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Jim Scrivenet
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Classroorns at work
'.'itffiflld<. classroomsnapshots
A f r i e n dw h o k n o w sn o t h i n ga b o u t l a n g u a g et e a c h i n gh a s a s k e dy o u t o d e s c r i b ea
s n a p s h o to f a t y p i c a lm o r n e n ti n a l a n g u a g ec l a s s r o o m a p i c t u r et h a t c a p t u r e st h e
l o o k ,t h e a t m o s p h e r et,h e l e a r n e r s m
' o o d ,t h e t e a c h e r ' sa t t i t u d e ,e t c . W h a tw o u l d
y o u r i n s t a n ts n a p s h o ts h o w ?
different
classes
In my own teaching career,I have lbund that one of the most useful things is
simply to u'atch other people teach. I often take away tangible things from this
observation, such as ideas for specific activities, the pace they work at or a
particular 'something' that the teacher said or did. Over the years, I find that I have
incorporated a lot from this into my orvn teaching.
Some aspects oflessons can be difficult to interpret. Sometimes I feel that the
atmosphere in a room is excellent or tiat the class is particularly engaged or
working in a distinctively autonomous manner. But it isn't always easy to work out
how these apparently 'natural' things have been aclfeved.
One thing I have concluded over the years is that much of the'magic'that makes a
good lesson (often attributed purely to 'natural' skill or 'personality') is something
that is almost al$'ays acl.rievedby very specific actions, comments and atritudes even when the teacher isn't alvare of what he or she has done. And because ofthis.
lve can study thcse things and learn from them.
Task1.2 Differentlessons
R e a dt h e f o l l o w i n gl l r i e fs n a p s h o td e s c r i p t i o n so f m o m e n t sf r o m d i f f e r e n tl e s s o n s
i n d i f f e r e n tl o c a t i o n s .
W hi c h o n e ( i f a n y )i s m o s t l i k e h o w y o u s e e y o u r s e l fa s a t e a c h e r ?A r e t h e r e a n y
c h a r a c t e r i s t i cos r a p p r o a c h e sy o u f i n d i n t e r e s t i n ga n d w o u l dl i k et o u s e y o u r s e l f ,
or would reject?
Chapter1 Startingout
Classroorn 1:Andrea
at work
1 Classrooms
Classroom 3: Lee
t"iF*l I.ifrt'i l
ffilffi!
Chapter1 Startingout
classes
1:
2 Whatis a teacher?
What is a teacher?
Languagelearnersdon't alwaysneedteachers.-fhe1'can set about learning in a
variet_v
of ways.Somelearn by studying on their orvn at home w-ithbooks,CDs,
DVDs, e-rvorkbooks,
computerprogramsand soonl othersseemto'pick up'a
languagejust b1'living and communicating in a placervherethe languageis used
(this is known asimrnersion).
Ofcourse, many studentsdo learn in classesu,ith other studentsand a teacheru'hetherthat's a classthey choseto come to (for examplc,at a languageschool) or
maybea classthel' wererequircd to attend (such asin a high school).And much
'picking it up'
languagelearningrvill involveelemcntsofall threervays:self-stud-v,
and classroomlvork.
But, ifit's possibleto Iearnsuccessfullywithout a teacher,then what difference
doeshaving a teachermake to the learning process?!rhl'do somepeoplepa-vto
havea teachcr?Whatdo studentsexpectfrom them?To put it blund]', what on
earth are teachersfor'?Ifyou are (or are planning to be) a teacher,it's important
to considersuchbasicquestions.
Remembering
teachersyou haveknown
T h i n kb a c kt o s o m e t e a c h e r s( o f a n y s u b j e c t )y o u h a v e h a d i n y o u r l i f e .W h a td o
y o u r e m e m b e ra b o u tt h e m a n d t h e i r e s s o n s ?T h e t e a c h e r ' sm a n n e r ?H o wy o u
f e l t i n t h e i r p r e s e n c e ?C a ny o u r e c a l la n y s p e c i f i cl e s s o n s ?S p e c i f i ct e a c h i n g
t e c h n i q u e s ?W h a t i t w a s l i k et o b e a s t u d e n ti n t h a t r o o m ?W h a tw o r d s o r
phrases characterisethe atmosphereof the classes (eg positive, encouraging,
boring, friendly,like an interrogation,sarcastic, humorous, respectful,scary,
ou iet\?
T o w h a t e x t e n td o y o u t h i n k y o u r p e r s o n a si t y l ea s a t e a c h e ri s b a s e dt o s o m e
d e g r e eo n t h e s e r o l e m o d e l s ?
\flhen I started teaching,I found that my basic image ofrvhat a teacher's job rvas
and ho$. a teacher should behave rverc drau,n largely from what I had seen my
o\\ n teachers doing. These internal images rvere quite deeply held and quite hard
to challenge. Any tcacher starting out needs to check if they have inbuilt
assumptions about teaching from this exposure to hours and hours ofobserving
your own teachers at rvork.
Ifyou think about it, you have u'atched and experienced an arvful lot ofteaching
being done to you - and this can often remain a subde and deep-scated influence.
rWhether lve acknor'vledgc it or not, much of our view of tvhat a teacher is and u'hat
a teacher should do can often be traced back to these many years oflesson
obsen'ation from thc pupil's seat. Sadl]', a lot of the teaching that has left a deep
rmpresslon on us was not necessarily very good teaching. As rvell as some
excellent teachcrs, most ofus have probably seen examples oftcachers lvho r,vere
b o r i n g . u n - k i n di.n c o mp c lc n l . \ i t r c a s L i o
cr inepL.
13
Chapter1 Startingout
'Entertainer'
teaching
teaching
Traditionalteaching
List some ofthese characteristicfeatures oftraditional teaching (eg Where does
the teacher stand / sit? How are students seated? How is the class managed?).
W h a td o y o u t h i n k a r e t h e d i s a d v a n t a g eosf a t r a d i t i o n atle a c h i n ga p p r o a c hf o r
l a n g u a g et e a c h i n ga n d l e a r n i n g ?
'Traditional'
2 Whatis a teacher?
your choiceof methodologyis not simply a m'atterof what you beliet'eto be best,
imposed at any cost,but itis alsoabout what is appropriatein a particular place
with particular people.lfhat you do in any schoolor with any learnerwill often
representyour best compromisebetweenwhat you believeand what seemsright
in the local context.Youthen havethe interestingpossibilityofstardng to
persuadeyour colleaguesand studentsto your ideas. . . or maybelearning from
them about why their approacheswork better.
The processby which traditional teachingis imagined asworking is somedmes
'jug and mug' - the knowledgebeing poured from one receptacle
characterisedas
into an empty one.It is often basedon an assumptionthat the teacheris the
'knower'and has the task ofpassing over knowledgeto the students,and that
having somethingexplainedor demonstratedto you wi.lllead to learning- and if it
doesn't,it is becausethe teacherhas done this job badly or the studentis lazy or
incompetent.
In many circumstances,lectureor explanationby a teachermay be an efficient
method of informing a largenumber ofpeople about a topic. However,if our own
educationalexperiencehasmainly beenof this approach,then it is worth pausing
for a minute and questioningwhether this is indeedthe most effectiveor efficient
'explainers'at
most teacherswill needto be good
teachingmethod.\X/hereas
variouspoints in their lessons,a teachingapproachbasedsolelyor mainly on this
techniquecan be problematic.
The irnportance
of rapport
15
Chapter1 Startingout
:Wi*Sit
Creatinga positivelearningatmosphere
F i g u r e1 . 1 l r s t ss o m e f e a t u r e st h a t m a y b e i m p o r t a n ti n c r e a t i n ga p o s i t i v e
. e c i d ew h i c hi t e m s a r e i n b o r n
r e l a t i o n s h i pa n d a p o s i t i v el e a r n i n ga t m o s p h e r e D
a n d w h i c hc o u l db e w o r k e do n a n d i m p r o v e d .
I n a p o s i t i v el e a r n i n ga t m o s p h e r et h e t e a c h e r. . .
reallylie'enola
hls/ hersludenr,s
ehowsre7?acL
naea qooasense
of ht)rnoL)r
clearara
Olveo
?oeiLivefeeAback
is,byand arge,
ly her/ hlmself
insplree
confidence auNhenlica
ie?atren'
non-ludAeffientral
ern?alhiseowilh
oludente' ?robleYne
t r u s t a? e o ? l e
doeenol complicale
lhinqounneccegsa(ily
iswellorganised
ieapproachable
igenLhusiaslic
ana
ing?iree
enlhuoiaeffl
canbeaDlhariLative
withaulbeinqdiolant
Arguable maybe, but I rvould say that all ofthese are drings that can be studied
and improved on. Some are more difficult than others.
Ofcourse, although it's a good start, a positive learning atmosphere isn't
everything. Being jokey, chatt] and easygoing docsn't necessarily lead to good
teaching - one of my teachers was very fricndly and funnr', but his lessons ended
up in confusion. Contrastingll', lcssons from one of the quieter, more scrious
teachers were often very memorable.This is simply the first building block of
teaching, but it's an important one.
Respect,
ernpathy
and authenticity
Carl Rogers, t1.reAmerican psychologist, suggested that there are three core
teacher characteristics that help to create an effcctive learning environment. These
are respect (a positive and non-judgemental regard 1br another person), empathy
(being able to seethings from the other person's perspective, as iflooking through
2 Whatis a teacher?
their eyes)and authenticity (being oneselfwiihout lxding behind job titles,roles
or masks).
\?hen a teacherhas thesethree qualities,the relationshipswithin the classroom
are likely to be stronger and deeper,and communication betweenpeople much
more open and honest.The educationalclimate becomespositive, forwardIooking and supportive.The learnersare able to work with lessfear oftaking
risks or facing challenges.In doing this, they increasetheir own self-esteemand
self-understanding,gradually taking more and more of the responsibility for
their own Iearning themselvesrather than assumingthat it is someone
else'sjob.
Rogersand Frelberg (1994) consideredthat, out ofthese three teacher
characteristics,authenticitywasthe most important. To be yourself.Not to play
the role of a teacher,but to takethe risk of being vulnerableand human and
honest.Gaie Houston (1990) haswritten that'The foundation ofrapport is to
learn yourselfenoughthat you know what styleyou haveand when you are being
truthful to yourself.'
Although there are somepracticaltechniquesyou can learn to improve your
communicationwith others,real rapport is somethingmore substantialthan a
techniquethat you can mimic. It is not somethingyou do to other people.It is you
and your moment-by-moment relationshipwith other human beings.Similarly,
respector empathyor authenticityare not clothesto put on asyou walk into the
classroom,not temporary characteristicsthat you take on for the duration ofyour
'respect'- or any ofthe other qualities.On the
lesson.Youcannot role play
contrary,they are rooted at the level ofyour genuineintentions.
In order to improve the quality of our own relationshipin the classroom,we do not
needto learn new techniqueslwe needto look closelyat what we reallywant for
our students,how we really feel about them. It is our attitude and intentionsrather
than our methodologythat we may needto work on.
Having said all that, it alsosuggeststhat I can't teachyou how to do this in a book.
For this reason.the main subiectmatter of the book concernsthe more technical
aspectsof creatinga successfulclass.
Three kinds ofteacher
There are obviouslymany waysofteaching, and part of the enjoymentofbeing a
student in a good classroomis in sharingthe unique personalidentity, style,skills
and techniquesthat a teacherbrings to a lesson.
Having saidthat, it sometimesgivesthings a clearerperspectiveif we simplify
rather than complicate.Adrian Underhill has suggestedthat there may be three
broad categoriesofteaching styles(summarisedin Figure 1 2).
