YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS LEARNING ENGLISH LANGUAGE

TO a Malaysian, English language has never been foreign. This is so because the language has been around for a long time and is used in almost all kinds of communication. However, the attitude of the people towards the language makes it still a foreign language to some of us.

We actually do not have to learn it formally as we do now because our life comes into contact with English language in almost every sense, at every minute since our birth.

Among others are English songs aired by radio stations, English television programs, movies, albums, computer programs, magazines, advertisements, storybooks, newspapers, etc. You just name it. We have almost everything in English language.

Nevertheless, to ensure that it is learnt, this language is taught informally or formally as a subject as early as in day-care centers and kindergartens up to university level.

But why is English a difficult subject to some? The reason being, there is no specific cause for these people to learn it. This is due to the existence of a barrier drawn (what ever the reason might be) between you and the language even before you get engaged to it. Imagine, living in an English-exposed community. One has all the opportunity to pick up the language easily.

Honestly speaking, do we care? No! Not all of us do. Some of us choose to adopt attitudes like I could not be bothered, I am what I am and I do not wish to have anything to do with English, and we have our own language already, so, why should we learn other people's language. Others just pick up a few English words that they fancy only.

One can actually enjoy learn, and benefit, all, at the same time when it comes to learning English language.

If you doubt it, then you are at the losing end. It all comes down to attitude.

Your attitude towards the language.

Your attitude towards learning the language.

Your attitude towards the language teacher.

Your attitude towards school in general.

Your level of responsibility.

Now let's look at each of the factor above to see how you can enjoy, learn, and benefit when it comes to English Language.

Your attitude towards English language

First and foremost, what is English language to you? How would the language affect your life? Would you ever use the language? These questions and many more will determine the level of enjoyment, learning, and benefit one will acquire.

The Right Attitude.

Once you have the right attitude, then everything else will fall into its place. Learning will be easy, lessons will be enjoyed, and in the end you have a lot to benefit from the language.

Other people cannot give you the attitude needed. It comes within you. You need to look at the language positively. For Instance, it's important to know the language; it feels good to be able to use the language.

Your attitude towards learning the language

‘I’ want to be able to use the language.

To have a positive attitude towards the language is a good start to learning the language. The whole learning process would be much easier. You would not be shy to make mistakes as you understand that making mistakes is part of a learning process.

You would also be able to accept being laughed at, corrected by others, and other negative responses that might arise from people around you as a result of using the language.
The most important thing here is the urge to learn the language. Once you have this urge, you would be willing to go through it all. Sometimes, this urge might come initially by being forced into learning the language. Or, the urge might grow out of happenings and occurrence in life. The urge might also develop due to the language itself.

Your attitude towards the language teacher.

Respect and no ill feelings towards language teacher.

You might say this is rubbish but just imagine. Every week you will have at least 175 minutes or 5 periods of English language. If you dislike or disrespect the teacher, how would it go through the periods when the teacher is teaching? There are several alternatives. One, you can ignore the teaching. Two, you can pretend that you are listening but actually doing something else. Three, you can put down your head on the table and doze off. Four, you can create a fiesta in the class. Or, you can do a disappearing act. What ever it is that you do, it will just be a waste of time; not so much of the teacher's, but definitely a whole lot of yours.

As far as the language teacher is concerned, he is around with one objective in mind. To teach the language how ever he could. How he delivers the knowledge, depends on his style of teaching. Every teacher is different and therefore has his own style of teaching. Whilst, the approach he uses depends largely on his audience. There is no one best style or approach. We have to accept the fact that teachers are not superpowers. We are all human. Our mood changes according to the environment. Nevertheless, whatever is done in the classroom, it is done with good intentions. That is, at the end of the day, students should have learnt one or two language skills, if everything goes well.

External Force versus Internal desire

No teacher in the world can force you to learn the skills. Good teachers do not force knowledge onto their students. They impart it to the learners. There is so much that can be done by the teacher, but at the end of the day, it is all up to the students whether or not to participate positively in the lesson. In other words it all boils down to your attitude.

So here, it is crucial that students play their role. The role they play depends very much on their attitude towards the language itself and learning it. For instance, if you perceive English language as not important, then to you, learning the language is a sheer waste of time. Whatever work you produce is done out of routine sake i.e. to complete the work given by the teacher, full stop. In this case, you will not learn much. Worse still, if you refuse to do the tasks given. Of the latter, of course you will be bored to death.

What are your expectations of the teacher?

The task of teaching

It best not to have extraordinary hopes and expectation on your language teacher. Try putting yourself in his shoes. Each week of the schooling year, you are teaching 5 different classes of two or three different forms that require 5 different preparations over the night and not forgetting the fact that you have an average of 35 students per class totaling 175 students. And, you are given about 30 - 40 minutes or the most 70 – 80 minutes (double-period) per lesson to teach a foreign language, which should not have been too foreign after all considering the informal exposure in all means available around us.

What does a teacher do?

Students should not be selfish as to think only of himself. A teacher' s job is not just to teach you. It's a whole lot more. Being a teacher, his job does not stop the minute the students thank the teacher when the bell rings at the end of each lesson. After the classroom-teaching, there will be exercise books to check, preparations to make, compulsory clerical work, non teaching activities to attend to, to socialize among colleagues, and do not forget, teachers do have family, too. Again, teachers are not super heroes. They might not be your parent, but just someone else's mother or father and your English Language teacher, as well.

The teacher

The teacher gives, students take. No doubt there are variety of ways in giving or imparting knowledge, it all depends on the availability of time, materials, audience, occurrences that need ad hoc decisions, etc. It is an undeniable fact that each teacher, given all, will give his best to carry out his duty.

The students

Now, you make your own choice. To sit back and wait to be spoon fed by the teacher; to participate actively by doing your bits in the process of learning; to just switch off from whatever is going on in the classroom. The choice is yours. As far as being a student is concerned, the only barrier comes from within. There are no shortcuts. It is plain hard work generated by the on-going zeal to become better each day.

Your attitude towards school in general.

Reasons for schooling

Before you begin any lesson at school, ask yourself why do you come to school. Is it because your parents send you there every morning? Or, do you come to school to be with your friends? Or, being at school is better than at home listening to you mum's nagging? Or, you simply want to learn? Only you know why you go to school.

No matter what the students' reasons are, the teacher is ever ready to impart knowledge because that is his only reason for being at school, a place to give and impart formal education.

Your level of responsibility

Once you know the reason why you go to school, then you should know your responsibilities as a student. Among others, do the tasks given, take part in class activities, complete the homework, take initiative to do extra work in addition to the ones given, and last but not least, respect the teacher even if he is not up to one's personal Sirim inspection standard.
zuki