LANGUAGE PEDAGOGY II Mrs.

Pustavrh Natalia Antnez (19524) April, 9th Choose a scene/situation/event from the book Teacher Man by Frank McCourt and describe the different roles of teacher we can find. While reading the book, I realized that we may find different roles but in different situations. As we studied in class, within our teaching, our role may change from one activity to another or from one class to another. For example, on chapter 3, I found two instances where a teacher and the students describe a CONTROLLER TEACHER. At the very beginning of the chapter, an experienced teacher explained to Frank that students can smell when you are going to teach a real lesson on grammar, or spelling, which I understand that students know this is going to be a BORING class where only the teacher talks, he transmits his knowledge, he gives explanations, and needs the class to be in order. I believe these students are being taught in this way where no participation and selfdiscovery of the topic are developed. At the same time, the students themselves said We thought you were a nice guy. Why do all these English teachers have to do the same old thing? Same old spelling lessons, same old vocabulary lessons, same old garbage.; which explain the traditional learning teaching the students may have faced in previous classes. For example, on chapter 4, I think Frank has found a way to teach by telling stories. I think he believes that by telling his students his miserable life they would think of themselves as LUCKY and GRATEFUL for having the opportunity to study. It seems he is a PROMPTER TEACHER as he wants them to THINK, to REFLECT about their own situations and personal lives and to feel free to PARTICIPATE, to ask questions and to share with the class about their lives. This happens when one of the students says his father has told him If this Irishman can become a teacher, you can, too. Forget the docks. At the same time, I think that in chapter 6, we also have a PROMPTER and an OBSERVER TEACHER. So far, we know that Frank is having some problems with the school and with parents, so he decides to start being an English Teacher for real. The good thing about this is that he becomes an OBSERVER TEACHER. He works each situation out, he observes how students behave, he listens to them, he watches their attitudes and he understands a new way to make them THINK. He PROMPTS them to answer the question (in the correct grammar) and to continue talking listening to every detail. And he gets his result, the following day, the student analyze the question in a different way; by turning the structure of the original question and study a different grammar example. Frank could make his students to understand different ways to say the same thing; he could get the students attention and could make them participate just with a silly question Why did John go to the store? Even more, he becomes a kind of PARTICIPANT-PROMPTER TEACHER as he triggers discussions. For example, when they want to know what gibberish means, and when they compare the idea of Psychology and Grammar: Psychology is the study of the way people behave. Grammar is the study of the way language behaves. He just gets involved in the discussion to make topics understood, to clarify things. In the end, Frank is happy to see that they have learned one new word, but he is more proud to see that they are starting to understand what grammar is and they are willing to learn more. He could get their attention and he realized how students are as learners.