The explainer
Many teachersknow their subjectmafter very well, but havelimited knowledgeof
'explaining' or
teachingmethodology.Thiskind ofteacher reliesmainly on
'lecturing'as a way of conveyinginformation to tle students Done with styleor
enthusiasmor wit or imagination,this teacher'slessonscan be very entertaining,
interestingand informative.The studentsare listening,perhapsoccasionally
answeringquestionsand perhapsmaking notes,but are mostly notbeing
17
Chapter1 Startingout
l\y'ethodology
P e op l e
Explainer
tnvotver
Enalller
18
3 Teaching
andlearning
readingthis book- and the book is mainly gedredtowardsgiving you information,
ideas,options and starting points that may help you reachthat goal.Essentially,
therefore,this is a book about methodology.Throughoutthe book, I havealso
tried to keepin mind the important skills,qualities,valuesand techmques
associatedwith the 'enabling'teacherand to give guidanceand information that
may influenceyour role and relationshipsin the classroom.
When I think back on my own experiencesof being taught, it is the teaching
techniquesthat I rememberleast.I certainly rememberteacherswho made
subjectmatter come alive,through their greatknowledgeand enthusiasm.But the
teacherI recallwith most pleasureand respectwas the one who listenedto me,
who encouragedme, who respectedmy own views and decisions.Curiously,this
teacherwho helpedme most wasthe one who actuallydid least,teaching'of the
subjectmafter and was,seemingly,technique-free,being basically,himself, in
class.My memoriesof his lessonsare of what I did, rather than what he did, of mv
learning rather than his teaching.
ffi
Explainer,
involvel,enabler
T h i n ko f s o m e p e o p l ey o u h a v eb e e nt a u g h tb y i n t h e p a s t . W h i c ho f t h e t h r e e
d e s c r i p t i o n sa b o v eb e s t s u i t s e a c h o n e ?T h i s m a y g i v ey o u s o m e i d e a a b o u tw h i c h
i m a g e so f t e a c h i n gy o u h a v e b e e ne x p o s e dt o a n d i n f l u e n c e db v .
learning cycle
doing something;
recallingwhat happened;
reflecting on that;
drawing conclusionsfrom the reflection;
using thoseconclusionsto inform and preparefor future practical experience.
Chapter1 Startingout
..(o{""t'"u
cb, I Prepa
soldqaexf,
tlodd$9
Figure1.4 Teaching
andtheexperiential
learning
cycle
This cycle,known asan experientiallearning cycle,suggestsa number of
conclusionsfor languageteachingin the classroom.For example:
. Ifthis cycle doesrepresenthow peoplelearn,then the 'jug-and-mug'
explanation-basedapproachmay be largelyinappropriate if it dominates
classroomtime. Giving peopleopportunities to do things themselvesmay be
much more important.
. I may becomea better teacherif I worry lessabout teachingtechniquesand uy
to makethe enablingof learningmy main concern,ie the inner circle of the
diagramrather than the outer one.
. I needto ensurethat I allow my studentspractical experiencein doing things
(eg in using languagerather than simply listeningto lecturesabout language).
. It may be that being over-helpfulasa teachercould get in the way oflearning. I
cannot learn for my students.Themore I do myself,the lessspacethere will be
for the learnersto do things.
. It may be useful to help studentsbecomemore awareabout how they are
learning,to reflect on this and to explorewhat procedures,materials,
techniquesor approacheswould help them learn more effectively.
. It's OK for studentsto make mistakes,to try things out and get things wrong
and learn from that . .. and that's true for me asa 'learning teacher'aswell.
One fundamental assumption behind this book and the teaching approaches
suggestedin it is that people learn more by doing things themselvesrather than
by being told about them.This is true both for the studentsin your classesand
for you, asyou learn to be a better teacher.This suggests,for example,that it
may be more useful for a learner to work with others and role play ordering a
meal in a restaurant (with feedbackand suggestionsofuseful language)than it
would be to listen to a hfteen-minute explanation from the teacherofhow to do
it correctlv.
20
3 Teaching
andlearning
A secondassumptionis that leamers are intelligent, fully functioning humans,
not simply receptaclesfor passed-onknowledge.Learning is not simply a
one-dimensionalintellectual activity, but involvesthe whole person (asopposedto
only their mental processessuch astl.inking, remembering, analysing,etc).\(/e can no
longer be content witll the image of the student asa blank slate.Studentsmay bring
pen and paper to the lesson,but they alsobring a whole range of other, lessvisible
things to class:their needs,their wishes,dreir Iife experience,thei-rhome background,
their memories,their worries, their day sofar, their dreams,their anger,fieir
toothache,their fears,their moods, etc. Given the opportr.ruties,they will be ableto
make important decisionsfor themselvesJ
to takeresponsibility for their leaming and
to move forward (although their previous educationalexperiencemay initially
predisposethem to expectingthat you, the teacher,needto do all that for them).
New learning is constructedover the foundations ofour own earlierlearning.\fe
make use ofwhatever knowledgeand experiencewe alreadyhavein order to help
us Iearnand understandnew things.Thus the messagetaken awayfrom any one
Iessonis quite different for different people.The new learninghasbeen planted in
quite different seedbeds.Thisrs true both for your learnersmeeting a new tense
in classand for you readingthis paragraphand reviewingit in the light of your
own previous experienceand knowledge.Youcan checkthis out for yourself.Is
the information you are frnding in this book being written in your head on a sort of
'blank slate' is
or it connectingin somemanner with your previousknowledge,
ideas,thoughts,prejudices?
The two assumptionslisted aboveinform my teaching.Theyremind me that my
'performance'asa teacher
is only one,possiblyminor, factor in the learning dlat
might occur.They remind me that someof the teachingI do might actually
prevent learning.They remind me that teachingis, fundamentally,about working
with people- and about remaining aliveto the many difierent things that go on
when peoplehack their own path through the iungle towardsnew learning.
Although this book concentratesmainly on teachingtechniques,it is important to
bear in mind that knowledgeofsubject matter and methodologyare,on their own,
insufhcient.A greatdeal ofteaching can be done with thosetwo, but I would
suspectthat the total learningwould not be asgreat asit could be.However,an
awareand sensitiveteacherwho respectsand listensto her students,and who
concenffateson finding waysofenabling learningrather than on performing asa
teacher,goesa long way to creatingconditionsin which a greatdealoflearning is
likely to take place.Methodology and knowledgeof subjectmafter are imponant,
but may not necessarilybe the most important things.
Ife neverknow how much 'learning' is taking place.It is tempting to imagine that
if teachingis going on, then the learning must be happening;but in fact, 'teaching'
and 'learning' needto be clearlydistinguished.
Here is the great and essentialformula (one that all teachersshould probably
remind themselvesof at leastoncea davl):
T+L
'Teaching'does
not equal'learning'.Teachingdoesnot necessarilylead to
learning.The fact that the hrst is happeningdoesn't automaticallymean the other
must occur.Learning- ofanyd-ring,anywhere- demandsenergyand attention
from the learner.One person cannot learn an1'thingfor anyoneelse.It has to be
21
Chapter1 Startingout
Ah- eomeofLhat,
rnakes5en9enow.
eelinq.
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l ' m n o t i n v o l vaetda l l .
I wonderifJenny
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eaid
golmyf,ext,meeeaqe.
an$hinOforhoure.
l'dratrherdo
eomelhinTdifferent..
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andnowhe5
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qoingtroo
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Figure 1.5
lL'ean interestinq
eubiecL
Y u pq, o t i I : n o wl ' d l i k e
trotrryiLmyeelf.
3 Teaching
andlearning
Perhapssomestudentsare listeningand tryini to follow the explanations(but
only one of them is ableto relateit to her own experiences);someother students
are making detailednotes,but not really thinking about the subject;one person is
listening and not really understandinganything;one (having missedthe previous
lesson)thinks that the teacheris talking about somethingcompletelydifferent;
three studentsare daydreaming;one is writing a letter; etc.
Here, the teachingis only one factor in what is learned.Indeed,teachingis actually
rather lessimportant than one might suppose.As a teacher,I cannotlearn for my
students.Only they can do that.\(/hat I can do is help createthe conditions in
which they might be ableto learn.This could be by respondingto someof the
student complaintsabove- perhapsby involving them, by enablingthem to work
at their own speed,by not giving long explanations,by encouragingthem to
participate,tal( interact,do things, etc.
How useful are explanations?
Languagelearning,especially,seemsnot to beneht very much from long
explanations.If the explanationis done in the languagebeing learned,then there
is an immediateproblem; learnershave- by definition - limited understandingof
this new language,and thereforeany lengthy or difficult explanationin the 'target
language'will be likely to be more difhcult for them than the thing being
explained.And evenif the explanationis done in their nativetongue,explanations
about how languageworks,while of somevalue,seemto be most useful in fairly
briefhints, guidelinesand corrections;languagelearnersdo not generallyseemto
be ableto makeuse of complex or detailedinformation from lengthy 'lectures',
not in the sameway that, say,a scientistmight make activeuse of understanding
gainedfrom a theoreticaltalk.Ability to use a languageseemsto be more ofa skill
you learn by trying to do it (akin to playing football or riding a bicycle) than an
amounrofdata that you learnand then try ro apply.
Languagelearnersseemto need a number of things beyond simply listeningto
explanations.Amongst other things,they needto gain exposureto
comprehensiblesamplesoflanguage (not just the teacher'smonologues)and they
need chancesto play with and communicatewith the languagethemselvesin
relativelysafeways.If any ofthese things are to happen,it seemslikely that
classroomworking styleswill involve a number of different modesand not just an
upfront lectureby the teacher.Ofcourse, a lot ofteaching work will involve
standingand talking to (or with) students,but a teachingstylethat predominandy
usesthis techniqueis likely to be inappropnate.
Studentsneedto talk themselves;they needto communicatewith a variety of
people;they needto do a variety of different language-relatedtasks;rhey need
feedbackon how successfulor not their attemptsat communicationhavebeen,
So what's a teacherfor? Short answer:tohelp learning to happen.Methodology,
such aswe discussin this book, is what a teacherusesto try and reachthat
challenginggoal.
Leamers'expectations of teachets
lmagine
t h a ty o ua r ea b o u t o s t a r ts t u d y i n ag n e wl a n g u a gien a c l a s sw i t ho t h e r
b e g i n n e r sC.o n s i d eyro u re x p e c t a t i os no f t h et e a c h e r ' sr o l e .W h a ta r es o m eo f t h e
g e n e r atlh i n g ss h ec a nd o t o a s s i s ty o u rl e a r n i n g ?
23
Chapter
1 Starting
out
21
Phonological
Lexical
Pass= give;handover;present
me = referenceto speaker
the book = oqecl madeof paper,containingwords and/or pictures
and conveyinginformation
Grammatical
Verb(imperative)
+ firstpersonobjectpronoun
+ definitearticle+
noun
Functional
A requestor order
Discoursal
Although
nota directtransparent
answerto the request,wecan
stilldrawa meaning
fromthisreply.Thewordit, referring
to the
book,helpsusto makea connection
to the request.Assuming
that
putit in herbagis intended
l\4ary's
as a genuineresponse
to the
request,it maysuggesta reasonwhythe bookcannotbe passed
(egI can'tbecauseMarytookthe bookwrthher).In orderto fully
understand
the meaning,
wewouldneedto knowmoreaboutthe
situational
context(iewhois talking,where,etc.)andmoreabout
(iewhatknowledge
the surrounding
conversation
is assumed
to be
knownor sharedbetween
the speakers).
ffi&
Recognising
tanguage
systems
t h e c o n s t r u c t i ocna n+ p r o n o u n
the meaningof playandguitar
variations,eg strong/kan jur/ vs weak/kanj a/, stresson gultar,etc.
a s k i n ga b o u ta b i l i t y
t y p i c aql u e s t i o n - a n d - r espelqyu e n c ecso n t a t n i nt gh i s l a n g u a g e
a
b
c
d
e
functron
di s c o u r s e
lexts
grammar
pronunciation
Answels
Ld 2c 3e
4a
5b
25
Chapter1 Startingout
Distinguishing
languagesystems
Answels
o w esl o u n d )
I G 2 F 3 L 4 G / P 5 F 6 P ( c h a n g i nv g
7 P ( c h a n g i n g w osr d
t r e s s /) L 8 G
Language skills
As well asworking with the languagesystems(which we can think of aswhat we
know, ie 'up-in-the-head'knowledge),we alsoneedto pay anention to what we do
with language.Theseare the languageskills.Teachersnormally think ofthere
being four important macro languageskills:listening,speaking,reading,writing.
