These I believe
~About education, learning, language acquisition and success in general,
upon which I design all my courses~
Language is essentially a habit. The more you practice, the easier it is to apply it.
The forming of habit requires regular training and discipline. (Therefore daily exposure and exercise. What discipline?—Everything that is required of the language—sounds, intonation, spelling, grammar, style, etc. Who disciplines?—You, the learner.) (Learning and success, like language, are habits, too.)
Bad old habits can be covered by good new habits. (The hope of correction and improvement)
Methodic instruction is useful in the early stage of language learning. Beyond a certain point, structured instruction should be replaced by self-motivated efforts coupled with some advising. To become proficient in a language, one needs both the process of learning and the process of acquiring. How one acquires a language is still largely a mystery. But it is generally agreed that “comprehensible input” is important for the eventual “comprehensible output”. (Therefore, abundant listening, reading and watching are essential.)
The world of learning has been changed fundamentally by the widespread use of internet. Vast amount of information is out there for anyone who wants it to access freely. Whatever amount knowledge any teacher can offer in a classroom pales in comparison with what one can find on the internet. A teacher’s role as an information giver must surrender to that of a learning coordinator. Learning how to evaluate the quality of information and how to organize to produce effective documents are more important than ever.
To survive and to succeed in this new world, one must become familiar with the new tools.
In this third phrase of “globalization”, the major players have become individual persons (in contrast to states and/or corporates). Teachers should help students to prepare themselves for this newly leveled playground and cultivate and develop all needed abilities. (Which are ….)
MOTIVATION is the determining factor in this new race. 大前研一：「懶於學習的人將没有生存的空間。」And, remember, your attitude determines your altitude,
Knowing it is different from doing it. Knowledge alone simply isn’t enough to make a difference. Action does.
Education, by means of knowledge and action, enables one to enjoy the fun and the beauty in everything that one engages in. If you are not enjoying it, you are not doing it right.