Expand the text by adding some sentences which would contain relevant information.

 

Although many studies have shown that teacher verbal and non-verbal immediacy contribute positively to learning outcomes, questions remain as to how and why teacher immediacy behaviors enhance student learning. In addition to cognitive learning, another factor that appears to be associated with teacher immediacy is student motivation. A large body of educational research has established that highly motivated students exert more energy and focus and therefore learn more. Thus, some scholars believe that teachers who employ verbal and non-verbal expressions of immediacy enhance students' motivation to learn, which in turn increases their initiative and application to course work and ultimately their cognitive learning.

ADDITIONAL READING

 

1. Read the text and answer the questions that follow.

This was a melting-pot school: Jewish, Chinese, Puerto Rican, Greek, Dominican, Russian, and I had no preparation or training for teaching English as a Second Language. Kids want to be cool. Never mind what parents say, or adults in general. The bell rings and I'm hearing the Tower of Babel. My intention was to settle into a comfortable chair and read the papers, but after a day of five classes and 175 teenagers I was not inclined to prolong that day with their work. It could wait, damn it. I deserved a glass of wine or a cup of tea. I'd get to the papers later. Yes, a nice cup of tea and a read of the paper or a walk around the neighborhood or a few minutes with my little daughter when she told me about her school and the things she did with her friend Claire. Also, I ought to scan a newspaper in order to keep up with the world. An English teacher should know what's going on. You never knew when one of your students might bring up something about foreign policy or a new Off-Broadway play. You wouldn't want to be caught up there in front of the room with your mouth going and nothing coming out.

That's the life of the high school English teacher. They have ideas I want to dissipate, about the private lives of teachers. I tell them, “In your head choose one of your teachers. Don't tell anyone the name. Don't write it down. Now speculate, when that teacher leaves the school every day what does he or she do? Where does he go?”You know. After school, teacher goes directly home. Carries a bag filled with papers to be read and marked. Might have a cup oftea with spouse. Oh, no. Teacher would never have a glass of wine. That's not how teachers live. They don't go out. Maybe a movie on the weekend. They have dinner. They put their kids to bed. They watch the news before they settle in for the night to read those papers. At eleven it's time for another cup of tea or a glass of warm milk to help them sleep. Then they put on pajamas, kiss the spouse and drift off. Teachers' pajamas are always cotton. What would a teacher be doing in silk pajamas? And, no, they never sleep naked. If you suggest nudity students look shocked. Man, can you imagine some teachers in this school naked? That always triggers a big laugh and I wonder if they're sitting there imagining me naked.

What is the last thing teachers think about before sleeping?

Before they drift off, all those teachers, snug and warm in their cotton pajamas, think only of what they might teach tomorrow. Teachers are good, proper, professional, conscientious, and they'd never throw a leg over the other one in the bed. Below the belly button the teacher is dead.

(Teacher Man. Frank McCourt.)

Questions

1) What is a melting-pot school?

2) What is meant by the metaphor ‘the Tower of Babel’?

3) How did the teacher’s basic intention manifest itself in non-verbal behavior?

4) How do children usually manifest their verbal and non-verbal behavior?

5) What does a teacher need to keep up with the world?

6) What is the life of the high school English teacher like?

7) Why do the children expect their teacher to lead that mode of life?

8) How would the children react if the teacher attempted to disillusion them?

9) Can a teacher curse?

10) What is the last thing teachers think about before sleeping (according to the text / in your opinion)?

11) What teacher’s verbal and non-verbal behavior is inconceivable in schoolchildren’s opinion?

12) How do you understand the phrase “Below the belly button the teacher is dead”?

 

2. Describe the life of a) a school English teacher, a University English teacher, a Math teacher, a Russian Literature teacher; b) a young teacher, an experienced teacher; c) a married man (woman) teacher and a single man (woman) teacher.

Since the phrase “Teachers' pajamas are always cotton” can be regarded as a metaphor (a teacher is expected to behave naturally and modestly), think of similar metaphors using the words “silk”, “wool”, “viscose”, “nylon”, “elastic”, “acrylic”. Take part in the competition of orators choosing some of the metaphors as the core idea for your speech.

UNIT 3

IS TEACHER GENDER A FACTOR IN PEDAGOGICAL COMMUNICATION?

 

 

THEORETICAL PRELIMINARIES

Male Versus Female Teachers

 

Females as a group are more drawn than men to careers that involve working with elementary and preschool children. The National Education Association survey showed that more men than women stated that salary is a significant factor in them pursuing other, often more lucrative careers than teaching.

Advantages of Male Teachers

A 2006 study in Education Next, by the Hoover Institute, and conducted by Thomas Dee, an economics professor at Swarthmore College, found that boys learn better from male teachers. The study states that having a teacher of the opposite sex hinders a boy's academic progress. Boys were less likely to be seen as disruptive in a class with a male teacher. Male teachers are more likely to include games and competition in their teaching methods.