Listening and readingare calledreceptive skills (the readeror listenerreceives
information but doesnot produce it); speakingand writing, on the other hand, are
the productive skills. Skillsare commonly usedinteractivelyand in combination
rather than in isolation,especiallyspeakingand listening.It's arguablethat other
things (eg thinking, using memory and mediating) are alsolanguageskills.
Languagesystems
Knowtng
Languageskills
dorng
Phonology
LEXIS
Grammar
Function
Discourse
Productive
Receptive
Speaking
Writing
R ea di n g
Listening
26
Listening
. Understandingthe gist of what is heard egV/ho is talking?
\Whereare they?$?hatare r.heydoing?What is their
relationshio?How do thev feel?
4 Thesubjectmatterof ELT
preciseirlformationre.quanrity,
Understanding
referencenumbers,prices,etc when listeningto a
businesstelephonecall where a clientwants to placean
order.
Compensatingfor words and phrasesnot heard clearly
in an informal pub conversationby hypothesisingwhat
they are,basedon understandingofthe content of the
rest ofa conversationand predictionsoflikely content.
Many of the skills that we havein our own native languageare dtectly transferableto
a foreignlanguage.But we do needpracticein a number ofareas.For example,
I know how I listen to a weatherforecastin my own language:I only halfJisten until I
hear the forecasterrnention my part of the country, then I 'switch on' and concentrate
to catch t-hekey phrasesabout it, then switch off again.But when I listen to a weatJrer
forecastin a foreign country in a different language,I will haveproblems, evenifl
know all the words and all the grammar the forecasteruses.Trying to decipher words
in the seerninglyfast flow of speech,trying to pick out what is important and what is
not, is a skill that needsto be practised;it is work that needsattention in its own righ!
quite apart from the study ofthe grarnmar and vocabulary involved.
The importance
of skills work
Chapter1 Startingout
Changes of emphasis
Traditionally,languageteachingin many countriesconcentratedon grammar and
vocabularyreinforcedby reading and writing.The readingand rvriting rvas
primarily to help teachthe grammar and vocabular,vrather than to help improve
the students'skillsin reading or writing. In dle twentieth centur)',teaching
approachesbasedmainly around oral languagepracticethrough repetition and
drilling were alsou'idely used.Until the 1960s,a lot ofcourseswcre basedon
mainly grammaticalsyllabuses,but in dre late 1970sand 1980s,a number of
grouping languageby the
coursesand coursebooksuseda functional s-vllabus,
purposefor rvhich it could be used (eg the languageofgreeting or ofapologising).
Nowadays,most interestis expressedin rvork on all languagesystemsand skills,
particularly emphasisinglistening and speaking(becausein everydaylife we often
do far more speakingand listeningthan we do reading and u'riting). Grammar is
typically still the languagesystemthat featuresmost prominently on coursesand
in coursebooks- and, at lower levels,is alsothe areathat man,vstudentssa-vthe]'
want or expectto study in most detail.Often coursebooksteachgrammar with an
emphasison communication of meaningrather than purel-vmechanicalpractice
Despite the continuing predominanceof grammar, the implications of a more
havingan
lexicallyorientedview oflanguage(seepage185) areincreasinglv
impact on material and task design.Thegrowing influence of the Common
EuropeanFramell'ork hasencouragedcoursedesigners,teachersand examiners
to increasinglyseesuccessfulcommunication in real-rvorldtasksasa more
important goal than that ofaccurate languageuse.
ffi,
systemsandskills
Balancing
. h a t b a l a n c eo f s y s t e m sa n d s k i l l sw o u l dm a k e a
H e r ea r e t w o t e a c h i n gs i t u a t i o n s W
u s e f u lc o u r s ef o r t h e s e l e a r n e r s ?
I
2 A g r o u po f t h r e e u n d e r g r a d u a tsec i e n c es t u d e n t sh a v ee n r o l l e df o r a n E n g l i s h
c o u r s ea t a l a n g u a g es c h o o li n t h e C z e c hR e p u b l i cT. h e yk n o wn o E n g l i s ha t a l l
The Japaneselearner clearly needs a lot ofu'ork on the skills oflistening and
speaking. As she knows a lot of grammar, the course could concentrate on
helping her activate this passive knorvledge; the main thrust of the work could
be on realistic listening and speaking activities to promote fluency and improve
communicative abilities.
Most beginners need a balanced course that introduces them to the five
systems and four skills. In their future careers, these science learners ma1'
well need to read and write English quite a lot, but may also need to visit other
I
28
4 Thesubjectmatterof ELT
countries,Iistento conferencespeeches(and give them), greetvisiting
scientists,etc.If they are likely to meet English-speakingpeoplesoon,it might
be sensibleto focus on speakingand listening,alongsidework to help them read
and write more effectively.
The communicative
Recognisingskills ol systemsaims
systemsandskills,though,
someworkon bothlanguage
Everyactivityis likelyto involve
list,classiry
usually,
the aimis directedmoreto oneareathanthe other.ln thefollowing
'mainlysystems'bytickingthe appropriate
box.Then
eachactivityas 'mainlyskills'or
systemsarebeingworkedon.
decidewhichskillsorwhichlanguage
N4
ainly
systems
Mainly
skills
29
Chapterl Startingout
In activiry 1, the studentsdo read and write, but use few of the skillsthat we need
when we read and write in our normal life. Certainly,comprehendingthe
teacher'shandwriting and forming one'sown letterson the pagemay be quite
demandingfor somestudents(especiallyfor thosewhosenativelanguagedoes
not useroman script), butbeyond tlls, the activity'smain demandis on using
grammar correct-ly.
Activity 2 involvesthe skillsofreading and speakingin waysvery similar to those
in the outsideworld.Vocabularyand grammar will be encounteredin the reading,
but the main aim is for understandingrather than analysisand study.Compare
this with activity 3, where the samematerialis used,bur now with a specific
grammar aim. Comparethen with activities5 and 6, and 8 and 9.The aim in
activity 4 is to encouragefluent speaking.Theaim in activity 7 is to teach some
vocabulary,and the speakingand listeningand writing involved are ofless
importance.
Other areas tJrat are part oflanguage learning
The map oflanguagesystemsand languageskillsis useful to keepin rnind asan
overviewofthe subjectmatter ofEnglish languageteaching.However,it may well
be an over-simplihcation.Elsewheretn this book, you'll come acrosssome doubts
about it (for example,when we askif grammar is more fruitfirlly viewed asa 'skill'
studentsneedpracticein using rather than asa'system'to learn). And, ofcourse,
there is more to English languageteachingthan simply the languageitself:
. Studentsmay be learning new ways oflearning: for example,specificstudy
skillsand techniques.
. They will alsobe learning about the other peoplein their class,and exploring
waysof interacting and working with them.
. They may be learning about themselvesand how they work,learn, get on with
other people,copewith stress,etc.
. They may be learning a lot about the culture ofthe countrieswhoselanguage
u,s] arc rruuyurts.
. They may be learninghow to achievesomespecificgoal,for examplepassing
an exam,making a businesspresentationat an upcoming conference.
. They may alsobe learning about alrnostanlthing else.The subjectmatter of
ELI can encompassall topics and purposesthat we use languageto dealwith.
Many teachersseemto becomequite knowledgeableon the environment,
businessprotocol, the British educationsystem,desertsurvival techniques,etc.
This is probably what keepsthe job interesting!Some coursebooktexts seemto
achievenearlylegendarystatusamongstteachers!(Ask a teacherwho's beenin
the businessa few yearsif they know anything about a nun calledSister!(endy!)
If we start using English in classto do more than simplemechanicaldrills, then the
subjectmatter becomesanything that we might do with language,any topic that
might be discussedwith English,any feelingsthat might be expressedin English,
any communication that we might give or receiveusing English.The peoplewho
use the languagein class,and their feelings,are,therefore,alsopart ofthe subject
matter.This might be a little daunting and may lead you to keepthe usesof
languagein classat a more mechanical,impersonallevel,without allowing too
30
5 Methods
much 'dangerous'personalinvestmentin what is said or heard.This seemssadto
me; I believethat we needto give our studentschancesto feel and think and
expressthemselvesin their new language.
Methods
Yourown teachingmethod
1 W o u l dy o ub e a b l et o n a m et h e t e a c h i n g
m e t h o d ( sy)o uu s e ?
2 Whatare the keyfeaturesof it andwhatare its underlying
principles?
Method
Much traditional languageteachingin schoolsworldwide usedto be done in tiis
way, and it is still the predominant classroommethod in somecultures.The
teacherrarely usesthe target language.Studentsspenda lot of time reading texts,
translatingthem, doing exercisesand tests,writing essays.Thereis relativelylittle
focus on speakingand listening ski.lls.
The Audio- Lingual Method
Although basedon largely discreditedtheory, the techniquesand activities
continue to havea stong influence over many classrooms.It aims to form good
habits ttrrough studentslisteningto model dialogueswith repetition and drilling
but u ith lirtleor no reacherexplanadon.
C omrnunicative LanguageTeaching (CLT) or
C omrnunicative Approach (CA)
This is perhapsthe method or approachthat most contemporaryteacherswould
subscribeto, despitethe fact that it is widely misunderstoodand misapplied.CLI
is basedon beliefsthat learnerswill learn bestif they participate in meaningful
31
out
1 Starting
Chapter
communication.It may help if we distinguishberweena strongerand a weaker
version of CLLWith strong CLI studentslearn by communicating,ie doing
communication taskswith a limited role for explicit teachingand traditional
pracuceexercrscs.
In contrastJwith weak CLT studentslearn through a wide
varietyofteacl.ring,exercises,activitiesandstudl',rvithabiastorvardsspeaking
and listeningwork Most current coursebooksreflect a versionofweak CLT'
Total Physical ResPonse(TPR)
A method devisedby DrJ. Asher,mainly useful with beginner and lower-level
students.Learnerslisten to instructionsfrom the teacher,understandand do
things in response,rvithout being required to speakuntil they are ready
(seepage182)
Cornmunity Language Learning (CLL)
A method basedaround use of the learners'first languageand rvith teacherhelp in
mediating.It aims to lower anxiet-vand allow studentsto communicatein a more
genuineway than is typically possiblein classrooms
The natural apProach
DevisedbyStephenKrashen,thisisacollectionofmethodsandtechniquesfrom
manysourccs,allintendedtoprovidethelearnerwithnaturalcomprehensible
languageso that the learnercan pick up languagein rvayssimilar to a child
learningtheir first language
Task-Based Learning (TBL)
AvariantofCLT(seeabove)whichbasesworkcyclesaroundthepreparationfor,
doing of, and reflectiveanalysisoftasks that reflect real-lifeneedsand skills
The SilentWaY
Devisedby Caleb Gattegno,tl.f s method requiresthe learnerto take active
or'vnershipof their languagelearning and to pay greatattentionto what they say
Distinctive featuresinclude the relativerestraintof the teacher(who is not
completelysilent!) and the use ofspecialll' designedwallcharts The use of
Cuisenaire rods in mainstreamELI arosefrom this method (seepage 300) '
Person-centred aPProaches
Any approachthat placeslearnersand their needsat the heart ofwhat is done'
Syliabui and u'orking methodswill notbe decidedby the teacherin advanceof the
course,but agreedbetweenlearnerand teacher
Lexical approaches
Proposedby Michael Ler,visandJimmie Hill Onthe back of new discoveries
about horv languageis really used' especialll'the importance oflexical chunksin
communication,proponentssuggestthat traditional present-then-practise
methodsare oflittle use and proposea methodologybasedaround exposureand
experlment.
