Thinking Skills in Language Education, Residential Course, 25 - 31 Jan 2009, Jurmala, Latvia

1. What is your general impression of the seminar? (from 1 - very bad to 4 - excellent)

4

Well prepared always here to answer questions

(Christel Mazura, Germany)

3

This is not necessarily the organisers' fault : At times, especially at the beginning, it was sort of a bombardement of theories and ideas. But as we proceeded, it got a bit clearer, then we would have instances where I got mixed up again, and then again, clearer. I was happy then, when the yes-no games technology came along : it helped me a bit, and I started getting clearer ideas. Discussions among collegues helped, because apparently, I wasn't the odd one out. Conclusion : all this needs time to be digested!

(Marisa Bonanno, Malta)

4

I wanted to come because the content of the course interested me. We always talk about thinking and the importance of it but how does it actually show in the classroom. For me the thinking approach is more important than language learning if you could say so.

I got a lot more than I expected. I hope I'will be able to learn more, start changing my teaching and hope to share the new ideas with my colleagues and trainees.

The location of the course was well chosen; we were together all the time. We were well looked after all the time!"

(K.U., Finland)

4

We've got many usable ideas and nice amount of support with continuous reflections. I'm happy with the decision you made to choose parts of it and provide a deeper input.

(Gyulavari Judit, Hungary)

4

I liked it very much. The only difficulty is to adapt all the strategies and materials to my pupils' mother tongue, Portuguese, as well as to their ages: 8 to 10-year-old.

(Sonia Hessel, Portugal)

4

Very well and clearly plannned, so that every day we understood a little more and became more aware of how we could apply what we were learning.

(Susan Granlund, Finland)

2. Would you recommend this seminar to colleagues in your institution, city, country, other countries? Please give details.

Yes, certainly. It mamkes you think quite a lot and even if you do not agree with everything it worth trying to work with it.

(Christel Mazura, Germany)
 

Yes, I'll surely speak about it to teachers of english at my school and at my younger daughter's school, (the head there is a fanatic of english). I think having the website beforehand would help.At the moment, I think teachers of english would benefit more from it than other language teachers.

(Marisa Bonanno, Malta)

I would recommend this to my colleagues, the English teachers and other 5 TCI teachers. I have the opportunity to meet local teachers as well and will tell them and also the teacher trainees about TA. It is possible for me to give a lecture to the group of trainees, who come to train in our school. We can plan at our school the content of these lectures.

(K.U., Finland)

Yes. I have got two contents in mind. One is this "trust" of schools I've mentioned, when we have to develop (or adapt) a course content for enhancing communicative skills. The other one I haven't mentioned: we have a program in our school (among many others) that between for 8 and 9 the learners get an "additional" year, called intensive language course, when they have got 12 English lessons a week. (Plus Logics, instead of Mathematics, working with resources instead of History, Media, working with literature resources instead of Literature and Hungarian Grammar.) That could be the context!

(Gyulavari Judit, Hungary)

I do not think it will be possible with teachers of my institutions, because of the already mentioned problems, but I wiil do it with colleagues of the Secondary School.

(Sonia Hessel, Portugal)

Yes. I think this gives an excellent introduction to this approach and can be useful also to teachers of all subjects and levels.

(Susan Granlund, Finland)

3. Name three things you liked most about this seminar. Give brief comments.

• new ideas for teaching
  
• accomodation
  
• participants

(Christel Mazura, Germany)

• watching the video from the lesson
  
• yes-no games
  
• working a such a relaxed manner

(Marisa Bonanno, Malta)

• The idea of using tools in teaching thinking skills. That has been a new thing to me.
  
• Using reflection to this extent has been goo as well. We do it but can definately extend the use of it. I appreciate that methods which are being lectured about are being used during the course. Things will be alot familiar this way.
  
• I also liked the program starting from the theory and getting into using it in practise; less tools but getting to now some better.
  
• Thinking games will be good to use with young learners. I have done some of that before but will do that more now.

(K.U., Finland)

• I really liked that we didn't get much theory at the beginning, but the amount was necessary. And I'm incredible grateful for all the practical points of view.
• "My portfolio" - it seems to be a useful tool for self-study, for self- and also teacher's reflection, and it is fairly new in Hungary.
• I'm eagerly looking forward to seeing the development of the www.thinking-approach.eu site.
  
• I really liked how the trainers' group was created. It seemed to be a good "mixture" of the idealist, the down-to-earth and the entertainer, whereas nobody was a pure example of their type! :)

(Gyulavari Judit, Hungary)

• The seminar was good prepared and there are lots of material I can bring home to think more about TA.

