Conference+Reflection+2+by+Betül+İlhan

Another conference session I have watched is ‘Teaching young learners to think’ by Marion Williams. Actually, the reason for me to choose that session was not that I was attracted to its title but rather it was kind of an obligation for me. However, it turned out to be an interesting and great session that I really enjoyed and I believe that it enhanced my vision on teaching English. Marion starts with the reason why she is attracted to teaching thinking and English to children at the same time and she states that in traditional classrooms we always seek for the one right answer, yet in the real world there is no one best solution to problems and to be able to deal with those real life situations, the children need to acquire critical thinking skills. Then, she shows some questions, proving people do not think on most of the things in the world, from an interview of Times applied on a lot of people. She continues with some models of thinking. Afterwards she claims that there is danger of danger of removing cognitive challenge while trying to teach English and teaching thinking and English at the same time is significant which means challenging students cognitively while the language is accessible to them. In this way the whole person is educated. In thinking classrooms, the teacher does not only presents the materials and topics, but also s/he models the students. So, the teacher’s role as a scaffolder is essential. The students should be taught to focus on attention and they should use the language to solve a problem. Moreover, in those classrooms students are not rushed to reply a question; it is important to give them sufficient time to develop their thinking skills. The way she presents is excellent and really clear, to me. She provides her audience with solid examples to make the points more concrete. For instance, she asks the people there to find 10 ways to use a paper clip creatively and she utters that every answer is accepted. Then, she gives examples from the answers of young learners such as “we can use it as jewelry” etc. I totally agree with the speaker on all of her ideas. I believe that this approach can also improve the students’ imaginative skills because they do not have to find a standard solution to the problems in the classroom in which every idea is important and valid. For example, when I look back on the literature courses I have taken and in which the instructors asked questions such as “why did the writer use this simile here?” or “what does this figure symbolize?” it could have been very useful for me to have had such an education. I was always bad at such question because I could not think critically and imagine anything. On the other hand this approach may increase the students’ attendance to the classes and their confidence due to the fact that they will know that they will not evaluated by the teacher negatively on account of a wrong answer, in my opinion. Moreover, I feel that lessons covered this way can be much more attractive than traditional lessons because the topics address real life. I believe that this approach can be applied in all levels in Turkey comfortably with the help of some research on the area and the books about it. All in all, this session was really informative and enjoyable for me. I think every teacher candidate should watch it and be aware of such techniques. Furthermore, the book of Marion Williams provides very useful and helpful ideas for teachers of English and should be obtained by all of them. Betül İLHAN Reference: [] **COMMENTS:** **by TUĞÇE NUR BOZKURT** //Firstly, I want to thank Betül for sharing such an interesting session and her own ideas about this session also. Although I didn’t observe this session myself, Betul provided us a brief and clear summary of the session by mentioning about the points which she consider as important. I really like the idea of the presenter and her rationale behind choosing this field. // //The idea “there is no best single solution” in the classroom of young learners is brilliant one and I agree with Betul what she reflected about this presentation. I liked the concrete examples which are given by the presenter to support her claims and I think these examples are also helpful in terms of conveying what she is trying to explain in a brief and memorable way. // //I like the example which Betul gave about the literature classes she took. I did not think about these days until I read your comment. I think you are completely right, if we were encouraged to think critically and analytically rather than to think only to give the right answer we were more successful in our courses like literature. And, as a last point like Betul I think that this approach can be implemented and also should be implemented in all levels of education in Turkey. // 
 * REFLECTION ON AN IATEFL GLASGOW CONFERENCE **