32
6 Firstlessons- hlntsandstrateEies
Dogrne
ScottThornbury's proposedback-to-basicsapproach.Teachersaim to strip
their craft ofunnecessarytechnology,materialsand aids and ger back to the
fundamentalrelationshipand interaction ofteacher and studentin class.
Someschools(or individual teachers)follow one ofthese named methods or
approaches.In naming a method, a schoolsuggeststhat all (or most) work will frt
a clearlystated,recognisableand principled way ofworking. Odter schools
sometimesadvertisea unique named method of their own, eg the Cambridge
Method. These are usuallyvariationson someof the methodslisted above,or not
a method at all but somethingelse,eg simply the name of the coursebookseries
being used (eg dre HeadwaryMethod), a way of dividing levelsaccordingto a
familiar exam system,or an eclecticcontemporarylucky dip.
Personal methodology
Despite the grand list of methods above,the reality is that very few teachershave
everfollowed a singlemethod in its entirety (unlessthey work in a schoolthat
demandsthat they do and carefullymonitors adherence).
I rememberwatching many languageteachersat work in the (then) SovietUnion,
which waswell known asa bastion of traditional Grammar-Translationteaching.
Yet I was struck by how everyteacherhad their own personalway of working in
the classroom.Therewere somesimilar factorsbetweendifferent teachers,and ifI
listed all the most frequently observablefeaturesand addedthem togetherI could
havefound a core ofthings that wererecognisablyGrammar-Translation.But the
uuth wasthat therewasno monolithic method at work.
Many teachersnowadayswould saythat they do not follow a singlemethod.Teachers
do not generallywant to take someoneelse'sprescriptions into classand apply them.
Rather they work out for themselveswhat is effectivein their own classrooms.They
may do this in a random manner or in a principled way, but what they slowly build
over the yearsis a personalmetl]odology of their own, constucted from their
selectionofwhat they considerto be the best and most appropriate ofwhat they
haveleamedabout.Theprocessof choosingitemsfrom a rangeof methodsand
constructing a collagemethodology is sometimesknown asprincipled eclecticism.
Chapter1 Startingout
3,1
- hintsandstrateAies
6 Firstlessons
Learn narnes as soon as possible
There is a huge differencein comfort levelsifyou know people'snames.Theystop
being scaryanonymousentitiesand startto becomehumans.In everydaylife, if we
meet a number ofpeople in onego, sayat a partyJwe are often a litlle carelessabout
learningnames.But in class,it is a very important teacherskill,and you shor d aim
to intemalisenamesassoonaspossible.It is a bit embarrassingif you haveto ask
peopletheir namesoverand over again.Don't say'I'm bad at rememberingnames.'
Make learningnamesquicldyand accuratelyyour first priority. Iffor any reasonthe
pronunciationof namesis a problem,taketime to get the soundsright; if you are
teachingin anothercoumy, maybeget a local speakerto help you.
1 As you askeachstudentfor their name,write it down on a mini-sketch-map of
the classroom.Iyhenyou haveall the names)test yourselfby coveringup the
map, looking at the classand sayingthe namesto yourself.Check and repeat
any namesyou don't yet know.
2 Ask studentsto make a small placecard for themselvesby folding an ,\5 piece
of paper in half.They should write their nameson this so that every name is
visibleto you at the front. As the lessonproceeds,turn individual cardsaround
when you hink you know the student'sname. (Some teachersuse cardslike
thesethrough whole courseslthat seemsrather lazy to me!This strategyis to
help you learn names,not a substitutefor that learningl)
3 l-Isename gamesfrom Chapter 15, Section 12.If it's not justyou, the teacher,
who is new,but your studentsare alsonew to eachother,then using some of
thesename-gameactivitieswill definitely be a good idea.
Eee Learnlng namesteaching technique on the DVD
Be yourself
Don't feel that being a teachermeansyou haveto behavelike a'teacher'.As far as
possible,speakin rvaysyou normally speak,respondasyourselfrather than asyou
think a 'teacher'should respond.Students,whether children, teensor adults,very
quickly seethrough someonewho is role playing what they think a teachershould
be.Authenticity in you tends to draw the best out ofthose you are rvorkingwith.
Teaching doesn't mean 'talking all the time'
Don't feel that when you are 'in the spotlight',you haveto keepfilling all the
you are teachinga language,the priority is for the learnersto talk,
silences.\X/hen
rather than the teacher.Start to notice the quantity ofyour own talk assoon as
possible- and checkout how much is really useful.High levelsofteacher talk is a
typical problem for new teachers.
Teaching doesn't rnean 'teaching' all the tirne
Don't feel drat being a teachermeansthat you hal'e to be doing things all the time.
It may feel a litde odd, but it really is quite OK to sit down and do nothing when
studentsare working on a pair or group task.Thereare times rvhenyour help will
actuallybe interference.Takethe chanceto recoverfrom your exertions,check
your notesand enjoy $'atchingyour classat work.
35
Chapter
1 Starting
out
Slow down
A largenumber ofnew teacherstend to do things much too fast.They often
seriouslyunderestimatehow difficult things are for students,or are respondingto
a fear that studentswill find tlungs boring. Learning to really slow down takes
time - but it's worth bearingin mind from your first lessononwards.For example,
don't aska questionand then jump straightin againbecauseyou think they can't
answerit.Instead, allow threetimes dre length of time you feel studentsneed (this
is sometimescalledwait time).
Key hints for starting to teach better (once you've got past the frrst
few classes)
Turn your radar on
You are likely to be a little self-focusedduring your earlylessons,but assoon as
you can, start to tune in more to the students.Start to askfor comments and brief
feedbackon things you do.Watchthe studentsat work and learn to notice what is
diffrcdt, what is easy,what seemsto engage,what seemsboring. Study your
students.
Don't teach and teach . . , teach then check
Practiceis more important than input. Checkingwhat studentshaveunderstood
and testingif they can use items themselvesis usuallymore important than telling
them more about the new items.Don't do endlessinputs.Teacha very Iitde
amount .. . then checkwhat studentshavetaken in. Give studentsthe opportunity
to try using the items, eg a litde oral practice,a wriften questionor two, or even
simply 'repeat'. (Here'sa rule-of-thumb ratio to experimentwith: input 5%,
checkingandpractice95%.)
Are you teaching the class . . . or one person?
rfitren you askquestions/ checkanswers)etc)are you really hnding out ifthey all
know the items . . . or is it just the first person to call out? Ifone person saysan
answer,doesthat mean they all know?What about the others?How can you find
out?
36
Chapter2 GlassroomaGtivities
This chapterlooks at somethings you needto considerwhen you first start
planning and running activities.Wealsolook at somebasicclassroom
managementissues,such ashow to arrangestudentsin working pairs on groups.
Planning an activity
The basicbuilding block of a lessonis the activiry or msk.We'lldehnethis fairly
broadly as'somethingthat learnersdo that involvesthem using or working with
languageto achievesomespecificoutcome'.The outcome may reflect a
'real-world' outcome (eg
learnersrole play buying train ticketsat the station) or it
may be a purely'for-the-purposes-of-learning'outcome (eg learnersfill in the
gapsin t\'velvesentenceswith presentperfect verbs).By this definition, all of the
following are activitiesor tasks:
. Learners do a grammar exerciseindividually then compareanswerswith each
other in order to better understandhow a particular item oflanguageis formed.
. Learnerslisten to a recordedconversationin order to answersomequesdons
(in order to becomebetter listeners).
. Learnerswrite a formal letter requestinginformation about a product.
. Learnersdiscussand write somequestionsin order to make a questionnaire
about people'seatinghabits.
. Learnersread a newspaperarticle to preparefor a discussion.
. Learnersplay a vocabularygamein order to help learn words connectedwith
cqrc
qn.4
troncnnrt
37
Chapter2 Classroomactivities
usingcoursebook
matelial
H e r ei s s o m em a t e r i af lr o ma s t u d e nct o u r s e b o o k .
Speaking
Which of these 'firsts' do vou remernber best?
your first crush
your first home
your first friend
your first hero
your first date your first love your first English lesson your first kiss
your first dance -r'ourfirst holiday vour first broken heart
I n u s i n gi t a s t h e b a s i sf o r a c l a s s a c t i v i t yw
, hi c h o f t h e f o l l o w i n gw o r k i n g
a r r a n g e m e n tw
s o u l db e p o s s i b l e ?
1 S t u d e n t st h i n k a n d t h e n w r i t e a n s w e r so n t h e i r o w n .
2 S t u d e n t sp r e p a r ea s h o r t m o n o l o g u es t a t e m e n to f t h e i r o w n v i e w sw h i c ht h e y
t h e n p r e s e n tt o t h e w h o l ec l a s s .
3 A w h o l e - c l a sd
s i s c u s s i o no f i d e a sa n d a n s w e r s .
4 P a i r w o r kd i s c u s s i o n .
5 S m a l l - g r o uw
p ork.
6 S t u d e n t sw a l k a r o u n da n d m i n g l ew i t h o t h e rs t u d e n t s .
7 Writien homework.
Even a simpletasklike this can be usedin a variety of \a'ays- and all the suggested
usesare possible.Combinationsofideas are alsopossible;for example,students
could first think on their or.vnfor a feu' minutes and then comparein pairs.
\Thateveryou choose,there are then further options asto how you do the task;for
example,you could askstudentsto compare,discussand questioneachother's
views or, alternatively,to reacha consensuscompromisesolution.These
variationslead to two very different types of speakingactivity.More varlauons
are possiblewhen consideringthe stagesthat immediatelyprecedeor follow the
activity.Yourchoicesasto how the taskwill be done dependpardy on the aim of
rie activity.ie what you u ant srudent\LogetouI of it .
Teacher options
Bear in mind that, evenwhere coursebooktasksinclude explicit instructions such
as Compareanswersin pairs or Workin vnall groups,you alwayshavethe option as
a teacherto give a different organisationalinstruction. For example,you may feel
that a'work in pairs' exercisemight be more interestingdone in small groups.
And evenifyou follow the book's instruction, you still havethe possibility of
manipularingtJreorgani'ationa linJe.for examp)c:
. tell eachstudent who he or shemust work with (eg'Petra,work with Cristina');
. ttre studentscan choosepartners for themselves;
. the pairings can be the result of somerandom gameor humorous instruction
(eg Find someone
whoseshoesarea differentcolonrfrom your own).
-38
1 Planning
anactivity
The coursebookprovidesthe raw materialwhich only comesalivein class.You
haveimportant choicesasto how to do this. Figue 2.1 summarisessomebasic
options you could considerfor many basic short coursebookactivities(eg for
short discussiontaskssuch asthe 'firsts' task above).
What alrangementscan you use? A few variations on the arrangements
l n d i v i d u awlo r k
Studentstalk togetherandwritenothing;
theyare permittedto write.
Pairwork
Youchoosepairs;studentschoosepairs;
pairs are randomlyselected(egfrom a game);
face to face: backto back: acrossthe room
(shouting);communicatingin writingonly.