(Sonia Hessel, Portugal)

• the method of teaching used - it was motivating and difficult, but I think I understood something about it!
• the course content - it was a good mixture of theory and practical examples.
• the people - the group and the trainers

(Susan Granlund, Finland)

4. Do you see any advantages of the TA over more traditional methods of teaching?

I think it is more motivating.

(Christel Mazura, Germany)

I would need more time to think about this ; reflect in a more serious way, especially with regards to a foreign language teaching.

(Marisa Bonanno, Malta)

Yes. It actually gives tools for doing things we are aiming to do but do'not do efficiently enough: thinking skills, using reflection etc.

(K.U., Finland)

More motivating, helps my students to become more responsible. It must be the tool for them to achieve what I think they should and have already discussed with them a couple of times.

(Gyulavari Judit, Hungary)

Yes, without any doubts.

(Sonia Hessel, Portugal)

Yes. At least at the moment it would seem to be more motivating and challenging and allowing students to work each at their own level, also fulfilling more than just the subject aims in the curriculum. In the examples we saw the students language skills were impressive too.

(Susan Granlund, Finland)

 

5. To what extent do you think the TA can contribute to the development of students’ language skills? (1 - not at all; 4 - significantly)

3

Being at a certain level using the language is always an advantage.

(Christel Mazura, Germany)

With regards to english , yes, but with french, I would still have my queries.

(Marisa Bonanno, Malta)

4

Uses the full potential of childrens "learning capasity".
Motivating them to learn learning skills in language learning.

(K.U., Finland)

4

They have to read more, think more in the process of learning and I do believe they can learn something they work with. It also gives them the tool to continue learning after they graduated.

(Gyulavari Judit, Hungary)

4

(Sonia Hessel, Portugal)

4

(Susan Granlund, Finland)

 

6. To what extent do you think the TA can contribute to the development of students’ thinking skills?

4

they are always challenged

(Christel Mazura, Germany)

3

(Marisa Bonanno, Malta)

4

Teaches them to ask Why and How.

(K.U., Finland)

4

They'll get accustomed to look for various solutions, to think before they act.

(Gyulavari Judit, Hungary)

4

(Sonia Hessel, Portugal)

4

If many of the methods described in the course are used they would certainly learn to solve problems more efficiantly and approach their own learning in a different way.

(Susan Granlund, Finland)

7. Formulate your opinion on the Thinking Approach to Language Teaching (the approach - NOT this particular course) in 3-5 sentences.

TA is a method to make students use their brain and not only to reproduce things learned by heart.

(Christel Mazura, Germany)

It is difficult at first, and it needs time to be reflected upon.I have my doubts how it works with : a large class, and a foreignlanguage.

(Marisa Bonanno, Malta)

Clarifies the term thinking.
Gives practical tools to learn thinking skills.
Shows how learners can reflect their own learning

(K.U., Finland)

I think it must change learners' attitude to language learning, and through this, attitude to other things in life. Responsibility, decision making, organising their things show far more than just learning a bunch of words and some structures, even than using them.
And I also liked the idea of benefit/cost ratio. ;)

(Gyulavari Judit, Hungary)

It is a very good way of developing thinking.

It is way to make language meet thinking.

The learner can realize that he can learn by himself in his own rythmus.

The object of the teacher's activity is the learner.

(Sonia Hessel, Portugal)

It seems complicated but certainly worth the effort.
It seems like a very good way forward for improving teaching and learning.
It seems to be very motivating.

(Susan Granlund, Finland)

8. Is there anything else you would like to tell the course facilitators: Irina Buchinska, Edgar Lasevich and Alexander Sokol?

It was nice to have met you and I will keep in contact. I will test your philosophy in
different classes and tell you the results.

(Christel Mazura, Germany)

I appreciated very much their contributions to the seminar.They very well compliment each other, in their own personal ways ( with their characters, I mean).I appreciated Irina's help every nowandthen, while we were at our tasks - at times it came in very handy.

(Marisa Bonanno, Malta)

THANK YOU SO MUCH!
If you publish material how can get hold of it?

(K.U., Finland)

Thanks for being informative (even if sometimes I felt you aren't), supportive (I always felt so) and I'm happy I've come to Latvia for the first time in my life. I do hope it's not the last time and I'm happy that now I can be sure that it may very well happen.

(Gyulavari Judit, Hungary)

I'd like to say thank you very much indeed!!!

I came to the course hoping to find some tool to improve my teaching and help my learners and this has done that. Let's see if i can put it into practice.

(Susan Granlund, Finland)