iTTi Baku – Afar Ibrahimov Interview

One of the most common reasons to become a teacher is to make a difference in the lives of as many students as you can.  I worked in different fields, but I was not satisfied with my life because I did not like the work I did.  I became a teacher because I loved the profession of teaching. A teacher is an educator. You learn a lot by teaching. The love of teaching inspired me to choose this profession. I started teaching and realized that this is something I want in my life because the class is one of the places where I feel most at home. Teaching gives me skills such as being creative, solving problems, making very good plans. Is there anything as good as teaching a person, giving them new horizons? You shape the future of a country with the information you give in the most beautiful school desks.  Although it has some difficulties, I am still in love with my profession. I feel energetic and happy when I start teaching. I have been teaching 5 or 8 hours a day and I never get tired but happy.

I have been teaching more than 12 years and there are many students are happy to take a lesson from me. One day, I was in my room busy with checking the student’s exam papers. One boy with his driver came into my room and the driver said: Hello teacher. We heard a lot about you and we decided this guy to learn English with you.  The guy was 14 years old, a little fat with reddish hair. I welcomed the driver and the guy started the general English lessons with me.  At first, he was hushed and seemed a very well-mannered boy. I started my classes and the guy loved every stage of the lessons. He wanted to join my intensive language classes. I was happy to hear that. One day he told me that he did not want to spend his time at home. He was happy to be at the iTTi Baku center. I was surprised and happy that I won a person.  I had intensive General English classes in the summer – 3 hours a day. The guy was very happy to join my classes. Suddenly I felt that when I start teaching he was chatting with someone outside. I became very suspicious about him and decided to learn who he was talking to. By the way, the boy’s family was rich. I have not met his father so far. One day I felt that he smells cigarettes. I truly understood that the boy got into a mess. I became his close friend in order to learn what he was doing. Making the long story short, he told me that he was talking to a girl who was 10 years younger than him. I told him, it is impossible because she was 10 years older than him.  The guy said to me, it is reality. My father is rich and I get money from my father for the name of education and spend it on my girlfriend. I told him to be careful, she is abusing you. You must focus on your education. You are too young. One day, he came to my lesson again and asked me for permission not to join the classes that day.  I said ok and after an hour I called his father and asked him to have a meeting. His father did not believe in what I said to him about his son and he ran out of my room at once. He kept the tab on his son and caught him with the lady at the seaside. They were taking alcohol.  I received a telephone calling from a father after 3 hours. He said to me, his son would not join any classes any longer. I did not know what was going on. I felt myself bad. I could not sleep at night.  After 5 days, the father came to my room and burst into tears.  He was very emotional. He thanked me a lot for saving his son’s life. He was not aware of what his son was busy with because father was busy with businesses. He hugged me and cried. I was very emotional too. Then the son came to me and promised he would study.  We are friends now and the boy is very successful in his lessons. I am jubilant that I saved a man’s life.

I always say, there are no students who cannot learn English; there are bad teachers who cannot teach English properly. I apply various methodologies for teaching. I apply Bloom’s taxonomy I learned from TESOL.  It is one of the best mythologies was developed to provide a common language for teachers to discuss and exchange learning and assessment methods.  The goal of an educator using Bloom’s taxonomy is to encourage higher-order thought in their students by building up from lower-level cognitive skills.  Depending on what skills I am teaching, I use different methodologies and apply ESA for all classes. For example,

Methods of Teaching Reading

The phonics method. This is a well-known and one of the best methods of teaching reading.

The whole-word approach. Often referred to as the ‘look and say’ method, the whole-word approach focuses on a learner’s ability to recognize whole words. …

The language experience approach. …

The context support method.

ESA – Engagement Study Activation

ENGAGE Part PRE-READING)

Title (Picture)

Brainstorming (Vocabulary/Idea)

Mini discussion

Teaching Essential words – MPF

STUDY (WHILE READING)

Gist Task

1.General easy questions

S-S

Report back

Detailed Task

1. Detailed questions

S-S

Report back

ACTIVATE (POST READING)

A1. Teaching non-essential words or working on the 

Personal response

Personalization

Mini discussion

Creating a different ending

I am very happy that my students are getting high scores after joining my classes. They never get bored when I use these methodologies effectively.