(as above)
W h o l ec l a s s :m i n g l e( a l ls t a n du p ,
w a l ka r o u n dm
, e e ta n dt a l k )
S t u d e n tm
s a yo n l yt a l kt o o n eo t h e rp e r s o n
a t a t i m e : g r o u pm
s a ym e e tu p l o m a x i m u m
otlhtee / fout / tiuepeople;timelimitson
meetings;you ringbell/ stop background
music,etc to forcerearrangements
W h o l ec l a s s : p l e n a r y
Theconversation
/ activityis managedby
you/ a student/ a numberof students;
w h o l e - c l a swso r kw i t hb r i e f' b u z zi' n t e r v a l s
o f p a i r w o r/k s m a l l - g r o udpi s c u s s i o n .
39
Chapter2 Classroomactivities
Activity
route rnap
2
3
5
6
2 Activitv
routemao
. Ask studenlsifrhe5 haveeverbeen/ seen/ doneelc.
. Hand out a short text on the topic. Studentsread the text and comment.
. Play 'devil's advocate'and make a strong/ controversialstatement
(eg I thinh smokingis xerggoodforpeople)that studentswill be motivaredto
challenge/ argue about.
. !7rite a key word (maybethe topic name) in the centreof a word-cloud on
the board and elicit vocabularvfrom studentswhich is addedto dre board.
3 Setting up the activity
. Organisethe studentsso that they can do the activity or section.(This may
involvemaking pairs or groups,moving the seating,etc.)
. Give clearinstructionsfor the activity.A demonstation or exampleis
usually much more effectivethan a long explanation.
. You may wish to check back that the instructions have been understood
(eg So,Georgi,what are you going to do Jirst?).
. In some activities, it may be useful to allow some individual worx
(eg thirking through a problem,listing answers, etc) before the students
get together with others.
4 Running the activity
. Monitor at dte start ofthe activity or section to check that the task has been
understood and that students are doing what you intended them to do.
See Monitoringleaching
techniqueon the DVD
. Ifthe material waswell preparedand the instructions clear,then the activity
can now Iargelyrun itself.Allow the studentsto work on the taskwithout too
much further interference.Yourrole now is often much more low-key,taking
a back seatand monitoring what is happeningwithout getting in the way.
. Bewareof encumberingthe studentswith unnecessar_v
help.This is their
chanceto work. If the taskis difficult, give them the chanceto rise to that
challenge,without leaningon you. Don't rush in to 'save'themtoo quickly or
too eagerly.(Though, having saidthat, remain alert to any taskthat genuinely
provestoo hard - and be preparedto help or stop it earlyifnecessary!)
5 Closing the activity
. Allow the activity or sectionto closeproperly.Rather than suddenly
stopping the activity at a random point, try to sensewhen ttre studentsare
ready to move on.
. If different groups are flnishing at different times,make a judgement about
when coming togetherasa whole classwould be useful to most people.
. If you want to closethe activity while many studentsare still working, give
a trme warning (eg Finish theitem1ou areworkingon or Twominutes)6 Post-activity
It is usually important to havesomekind offeedback sessionon the activity.
This stageis vital and is typically under-plannedby teachers!The students
Chapter2 Classroomactivities
have workeci hard on the task, and it has probabl-v raised a number ofideas'
.
.
ifffi
activity
fora coursebook
a procedure
Planning
P l a na b a s i cp r o c e d u r ef o r u s i n gt h e f o l l o w i n gm a t e r i a li n c l a s s ,u s i n gt h e s t e p s
d e s c r i b e da b o v e .
are impoltant for getting a iob?
@ In your opinion, which factors below
Choose the five most important' ls there anything missing flom the list?
sex
experience
hobbies
appearance
qualifications
p
e
r
s
o
n
a
l
i
t
y
marltalstatus
intelligence
handwriting
s
i
g
n
astrological
age
references
n
d
i
l
y
b
a
c
k
g
r
o
u
fam
s i c k n e s sr e c o r d
b l o o dg r o u p
contacts and connections
42
3 Exploiting
an activity
Exploiting an activity
In this section,we look at one simple activity in detarl.Thismay help you to
similarly analyseyour own teaching material in future .
Analysinga coursebookactivity
Readthis activityfrom a studentcoursebook
andanswerthe followingquestionson
contentandclassroomprocedures.
Thinl about your life al the age of eight. You are going to tell your partner about it.
Choosefrom the list the things you want to talk about. Think about what you will say
and the l;rnguagc you *.i11need.
il
\ t t s o n ,h i c , n o t t ' t
.:ntu$ to sdFol toda!;
i.. h dreadl l pnifl.'
fl
|:]
E
il
L]
Analysis of
Questions
1 Language
content
Whatlanguage
systemsandskillswillthe studentsprobably
be practising
whentheydothis activity?
2 Othercontent
(apartfromgettingstudentsto
Whatotherpurposes
practiselanguage)
mightthis activityserve?
3 Preparation
4 Steps
Aswithmanyactivities,
it's important
to notethatthereare
quitea numberof separate
actually
stepsbundledwithin
the singleprintedinstruction.
Whatarethe stepsin this
task?
5Instructions
6 Organisation
Whatorganisational
arrangements
couldyouusein class?
Chapter2 Classroomactivities
4 Palrwork
. Demonstrationsare often a better way ofintoducing a task than a wordy
explanation.In th.isexample,there may not seemto be very much to
demonstrate,but you could still work through an examplesentenceor two
(maybesayingyour own answersaloud), rather than simply explainingthe
instructions.By doing this, the learnersmay becomeclearerabout what the
activity involves.
6 This taskwould work in many arrangements. It is likely to start with individual
thinking and note-taking,which may then be followed by comparing in pairs,
small groups or whole class.
Pairwork
Tylre 1: pairwork information
gaps
gap'
Defining'information
ffi
Predictingusesfor material:pairworkinformationgap
Chapter2 Classroomactivities
Activityroutemap
1 Beforethe lesson:familiariseyourselfwiththe materialandactivity;prepareany
materialsor textsyouneed.
2 In class:lead-in/ preparefor the activity.
3 Set up the activity.
4 Runthe activity:studentsdo the activity(maybein pairsor smallgroupswhile
y o um o n i t oar n dh e l p ) .
5 Closethe activityandinvitefeedbackfromthe students.
6 Post-activity:
do anyappropriate
follow-on
work.
lnstructions
Beforethe lesson:
f a mi l i a r i s ey o u r s e l f
withthe materialand
activity.Prepareany
materialsor textsyou
need.
I n c l a s s :l e a d - i /n
p r e p a r feo rt h e
activity.
D r a wa s i m o l eo i c t u r eo f a b e a c ho n t h e b o a r d .
46
4 Pairwork
Rearrange
studentsinto pairs,facingeachother.
H a n do u tt h e p i c t u r e sm, a k i n gs u r et h a t i n e a c hp a i r
t h e r ei s o n e ' A ' a n do n e ' B ' p i c t u r eS. t u d e n t m
s ust
u n d e r s t a ntdh a tt h e yc a n n o lto o ka t e a c ho t h e r ' s
pictures.(Sayingthe wordsecretwith
a 'hiding-thep i c t u r em
' i m em a yh e l pm a k et h i sc l e a r .E
) x p l a itnh e
t a s ks i m p l ya n dc l e a r l yi ,e t h e s t u d e n t sm u s tf i n d
what is differentbetweenthe two picturesbytalking
a n dd e s c r i b i n gn ,o tb y l o o k i n g .
Post-activity:
do any
lf you collected any sentences while you were
a p p r o p r i a ft o
e l l o w - o n m o n i t o r i n gw, r i t et h e m u p o n t h e b o a r d .A s k s t u d e n t s
work.
t o w o r k i n p a i r s a g a i na n d d e c i d ew h i c hs e n t e n c e s
f r o m y o u r l i s t a r e g o o d E n g l i s ha n d w h i c hn o t . T h e y
s h o u l da l s o w o r k o u t c o r r e c t i o n sf o r a n y e r r o r s .
Alternatively,use any other follow-onactivity,eg 'You
a r e o n e o f t h e p e o p l ei n t h e p i c t u r e .W o r ki n p a i r s
and write a paragraphdescribingyour day at the
beach.'
47
Chapter2 Classroomactivities
&A
,.
Planning
furtherlessonsusingthe routemap
fhe Office scene and Europeanholiday resources in the same section are similar to
the Beach picture resource and are designedaround the same idea of pairs
exchanginginformalion. ln What happened?,lhe learnersare two people who
w i t n e s s e dt h e s a m e i n c i d e n t T
. h e ym u s t s h a r e i n f o r m a t i o na n d d e c r d ee x a c t l yw h a t
happened. ln What shall we do tomorrow?,the learners have information about
s o m e e v e n t so n i n t o w n .T h e ys h o u l dd i s c u s st h e v a r i o u sp o s s i b i l i t i e sa n d a g r e e
t h e i r f a v o u r i t ee v e n tt o r e c o m m e n dt o o t h e r p e o p l ei n c l a s s a s a g o o d d a y o u t .
Referto the detailed instructionsfot Beach picture above and use the route map to
p l a ny o u ro w n e x p l o i t a t l o no f t h e m a t e r i a li n t h e o t h e r r e s o u r c e s .
Type 2: pairwork
gramrnar
activities
This section offers detailed instuctions for using the lWqt's happening? tesowrce
on the DVD - a gramrnar lesson that involves quite a lot ofpairwork suitable for
Elementary- or Pre-intermediate-level learners.
13
4 Pai(wotk
&
grammar
Predicting
usesfol material:
Havea lookatthe picturesin.ffi.iibf's
happening?andthinkof a wayto usethemfor
w o r K r nogn g r a m m a r .
Instructions
1 Beforethe lesson:
f a mi l i a r i s ey o u r s e l f
with the material and
activity.
Prepareany materials
or texts you need.
Thematerialconsistsof variouspicturesshowing
eventshappening.
Decide
w h e t h eyr o uw a n ts t u d e n t tso m a i n l yw o r ko n
p r e s e npt r o g r e s s i v( e
t od e s c r i b w
e h a ti s h a p p e n i n g
n o w )o r p a s ts i m p l e( t od e s c r i b w
e h a th a p p e n e d
yesterday).
S t u d e n tw
s i l lb e a b l et o u s em o r et h a nt h e s e
t e n s e sb
, u t i t ' s i m p o r t a nt th a ty o ue s t a b l i s h
whetherthe eventsare nowor in the past,
Preparea largecopyof the first pictureandcopies
of the otherpictures- onefor eachpair.lf you have
m o r ep a i r st h a np i c t u r e sr,e u s et h e m ,b u tb e c a r e f u l
notto handout the samepictureto two pairssitting
nextto eachother.
49
Chapter2 Classroomactivities
I n c l a s s : l e a d - i n/
D i s p l a tyh ef i r s tp i c t u r eo n t h e b o a r d .
preparefor the activity. T e l lL h e m
t h a t i t s h o w sw h a ti s h a p p e n i nngo w
n.ei
iohcacl
I n v i t el e a r n e r st o t h i n k u p g o o d s e n t e n c e sa b o u tt h e
p i c t ur e .
When a student suggests one, write it up without
a c k n o w l e d g i nw
g h e t h e ri t i s g o o do r b a d E n g l i s h .
Invite students to check and suggest amendments
or tmprovements.
C o l l e c t e n s e n t e n c e s .l f s t u d e n t sp r o d u c e
over-simplo
e n e s , u p g r a d et h e c h a l l e n g eb y a s k i n g ,
f o r e x a m p l e f, o r ' s e n t e n c e sa t l e a s t s e v e nw o r d s
l o n g ' o r ' e x a c t l y1 3 w o r d s l o n g 'o r ' y o u m u s t i n c l u d e
Ihe word although.'
