There’s not one person I know that doesn’t suffer from some sort of stress…studying English shouldn’t be one of them. In fact it should be just the opposite – in my classroom laughter’s heard in practically every class. It’s kept light and enjoyable as much as possible but that doesn’t mean I’m not strict nor let me students get away with their mistakes. In fact my ears are razor sharp as they are the keys to mastering English regardless of a students’ level. Master your mistakes and soon you’ll find yourself on the going up to the next level.
Students often tend to avoid making mistakes but it’s how we learn: do – fail – try again – fail – try again – succeed. The key is not to give up along the way and to be able to laugh at yourself. One of my higher red students was a pleasure to teach as she always had a smile on her face and while she often studied with higher level students she could always contribute to the conversation and always enjoyed herself. She sometimes forgot easy words but she just brushed it off and we all had a little chuckle. The reason I felt she could keep up with students that much better than her was in her ability to just listen and learn while at the same time laugh at herself.
Instead of being shy and trying to avoid making mistakes we should be throwing ourselves in harm’s way and in the immortal words of Nike “just do it”. Those of you out there who are – great…keep going. For everyone else, just take a deep breath and get ready for the ride.
Adrian
How right you are! There are two things I think I caught in what you said that should be re-emphasized: students need to make mistakes to learn and they need to realize it, as much as possible, on their own and self-correct. It is so true that students a level apart can work well together. It actually adds to the dynamic of the lesson a bit.
Making mistakes is part of the learning process. Adrian I agree with you when you say students need to learn to laugh at their own mistakes. Al says students need to realize they are making mistakes. Here again I agree. Great work guys. Thank you for your effort.
Mark.