Thoughts About The Contextualized Language Video

As teachers, contextualizing the language with our class is strongly advised. Its importance stems from how much easier it is for a student to learn contents when those are explained in the most suitable context.

Collective activities meant to fulfill the group's needs, equally developing macro-skills, motivation and appealing topics are just some of the advantages and intentions of contextualized language.

I think teachers should be required to always display an open mind in their profession, showing keenness to apply new methodologies.

The was something on the video that caught my attention. Most students seemed eager to participate, rather than show any shyness at all, which would be the most common case in our environment. So it is not far-fetched to say that class was interested in the topic and did not fully relied on the teacher to push them or ask them, they had undeniable initiative.

Contextualized language could presumably work in our reality, although not to the same degree. The success level would depend on several factors, such as the students' background, age, personality, etc. However, the consistent practice of contextualized language could very much lead to a satisfying learning process, as long as patience and effort are part of the teacher's vision.

I believe more than just a few learners may not necessarily have a positive attitude when facing the contextualized language approach.

As the video presents, some activities include dynamic games, and very interactive classes. Not everybody will be thrilled to partake in such activities. Therefore, I assume it would be a key measure, not to overuse the method.

Another point regarding contextualized language to take into consideration is the fact that many teachers are not quite prepared to make proper use of the approach.

It is a shame that currently there are not many places where teachers can be truly trained for developing contextualized language. In order to counteract, teachers do not have much of a choice but to become self-taught in the area.

This does not mean to randomly improvise, but to read tips and articles online from professionals in the subject matter, who have had the chance to put contextualized language to use for years in foreign institutions.

Creating A Positive Classroom Environment

A relevant goal for a teacher is to find a plausible way to create and mantain a positive environment at all times in a classroom. Such a challenge requires real effort and is a key element to succeed. 

-Attitude: It must be positive, which should not be confused with smiling or laughing all the time. But trying to make each topic as appealing as possible will always be productive.  The teacher has to be open to questions, show real interest in the content and pay attention to the group.

-Avoid Monotony: The surprise factor is actually necessary if we do not wish to lose our students' interest after a few days. Having all kinds of varied activities and giving a sense of novelty to our classes is advised. If we try to constantly innovate, it will be less likely that students get bored fast and fail to learn anything.

-Giving a balanced freedom: This is hard to achieve, but clearly not incredibly difficult either. Sometimes teachers create a negative environment by correcting their students way too much and often or forcing them to work with people they may not like. It is true that socializing should be encouraged, but there are times when only awkwardness is created. Teachers push students to do pointless activities, etc. So, we got to try to give some freedom, while still having enough control over the group. We should keep a proper measure, be creative. All this will lead to diminish tension, reluctancy, boredom and others.

Those are some ideas I thought of to create a positive feeling in the class, some of you guys already covered other points, good work.