T h i s h a s e f f e c t i v e l yb e e n a d e m o n s t r a t i o no f t h e
t a s k s t u d e n t sw i l l n o w d o i n p a i r s .
50
3 4 S e t u p s e c t i o n1 o f
the activity.
P u ts t u d e n t si n p a i r s .
H a n do u tt h e o t h e rp i c t u r e so. n et o e a c hp a i r .
s r es e c r e t P
E m p h a s i st eh a t p i c t u r e a
. a i r ss h o u l d
t a k ec a r et h a to t h e rp a i r sd o n o ts e et h e i rp i c t u r e .
G i v et a s k i n s t r u c t i o n s .
S t u d e n tw
s o r ki n t h e i rp a i r sa n dm a k et e n
s e n t e n c e(sa si n t h e d e m o ) .
Y o um a ys e t m i n i m u ms e n t e n c lee n g t h so r o t h e r
r e q ui r e m e n t s .
G or o u n da n dp o i n to u t a n yo b v i o u e
s r r o r so r
p r o b l e m sT.r yn o tt o ' o v e r - h e l p ' .
lvlakesurestudentsare writingclearlyon a separate
pieceof paper.
5 A C l o s es e c t i o n1 o f t h e
activity.
W h e ns t u d e n t sh a v e a l l f i n i s h e d ,a s k t h e m t o t u r n
o v e rt h e i r p i c t u r e s .
3 B S e tu p s e c t i o n2 o f
the activity.
A s k p a i r st o p a s s o n t h e i r s e n t e n c e s( b u t n o t
p i c t u r e s t) o a n o t h e rp a i r .
E a c hp a i r r e c e i v e ss e n t e n c e sf r o m t h e p a i rt h e y
g a v et h e i r St o .
G i v ei n s t r u c t i o n sf o r t h e n e x t s e c t i o n .( T h i sh a s n o t
b e e n d e m o n s t r a t e!d)
4 8 R u ns e c t i o n2 o f t h e
activity;studentsdo
the activity(maybein
p a i r so r s m a l lg r o u p s
w h i l ey o um o n i t oar n d
h er p ) .
P a i r sr e a dt h e s e n t e n c e st h e y h a v er e c e i v e d .
T h e yh a v ea n e w b l a n k p i e c eo f p a p e r .
Students interpretthe ten sentences and work out
w h a tt h e o r i g i n a p
l i c t u r em u s t h a v eb e e n ,d r a w i n gi t
a s b e s tt h e yc a n o n t h e p a p e r .
5 Smallgroupwork
5 8 C l o s es e c t i o n2 o f t h e Stopthe activitywhenmost pairsseemto havea
activity.
r e a s o n a b lpei c t u r e .
Getpairsto meetup. Theycomparepicturesand
sentences.
Theremaybe someamusementat
misunderstand
ingsandalternativeinterpretatio
ns.
Post activity:do any
appropriatefollow-on
work.
ffi
Exptoitingmateriatdifferen y
Predictingusesfor material:boardgame
L o o k a t t h e b o a r dg a m e h a n d o u t .B e f o r ey o u r e a dt h e f u l l i n s t r u c t i o n st,h i n k h o w
y o u m i g h tu s e s u c h m a t e r i a li n c l a s s .
51
Chapter2 Classroomactivities
Routemap
B e f o r et h e l e s s o n :
f a m i l i a r i s ey o u r s e l f
w i t ht h e m a t e r i a l
and activity.Prepare
a n y m a t e r i a l so r
texts you need.
I n c l a s s :l e a d - i /n
p r e p a r feo rt h e
activity.
O b v i o u s l yy,o u r l e a d i n w i l l d e p e n do n w h i c ht o p i c y o u
h a v ec h o s e n .l f y o u h a v ec h o s e na s i n g l et o p i c ( e g
globalisation),it might be an idea to first clarifyexactly
w h a t t h e t e r m m e a n s .Y o uc o u l dd o t h i s b y w r i t i n gt h e
w o r d o n t h e l l o a r da n d e l i c i t i n gd e f i n i t i o n sa n d
e x a m p l e so f o n e o r t w o a r g u m e n t sf o r a n d a g a i n s t .O r
y o u c o u l dc h o o s eo n e o f t h e m o r e e x t r e m ev i e w p o i n t s
f r o m t h e c a r d s a n d s a y i t t o t h e c l a s s , h o p i n gt o g e t a
r e a c t i o nT
. h i s i n i t i a lm i n i - d i s c u s s i owni l l p r e p a r et h e m
forthe conversation
in the aameitself.
F o r ms m a l l g r o u p so f f o u r t o f i v e s t u d e n t sa n d h a n d
out a pack of cards to each group. Students keep the
c a r d sf a c e d o w n .E x p l a i nt h a t s t u d e n t ss h o u l dt a k e i t
i n t u r n s t o t h r o wt h e d i e a n d m o v et h e i r c o u n t e ra r o u n d
t h e b o a r d .l f t h e y l a n do n a s q u a r ew i t h a ' ? ' , t h e y
s h o ul d t a k e a c a r d ,r e a d i t o u t a n d a s k t h e g r o u pt o
d iscuss it for at least two m inutes. lf they land on a
' T a l k 's q u a r e ,t h e y s h o u l de x p r e s st h e i r o w n o p i n i o n
a b o u ti t f o r a t l e a s tt w o m i n u t e s .E v e r y o n ee l s e i n t h e
g r o u pc a n t h e n j o i n i n a s h o r t d i s c u s s i o na b o u tt h e
q u e s t i o n .E v e r yt i m e a l e a r n e rp a s s e s' B o n u s '
( i e h a v i n gc i r c l e dt h e b o a r do n c e ) ,t h e y g e t a p o i n t .
T h e w i n n e ra t t h e e n d i s t h e o n e w i t h m o s t p o i n t s .
52
lnstructions
l v l o n i t oars us u a l .
5 Smallgrow
u po r k
Closethe activity
I t m a yb e t r i c k yt o d e c i d ew h e ni t ' s a p p r o p r i a t o
e stop
a n di n v i t ef e e d b a c k the activity.Someteamsmightreallyget intothe
fromthe students. d i s c u s s i o no;t h e r sm a yr a c et h r o u g hi t f a s t e rT. h eb e s t
t h i n gt o d o i s w a t c ha n dj u d g ew h e nm o s tg r o u p sh a v e
h a dt h e m o s tv a l u ef r o mi t . l f a n yg r o u p sf i n i s hv e r y
q u i c k l yg,o o v e ra n dt e l lt h e mt o p l a ya n o t h erro u n d .
It seemsnaturalto extendthe groupworkinto a wholec l a s sc o m p a r i s oonf v i e w s( i f s t u d e n t sa r e n ' ts i c ko f
t h e s u b j e cat l r e a d y ) .
Post-activity:do any
appropriatefollow
on work.
W r i t i n gf o l l o w - u p sm i g h ti n c l u d ew r i t i n ga s u m m a r yo f
e a c h i n d i v i d u a l ' so w n o p i n i o n s ,p r e p a r i n ga p o s t e ro r
n e w s p a p ea
r r t i c l eo r w r i t i n ga l e t t e rt o a p o l i t i c i a n .
Y o uc o u l d l i n kt h e d i s c u s s i o ni n t o r e a d i n ga r e l e v a n t
magazinearticle. The topic may providea useful
context for working on some grammar points, eg
globalisationcould help introduce We should ..., The
governmentought to ,.., If we don't ..., eIc.
5-t
Ghapter3 Glassroommanagement
This chapterprovidesthe basicsofclassroom managementfor you asyou teach
your flrst few lessons.Issuessuch asseating,gestur-es
and waysofusing the board
effectivelyare coveredsothat you are well-equrpped.Section9 then looks at some
common waysin which teacherscan inadvertentlypreventlearning from taking
place.
Setting up activities
Giving instructions
Monitoring activities
Timing actrvities(and the lessonasa whole)
Bringing activities to an end
Authority
.
.
.
.
Critical
.
.
.
.
54
moments
1 Whatis classroommanaAement?
Options
Lookingat
F i n di n g o p t i o n s
lassroom
minute
by minute
Figure 3.1
l\4akind
gecisions
between one
o p t i o na n d
another
?
?
Actions
D o i n gt h e
chosen action
?
?
?
Basic skillsofclassroonrnranasemenr
55
Chapter3 Classroommana'gement
options
management
ChoosingGlassroom
Writetwo or moreoptionsfor the followingsituations:
1 A student says I don't want to do this exercise.
2 Youexpectedan activityto take five minutes.It hastaken20 so far, andthe
studentsstill seemto be veryinvolved.Thereis somethingelseyouwouldlike
to do beforethe lessonendsin ten minutes.
3 Thestudentsareworkingin groupsofthree.Twogroupshavefinishedthe task
youset them and are nowsittinglookingbored.Theothergroupsstill seemto
havea longwayto go beforetheyfinish.
56
1 Whatis classroommanaEement?
57
Chapter3 Classroommanagement
Classroorn interaction
Somecommon types ofstudent grouping in the classroominclude:
. whole classworking togetherwith you;
. whole classmoving around and mixing together asindividuals (a 'mingle');
. small groups (threeto eight people);
. palrs;
. individual work.
In any one lesson,you may include work that involvesa number ofthese different
arrangements.Varyinggroupings is one way ofenabling a variety ofexperiences
for the learners.
In this section,we examinethe rationalefor making use of pairs and small groups
aswell aswhole-classwork.There are somesuggestionsand guidelinesfor
maximising useful interaction in class.
Teacher talk and student talk
The languageclassroomis rich in languagefor learners,quite apart from the
languagethat is the supposedfocus of the lesson.Studentslearn a lot oftheir
languagefrom what they hear you say:the instructions,the discussions,the asides,
the jokes,the chit-chat,the comments.Having saidthat, it would be unsatisfactory
ifyour talk dominatedthe lessonto dre exclusionofparticipation from asmany
Iearnersasoossible.
Classroominteraction
In the list of statements below,tick any that you feel you can agree with.
1 a l t i s m o r e i m p o r t a n tf o r l e a r n e r st o l i s t e na n d s p e a kt o y o u t h a n f o r l e a r n e r st o
listen and speak to each other.
b Students should get most conversationpractice in interactingwith other
learners rather than with you
2 a P e o p l eu s u a l l yl e a r nb e s t b y l i s t e n i n g t op e o p l ee x p l a i n i n g
things.
b P e o p l eu s u a l l yl e a r nb e s t b y t r y i n gt h i n g so u t a n d f i n d i n go u t w h a t w o r k s .
3 a T h et e a c h e rs h o u l ds p e a k a s m u c h a s p o s s i b l ei n c l a s s r o o mt i m e .
b T h e t e a c h e rs h o u l ds p e a k a s l i t t l ea s p o s s i b l ei n c l a s s r o o mt i m e .
58
2 Classroominteraction
The argumentsfor statement1ausuallygrow from the idea that you know more
of the target languageand that by listeningto you, the learneris somehow
absorbinga correct picture of the language;that by interactingwith you, the
learneris learning to interact with a competentuser ofthe language;that this is far
more useful than talking to a poor user.Thus,by this argument,time spenttalking
to anotherlearneris not particularly useful time.This is OK asfar asit goes,but
tlere are a number of challengesto the statements.Some are to do with available
time: if you talk most of the tirne,how much time will learnersget to speak?If the
only conversationpracticelearnersget is one-to-onewith you, they will get very
Iittle time to speakat all. In a classof 25 learners,how much time will you have
availableto speakto individuals?Divide a one-hour lessonby 25 and you get just
over two minutes each.That doesn't sound very much.
