Germany : Learning by Teaching at The University  

Oleh:

Skinner, Jodi Daniel

Jenis: Article from Bulletin/Magazine
Dalam koleksi: ENGLISH TEACHING FORUM (http://exchanges.state.gov/englishteaching/forum/archives.html) vol. 31 no. 4 (Okt. 1993), page 40.
Topik: LEARNING; learning; teaching
Fulltext: Learning by Teaching at the University.pdf (279.87KB)

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Perpustakaan Pusat (Semanggi) Nomor Panggil: EE34.7 Non-tandon: 1 (dapat dipinjam: 0) Tandon: tidak ada

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What’s the best way to motivate listless, uninterested students ? Simply turn them into teachers! The technique practiced at several schools and universities, most notably at St. John’s College in Annapolis, USA, and at more and more grammar schools in Germany, is called Learning by Teaching ; it requires a radical shift in the traditional roles of teacher and learner. The results are overwhelmingly positive, especially in the field of foreign - language instruction. Learning by teaching is by no means an exclusively modern didactic method. Seneca wrote 2,000 years ago : “Docendo discimus” (We learn by teaching). At St. John’s College students teach each other philosophy and physics, ancient Greek and the integral calculus by using the “Great Books”-the original works of Euclid, Shakespeare, Newton, and Freud. There are no textbooks and no professors ; the “tutors,” as they are modestly called, see themselves as guides who know what questions to ask and, more importantly, know when to listen. St. John’s students are not extraordinarily brilliant, but they are extremely motivated and critical. By the end of the first semester at the latest, they realize that they themselves are responsible for the quality of the seminars and tutorials. Surely one cannot expect the average student who is used to being spoon - fed at school to suddenly take upon himself the responsibility for his education! While not every institution of higher learning can make the demands on students that St. John’s does, every foreign - language class can profitably use the methods of learning by teaching, as Dr. Jean-Pol Martin at the University of Eichstätt in Germany has proved. Dr. Martin has done considerable research on a teaching technique he developed and named “Lernen durch Lehren” (Learning through Teaching). He began by assigning German pupils in his secondary - school French classes small tasks such as asking in French for volunteers to complete exercises. The pupils already knew the expressions in French needed to complete these assignments and were speaking simple French to each other instead of passively responding to the teacher. Dr. Martin found that by turning the pupils into teachers, he dramatically increased their motivation. They not only spoke far more in each class, but by working together they also overcame their inhibitions more quickly. A feeling of solidarity developed, the division of the class into an authority (the teacher) and a passive audience (the students) evaporated. The teacher remained, of course, the final expert and could always interrupt and correct. However, the pupils assumed many of the other tasks formerly carried out routinely and unnecessarily by the instructor. For teachers who enjoy exerting a role of authority and hearing themselves talk, this method requires, of course, a tremendous adjustment. The necessary energy and patience can be rewarded, however, by an astounding increase in motivation and efficiency on the part of the pupils. The philosophy of a St. John’s education and the idea behind Dr. Martin’s didactic method can also be applied to university -level courses of practically all sizes and subjects. As a concrete example, I would like to describe my experiences in a practical language course in English for German university students.

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