroom. I feel that overall; the assigned chapters provide us with many factors that play a role in learning a language. Also, the chapters talked about what we can do as teachers to increase learning opportunities, including learners of different styles, increasing ones motivation, etc. I agree that both teachers and students have the responsibility to create and utilize learning opportunities in class every day. 

The interactive process of learning and teaching is so significant, while at the same time teachers continue revealing the limitations of things such as syllabus, textbooks agendas and more. Relationships between teachers and learners are something so special. I feel that it reinforces the importance of truly getting to know your students and continuously growing and progressing together. 

Kumar Chapter 2/Brown Chapter 3

This week, I focused on Kumar in Chapter 2. Kumar talks about traditional methods and understanding postmethod pedagogy in today's teaching world. Chapter two starts off by addressing the concept of method and how its generic set of theoretical principles and classroom techniques only offer a limited perspective on language learning and teaching. I believe that this is true when thinking about how future teachers prepare to enter the classroom. One can learn all of the methods and techniques they want but only with experience and a continuous growth and learning of the profession is where teachers will gain the necessary knowledge. 

Another good point that was discussed was the fact that current models of teacher education programs are struggling to fully prepare teachers to deal with all of the unpredictable needs, wants and situations. These needs, wants, and situations are extremely important for teachers to be ready to tackle. With the help of in-service and pre-service teacher education programs, teachers can work towards expanding their pedagogic knowledge. It is overwhelming to know that when I have my own classroom, I am not going to walk into the first day feeling like I am ready for everything. The education field is ever changing and we need to continue to stay up to date and work together to share the needs, wants and situations that we will face with one another. 

Kumar brings up the idea of postmethod pedagogy. This type of pedagogy allows us to go beyond and overcome the limitations of method-based pedagogy. The three dimensions of postmethod pedagogy are practicality, particularity and possibility. This framework will help teachers to become strategic thinkers and explorers in the classroom. Effort would be put into reflecting on the needs, wants and situations of learning and teaching. Also, teachers would stretch their knowledge, skill and attitude to stay informed and involved, which I believe is so important, especially today. Once again, I believe that Kumar has a very strong point in the fact that it is important how reflecting and staying involved in the field of education will benefit their overall knowledge of teaching. Also, being aware of the historical and societal issues that are affecting, L2 learning in particular. 

Although we cannot fully prepare for all of the unpredictables that come along with teaching, what can we do to better understand the jist of the needs, wants and situations that come along with learning and teaching?