Statement1b suggeststJratwe could maximiselearnerspeakingtime at certain
points of the lessonby putting them into pairs or small groups and getting them to
talk to eachother.Thus, insteadof two minutes' speakingtime in a whole lesson,
they all get a lot of speakingpracticewithin a short spaceof time.You could use
this time effectivelyby discreetlymonitoring what the studentsare sayingand
using the information collectedas a sourceof material for future feedbackor other
work. (I am, of course,making other assumptionslI'm assumingthat it is
important to give learnersopportlmities to haveuseful interaction with others.)
Statements2a and 2b are about different waysoflearning. I believe,from my own
learning experiencesand from observingteachersat work, that the most efficient
way oflearning is for a studentto be really involvedin a lesson.Explanations,
especiallylong onesJtend to leaveme cold; I get bored; I switch off. (A learner
might alsohavereal problemsin following what is being said.) But challengeme,
give me a problem to do or a task I want to complete,and I will learn far more - by
experimenting,by practising,by raking risks.
I think you can guessmy views on statements3a and 3b by now. (Neither the
extremesof (a) nor (b), but closerto (b) than (a).) Observerswho watch new
teachersat work often comment that they talk too much. An essentiallessonthat
every new teacherneedsto learn is that'talking at' dre learnersdoesnot
necessarilymean that learning is taking place;in many cases,TTT (Teacher
ThlkingTime) is actuallytime when the learnersare not doing very much and are
not very involved.\forking on waysto becomeawareofunnecessaryTTT is
somefiinBto add ro your list of prioriries.
Increasing
student-student
interaction
W h e nw o r k i n gi n a w h o l ec l a s s s t a g e ,a l a r g ea m o u n to f i n t e r a c t i o nt e n d s t o g o f r o m
t e a c h e rt o s t u d e n ta n d s t u d e n tt o t e a c h e r ,a s s h o w ni n F i g u r e3 . 2 . H o wc o u l dy o u
get more student-student interaction?
59
Chapter3 Classroommanagement
Figrre3.2
St
St
St
St
St
St
St
St
St
St
St
St
St
St
St
JT
St
St
St
St
St
St
St
JL
St
l n t e r i l c l i o n b e n r e e nr e a c h e r a n o. t u d c n t .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
&+
60
quietstudentsteaching
SeeEncouraEing
techniqueon the DVD
3 Seating
Encourageinteraction betweenstudentsrather than only betrveenstudent
and
you, and you and student.Get studentsto askquestions,give explanations,
etc
to eachother,rather than alwaysto you. IJse gesturesand facial expressionsto
encouragethem to speakand listen to eachother.
Keep a diagram like the one in Figure 3.3 in your head asa possiblealternative
to the one in Figure 3.2.Think,How can I get studentsspeakingand listening
to
eachother aswell asto me?,
St
St
St
St
St
St
St
St
St
St
St
St
St
St
St
St
St
St
St
St
St
T
Figure 3.3
Interaction betweenstudents
Yourskillsin enabling
interaction
T a s k4 o n t h e D V Dt o a n a l y s ei n t e r a c t i o ni n a n
Seating
However your classroomis laid out and u,hateverkind offixed or moveable
seatrngyou have,it is worth taking time to considerthe bestwaysto make use
ofit.
. rWhatdifferent seatingpositionsare possible
without moving anyding?
. Are any rearrangementsofseatspossible?
. Which areasofthe room are suitable
for learnersto stand and interact in?
. Is there any possibilitythat the room
could be completelyrearrangedon a
semi-permanentbasisto make a better languageclassroomspace?
Important considerationsare:
. Can learnerscomfortably work in pairs
with a range of different parmers?
. Canlearnerscomfortably rvork in small groups
with a range of other learners?
For eachactivity you do in class,considerwhat grouping, seadng,standing
arrangementsare most appropriate.Changing seatingarrangementscan help
studentsinteract with different people,changethe focus from you when
appropriateand allow a range ofdifferent situationsto be recreatedwrrhin
the
classroom,aswell as simply adding variety to the predictability ofsitting in the
sameplaceevery dme. It's difficult to sit still for a long time; it;s worth including
activitiesthat involve somemovement,evenif or y to givc peoplethe chanceto
6l
Chapter3 Classroommanagement
EE
L]
-l
-r
-EE
tr
Et-E
Figure 3.5
62
Alternative seatingarrangements
ilE!i
3 Seating
ffi
standing
andsittrng
L o o k a t F i g u r e3 . 6 . W h i c ho f t h e s e i d e a sf o r a r r a n g i n gs e a t i n gh a v ey o u n o t t r i e d ?
W h i c hw o u l db e w o r t h t r y i n g ?D r a wa s i m p l es k e t c ho f y o u rc l a s s r o o m .M a r k i n
s e a t s f o r o n e n e w a r r a n g e m e n tW
. h e nm i g h ty o u u s e s u c h a n a r r a n g e m e n t ?
How
c a n y o u o r g a n i s ei t i n c l a s s ?W h a t m i g h t b e t h e b e n e f i t s ?T h e p r o b l e m s ?
63
Chapter3 Classroommanagement
oo oo
oo
oo
oo
ooo
oooo
ooo
oooooooooo
O.l
60oo%
06
Oo"
OO
o o-o
oooooooooo
'enemy
cotnerg'
0atr9
oP?o6tn4Neafi5
ooo
\,
\_-/
oo
oo
oo
^
oooooooooo
oooooooooo
/)
r-r"
"nva\
\, /-\ ^ a\ a\v
\_/
\J
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\ _r
'?anel'
lace-lo-+ace
(or back-Lo-b
ack)
oo
oooooo
oooooo
oooooo
'p
?ublic
meetin6
O' '
Figure 3.6
---'--->
OO
o.ro
t"
\,-'o
ro
oc--
oo
^r'?\.7"'oo o'"1
oo
oo
o^/
\.-o o
"'-o*-"
' b u z zg r o u p e '
'wheele'
(PeoP
e o h a n q4er o u P o
a c c a oo n ayl )
(Lheouter\,thee\
can rYove
r a u n Ac,h a n q i npqa 1 6 )
Seatrngpossibilitiesin a standardclassroom
Giving instructions
In a multilingual classyou haveto useEnglish for instructions.But, in
monolingual classesyou havea choice:English,nativelanguage- or somemixture
of both. I havemet a number of teachersr,vhosaythat they would like to give
instructionsfor activitiesin English rather than their students'ou'nlanguage,but
find that there are often so many problemsu.ith comprehensionthat it seems
impossible.It is certainly possibleto use only English (and it's often really helpful
in creatingan 'English' atmospherein the classroom),but it's often problematic
becauseof the quantity and over-complexityoflanguageused.
61
4 Givinginstructions
complexinstructions
W h yd i dt h e c l a s sh a v ep r o b l e mw
s i t ht h e f o l t o w i nign s t r u c t i o n ?
OK,everybody,wouldyou, Maria, sit down.Now whatyou haveto do is, whenyou,
you takethis sheetof paperthat I'm handingout nowandkeepit secret,andsome
of you are 'A', it's writtenat the top, and some are labelleil 'B'. Ol<,canyou see
that?Don'tshowyourpaperto anyoneandthenyou haveto describeto your
partner; sit face to face. Couldyou moveyour chairc aroundand describewhat's on
your paper so that your partner can find out what's different, andyou must agree;
whenyou find something,drawit on yout paper?OK.Doyou understand?
This may sound like a joke,but in fact ir's quite rypical ofan unplanned
instruction.Teachersare often unawaretltat they are talking in this way until they
stop and toy to listen to what they are.saying.A video (or audio) recording of them
in acdoncan be veryhelpfulhere.
It is clearthat this type ofinstruction is very hard for studentsto follow. The
essentialinformation about what to do is embeddedin confusing and unnecessary
babble.An essentiallysimple activity can becomeimpossible,not becausethe
studentscouldn't do it, but becausethey didn't understandwhat to do. Often
studentsare iudged to havefailedwhen it is actuallvthe teacherwho failed to
clarify what wasrequired.
How can I give clearer instructions?
I proposefir e slepstowardsbefler instrucLions:
1 Becomeawareofyour own instruction-giving (listen to yourself;record
yourself;askothersto watch you and give feedback).
2 For a while, pre-plan essentialinstuctions. Analysethe instuctions beforehand
so asto include only the essentialinformation in simple,clearlanguage,and
sequenceit in a sensibleorder.Use short sentences- one sentencefor eachkey
pieceof information. Don't saythings that are visible or obvious (eg I'm giuing
you a pieceofpaper).Don't give instuctions that they don,t needto know at this
point (eg what they'll do after this activity is hnished).
3 In class,separateinstructions clearlyfrom the other chit-chat,telling off, joking,
etc that goeson. Createa silencebeforehand,make eyecontactwith asmany
studentsaspossible,hnd an authoritativetone,make surethey are listening
before you start.Use silenceand gesturesto pacethe instructions and clarify
their meaning.
4 Demonstraterather than explainwhereverpossible.
5 Check that studentshaveunderstoodwhat to do. Don,t assumethat everyone
will automaticallyunderstandwhat you havesaid.Get concreteevidencefrom
the studentsthat they know what is required.Getting one or two studentsto tell
you what they are going to do is one very simpleway ofachieving this.
Planningsimplerinstructions
Look back at the example instructiongiven in Task 3.8.
1 ldentifythe essential instructionsthe teacher wanted to give.
2 Delete unnecessarylanguage.
3 Write out the instructions in the right order.
Chapter3 Classroommanagement
lmploving instructions
Simplifythe followinginstructionsusinglessconfusinglanguage
or a gesture.
please.
1 NoWactually,
I wouldreallylikeyou,if youcould,nowstandup,yeseveryone,
2 l t ' s t h e u n i to n ,e r ,t r a v e ls, o m e w h e r-ei t ' s n e a rt h e m i d d l ep, a g e s3 5 a n d3 6 ,
canyoufind that? Haveyougot it? No,notthat one,the nextunit,andtake a
lookat the introduction,
readit throughquicklyandjot downyouranswersto the
questionsat the top of the pageoverthere,abovethe illustration.
3 lf I wereto ask youfor youropinionon smoking,whatdo youthinkyou mightsay
to me in yourreply?
4 Wouldyou liketo tell everyonethe answeryouwerethinkingof againbecauseI
d o n ' tt h i n kt h e yh e a r di t w h e ny o us p o k es o q u i e t l ya, n dI ' m s u r ew e ' da l l b e
interestedin hearingit if youcould,please?
5 Well,thatwasn'treallywhatI washopingyou'dsaywhenI askedthatquestion.I was
actually
looking
forthe nameofthe verbtense,notanexample
sentence,
butwhat
yougavemewasfine,onlydoesanyoneI wonderhavethe answerI'm looking
for?
5 Monitoring
Monitoring
Yourrole in pair and group activities
What is your role once you have set up an activityin which students will mainlVwork
o n t h e i r o w n i n p a i r so r g r o u p s ?
a Sit down and read a book?
b Go out ofthe room and have a coffee?
c W a n d e rr o u n da n d l o o k a t w h a t s t u d e n t sa r e d o i n g ?
d S i t d o w na n d w o r kw i t h s e p a r a t eg r o u p so n e b y o n e ,j o i n i n gi n t h e t a s k s a s a
participant?
e Listen carefullyto as many students as possible, going over and correc ng
mistakes when you catch them, offering ideas when students get stuck, etc?
!7ell,I think all ofthese answersare possible,eventhe fust two (u,hichyou may
havedismissedasunlikely). It all depends,of course,on the nature ofthe specific
activity and on its aims.The next sectionsuggestsa generalsuategyfor making
decisionsabout what to do.
