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Technical English - For Educators;3) Communicate with a Panache!
Now that you have reached this post, you are radiating your Panache :)
3
3 ) Let us be a person, not a machine – Strengthen Connections!
Class time is precious time because it is time to develop a community. This makes it
imperative for an educator to relate lessons to students’ life. Hence the
credibility of our teaching shines once the ‘Why’ is answered. Engaging
students with creative and new ways of presentations will increase fluid
intelligence or the ability to grasp new information.
Are you one of those
teachers who love to hear their own voice? Or, are you among those who spew
their subject knowledge accumulated over the years and maintain the quietest
classroom? You may argue that your class is the most effective. However, your
students could develop only one skill. Listening! The reading writing and
speaking went for a toss. It is time to take a pause.
Let’s understand that
teaching with no connection or no interaction is cognitively crippling.
Professor Andrew Wilkinson believes that oral skills in a classroom have been
neglected by educationists. So, how do we build this positive psychology of
connection and interaction in the classroom? The solution would be to design a
FRAMEWORK for collaborative learning, as mentioned by the Common European Reference Framework.
Train
to Think
A simple course-framework
can be focused on the following:
1 1)Compose a problem statement related to
the topic of your lesson. Students make a list of suggestions to help solve the
problem. They discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each suggestion with
other teams.
Example:
Several
students in the rural area, during the lockdown, were unable to attend online
classes due to connectivity issues. What suggestive measures can you give to
mitigate this problem arising in the future?
2 2) Give students options to present their
answers in creative ways: a PPT, Drawing, Poster or a
Video Presentation.
Giving choices motivate students.
3 3) Once they speak on the topic:
The teacher can guide them and give feedback on the four
maxims:
· Quality
of their talk: Their ideas should be genuine and
believable.
·
Quantity
of their talk: They must know how much they are
expected to speak in the
given context.
·
Relevance
to the topic: Their ideas must be related to the
topic.
·
Manner
of speech: They must have clarity and avoid ambiguity.
Giving Time To Speak is Giving Time
To Learn! Active learning opens opportunities for
oral communication.
Ms. Shashi Prabha
DISCLAIMER: The material on this website is not to be used by any commercial or personal entity without expressed written consent of the blog author. The author does not in any way guarantee or warrant the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any message and will not be held responsible for the content of any message.
Assistant Professor
BNM Institute of Technology
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Technical English - For Educators;2) Communicate with a Panache!
2)
Greet with grace
Greetings are a
polite way of expressing goodwill and exchange of positivity. The style of
greeting gestures and cultures vary from country to country. For instance in
New Zealand, a traditional greeting involves pressing one’s nose and forehead
to another person's nose and forehead. The greeting gesture, ‘Namaste’
in India is carried out by joining the palms and fingers together facing
upwards in a praying position and bowing slightly. We can say that Greetings
create an aura of charisma and pleasant thoughts.
In a classroom setup,
greeting students sets the tone for a fresh start every day. Teacher-student
interaction forms the building block of a good and lasting relationship.
Imagine yourself in a new environment. Do you remember the first day of your
class when you felt like a fish out of water? What made you feel better? A
simile and a greeting must have certainly made you feel relaxed and welcome.
Being prepared and
greeting students on their arrival allows teachers to observe whether a student
is happy, distracted or attentive. Greeting students sends across the message
that they are cared for. So, let’s see how we can make the greeting more
meaningful and go beyond a “Good Morning !”
To
greet students beyond "Good Morning !"
- Be prepared and arrive in the classroom before the students.
- Welcome students
with eye contact and a smile that exudes warmth and respect.
- Bear in mind
their academic needs as well as social needs.
- Give students
time to pause and associate by asking interactive questions
- Address students
with their names ( at least a few, initially)
- Establish a greeting pattern.
Use phrases like:
“I
‘m so glad to see you today.”
“I
couldn’t wait to be back with you all ”
“What a pleasant morning! How do you perceive
the day?”
“Let’s celebrate the bright and warm day by learning
something new.”
When
meeting people for the first time in a formal setting, use the given phrases
with a
relaxed breath and a gentle smile:
“Hello! It’s a pleasure to meet you."
“I’m pleased to meet you.”
“I’m pleased to meet you.”
“I’m glad to meet
you.”
Note: Can you guess who is the strongest and balanced person in an
auditorium of 100 people?
-Well! It is the person with a relaxed breath. :)
-Well! It is the person with a relaxed breath. :)
Ms. Shashi Prabha
Assistant
Professor
BNM Institute of
Technology
DISCLAIMER: The
material on this website is not to be used by any commercial or personal entity
without expressed written consent of the blog author. The author does not in
any way guarantee or warrant the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any
message and will not be held responsible for the content of any message
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