Metaphors for teaching and learning
We have a mini-plenary at the end of most classes in which I throw the students a slightly left-field question based on the theme of the class (for example, if we were looking at “Family” the question might be “What would your family think if they watched you in class?”). But at mid-semester we do a broader reflection to assess progress and attitudes to learning in general. The students interview each other, with a questionnaire I designed based partly on the chapters in the excellent book Lessons from Good Language Learners (http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780511381058). So there are questions on strategies, motivation, vocabulary etc…. As the questions require a bit of thought they usually take an hour or so and come up with some good stuff.
Probably the most interesting questions, for me, were those on metaphor. It has been very enlightening to see exactly how students view the teacher / student relationship. I have grouped them into three categories.
1. Nuturing. Teacher as gardener, parent etc. Student as flower, child….
2. Controlling. Teacher as dog trainer, god etc. Student as dog, disciple…
3. Utility. Teacher as map, encyclopedia etc. Student as traveller, researcher…
Just these few words can tell us so much about the students’ view of the learning experience. I saw an excellent presentation at JALT last year (and subsequently read the paper) about the relationship between student perceptions of autonomy and their levels of language proficiency. I would be curious to know how these metaphorical views condense wider beliefs; I suspect that there is a correlation between metaphor and autonomous activity. Some students expect to be led, some guided, and some to use the teacher as a resource.
But what do we as teachers do once we have this understanding of the learner’s beliefs? Do we adapt to fit their metaphors, or try to change the students metaphors to fit our own? Does changing the metaphor have an effect on autonomous action? Rob Batstone (in http://www.oup.com/elt/catalogue/isbn/0-19-442250-X?cc=global) highlights the impact of classroom discourse on the choices students make; attention is a limited resource and we can direct students focus towards form or meaning depending on the words we select. Can we influence learner’s metaphorical views too?
Bear in mind, blogs are for half-formed thoughts, but this is something I`d like to look at in more detail…..
