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Teacher autonomy is a
precondition for learner autonomy (Little 1995). Learner autonomy can be described as the
ability to take control of one's own learning in order to maximize its full potential.
Methodology workshops for teachers which incorporate elements of autonomy in their process
design can encourage teachers to become more self-directed in their professional lives and
enable them to realise the benefits of gradually introducing more learner autonomy into
their classrooms.
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"What do you expect to gain from this
course?" This is the question I ask primary and secondary school teachers of English
who attend inservice methodology workshops at the Pedagogical Centre in Prague. Their
answer? "New ideas" and "new materials."
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Teachers who are relatively inexperienced often
believe that a handful of exciting new games is what they really need to liven up their
lessons. Even teachers who have been teaching other subjects for many years, such as
Russian, come to methodology workshops expecting to receive new ideas and new materials
from the mass of ELT literature published in the West. Given these expectations it may
seem entirely appropriate for the teacher trainer to present methodology workshops based
around practical, ready-to-use ideas for the classroom. But how effective are they?
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In the short term, the benefits of presenting
ready-to-use teaching techniques and materials seem to be very high. They are motivating,
they meet teachers' perceived needs, and they are exciting to try out with a group of
teachers. At the end of the session, the teachers walk happily away with a collection of
new activities, and the trainer feels the satisfaction of having "given" them
what they wanted.
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In practice, how many of those teachers will
remember the activities well enough to feel confident in using them with their students?
How many will say, "Well, that worked in a group of teachers, but what about my 10-
year-olds?" Maybe some of the teachers will try them out in their class once, using
the material just as it had been given to them. Many teachers may just put them away in a
neat file marked "New Materials."
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Introducing teachers to one or two new
communicative activities will probably not have a significant impact on their teaching.
More important, reinforcing teachers' expectations that their professional development
depends on receiving new ideas and materials from outside sources does not encourage
teachers to feel in control of their own professional development.
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In response to these problems, I decided to
refocus the aim of my training sessions to encourage more teacher autonomy and therefore
more long-term benefits, while still satisfying the thirst for "new ideas." I
selected only those activities which could be used many times over if they were adapted by
teachers to suit their own teaching contexts. I adapted the activity using topics
appropriate for teachers. Then I asked the teachers to adapt the material for their
students and share the results of their work together in the session.
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Here is the basic framework for the workshop:
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- Teachers try out the language activity. They comment on its advantages and the potential
problems of using it with students.
- Teachers brainstorm possible themes or grammar/vocabulary areas for which the activity
could be used with students. These are written on the board.
- Each pair or group of teachers selects one theme or area to work with, and they adapt
the activity for use with their students.
- The completed work is passed around to other groups for comments, corrections,
improvements, and praise.
- The variations of the activity are displayed on the wall and/or copied for all
participants.
- Teachers reflect on aspects of learner autonomy experienced in the session and how they
could introduce more learner autonomy into their English lessons.
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Here is an example of an activity which
illustrates this procedure (the numbers below correspond to those above):
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- Each teacher receives a tasksheet such as the one below. Their task is to walk around
the class and ask questions to fill in the blanks with the names of other people in the
group:
- After completing the activity and commenting on its advantages and disadvantages,
teachers brainstorm different topics which could be used for practise. They came up with
the following ideas: grammar -past tense, future tense, present perfect,
prepositions; themes -hobbies, animals/pets, food, summer holidays, Christmas/New
Year, language learning habits.
- Here is an example of a tasksheet prepared by teachers on the topic of Christmas: For
this activity, each group or pair had to produce 10 to 15 sentences or sufficient for the
number of students in their class. Producing the worksheet together is much more
interesting than sitting alone at your desk and trying to come up with 15 different ideas!
And many of the ideas are specific to the local cultural context, which makes them more
relevant and more interesting than those found in foreign textbooks.
- Commenting on each others' work enables teachers to draw on the pool of experience in
the group. Practical queries can come up and be discussed without the trainer having to
step in. Many further suggestions and additions can also result from this.
- Teachers can make a neat copy of their work (adding pictures if they can) and these may
be displayed for other teachers to copy or, if facilities are available, they can be
photocopied for everyone. This is an important stage of the session as it validates the
results of the teachers' work.
- At this final stage, teachers reflect on the elements of learner autonomy they have
experienced in the workshop: students (in this case, teachers) initiate and choose the
topics they want to work on; students produce materials which help them in their further
learning; peer and self-evaluation of student-produced work is encouraged; the activity
develops skills which are transferable without the aid of a teacher. If this has been a
positive experience for them, why not for their students also? How can students be more
actively involved in designing materials for use in their English lessons?
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Advantages and disadvantages of teacher-produced materials
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The advantages of this approach for teachers
are:
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- It is empowering. Many teachers lack confidence in using their own ideas.
- It is memorable. Teachers have made a personal investment of time and energy.
- It is creative. Teachers working together can come up with many more ideas than any
single trainer or textbook author and the ideas are more relevant to the teachers' own
context.
- It encourages critical evaluation of teaching materials.
- The experience is transferable. If this activity can be adapted so easily, what about
other activities? It is the start of an ongoing process which gives teachers control over
their materials. Some of the disadvantages for teachers are:
- It takes up more session time, which means a reduction in the number of "new"
ideas presented.
- As with any type of group work, it is not always possible to ensure that everyone is
involved. Teachers, like students, can exercise their right to withdraw from group
activities if they feel it is a waste of time.
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The advantages for the trainer are:
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- You can see how well the teachers have grasped the communicative principles behind the
activity as well as its mechanics.
- You can see concrete and visible results of teachers' applying a new idea to their own
context.
- The sessions are more creative (and therefore more unpredictable!). The disadvantages
for the trainer are:
- You may feel that you are not fulfilling the expected role of "giver."
Especially on short, intensive courses, it may seem that you are "wasting time."
- Devolving power can create learning opportunities, but this does not always mean that
they are used wisely!
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For these reasons, it is probably a good idea to
explain the principles behind your choice of this process approach and what you hope to
achieve by it.
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For many teachers, the idea of designing their
own materials seems impractical-it takes too much time! Adapting materials in the training
session can show that it needn't take a lot of time. The teachers I have worked with have
certainly seemed surprised and pleased at the wealth of ideas that were produced in their
groups. This approach can give teachers a much-needed boost to their confidence as well as
being a positive and empowering experience of teacher autonomy. Let's hope it will also
lead to more learner autonomy in the classroom.
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- Little, D. 1995. Learner autonomy 1: Definitions, issues, and problems. Dublin, Ireland:
Authentik.
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Ingrid
Wisniewska is a British teacher trainer working with new and requalifying
teacher's of English in the Czech Republic. |
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