Teaching is a
process
of giving students meaningful choices
through which they can discover
concepts themselves.At MY English School, we teach language, but, more importantly, we teach language skills. Our students will not have language teachers at their sides always, and so, while they have the benefit of a teacher's support, we equip students with the skills to discover and explore language independently.
Many jobs talk about the need to develop oneself professionally and to learn new skills. MY puts time and money toward ensuring that we do those things.
In a MY classroom, the teacher is not the sole source of knowledge, imparting that knowledge to students. Students are at the center of our classroom, and we emphasize what our students can do with language, not merely what they know. Using the skills of language discovery that we teach them, MY students actively construct language in the context of meaningful lesson activities.
Aaron Spooner
Yamagata Schools
Joined MY in 2013
Yamagata Schools
Joined MY in 2013
Teaching at MY is challenging. Our goal is that our teachers are always well-equipped and receive the best training. This means keeping our teachers current on the latest developments in second-langauge acquisition, providing ourselves a practical understanding of how the brain learns language, and ensuring that we are proficient in effective classroom techniques to promote active learning among our students.
From the outside, people observing MY classes often remark that students appear to be having a lot of fun. And they are having fun. But our students are not merely having fun. Fun, in a MY classroom, serves a purpose. We are constructing for students an artificial need for language. Students perceive the need, prompting them to attempt language and initiate learning. Desire becomes a powerful foundation from which students can develop their language abilities.
How do we know that our teaching is successful? At MY, we are constantly evaluating ourselves, critiquing our own performances, and receiving feedback from others. Our students also vote with their feet. MY does not attempt to rope students in with high entrance fees or long contracts. Our students stay at MY because they enjoy the lessons and they see their English improving.
