from Devon (2)
Just a bit of reflection on communication, (sorry in advance for any typos that might appear, I feel a little tired of looking at the screen).
The following is directed especially to the teachers.
I realized it here that for communication to take palce the two sides have to be willing to communicate. This may sound like a very obvious thing to say but I guess too often we take it for granted or simply forget about that, especially in classroom environment.
When I came here I thought I would spend lots of time with my hosts, talking, getting to know each other, gaining new experiences, and what not. I thought that if there would be a barrier to our communication it would be perhaps only my English.
Nothing like that happened.
My hosts won’t talk to me too much (I don’t want to get into details, they just won’t :), and most of my time I spend talking to my group-mates – from France, Romania, Spain, Guadalupe, no matter how inadequate our English is.
There is something more to communication than a language itself.
I hope I make sense. If it’s too obvious, forgive me :), I just wanted to share this with you.
Not so obvious at all. A few important points come to mind, one of them is what approach to use to promote real communication in the classroom. Too often teachers end up meeting a wall of silence, seeing puzzeled or embarrassed faces, not realising what has gone wrong. At such moments the problem typically boils down to the way we, teachers, ask questions, and what questions we ask. Perhaps learners simply know that since we already know the answer, saying it seems pointless, or they are sick and tired of being eternally tested.
So perhaps instead of depriving students of opportunities to use the language we should seek communication by asking questions which provoke and encourage thinking rather than giving correct answers. How else can we find out what’s actually going on in their minds and whether they are willing to communicate.
You’re right, Michal. Communication definately needs two people to be willing to actually take part in it, even good old pretending the willingness is not enough. But, what’s been my observation, there are less and less people who would like to take part in such one-to-one or one-to-more than one communication. Mostly it’s just us willing to speak and not being able to listen back. A while ago I called it the real, most serious disease of our civilisation: not AIDS etc., but the lack of ability to listen to another human being, to really see the person next to us – not just the contours, so to say.
Funny, how the same thoughts / concepts reach you from different directions. What you wrote about has been present on my mind, in my conversations for about a week now :) Thanks for sharing :)
Hello Michal.
Are you having any fun there? I’m asking because you sound so tired, you say sorry and ask for forgiveness all the time and you complain that they don’t want to speak to you :). How are you doing there? Is it really so bad? :)
No Basia, it wasn’t bad at all, as you’ll get a chance to find for yourself today, when you see me happy and entusiastc on our Monday meeting :P
Justyna thakns for the reply. I do agree.