BLOCK B
ENGLISH LITERATURE ARTICLE 2
INTERVIEW WITH LITERARY ENGLISH TEACHER
What students can expect from his class are a lot of thought-moving activities.​
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The next question: "Do you have any specific goals for your classes?" He replied it mostly depends on the grade. He gave a list in ascending order. "Grade 8's- I usually have them write a paragraph. Grade 9's I would like them to write a multi-length paragraph. Grade 10's I try to focus on a smaller essay, and Grade 11's I focus on them writing a full five paragraph essay."
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For the forth question, "Do you utilize any technology in your teaching methods?" 'Yeah, like phones devices, research sometimes like Grammarly. In addition, he explains he thinks that students should use Grammarly if they want to, as it can be a useful tool to many, as long as it is used within bounds.
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This question is specifically directed for students in Grade 9, " What do you think is the most important aspect of learning English 9?" He explained that he hopes in English 9, students would be able to truly realize the meaning and weight behind words. Moreover, that they can think past the shallow meaning behind certain words.
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He added, "-sometimes when people say things, they actually mean something else."
​Next, "What types of assessments do you usually give to students in this class?" He responded, "assignments, writing, and maybe presentations. Like usual subjects, you will be graded on these types of assignments and projects. He explained that what really separates English from any other subject was, "We'll have an essay write we do in class."
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To help students improve on already graded work, the interviewer asked, "How do you provide feedback on assignments or essays, and how can students improve based on it?" For paragraphs and essays, traditionally, most students would grade their mark on the paper, and add a few comments throughout the writing.
While starting a new grade in the same subjects can sound rather easy at first, students can find themselves quickly overwhelmed even within the first few weeks. This article provides an interview with high school English teacher, Mr. Yu, to give more closure on what will be taught and what students should expect instead.
To start, the first question asked was "How do you approach teaching English?" Mr. Yu answered most students already have learned how to read and write English after grade level. He added that to expand on this subject, "-so we got to read stories, think about them. and write what we think."
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Then, "How do you structure a typical class period?" He responded, "(It) depends on how much I like them- which is very rare." "I would start with a warm up game just to get our brains moving." He then elaborated that after the warm ups, is when the main activity actually starts. However, if he doesn't find the activity particularly of his preference, then, "we may have two warm up games and some homework."
However, Mr. Yu notes most students tend to look at the marks and not read the comments, and so he encourages them to come to PLT, where he can go through the grading with the students.​​
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For the final question: "Are there any extra resources (such as websites, books or activities) that you recommend for students who are striving to improve?" With students who are struggling with writing in general, he recommends Grammarly, as it highlights simple common paragraph mistakes and typos. For students struggling with Shakespeare, he recommends SparkNotes, and he also recommends the online dictionary for students confused with certain words.
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This concludes the interview.