THE MAZE METHOD

 

Lina Marcela Sánchez-Ríos

     

     In the traditional teaching methods, teachers explain concepts to the students with the help of chalks and blackboard, students make notes in their notebooks and then, they have to memorize them in order to pass the examination. On the other hand, in the modern teaching methods, there are a lot of modern gadgets which can be used for improving the teaching in the classroom, for example computers or laptops with wi-fi connection, LCD projectors and interactive blackboards. Both of them have its own pro and cons. However, it will be beneficial for our education system to combine both methods: traditional and modern for effective teaching as The Maze Method does.

      A maze is a tour puzzle and it is considered very difficult to solve because of its complex, confusing and ending pathways (many people thing to learn English is very difficult because of it structure, pronunciation, etc.) When people try to solve a maze, they can be frustrated or angry because of their incompetence (when people try to communicate in L2 they get irritated because they do not know some ways to do it - neither writing nor speaking ways). The problem is that people are always in a hurry and want to do things as fast as possible (an English institution which promise to learn English in ten days, for example). In those aspects, I consider teaching is like solving a maze. Nevertheless, can you imagine an English class in which students have specific tools to follow a path and find the objective without stress?

     As I said before, using the Maze method, teachers can teach the subject first through traditional methods and then can take the help of modern teaching methods for revising the subject. It means using the blackboard and LCD projectors simultaneously in a classroom. Teacher continues explaining the lesson using chalk and board, but now he shows videos or exercises online in order to clarify the lesson, vary the class and draw the attention of the students. However, the teacher is not the center of the class, students are. They participate during the explanation because they must be prepared for the topic before the class. Teacher encourages his students to explore and build their knowledge in order to contribute with the class. For instance, through debates or discussions about interesting topics, students can apply their existing knowledge and real-world experiences. It inspires students to follow their own path of knowledge and individual process. Vigotsky’s studies found that a student often accomplished new tasks while working in collaboration with an adult, but students have the opportunity to solve problems by their own criteria and to refine thinking and perform effectively.   Nevertheless, if students do not pay close attention to the instructions, they will be lost in a second as in a complex maze. For that, teachers have to create a perfect and positive environment where students feel themselves interesting and motivating.

      On the other hand, interaction is important in the Maze Method. According to Bruner, interactions among people play an important role in SLA because it builds the structure of the language - It focuses its attention in communication. In this case, teachers have to give the students the linguistic tools they need to learn a language – through movies, videos, music, chats or native people. In that way, students can only learn a language from someone who wants to communicate with them and become more familiar with the English language. Make mistakes is allowed in the Maze Method to avoid low self-esteem, anxiety, and others affective filters. Besides, if students learn that it is ok to make mistakes, they will be able to discover how to combine words and phrases to form full sentences and dialogues and they can be more participative and active.

      To sum up, the Maze method is an amazing way to change the English class, the use of traditional and modern methods permit teacher to improve their classes and motivate students to learn another language. Nowadays, students want to be surfing the web and not to be in front of a blackboard –although they need it, too.  Once you have in mind these, you become motivated by your progress and you start to see the benefits.

to read more, please visit my site at http://adrya69.blogspot.com/