Eun Hee, Seo ( Anna )

September 12, 2015

We are A Team !

If somebody asks me who is your best teacher, I can reply. That is definitely ‘Anish Singh’ without hesitation. Before I met him, I had never been taught how to speak in English. I studied English through tapes and books by myself. So, I really wanted to check my level and to see what is real English. I finally went to Vancouver in Canada, he became my first native speaking teacher. I think, It was very successful that I learned English from him as a language learning experience. He was a very enthusiastic young man about teaching. His teaching style was absolutely fresh and impressive to me. And, I think he was a very suitable teacher for all concepts I learned in this Tesol 1 module about effective teaching.

First, I think, Anish totally knew ‘The Affective Filter Hypothesis’ On the first day I met him, we talked a lot about my previous learning experience and my fear. I had fear of making a lot of mistakes and saying incorrectly. However, He said to me “Don’t worry, I can’t speak Korean either. The ones  who can speak English are not particular. Don’t be afraid of talking with them.” “Now, We’re a team! and I will help. You can make it.” He tried to cut off my anxiety and to boost my confidence. His attempts were very effective. I began to feel easy to talk with him. Since then, I have come to like talking with anybody with no worries.

Also, Anish was a great enabler of three kinds of teacher, Adrian Underhill has suggested. When he said to me that we were a team, I felt a little excited with this thinking, ‘It is me who has to overcome’ I might have gotten one fixed idea, which teachers should explain and give something and students should be ready and wait to get something. However, that was wrong. It was the moment I could see outside the box and I realized students should be ready to do something to change and improve themselves. All the time, he fulfilled his role as a guide. He gave me so many questions and asked me to come up with my own answers and to think in English. He was the one who indicates a point of arrival, I was the one who has to find the way and go there. In every single class, he invariably challenged me but he did not push me. He just waited me to achieve eventually.

In addition, Anish was a good model that applied well the Stephen Krashen’s idea, “Talking is not practicing.” I had learned English only through memorizing example sentences and practicing pattern drills. Consequently, the sentences that I could say was very limited and I could not step any further. Otherwise, there was no such a repetition and oral drills in his class. He gave me interesting questions continuously even I had never thought in korean before. He led me to keep talking. I could learn English through talking not practicing. Thus, I could step out of my small boundary.

Lastly, the most interesting thing that I realized while I studied the Input Hypothesis is that Anish focused on Comprehensible Input as well. He brought interesting issues meaningful and relevant to me. So, the contents were very comprehensible to me and I could engage in all activities very easily. Also, when there were difficult words, he explained some familiar situations to me which the words can be used. Then, I could guess the meanings well. Moreover, because he let me come up with my own sentences with the words, I could reflect my real life in the class and absorb English very naturally.

Besides, Anish pursued the modern classroom. He used a variety of materials and contents. He introduced interesting things from anywhere, such as Internet, novels, videos, movies, interviews, songs, comic books and so on. We had many times for debates. Sometimes, we studied some issues and lectured like a professor. Sometimes, the roads and the famous library became our classroom.

I think, I was very lucky to meet him as not only my ESL teacher but also  my role model in my life. He showed me how enthusiastic teachers should be, and what is teachers’ role.  Now, I believe that teaching is not giving what I know, but teaching is helping students elicit what they own.  He was a teacher like a buddy and like a partner. And we were a team.