pays close attention to the age-specific attributes and needs of children<\/strong>, while creativity, collaboration, and play remain as key elements in their methods. As mentioned earlier, Helen Doron is a language-school franchise that offers alternative education to infants, pupils, and even teenagers. <\/span><\/p>\nTheir distinct approach stresses the importance of child\u2019s play in a stress-free, emotionally and socially supportive English-language environment<\/strong> where kids can naturally acquire the language via active involvement in various critical thinking and collaborative tasks and activities.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”9687″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Their methodology draws on the science of how children learn, complemented by a pedagogy built on mutual respect, self-appreciation, and being engaged<\/strong> with the language\/content as well as each other. In Helen Doron schools, learners work in small groups following a pre-structured syllabus<\/strong> that is still flexible enough to make room for working with emergent language and to activate students\u2019 pre-existing knowledge about the subject matter and the world in general. <\/span><\/p>\nAll resources are well-tailored to the learning context and mostly involve original chants and songs, animated videos, as well as applications written and developed by Helen Doron<\/strong> to support learning even beyond class, thus exploiting the openness and enthusiasm about learning with technology.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row el_id=”highlight-box”][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text el_class=”b16strong_blue” css=”.vc_custom_1648797934912{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Consequently, Helen Doron lessons are playful and interesting and have the potential to thoroughly involve students in the learning process. They strive to stimulate various senses, resulting in a higher level of activation in children\u2019s brain, resulting in better retention rates and deeper learning.<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The overarching aim of the method is to make language acquisition effortless, following similar patterns to how kids acquire their mother tongue. The classroom materials are topic-based and closely linked to each other<\/strong> to progressively develop vocabulary and grammar, with the application of spaced repetition to continuously revise previously learnt language elements, expressions, and structures.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”9686″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Helen Doron provides teacher training to all interested parties. They train professionals who are capable of supporting language development by giving positive feedback and constant reinforcement to learners.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nDeveloped by linguists and trained teaching professionals, apart from acquiring English, Helen Doron students are taught life skills and a unique worldview that focuses on showing them how to make the world a better place.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row el_id=”alternative-classroom”][vc_column]How to make your classroom more \u2018alternative\u2019?<\/h2>\nThe best examples of alternative education<\/h3>\n[vc_column_text]Now that we have looked at what makes education alternative, let us consider a\u00a0few practices that you can easily implement in your own classroom<\/strong>\u00a0to offer your learners a broader and more colourful range of opportunities for growth.<\/p>\nHave you ever heard about problem-based learning?<\/strong><\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”9685″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]It is an educational approach that brings real-life issues into the classroom but considers these from the perspective of the students. The emphasis here should fall on \u2018inquiry\u2019 in order to make learning a constructive, self-directed, collaborative, and contextual activity.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row el_id=”highlight-box”][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”5\/6″][vc_column_text el_class=”b16strong_blue” css=”.vc_custom_1648797940133{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”]By implementing problem-based learning, students will develop critical thinking, communicative skills, and transferrable skills, all the while becoming more autonomous in their own learning.<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]For instance, when talking about entertainment, why don\u2019t you let your students take control and organise a class party<\/strong> where they could decide what they want to do and arrange everything for themselves on a fixed budget? If their proposal is really convincing, you may even make the party happen for them. A fun time will be guaranteed<\/strong> either way.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”9684″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Having mentioned autonomy, it may be extremely beneficial to teach your students how to learn by discussing<\/strong> what effective study skills and practices they can apply in their own language learning. In turn, learners will develop organisational, analytical, and other study skills necessary<\/strong> to work proactively and independently of others. An added bonus of applying more of these practices is to be found in the skills they learn communally through sharing ideas and strategies with their peers. You might want to ask them the following questions:<\/span>[\/vc_column_text]- <\/i> How do you best retain information? What helps you remember more easily?<\/span><\/li>
- <\/i> Are you a good time-manager? Why (not)? How can we become more organised?<\/span><\/li>
- <\/i> How do you start writing an essay? What steps do you usually take next?<\/span><\/li>
- <\/i> Why are you learning \u2026? What long-term benefits do you see in the knowledge you gain in class? How will you use these later on?<\/span><\/li><\/ul>[vc_single_image image=”9683″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Following this train of thought involving life skills, task-based learning (TBL)<\/strong> is another method worth trying. TBL is centred around meaning-focused communication<\/strong> that begins in the very first minute of your class. Based on the conversations you have with your students, you will be able to decide what to dedicate your (next) class to<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n
