Unit 5. Discussion topics

[Montse Garcia]

2. I believe it is important not to interrupt students when they are speaking as far as others can understand what they are saying. There are different speaking activities; more controlled and less controlled. So, if we are practicing a specific grammar point and they are making a mistake I think it’s important to let them know that they did a mistake, but not interrupting all the speech, because otherwise they get lost and then they don’t say anything. It is important to create a friendly class environment.

4. I like to teach them that learning a language is like learning how to ride a bike. I tell them that for sure when they were learning how to ride a bike they fell many times. However, they stood up and kept trying. So learning a language is the same process. When you make a mistake is when you fall off your bike but it doesn’t happen anything, you must keep working or cycling!
I usually get some sentences from their writings and we check them in groups and then with the whole class. I think this kind of activity is very useful.

[Guest]

1. Do you think it is best to avoid errors in class?
No, I don't think it is the best way to avoid errors in class because I'm sure a person who doen't make any mistakes learns nothing about the subject. Every mistake a student make can help him in learning process at any rate because once he realises his mistake he won't make it any more.

3. Do you believe it is important not to interrupt students when they are speaking in order to draw attention to their errors?
Yes, and the main reason for it is that a student can stop speaking and using the language at all. I mean that during next time he won't be able to have a wish for speaking and therefore finding himself inconfident and closed to the language. His motivation can lower and all his wishes come to pieces.

[Irina]

I try not to interrupt my adults students while they are talking. Sometimes they are shy of making such a stupid errors

[Oksana]

i. I don't think we should avoid errors because they indicate how can we make learning prosess more effective, teacher shouldn't make accent on errors for students, but for herself she should record them and analyse and give some feedback to students at the end of activities, without pionting who made a mistake but students should suggest variants of correcting it.
3. Do you believe it is important not to interrupt students when they are speaking in order to draw attention to their errors? Yes, it's important, to make speaking positive experiense and don't interrupt the ideas, students speak about, then they become more confident about using new structures and words without fear to make mistake.