Exam time

[Iris]

It's exam time and that means I'm depressed. :( Not only because I hate correcting, but more importantly because when my students fail I feel responsible.
Years ago I had an American workmate who said that anybody could learn English and if they didn't the teacher was to blame. What do you think?:confused: :?:

[Rusty]

Don't get too discouraged. Aren't we all still learning?

If your students are really trying to learn, they will learn what you have prepared for them. If they don't put forth the necessary effort, however, you can't be held to blame.

[Iris]

Thanks :(--:)--:D

[Tomisimo]

Years ago I had an American workmate who said that anybody could learn English and if they didn't the teacher was to blame. What do you think?:confused: :?:
I believe the opposite is true. In general, I think learning depends mostly on the learner not the teacher. Think about it. Will someone who is truly determined to learn be held back by a poor teacher? No. They will simply do what it takes to learn. On the other hand, there are great teachers out there and they will always have some students that don't learn. Why don't they learn? They don't want to.

I'd say about 80% of learning success depends on the learner and 10% each go to the teacher and the curriculum/teaching method. Of the 80% that belongs to the student, I'd divvy it up as follows: 10% intelligence, 5% musical ability (IMO helps with learning pronunciation/intonation/mimicing ability), and 85% depends on the student's motivation. But then I've written about motivation (http://www.tomisimo.org/blog/2006/language-learning/the-one-most-important-thing-you-can-do-to-learn-spanish/) before. :)

[Iris]

Thanks, David. I'll try to think along those lines.

[poli]

We in the United States have a saying that goes, "It takes two to tango."
The untimate responsibility is the students', but a good teacher is a catalyst for motivation.

[Iris]

I think I agree with you, although after having corrected my students' comps this afternoon I'm going to start questioning my abilities...

[Tomisimo]

I'm going to start questioning my abilities...
Nah, I don't think you need to do that. :)