We have the habits of classical teaching. Although we are changing we still
need to get ready for it. The teacher cannot be replaced, but her function
can be changed. Instead of teaching, she can be a facilitator.
Most of them agreed with F in the fact that this change has already started. This
was made clear in their beliefs about learners (see section 6.1.3, p. 160). Others, like Gl,
think that they are ready for the change:
Gl: It may go against the Mexican culture but there are always changes
within a culture. It would be good if the student by herself wanted
to search, read, think, comment, argue. We are breaking something
in our culture. We have to change. If the teacher says something I do it.
Am I always going to depend on the teacher? Am I not a human being
capable of thinking, capable of making her own decisions without anybody else
telling me what to do? There comes the moment that you are fed up. and then
you do not wait for orders any more, you take the initiative.
However, for one of the participants, J, the self-direction that the SAC offers is
not very different to the way he has been studying since he started school:
J: I don't notice any difference. Since elementary school, I feel that I
have to study by myself. Most of the teachers in Mexico only say: "Study
this, I will see you the day of the exam"
In the next chapter, these views will be related to my own beliefs about task and
the way I put them into practice.
6.3 BELIEFS RELATED TO STRATEGY
This section refers to metacognitive knowledge about strategies, the third element
of Flavell’s classification. As it was stated before, this category, according to Flavell
refers to
knowledge that could be acquired concerning what strategies are likely to be
effective in achieving what subgoals and goals in what sorts of cognitive
undertakings (Flavell; 1979,907)
In particular, for Flavell, strategies are “procedures for getting from here to there in order
to achieve various goals” (Flavell; 1987,23). Therefore, this section deals with the beliefs
the participants reported about the way they Ieam a language. It is mainly based on the
content of individual sessions that were carried throughout the Oaxaca/97 project. The
main goal of these sessions was to reflect on the learners’ learning processes.