Choosing the Subject
Teaching other people is a process that requires a lot of effort and the proper strategy. There is a wide range of things and topics that are important for me but one of the most interesting things that I can teach in twenty minutes is French pronunciation. Speaking about the latter, I mean the basic rules such as the right way to pronounce vowels, consonants, specific letter combinations, and the role of diacritical signs. I believe that this topic is extremely important as studying phonetic systems helps to extend the background knowledge concerning a particular foreign language.
As for the significance of the topic for other people, I believe that the topic that I am going to teach is quite specific and it may interest only those people who want to learn French as they have to use it at work or ones who appreciate the culture of this country. Nevertheless, such an introductory lesson may help these people to understand whether they want to continue learning this beautiful language. To apply the principles proposed by Wlodkowski (2008), I am going to assess the needs of the learners, provide them with emotional support, motivate them, and use additional tools to clarify the material.
The Subject in Connection with the Learners’ Attitudes
Considering the type of subject that I am going to teach, it is extremely important to be sure that the learners’ attitudes allow them to perceive the information and apply it during the further experience. To make this particular lesson effective, I need to find the people who have no experience of learning French as such a lesson is important for those starting to learn a foreign language from a blank slate. As for the goals that can be achieved by the learners who will visit this lesson, I am sure that there are plenty of them. To begin with, the learners will be able to understand noticeable differences between the sounds that exist in French and in their native language (or another language they often use). To continue, they will have an opportunity to decide whether they want to speak this language or not. In the end, the information that they will learn can become a basis for their further training in the field. To obtain a positive result during the lesson, I will have to work with the people who are interested in the subject and want to start learning this language from scratch.
Besides choosing the right audience that would benefit from the lesson, it is extremely important to develop an outline that would help to present the information effectively. As for my lesson, I will start by reviewing the French alphabet, then I will tell the learners about specific letter combinations and the right way to pronounce them. After that, we will do a few reading exercises for beginners. In the end, we will have a reading competition and I will give the prize to the winner.
To achieve the goal, it is necessary to create an appropriate learning environment (Merriam & Bierema, 2013). As for me, I would prefer to ensure that there are no conflicts between the learners and none of them are going to disrupt the lesson. Besides, it is important to motivate the learners throughout the lesson. To do that, I would tell them about the prize at the beginning of the lesson. I am sure that it would encourage them to listen to me attentively.
The Tools to Ensure Inclusion of the Learners
There are plenty of tools that can be used to attract the attention of adult learners. There is no doubt that the learners should be provided with all the materials that can help them to better understand and memorize the information (Usher & Bryant, 2014, p. 104). Considering this, I would use special hand-outs to ensure that all the learners can see and memorize the words and the way to pronounce them. I believe that the use of printed materials is an extremely important measure taken by the teacher as many people tend to pay much attention to visual images while studying. Apart from this tool, it is possible to motivate the learners with the help of competition (Munoz-Merino, Molina, Munoz-Organero, & Kloos, 2014). To incorporate this knowledge, I will organize the reading competition for the learners. I guess that the opportunity to win the prize will become a great motivation for the learners, and they will pay much attention to learning materials. Both tools will help me to ensure the inclusion of the learners.
Another tricky question connected to these tools is the way to ensure that they can significantly increase the level of motivation of the learners and can make them concentrate their attention on the topic of the lesson. To be convinced that the chosen tools help me to reach my goals and keep the attention of the learners, I will observe their reaction to the use of pick-up materials and the announcement concerning future competition. Apart from making the observations during the lesson, the effectiveness of these tools is proved by the authors whose works were used to define the tools for the lesson.
References
Merriam, S. B., & Bierema, L. L. (2013). Adult learning: Linking theory and practice. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.
Munoz-Merino, P. J., Molina, M. F., Munoz-Organero, M., & Kloos, C. D. (2014). Motivation and emotions in competition systems for education: An empirical study. IEEE Transactions on education, 57(3), 182-187.
Usher, R., & Bryant, I. (2014). Adult education as theory, practice and research: The captive triangle. New York, NY: Routledge.
Wlodkowski, R. J. (2008). Enhancing adult motivation to learn: A comprehensive guide for teaching all adults. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.