Education is a funny thing. Our own educational backgrounds, whatever they may be, greatly influence our opinion of what is appropriate and inappropriate in a classroom.
But should they? Did we always learn in the most effective way? I’m not sure I did. I remember a lot of lessons where I sat in a row with my classmates (not) listening to my teacher telling us about French verb tenses and going home to copy out long lists of new words.
So maybe we should challenge some of these beliefs. A common one is that an English language lesson involves spending 3 hours in a classroom learning grammar. At EC, we believe that this is very much not the case. Some learners believe that learning can only really take place during class time. Some learners believe that they can learn outside class time by doing endless exercises.
At EC Virtual, we believe that learning French and English is about learning to communicate. The theory is important, but only if you know how to apply it and that this knowledge comes with collaboration, practice and understanding yourself, as a learner.
We believe in our students, we believe in their autonomy and their ability to continue learning effectively after the class. We not only believe it is possible, we believe it is crucial, which is why we have created Post Lesson Tasks.
What is a Post Lesson Task:
In your live online English lessons, learning will take place as normal: reading and listening to texts to analyse new language in context, practising new vocabulary and grammar, developing skills and strategies for better communication and discussing a topic in groups. But after the lesson you will be given a task to complete with some of your classmates. You will meet your classmates online and carry out the task.
But how will I know if I have done it right:
This is a great question. In order to learn your teacher doesn’t always have to be present, but they do have to provide you with support. For every Post Lesson Task, you will be given:
– clear instructions
– discussion questions
– success criteria
This means you will always know what to do, who to do it with and you will have everything you need to know when you’re successful. You will be able to assess your own work and based on success criteria you have discussed with your teacher.
So, can you only learn during class time? Of course not!
Learning is a continuous process that happens both inside and outside the classroom and, with the right guidance and support, we can ensure this is an effective process.