Reflection!!!

Pontificia Universidad Javeriana
Enseñanza L2
Reflection questions
By: Brian Martin

1. What are your beliefs about the role and importance of the skills (Reading, listening, speaking, writing), in L2 teaching and learning.

- It’s very important not to know all the structure and the whole thing, but at least to know what are you saying, and think about it, these skills are the whole language, if you know how to do it well, you got it, you can listen, read, write and most important, communicate in a spoken way; I mean, how we consider a person analphabet?, because doesn’t have the ability to read or write, but he can speak and listen to what others say, there is where one say, a person is involved totally in the language, no matter if he can write or read, but he understands.

2. What are your beliefs about the role of grammar in L2 teaching and learning.

- As when we were learning the grammar of our L1, in real life we use a 60% of what we were taught; at least for once in your life one’s got to use the grammar to teach, your children for example; but we were talking about grammar theory, that progressively will turn into applied grammar in real life; that is important, but talking seriously one has a grammar code inside that won’t let you fail while you’re talking, one does not ever say “hey, there it goes, the subject, the past tense, the blah!”

3. What are your beliefs about the role of culture in the L2 classroom?

- Learning a language is to get to know the whole thing, that involves, culture, or why are we learning a L2? To talk with Colombians? no! We must learn everything related to the language to not to have cultural shocks when communicating with native people; once we speak in L2, we shall be as a native, we transfer into other personality, one must think in L2, forget the L1!

4. Have your beliefs as a student affected your learning of a foreign language?

- in the first sight, the first impression of a class when beginning, I see how it will be, and I have no beliefs as a student, of course learning a language in the country it is spoken is better, but I’ve found teachers, Colombians, that give a class as a native speaker, that doesn’t mean that I prefer that rather than being in the original country; I just trust on somebody who has spent at least 20 years in the L2 country, otherwise I will not believe everything.

5. How can your beliefs as a teacher affect the learning of your students, keeping in mind that they may have different beliefs?

- in my way of seeing the world, ones may believe in what I say, others may not, but I teach with a belief, and that is very different compared with the regular teachers that just want to follow a written guide that the school give them.

6. Does this reflection boost any attitudinal/emotional cognitive changes in you?

- It made me think that I should teach more grammar from the book than the one I learned throughout the years and experience, while being in the states, but from my point of view, I believe much more on a teacher who says “close your books, you’ll not use that grammar in real life”- I mean, the grammar from the books, the formal and boring one. Once I said to my class, do not believe on everything is written here, if you use it that way, you’ll look as a alien, there’s nothing more comfy than going unnoticed.