Jan. 16th discussion question

  Casanave (2017) posits that “teachers benefit from bringing underlying beliefs into conscious awareness by articulating those beliefs, reflecting on them, and modifying them as needed (p.3).” I agree with her opinion. Only when clearly articulated can the teaching beliefs be tested in practice and get improved.

  When I teach Chinese, I have a certain way of delivering the contents. When teaching speaking, I would use pictures and videos to help students to practice the patterns; while teaching grammar, I would use deductive methods for the more difficult grammar points and inductive ways for easier ones. My teaching pace is relatively fast, and my speech rate is normal (like the speed I use when I am conversing with a native speaker of Chinese).

  These ways of teaching must underline my teaching beliefs, and yet I have never given much thought to what they are. If I can write down my teaching beliefs and the corresponding teaching methods, then I can test and improve the beliefs by means of using the teaching methods in practice.