Jesse Davey, an English Language Fellow in Narva, Estonia, recently gave a guest lecture to a class of graduate students pursuing their Master’s in Education degrees.
The class was conducted as a mock class for language learners in which students took the roles of EFL learners. Participants learned techniques, broad strategies, and classroom activities useful in the development of language skills including reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Afterwards, the group took part in a Q&A and interactive presentation linking aspects of the mock class to best practices and elaborating on the theory behind them.
This kind of lesson was particularly useful for young teachers whose own language educations had consisted mainly of listening to teachers talk. Multiple students noted their frustration with the local education system’s emphasis on unidirectional lecturing, stating that they wanted to use more multi-directional, interactive strategies akin to those presented. Jesse left a lasting impact on his students and gave them the skills to strengthen their own teaching methods.