Thus, instead of following a pre-written, rigid syllabus, you will be able to better understand your learners\u2019 needs and possible difficulties they might have in learning.<\/span><\/p>\nGenerally, the application of TBL is about satisfying the communicative needs of learners<\/strong>. To put it simply, you should always allow yourself the space and time to analyse, reflect on, and respond to your students\u2019 demands by custom-tailoring the content of your course.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”9682″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text] Thus, when talking about some more serious topics, such as politics, why don\u2019t you start small and have a discussion on the importance of human rights, freedom of speech, and democracy from their perspective by answering questions such as:<\/span>[\/vc_column_text]- <\/i> How would you feel if you couldn\u2019t speak freely what\u2019s on your mind?\n<\/span><\/li>
- <\/i> Do you think voting is an effective way of making decisions? Why (not)?\n<\/span><\/li><\/ul>[vc_column_text]Each student will have a different idea about these issues, all you need to do is just find the right questions to ask so that they can actually relate to these. Before wrapping up our discussion on alternative pedagogy, we still have one crucial teaching element to talk about: assessment. The Assessment Reform Group laid down the following guidelines to reform how students are assessed in schools as follows:<\/span>[\/vc_column_text]
- <\/i> provide effective feedback<\/span><\/li>
- <\/i> actively involve students in their own learning\n<\/span><\/li>
- <\/i> adjust teaching to take account of assessment results\n<\/span><\/li>
- <\/i> recognise the influence the assessment has on student motivation and self-esteem\n<\/span><\/li>
- <\/i> prompt students to (be able to) assess themselves and understand how to improve\n<\/span><\/li><\/ul>[vc_column_text]In the 21<\/span>st<\/span> century, effective feedback should feed forward, meaning that when you assess a student\u2019s writing, instead of marking and correcting errors with a red pen, you can highlight examples of appropriate language use. <\/span><\/p>\n
[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”9681″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Moreover, to take this one step further, you can \u2018feedforward\u2019 by offering alternatives or suggestions so that students can compare their ideas with yours and analyse and reflect on their own writing more critically.<\/span><\/p>\nAll non-test forms of assessment are evaluated by humans, some of which have been included in the below table.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”7541″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row el_id=”think-and-reflect”][vc_column]Think and Reflect<\/h2>\n[vc_column_text]To better comprehend what you have read in this article, consider the below questions and think critically about your own teaching practice.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text]- <\/i> Summarise what alternative education means to you in not more than FIVE sentences.\n<\/span><\/li>
- <\/i> If you look at your own schools\u2019 policies and curricula, what elements of alternative education can you detect there? Do you see any room there to implement further aspects of it?\n<\/span><\/li>
- <\/i> Open your course book at a highly topic-oriented page. Do you think the approach to the issue is appropriate for your learners? Why (not)? How could you apply problem-based strategies to make it more suitable and digestible for them?\n<\/span><\/li>
- <\/i> What study skills do you think are necessary to be taught these days? Why don\u2019t you talk about these in the next lesson with your students?\n<\/span><\/li>
- <\/i> In your last lesson, did you follow a TBL or a more traditional PPP (present-practice-produce) pattern? Why? The next time you do a lesson (even though the book is dominated by PP), begin by doing the last task(s) first and elicit language and knowledge from students instead of you presenting it to them.\n<\/span><\/li>
- <\/i> Flick through the next unit of the course book you use. Think about what forms of alternative assessment (e.g. a project) could you devise for your learners to actively practice what they have learnt (grammar, vocabulary, and skills).\n<\/span><\/li><\/ul>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In this article, we will look at what alternative education methods look like, what alternative pedagogies are out there, and how an alternative approach to language learning could be beneficial and applicable to foreign-language teaching so that it better responds to 21st-century needs.
\nIn the end, you can find some reflection questions which will help you think critically about how you could possibly implement examples of alternative education in your everyday teaching practice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":7537,"template":"","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[136,60,61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7535","blog","type-blog","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pedagogy","category-research","category-teaching"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookrclass.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/7535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookrclass.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookrclass.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blog"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookrclass.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/bookrclass.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/7535\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11849,"href":"https:\/\/bookrclass.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/7535\/revisions\/11849"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookrclass.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookrclass.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookrclass.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookrclass.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}