Name: Video 3: Language is Basketball
Uploaded: 2015-10-06T21:59:43.529Z
Duration: 6 min 14 s

[MUSIC]

Hi.

My name in Michael Jordan, and I'm excited to teach you how to play basketball.

Are you excited?

Of course, you are.

I am Michael Jordan.

Let me just explain a little bit about how we're going to learn in my class.

First of all,

I've written a new book called How to Play Basketball like Michael Jordan.

I've divided the class in to ten different sections that correspond

with the ten different chapters of my book.

Sounds fun, right?

Each chapter is 100 pages long, and in each chapter, we'll go over 100 rules.

For example, in chapter one, we will learn 100 rules for how to dribble.

In chapter two, 100 rules for how to shoot.

And chapter three, 100 rules for bounce and chest passes.

My personal favorite, chapter ten, 100 Rules for how to slam dunk.

I will give you a test each Friday to go over the 100 rules of each of these

chapters just to make sure you all know how to do every rule.

If you study hard, and I know you will, you will get an A on each test.

And by the end of this course,

you will be able to play basketball just like me, right?

What?

You don't think so?

Why not?

All right,

the real Michael Jordan would never have made the mistake you just saw dramatized.

He knows, as I am sure is clear by his level of play,

that he didn't just memorize a bunch of rules.

What do you need to become a great basketball player?

Certainly, you need the coaching, and

there is no doubt you want to master the rules of the game.

But the word that probably came to your mind by

watching fake Michael Jordan is the word practice.

And when you think of practice in a language classroom,

you're starting to gain some perspective on what we mean by acquisition.

Acquisition refers to the ability to put into practice.

The ability to interact with others in a real language environment in order

to convey meaning and ideas that will be useful to communicate information.

After all, that's what language is for.

While test taking and learning in a focused mode can be useful for

language learning, it's simply isn't enough.

In fact, many people have taken years of language classes without

ever really acquiring the language.

Think about this, I took Spanish in eighth grade,

ninth grade, tenth grade, eleventh grade and twelfth grade.

All in an effort to try to connect with my Mexican heritage.

Notice the Spanish bolo tie.

I really wanted to learn Spanish to speak to my grandparents in Mexico.

And I studied hard, in fact, I got A's in every class I took.

I studied the textbooks.

I read all the rules, and I memorized all the vocabulary.

And while my teachers tried to give me some assignments to engage in real

communicative activities, I would say that the majority of time,

let's say 80%, was spent in learning the rules of Spanish.

I'm embarrassed to admit now, as a language professional, that while taking

those Spanish classes, I never considered my mother, a native Spanish speaker, and

my father, a Spanish teacher, as resources to practice what I was learning in class.

In fact, I never connected the classroom as place

where I learned anything that connected to the real world.

What a wasted opportunity and a lack of understanding.

So your job as a teacher is to not only teach language through grammar rules,

drills, and worksheets, but to encourage students to have opportunities to practice

the rules and language you give them, and not just once, but many times.

Just like basketball, acquired skills are those that fade over time.

Meaning, that if you don't use it, you lose it, and

just because you teach it doesn't mean they learn it.

Learning the skills to actually use language comes through practice.

Perhaps, a simple rule of thumb to help you combat the problem of

practice is the 80/20 rule.

The 80/20 principle suggests that practice should be

the majority of what is learned in class, 80%.

Whereas 20% of the time, you can flip to that zoom lens mode,

provide instructions and details that will allow them to focus in on

things they have not yet noticed or seen.

In this way, you can certainly see that language is basketball,

and you are the coach.

Yet, another metaphor to store away and help you understand some of

the fundamental principles in Teach English Now.

In the next video, we'll help guide you to see some of the best ways to

engage students in deliberate practice.

Thanks for watching.

[MUSIC]

Video 3: Language is Basketball

Ensine Inglês Agora! Princípios Fundamentais

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