Harnessing The Expertise of Professional Teachers? Some ideas.

[issemiyaki]

Hi all,

I'm back from the library.

I just want to add this thought to the conversation.

I feel it crystalizes the curiosity that has gripped me on this issue for so long.

I'm constantly looking for better ways to teach MYSELF.

I think we all are. We can get ideas from many places. I'm currently reading the book Atomic Habits and that has given me wonderful ideas on how to address certain issues.

But on the purely linguistic front, I have learned many different ways of attacking language problems from teachers. I have told all of them about the problems I had with listening comprehension in French.

And they all shared, what I thought was, sound advice given on their vantage point. They were able to tell me quickly what they did, what worked and the results they saw.

Granted, we're talking about teachers from private language schools. Most of the students there are highly motivated and trying to pass language tests to gain admission to French universities.

Had I just relied on myself, I would have never come up with the ideas they shared with me on how to improve my listening comprehension.

Also, the reason I gave extra weight to the advice from these teachers was because these were also the very teachers who literally tested students' listening comprehension, and worked with them day in and day out on this very issue.

That in no way cheapens the highly personalized advice we often receive here. The exchange of ideas is invaluable. But it is different. And it should be different. That diversity of ideas and vantage points only makes the student/learner more informed.

Before I wrote this post, I thought long and hard about the title, and I was purposeful in selecting the word "harness." Given I've seen the word in context so often, I was able to use it without looking it up. But I just checked the dictionary to help me articulate why I felt this word so precisely conveyed my thoughts and emotions on this issue. The dictionary indicates that "to harness" does not simply mean "to use," although that's part of the idea. It really means to CONTROL the information you are gathering and exploit it for your own purposes, to then HELP you reach your ultimate goal. I can think of nothing that goes more to the heart of this web site.

This is why I suggested harnessing what teaches are doing (we cannot deny that they haven't done some of the leg work already) - but explore, gather, see what they are doing - - - and THEN use that as you will, or not.

But again, all of this has been a quest for me to better learn, HOW to teach myself. And again, as I learn to teach myself, of course I'm going to seek advice from those who teach others.

[Irena]

But on the purely linguistic front, I have learned many different ways of attacking language problems from teachers. I have told all of them about the problems I had with listening comprehension in French.

And they all shared, what I thought was, sound advice given on their vantage point. They were able to tell me quickly what they did, what worked and the results they saw.

I don't know if this is the right thread to ask, but I'd love to know what kinds of tips they gave you. For French in particular, listening comprehension is definitely my weakest skill (partly due to relatively little practice on my part, and partly due to all those homonyms in French, which are easy to navigate in reading, but less so in listening). Other than the obvious ("spend more time listening!"), what can one do?

[issemiyaki]

I don't know if this is the right thread to ask, but I'd love to know what kinds of tips they gave you. For French in particular, listening comprehension is definitely my weakest skill (partly due to relatively little practice on my part, and partly due to all those homonyms in French, which are easy to navigate in reading, but less so in listening). Other than the obvious ("spend more time listening!"), what can one do?

No worries. I can send the tips to you in a private message.

[rdearman]

I don't know if this is the right thread to ask, but I'd love to know what kinds of tips they gave you. For French in particular, listening comprehension is definitely my weakest skill (partly due to relatively little practice on my part, and partly due to all those homonyms in French, which are easy to navigate in reading, but less so in listening). Other than the obvious ("spend more time listening!"), what can one do?

No worries. I can send the tips to you in a private message.

It would be better to start a new thread and share your tips to a wider audience. That is after all the purpose of this forum.

[leosmith]

all of this has been a quest for me to better learn, HOW to teach myself

Then that would be a good topic for a new thread.
It's easy to get caught up in the "I'm gonna teach you guys something" frame of mind; I am also guilty of that. Many (most?) people here read books/articles/research on language learning/new ideas - it makes up a big part of this forum. We also use teachers a lot. In addition, it is a good idea to spend years reading posts in forums like this one in your free time, try to remain open minded, and experiment on yourself occasionally when you read about some appealing new technique. If you do this, you're bound to develop and improve your own method of learning languages. Avoid saying things like

If you know everything, good for you. Then step aside and let someone learn.