I always say, there are no students who cannot learn English; there are bad teachers who cannot teach English properly. I apply various methodologies for teaching. I apply Bloom’s taxonomy I learned from TESOL.  It is one of the best mythologies was developed to provide a common language for teachers to discuss and exchange learning and assessment methods.  The goal of an educator using Bloom’s taxonomy is to encourage higher-order thought in their students by building up from lower-level cognitive skills.  Depending on what skills I am teaching, I use different methodologies and apply ESA for all classes. For example,

Methods of Teaching Reading

The phonics method. This is a well-known and one of the best methods of teaching reading.

The whole-word approach. Often referred to as the ‘look and say’ method, the whole-word approach focuses on a learner’s ability to recognize whole words. …

The language experience approach. …

The context support method.

ESA – Engagement Study Activation

ENGAGE Part PRE-READING)

Title (Picture)

Brainstorming (Vocabulary/Idea)

Mini discussion

Teaching Essential words – MPF

STUDY (WHILE READING)

Gist Task

1.General easy questions

S-S

Report back

Detailed Task

1. Detailed questions

S-S

Report back

ACTIVATE (POST READING)

A1. Teaching non-essential words or working on the 

Personal response

Personalization

Mini discussion

Creating a different ending

I am very happy that my students are getting high scores after joining my classes. They never get bored when I use these methodologies effectively.

There are so many learning styles. The sooner you understand your learning style, the sooner you start learning to speak English and learn everything more quickly. My learning styles are kinesthetic, solitary (intrapersonal), and visual. Being a kinesthetic learner means you learn best by doing. I learn best when I process information while being physically active or engaged. I am not necessarily suited to the traditional classroom. I tend to learn best when I am physically active, or through learning activities that involve active participation. Apart from this, I am an interpersonal learner too. I like working alone. Not always, but this method of learning helps me sometimes. Sometimes I am more private, introspective, and independent. I can concentrate well, focusing my thoughts and feelings on my current topic. I am well aware of my own thinking, and I may analyze the different ways I think and feel. I spend time on self-analysis and often reflect on past events and the way I approached them. I take time to ponder and assess my own accomplishments or challenges. I may keep a journal, diary or personal log to record my personal thoughts and events. I feel that I know myself. I think independently, and I know my mind. I may have attended self-development workshops, read self-help books, or used other methods to develop a deeper understanding of myself. I prefer to work on problems by retreating to somewhere quiet and working through possible solutions. I may sometimes spend too much time trying to solve a problem that I could more easily solve by talking to someone. I like to make plans and set goals. I know my direction in life and work. I prefer to work for myself or have thought a lot about it. If I don’t know my current direction in life, I feel a deep sense of dissatisfaction. I am a visual learner too. I process information that I can see better than information that I hear. I prefer to read over listening and write over speaking aloud. I have a greater chance of remembering information that is presented to me in the form of graphics. I typically do well in a modern classroom setting. After all, there are just so many visuals in classrooms — whiteboards, handouts, photos, and so on. I am an excellent organizer and have a strong sense of color, and am very color-oriented.

As a teacher I sometime face up struggles, but there are ways to overcome and enjoy my career. While teaching is an extremely rewarding career, we all have our struggles from time to time. I want the best for each student that walks into my classroom. Trying to take care of the needs of 30+ students on a daily basis isn’t easy. At Have Fun Teaching, it is my mission to make teaching more fun for my learners.  Here are some struggles I face and try to overcome them. Some of them are, financial, time, struggling with negativity, classroom management, inspiring students to be more self-directed, getting students to do their work outside the classroom etc.

