Post
by Rania » Thu Jun 05, 2003 2:29 pm
Hi Ann, thanks for your response. To be honest, none of the classes I have ever held have been for or with people who intended to emigrate to an English-speaking country so the necessity of "educating through democratic discussions" has never been an issue for me. There many aspects of culture that can be raised and debated in a conversation class and I believe it’s very valuable for students to learn about the mentality of the countries where English is spoken, for example. The point I have been trying to make again and again – and forgive me if I have been unclear in this – is that yes, you can get students of any nationality to debate just about anything. I have proof of this, my experience backs it up. How do you manage it? By knowing your students, by knowing perhaps a little about their culture, by knowing what makes them tick, by being able to chair a good discussion tactfully, by being able to play the devil’s advocate where necessary to draw out another side or aspect of the discussion. And then it works. My advice to other teachers is be flexible when handling a conversation class. Try different things to find out what works. Accept that a debate in one country might begin/run/end in a different way to what you are used to. Find out what that way is and use it to get students talking.
QUOTE “Rania, you point out that the point of conversation classes isn't to convert one to your own way of thinking but to achieve mastery over the language. But isn't that also a certain school of thought?”
I’m not sure what you mean here: That a certain school of thought maintains that conversation classes are primarily to convert other people to your own way of thinking? If so, I sincerely hope not! As a student, a conversation class is primarily taken to improve oral fluency in a language. In order to do so, students have to be motivated to speak (which brings me back to the comments I made above). I personally believe that the positive “side effects” of a good discussion are: learning to see things from a different perspective (“OK, I see what you’re saying – I don’t agree with it but I understand your point…”); being able to compromise an opinion gracefully (“Maybe you’re right about that but don’t you think?…”); learning something new (“I never thought about that…”) If you convince someone else that your opinion is right, ok – that’s nice. Maybe I’m just not a very definite person but I believe life is a learning process, and opinions are (should be) in a constant state of flux, changing, developing, expanding. I learn something new every day and each encounter with my students teaches me a little more. I, as a person, don’t feel the necessity to knuckle someone down to my opinion and make him agree that I’m right. I have no problem admitting I’m wrong. And to be very honest with you, I don’t really like having this type of person in my conversation class. Then the class becomes a competition – an “I-won’t-give-up-till-you-agree-I’m-right” debate and no one learns anything, not as a person and often not linguistically.
Maybe I’m misinterpreting what you’re saying but, hey, at least we’re having a good discussion, eh?!
Rania