Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Goal-Setting
Setting goals is important for a student to focus. I find that when I'm teaching, I'm clear about what I want the students to get out of the lesson, even if I don't tell them explicitly. If I stay on-point, they will get what I'm trying to get them to do. It seems to me, guiding them works nicely. As a student, I realize that I need more specific instructions. I feel that the goals that I'm setting for myself haven't always been met by the programs that I am using. In fact, it has been somewhat difficult for me to pick up the pronunciation because the writing system doesn't necessarily correspond to what I'm familiar with. It has also been difficult for me to remember some of the grammar. Maybe I'm just not that good of a student!!!
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5 comments:
I fully understand Andre's issue with pronounciation in another language. The letters don't match the sounds that we have become accustomed to associating with certain letters. That certainly is true in German. Andre, does the program provide an auditory component where you can hear the words pronounced? Does it help to view the word while listening to how it is pronounced? This is what I have been doing in German.
What level of Portuguese are you studying? What aspects of the grammar are problematic? Do you feel that with additional time you will master the grammar or are the explanations insufficient to make it clear? I wonder if your experience is a statement that a computer is a support tool but that it can't take the place of a teacher.
I fully understand Andre's issue with pronunciation in another language. The letters don't match the sounds that we have become accustomed to associating with certain letters. That certainly is true in German. Andre, does the program provide an auditory component where you can hear the words pronounced? Does it help to view the word while listening to how it is pronounced? This is what I have been doing in German.
What level of Portuguese are you studying? What aspects of the grammar are problematic? Do you feel that with additional time you will master the grammar or are the explanations insufficient to make it clear? I wonder if your experience is a statement that a computer is a support tool but that it can't take the place of a teacher.
I fully understand Andre's issue with pronunciation in another language. The letters don't match the sounds that we have become accustomed to associating with certain letters. That certainly is true in German. Andre, does the program provide an auditory component where you can hear the words pronounced? Does it help to view the word while listening to how it is pronounced? This is what I have been doing in German.
What level of Portuguese are you studying? What aspects of the grammar are problematic? Do you feel that with additional time you will master the grammar or are the explanations insufficient to make it clear? I wonder if your experience is a statement that a computer is a support tool but that it can't take the place of a teacher.
I feel that goal-setting is very important for any instructor. Beginning level students, as Andre stated, do not need to be explicitly told what the goals are. As long as the instructor focuses on the primary
objective(s) of the lesson, then students will be on target when they use instructor-selected computer exercises for reinforcement. Most assuredly, if a student learns to pronounce the letters of a foreign alphabet in a classroom setting with a native speaker first, s/he will have less difficulty reading words and basic sentences prsented in a computer program.
I agree that setting goals is important. However, I need to be more realistic and specific in my goals. I had the general goal of wanting to learn the language;however, that is not specific or realistic. For me to learn the language I need to take it a step at a time and try to set and achieve specific goals. For example, I want to learn verb tense and their inflections.Then go on to another grammar point. I tried to begin to learn one verb form from the BBC site. However, as many have said, finding a site that actually teaches a lesson and reinforces the learning is very difficult to find. The BBC lesson explained one verb tense by using only one verb as an example and then had this LONG and tedious reading from a news magazine and a radio news report that WAY beyond my level. The only connection the reading and listening had with the lesson was that it used the verb tense "taught" and "learned" by the student.
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