Teachers, skills in English and professionalism

by Sandaruwan DAYANANDA

"Yesterday's skill will not prepare you for tomorrow's challenge" (the environmentalist June 09.2010).The quotation carries a lot of weight in it. It is thought-provoking and insightful. We can apply the implications of the statement to any social context. Education is the largest job creation engine and the teacher is the prime operator of this engine. Therefore, he has to acquire the most modern concepts, methods, teaching devices and techniques to prepare students for the competitiveness in the world. The need for improvement of professional skills of teachers becomes crucial at this juncture.

It is no exaggeration to claim that English is the prominent international language. 'Skills in English' denotes language skills such as reading, writing, speaking and listening. Knowledge of English opens our eyes and ears to a world which is undoubtedly inaccessible otherwise.A major reason is that almost all academic writings are published in English. At present, there are various types of newspapers, magazines, journals, articles, books and electronic media programs in many languages. Most of the time they are translated into English as it is the widely spread language in the world. Therefore, anybody who has a good command in English is able to gain a sound knowledge on various subjects, disciplines and doctrines.

Teachers have to pay attention to classroom management

With the development and advancement of science and technology, the world is moving along various directions. Television, radio, internet, notebook and CDs are some of the miraculous inventions of science and technology. They are excessively used in disseminating knowledge across the world. They contain various types of educational programs and articles on diverse disciplines. English is used as the key language of communication in these programs and articles. A teacher who has a high level of competence in English can actively participate in the programs and also can read articles published in both print and electronic media.

The process of acquiring knowledge and developing communication skills among a large number of people in the world is facilitated via English language. If one's oral communication skills in English are excellent, he can be part of this process in various ways. Assume a teacher has encountered a question which needs clarification, he can speak about it and get it clarified. In addition, one can voice his opinion about a particular issue if his command of English is good. In this way, the knowledge of English enables one to gain unlimited access to global knowledge.

It is essential that teachers of any discipline be well-equipped with knowledge. It is a prominent part of developing one's professional skills. Teachers deal with various groups of students and a classroom usually consists of students from widely varying socio-economic backgrounds, attitudes, exposure, motivation and intellectual capacities. This complex classroom environment requires the implementation of diverse sets of teaching methodologies, approaches, techniques and devices which the teacher is supposed to utilize in keeping with the nature of the subject, students, classroom management and modern trends in the field. It is thus required to facilitate the different teaching methodologies and sometimes he is forced to improvise a suitable methodology under varying circumstances within the classroom context. One can gain a substantial knowledge about the relevant methodologies, approaches, teaching devices and techniques and other issues in teaching mainly by developing language skills in English.

Reading plays a major role in shaping and broadening one's knowledge. Teachers who are good readers can use what they have read in a classroom context. For instance, one who reads 'The Readers Digest', 'Times' and various other English magazines can use quotations, jokes, and exciting stories etc. not merely for teaching purposes but also to break the monotony in the class. One can use such minute teaching devices and techniques to draw and retain the attention of the students throughout the session.

The program 'Speak English Our Way' which was launched recently by the Government of Sri lanka is a giant step in the Sri Lankan education sector. But its application is apparently limited. Therefore, the scope of the program should be broadened for the benefit of school children and teachers of all disciplines. Despite the intense debate over the practical aspects of the program, one can assume that the realization of the goals and objectives of the program have a lot of potential to empower teachers in many ways. Therefore, the extension of this program to teachers of all disciplines may enable them to develop their professional skills in the education sector.

However, the most striking and intriguing question is how do we link the acquired knowledge on various issues to a natural classroom environment? It is very important to realize what to use, when to use, where to use with whom and how. These multiple processes involve a lot of thinking, years of exposure and most importantly the experience in diverse aspects in teaching encountered by the persons involved, namely the teacher and the learner.

It is difficult to even think about developing professional skills without experience in teaching. As such, a teacher should be a careful observer and practitioner, failing which he would not be able to employ the golden rules and facts practically. In addition, the teacher is required to conduct a series of tests, experiments and expand observation depending on the requirements and level of competence of the students. The element of personality traits emerges as another important aspect, which contributes a lot more to the enhancement of professional skills of a person involved in any profession. One cannot acquire a commendable personality simply because s/he has developed language skills in English. Development of personality involves a range of requirements and it develops gradually with experience and exposure.

A teacher can read an array of English books on teaching, education etc. and acquire a vast knowledge on varied subject areas if s/he has developed language skills in English. But how can one ensure that the teacher accurately reads different mindsets of students in a particular classroom context? A professional teacher should be capable of understanding the mindset of students failing which everything is definitely bound to collapse at his/her feet.

Within a classroom context, there are learners who are very quick to absorb, who are very slow to absorb and who cannot absorb at all. Furthermore, there are students who suffer minor psychological disorders which require constant attention. A considerable number of harrowing instances have been reported in the primary education sector in the recent past where many students have been subject to electivemutism(The learner selects himself be quiet as a result of a great shock) due to teachers' misunderstanding and misinterpretation of students' behaviour. This type of pathetic situations could have been prevented if the teachers concerned were well experienced, well-read and well trained in the specific areas.

Experience, qualifications and exposure are regarded highly significant in promoting one's professional skills in any profession. The ability to implement and apply knowledge to teaching is reinforced by the elements of experience, personality, educational qualifications, abilities, creative thinking, improvisation etc. Certain teachers do possess various attributes but can neither face nor address a crisis situation arising in the classroom context.

This may be due to the lack of certain personality traits such as of broad-mindedness, creative thinking, innovative abilities and strategies. Teachers with all these personal traits can easily develop professional skills and developing reading, writing, speaking and listening skills in English will definitely facilitate and thus expedite this process. In addition it broadens their knowledge in their field.

It is my contention that teaching and developing professional skills go beyond developing language skills in English as an international language.

Given the present condition English is merely a time bound, context bound tool because, if Korean, Chinese or Sinhala becomes the widely spread and the prominent international language, the teachers concerned should definitely develop language skills of one of these languages to gain access to knowledge about various fields related to teaching. Experience, exposure and personality, out of many attributes of professional skills have become major requirements in promoting professional skills in any field concerned.

The writer is an Instructor in English, ELTU, University of Peradeniya