Better Understanding the English Classroom from Being a Student

 When students walk into classroom, they should feel that they have entered a place of and for learning; an English classroom specifically; classroom in particular. But the classroom is not only physical but also mental. Establish a clutter-free and organized room. Ensure that desks, tables and shelving are used, mainly, for one purpose. Exercise books, textbooks, novels, paper, pens, dictionaries and worksheets should have a specific place; preferably labeled. Class displays should be current and well presented. How is the English classroom different from others?

After all, the prime reason for displaying work is to encourage a sense of pride in class pupils. This is difficult to establish with tatty and torn work from pupils who have long since left the school. There is a place for keeping some work as models, but this needs to be made obvious. Display work in headed sections. if possible and appropriate, a considerable proportion should be marked rather than simply showing only pieces of work with little relevance other than as a display piece. This seems like a lot of extra work, but asks for help - some pupils actively enjoy creating displays. Certain key terms or tips can be displayed prominently in the class. Those that the teacher feel are most important should be displayed on the same wall as the board, as it is in this direction that pupils will be facing most often. Make sure that they are in a clear, large font and that there is some variety in the way in which they are presented. Some may have accompanying visual images or be in the form of a mnemonic, for example. Try to display as many as in practical.

 Pupils spend a lot of time gazing at walls - lost in thought, or simply lost. Teachers may wish to include key literary terms, vocabulary alternatives for critical essays, simplified level descriptors and common spelling errors. This really is a surprisingly simple and effective way of helping information stick.

Many people are pursuing and advocating reforms to English education, often focused on personalized learning. Teachers themselves have supported that cause for a long time. Teacher’s experiences in the classroom have them thinking twice about whether it’s the best approach.

Being an English teacher we mostly entered kindergarten with a solid command of Basic English, and it served us well. We quickly learned my English facts and could easily apply them to different situations. Our high English aptitude qualified us for a “gifted & talented” English program through elementary school. We was challenged and built a solid foundation and confidence in English.

Continuing in that program meant transferring to a school outside of students’ home environment. Most parents and students decide that wouldn’t be best for them, so in middle school they entered a traditional English classroom. The content was boring or interesting, as was the pace. Students quickly became disinterested in English and the rest of their subjects. Students turned into a trouble-maker in class because of my own boredom.

Students found we could do English assignments with very little to no instruction or help from our teachers. This continued through high school. Students didn’t challenge themselves to take harder English classes, as we’d already decided that English was a boring subject for “nerds”. In college our required classes included some boring classes that we skipped almost entirely and still received the highest score on my final. Students was happy to be “done with English”, and went on to work in respective jobs.

After many years Students re-entered the English classroom, determined to be a great teacher. The idea of personalized learning was very appealing to Students, considering Students’ own history. Students were able to review the requirements, prepare themselves for a test, and if they passed the test, earn the credit.

Working in an alternative school gave Students great flexibility to depart from traditional teaching and assessment methods. Students designed in high school class in the same format. Students had the students complete a mixture of assessments, some exams, and other performance tasks. Students had them prepare a portfolio of evidence of their competencies and when they demonstrated competency gave them credit for the course.

Students could earn credits at their own pace! This was exactly the kind of setting we desired when we were a student, and teachers were thrilled to offer students this opportunity to learn in the same way.

Ardhendu De