12 September 2014 / by John Shepherd

Transmitting in the Classroom. What we can take from classical music.

 

Whether it be listening to a film director talking about his new blockbuster creation, or watching a protestor stand at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park and tell us about what is wrong with the world, we are transfixed by the same common denominator, passion.

Used correctly, passion can transfix an audience, leave a crowd mesmerised and wanting to know more, even the most mundane topics can be brought to life by an injection of passion.

Transmitting in the classroom is therefore one of our biggest responsibilities. As Teachers we are passionate about the English language,we are passionate about people, we believe that our language provides the key to enable a brighter future for those we teach, therefore, we have to transmit it.

We always transmit. We transmit when we are passionate about something and when we detest it, when we are certain about something and when we are doubtful, when we are happy and enthusiastic and when we are tired and under the weather. As teachers we will always try to project the best of us to our students. Again, the more we understand our subject, the better we will transmit and the better we prepare, the more self-confident we will appear in front of our students.

Transmitting in the classroom should be an easy task, rather than keeping a lid on the energy and passion we have, our passion for the English language should be released into the classroom to be shared with our students. Our students have a shared interest in the English language, that's why they attend our classes, so if we can fuel this interest a student has in our language, with our passion to teach it, we will create a blossoming environment to learn.

Watch the video of Benjamin Zander on classical music above, for me, classical music is one of the most lifeless art forms, yet Zander illuminates classical music with his passion, creating an artistic masterpiece that I cannot take my eyes off. A perfect example of how transmitting can have such an influence.

Transmitting in the classroom is key to our success.

 

 

23

February 2016
You are how you think
by Paola Tanc
A lot of people often say that you are what you eat, but it really should be "you are how you think". Let me explain. My name is Paola, I was born and raised in Mexico City, meaning that Spanish is my native language. I had always been a very shy little girl, living in my perfect little bubble and having a big family meant that I didn't re...

19

February 2016
Sharing Experiences: Food
by Toby Knight
Food. I love it. We have to eat it to survive but more importantly it defines who we are, where we are from and represents countries and cultures. ESL conversations require both students and teachers sharing experiences and in my opinion there is no better topic than food. Consider this: Spain has more restaurants, bars and cafeterias than al...

18

January 2016
Building professional identity in a community of practice
by Ana Garza
When we decided to start our careers as teachers by working for someone else, we started to participate in a community of practice ...

15

January 2016
The joys and tribulations of web classes
by Rafael Olivares
It's 8:30 in the morning. Your 3 students from Valencia, Zaragoza and Barcelona are getting ready for a web class. In half an hour, they will all be enjoying their 30 minute web class with each other and their favorite teacher. No, they will not be commuting to Madrid at the speed of sound in order to be together in class by 9:00, nor will...

11

January 2016
A perfect ESL conversation
by Paola Tanc
I'd like you to look back at your past experiences as a student. What were the best memories you had about those classes?What could you do to recreate them in your classroom? Personally, my best memories are the ones where I had the most fun. When the teacher thought outside the box and did something different and challenging for a change....

08

January 2016
Teaching Taboo Subjects
by Toby Knight
When I first started teaching I found myself teaching an activity about relationships to normally out-going group of students. Less than a minute into the discussion one student announced that she did not want me to ask her any questions as she had recently ended a relationship and was too upset to talk about the subject. It was obviously an ...

18

December 2015
Eating your way through Spain
by Rafael Olivares
If you are living and working in Spain, it is more than likely that you will have heard someone utter the words: "Spain has some of the finest food in the world." And yet, many foreigners working as TEFL teachers become quickly disillusioned with Spain's gastronomic offerings. The reason behind this dissapointment lies in the difficulty of...

14

December 2015
Dealing with those difficult students
by Rob Wylie
Despite the majority of students being motivated and professional, there is always a possibility you may come across one or two “difficult” students who come to class with a negative attitude. I’m sure that as teachers we can all relate to this and have some form of experience when it comes to having to work with a person who arrives to class...

12

December 2015
What you need to ask yourself before creating ESL activities
by Paola Tanc
Creating ESL activities can sometimes be frustrating, at least that's the case in my life. I sometimes find myself in need for inspiration, so I google some conversation topics that might interest the students, or that's what I think.  I start working on the activity until I feel that it is perfect, I submit my activity and wait for the day w...

07

December 2015
ESL teachers' frustrations. Is there a way out?
by Ana Garza
Monday. 8:30 in the morning. A mixed-level group of unresponsive adult learners. Is it me? At least it’s only three of them. Or maybe that’s the problem. Is it their personalities? Perhaps it’s that they’re not interested in the activities. But everything played out so well in my mind last night… questions and answers, role-...