Many students have trouble with English, but some students find it more difficult than others. These may be otherwise bright students who have a keen sense of logic and reasoning but still perform poorly on homework, tests, and quizzes. Over time, repeated underperformance in English can cause a student to become demotivated and believe he or she is “stupid” or not good at the subject. Some students learn English easily, but it is a nightmare for some of them.  After 12 years of teaching English I would have to say that listening and speaking are the biggest problem for ESL students. A huge percentage of classroom material is written, mostly in the form of useless grammar exercises, (yes, useless). There is very little in the way of oral language instruction. Way, way, way too much emphasis is placed on learning grammar rules. All you need for proof of this is to look at the questions on this platform. Students have it drilled into their heads from day one that they must know the parts of speech and the passive voice. They study a lot but cannot speak fluently and really they need it. They face problems in speaking and listening because they study English in the class and after the class they speak their own language. They can’t find the proper environment to practice it. Students say that so many things make learning English difficult and confusing for them. Its grammar structure, its spelling, meanings and rules that contradict existing rules are difficult to master. But I tell them that remember that the situation is the same for English speakers trying to learn a foreign language

There are many new technologies I use in my classes such as social networking, online teaching, class blogs and wikis, podcasting, interactive whiteboards, and mobile devices, plastic glue white boards etc. There are many ways in which we can benefit from the new technologies being developed today.

Recent technological advances have affected many areas of our lives, including the way we communicate, collaborate, learn, and, of course, teach. The 21st-century teacher should be able to design students and use technology effectively. The teacher must be creative, collaborative and Flexible. The 21st-century teacher speaks only English with the students and does not explain grammatical rules.  Through the use of practical examples, they guide students to recognize the rule.

These are the characteristics of a 21st Century Teacher:

• Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity so that all students achieve in a global society.
• Enable students to maximize the potential of their formal and informal learning experiences.
• Facilitate learning in multiple modalities.
• Work as an effective member of learning teams.
• Use the full range of digital-age tools to improve student engagement and achievement.
• Work with their students to co-create new learning opportunities.
• Use data to support student learning and program improvements.
• Be lifelong learners.

The 21st century is a time period in which digital technologies develop, change, and spread rapidly. Digital technologies have settled in many areas of our lives and have become an indispensable part. A growing generation with this technology grows in an environment where these developments are experienced. Performing its works with digital technology in many stages of its life, this generation will, of course, differ from the previous generations. “Creativity is as important in education as literacy and we should treat it with the same status.” – Sir Ken Robinson, 2013. 21st-century students need to be able to think creatively, work creatively with others, and also implement innovation in their everyday lives. This means that students need to be capable of developing creative solutions to the many problems and challenges that they may face and that the 21st century brings. Students need to be able to think creatively, develop new ideas that are entwined with originality and inventiveness, and demonstrate imagination and curiosity in their learning. Students of the 21st century ought to comprehend and expand his abilities with innovation utilized in the homeroom and their general surroundings. Through this they would find out about innovation and learn through innovation, what’s more, can choose the most fitting instruments to address specific needs.

The twelve 21st Century student’s skills are:

1. Critical thinking
2. Creativity
3. Collaboration
4. Communication
5. Information literacy
6. Media literacy
7. Technology literacy
8. Flexibility
9. Leadership
10. Initiative
11. Productivity
12. Social skills

These skills are intended to help students keep up with the lightning-pace of today’s modern markets. Each skill is unique in how it helps students, but they all have one quality in common.

Artificial intelligence does very well and will continue to provide many benefits for our modern world, but it will inevitably have negative consequences along with the benefits. The flood of imaginative learning models and innovations, for example, instructive programming, artificial intelligence, has changed the job of instructors, making a move in the showing strategies and changing the study hall. The success of humanity in developing effective artificial intelligence may be the best turning point in the history of civilization. Or worst! Therefore, I do not know whether we can benefit or be deprived of artificial intelligence in an unlimited way. Thanks to Artificial Intelligence Technology, there will be many jobs that machines will take over. Similarly, the development of drones with Artificial Intelligence, robotic swarms to attack distant points, or the spread of diseases by Nanorobot may be a new form of terrorism. This technology is significant in understanding educational patterns and suggesting variations in the teaching methods too.