Journal 3

 Journal III (4/16 or 5/21):
Highlight anything that you have learned through this course and discuss why this is meaningful for your learning and instruction?

When I started studying English, I didn't like reading something. Reading is very boring process and it is a kind of burden to me. It is same as when I was studying Korean. I didn't like just reading. Naturally, I didn't have much time to develop my reading skills or strategies, so reading became bigger and bigger pressure to me.

 

The most important thing that I have learned through this course is that it changed my mind of reading not only as an English teacher of future but also as a second language learner now. Every approach, theory, or method helps to change my mind, but intensive reading and extensive reading part is the most impressive to me. Normally in middle school and high school English class, students read English text like intensively. I don't mean that intensive reading is bad or useless reading method. It has many strengths. Students can read the text very deeply and teacher can check students' reading easily and efficiently. However, honestly, this method is not that quite funny or interesting to students. As it is connected with Korean SAT test for subject of English, students think that English reading is boring and it is only for solving questions in English test. This thought was very fitted with me. I also thought like this, and that's why I didn't like reading something.

 

However, after I learned about extensive reading, my thought of English reading and English reading class have changed. First, I recognized that students can enjoy English reading. Of course, for achieving this thing, teacher should prepare authentic, useful, and interesting reading materials. Although, extensive reading doesn't give students to feel much about 'learning English', if they can enjoy 'reading', it is just very valuable thing. Reading as many as possible is could be a good English lesson. Second, when designing English reading class, teacher's role is truly important. If teacher prepare various, authentic and interesting activities, students' motivation of reading will be increased. It is same as reading materials. Extensive reading class could be changed many different ways, teacher's choice of reading materials can make difference of his or her class. And, it has a big influence on students' reading and studying. Therefore, as a future English teacher, I should keep in mind of these things.

 

Lastly, one semester of teaching reading class is little bit hard, but it is very impressed and valuable class to me. Thank you.