Chapter3 Classroommanagement
68
6 Gestures
In a few specificcases,you might want to emphasisethe point that studentsneed
to work without your help, and in such casesevenleavingthe room for a few
minutes may be an option. (\TheneverI havedone this, I havebeeninterestedto
learn tlat most studentsdo not evennotice that I havebeenout of the room!)
Monitor actively
You can monitor as describedabove,but be more visibleand allow studentsto be
more awareofyour presenceand of the possibility of calling on you for help and
advice.A teacheru'ho is activelymonitoring will be walking around,viewing and
listeningin to many different groups and frequently offering spontaneousadvice
and corrections,aswell asrespondingto requestsand questionsfrom students.
Particifrate
You may sit down and join a group (temporarily or for the whole task) and take
part asifyou were one ofthe group, offering ideas,helping u,ith questions,joining
in discussions.Youcould quietly move on to anothergroup. By the end of the
task,you might haveworked rvith a number ofgroups. Ofcourse, while you are
monitoring or r,vorkingwith one group, you will needto remain alert to what
othersare doing and if there are any problems.
Givingfull
attentionteaching
techniques
on the DVD
Gestures
Try to developa range ofgestures(and facial expressions)to saveyourself
repeatingbasicinstructionsand to increaseopportunities for learnertalk. For
example,I haveseenmany teachersusing a setofgesturesto indicate,time'.This
helpsthem quicldy correct learnerswho use tensesinaccurately.Pointing to the
ground indicatesthe present;pointing aheadrs the future; pointing behind, over
the shoulder,indicatesthe past.
Rememberthat learnerswill need to learn the meaningsof your gestures;they will
not magicallyknow that your pointing means'IJsethe past tense,,but ifyou give
the oral instuction a few timeswhile alsogesturing,they will soonassociatethe
gesturealonewith that instuction.
Bear in mind that gesturescan mean different things in different countries.Ifyou
are teachingawayfrom your own culture,learn rvhich gesturesto avoidlAnd
alwayskeep alert to the possibilitl' that you might be giving offence!
cestures
T hi nk o f g e s t ur e s y o u c o u l du s e f o r t h e f o l l o w i n gi n s t r u c t i o n s :
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
S t a n du p .
W o r ko n y o u ro w n .
Five minutes left.
Q u i e t e nd o w n .
Listen to me.
Listen to her.
G i v ea l o n g e ra n s w e r .
P l e a s es t o p t a l k i n gn o w .
S t o p a n o i s ys t u d e n tt a l k i n g( t o e n a b l es o m e b o d ye l s e t o s p e a k ) .
69
Chapter
3 Classroom
management
CreatinEnewgestures
Nowdecideon somepersonalgesturesfor eachofthe following:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
A s k t h eo t h e rl e a r n e r s .
Repeat.
T h ei n t o n a t i ow
n a sv e r yd u l l .
Pleasestoptalkingnow.
Comehere!(polite)
Listento eachother.
Don'tshowyourinformation
sheetto yourpartner.
the board
Organisation
One resourcethat almost everyteacherhasis a board, whether it is a small board
on an easel,a wide chalk board, a pen board or an interactivecomputer board.
Although it is possible to write randomly on the board asthings occur in class,
you'll often find that it's worth paying a little attention to organising items. I'm not
naturally a very tidy board user, but I've found that the following idea does make
a difference .
At the start of the lesson,draw a few dividing lines on the board, eg to form three
working areas,like this :
Review
sectron
(for key
pornts
from last
lesson)
Key vocabulary
and grammar
IJse these areasto help you organise different content asyou write it up, keeping
different kinds ofthings to separatesectionsofdte board, for example:
. a vocabularycolumn for new words,with a secondcolumn for example
sentencesand notes;
. a substituLiontable lor a new grammar item;
. a spaceto sdck up sketch pictures to help when telling a story;
. questions for students to think about when listening to a recording.
70
7 Using
theboard
Here are a few more board thoughts:
. Try to avoidlong teacher-writingtimes rvhilestudentsare
iust watching and
waltrng.
. \ heneverpossible,find opportunities to writc things up on the board while
studentsare working on other things, so that you are readywhcn thcy finish.
. It seemsnatural enoughto rvrite standingin front ofthe board.Unfortunatell.,
this blocksthe vier.vofwhat vou're writing for the classand they can't read it till
you've finished (Figure 3.7a).Youalsocan't talk ro them easily.\X/hen
you get a
chancein an emptl' classroom,practiseI'riting on the board in a wa1'thal youl
body doesn'tblock the viervfor everyoneand you can make eyecontactvl'ith
the class(Figure 3.7b).This requiresa slightly sidervaysposition,t'hich will
feel odd at first, but it allou.'syou to talk to students,askquestionsand lool(
around, all ofwhich can be very helpful in maintaining a goodlvorking
atmosphere.
See Writingon the boardleachingtechnique on the DVD
(a)
(b)
po.iLion,
Figure3.7 Allernati\-e
rvhenrvriringon rhebuard
Rememberthat it's not only teacherslvho can rvrite on boards- where
appropriate,get learnersto write up ansrversand ideas,drar,vpictures and
timelines,etc.The division of the board into sectionscan alsohelp rhem to write
more tidill-.
\Watchout that you don't useyour or'"'nwriting on the board asa lengthy
time-wastingway to avoid realteaching.
Board drawing
Don't sayvou can't drau'!No mafter how un--\,1onet-like
-vourartistr) Jone picrurc
is often worth many unnecessarywords.For the quick explanationofvocabulary
items,Ibr settingup a discussion,a dialogueor role pla]! for storl'-building, vou
needpictures.
Clearly the basicskill is to draw peoplein someform, anCstick peopleare in many
waysbetter than detailedhguresbecausetJrey'reso quick to do.
71
Chapter3 Classroommanagement
Remember that the pictures alone are usually onl-v a starting point.They don't
need to do all the r'vork- build from them u'ith questions and discussion. And
even if the-vend up looking like nothing on earth, badly drawn pictures can
actually be a rich source oflanguage and humour in the classroom If ther, don't
understand r,vhaton earth you'vc drau'n, whisper the word to a student and get
fhem to dra$' rt.
See Drawing people teaching technique on the DVD
72
8 Eliciting
Practicein quickboardsketches
1 D r a wq u i c kp i c t u r e (ss i n g l ei m a g e so r a s e q u e n c et o) i l l u s t r a t seo m eo f t h e
following:swimmingpool,London,happy,escalator,mouse,exhausted,robbery,
whale,planet,overtake.
2 W h a tq u e s t i o ncso u l dy o ua s ky o u rl e a r n e r a
s b o u t h e s k e t c h etso e s t a b l i s thh a t
theyactuallysee whatyou intendthemto?
Eliciting
'Eliciting'means
It
.
.
.
Chapter3 Classroommanagement
Advicewheneliciting
H e r ei s s o m ea d v i c ef o r e l i c i t o r sT. w oD i e c e isn t h e l i s ta r es o u r i o u sw: h i c ho n e s ?
1 G i v es u f f i c i e nitn f o r m a t i o n
E.l i c i t i ndgo e s n ' tm e a n ' G u e sw
s h a t ' si n m yh e a d ' .
' sa i d e nn a m e .
D o n ' t r y t o e l l c i ty o u rg r a n d m o t h e rm
2 Usehandgesturesto indicatewho is beingaskedto speak,eithera gesturefor
' a n y o n eo' r t o a s p e c i f i ci n d i v i d u allf.e v e r y o nsep e a k sa t o n c e ,i t c a nb e h a r df o r
studentsto knowwhichanswerwas OKandwhich not.
3 Giveveryclearfeedbackon eachstudentutterance.Theywantto knowif what
s rf a c i ae
l x p r e s s i o nt os
t h e ys a i dw a sa c c e p t a b l e
Y.o uc o u l du s es i m p l eg e s t u r e o
r e g i s t e r ' O Ko'r ' N o tO K ' t os t u d e n t s .
4 If someonegivesan incorrectanswer,getthemto repeatit two or threetimes
andthen saythe correctansweryourself.
5lftheycan'tprovideananswer,don'tstretchtheelicitingouttoolong.Sile
w r o n ga n s w e r a
s r ee v i d e n cteh a tt h e yn e e dy o u ri n p u t .
y
o
u
y s t a b l i s h eads a
6 W h e n h a v ea n a p p r o p r i a taen s w e rm
, a k es u r ei t i s c l e a r l e
g o o da n s w e rp, e r h a p sb yg e t t i n gi t r e p e a t e b
d ya v a r i e t yo f i n d i v i d u a l s .
7 D o n ' tu s ee l i c i t i n w
g i t hm o n o l i n g ucalla s s e s .
your
8 l J s ee l i c i t i n rge g u l a r lays a b a s i ct e c h n i q u ien m o s tl e s s o n sf o r k e e p i n g
classactiveand involved,
'Lead-in'questions
. hat
g l e s s o no n l a n g u a gues e dw h e nm e e t i n gp e o p l ea t p a r t i e sW
Y o u ' r ep l a n n i n a
q u e s t i o ncso u l dy o ua s ka t t h e s t a r to f y o u rl e s s o ni n o r d e rt o i n t e r e stth e I e a r n e r s
l e l i n g sa n dr e a c t i o n s ?
a n dt o e l i c i ts o m eo f t h e i rp e r s o n af e
71
- somepopulartechniques
9 Howto preventlearning
I wentto thecinemu.
Youwentto thecinema.Good.Youwerctto thecinema.
V/ho getsmore languagepracticehere- the student or the teacher?Ifyou become
awareofyour echoingand then start to control it, you r.villfind that learnersget
more talking time and tltat they start to listen to eachother more.! hen you echo,
they soonlearn that they don't needto listen to anyoneexceptyou, becausethey
know that you'll repeateverl'thinglThat has a dramaticallynegativeeffect on
interaction patternswitl.rinthe classroom.
Helpful sentence cornpletion
SruorN'r':
Theculn:
You can be so desperatefor a studentto saywhat you want them to say (so that the
Iessoncan move on to the next stage)that you are alreadypredicting the words the
studentwill produce and eagerlyu'ishingfor them to be said- so much so that you
often find yourself adding 'tails' to sentenceafter sentence.But this kind of 'doing
the hard work for them'is often counter-productive.Peopleneedto finish their
own sentences.If studentscan't completethe sentencethemselves,they need
help - but help to produce their own sentence,using tireir own r,vordsand their
own ideas.By letting studentshnish what they are saying,you alsoallow yourself
more time to really listen to the student and u'hat he is saying.
Cornplicated
TErcsrn:
Chapter3 Classroommanagement
of instructions
Even the clearestinstuctions can be hard to grasp so,after you've given them, it's
worth checkingthat they havebeenunderstood.A simpleway is to aska student
or two to repeatthem backto you: So,Josi,what areyou goingto do?Inthrs way,
you satisfyyour self that the taskhas beenunderstood.Having done that, make
sureyou monitor the start of the activity to seeif they really do what you wanted!
Asking Do you understand?
Taacngn:
SrrneNr:
Do gou understancl?
...er... tes ...
STLTDENT:
authority
Tt,A.cHsn:
/ over-politeness
76
- somepopulartechniques
9 Howto preventlearning
I wonderwhlt thegloohsobored?
/ over-organising
TsecHgn:
So- what'stheq,nswer?
SrureNrA:
TsecHen:
Onljt onTuesdayunlessit'sraining.
Yes,aerjt
good- so,eoery)one
got thqt?And wlry did hebuy the
elasticband?
SruDsNr A:
So hezpouldn'tlosehis letters.
Teacgrn:
Good.Exeryoueunderstands
then!
Ifyou only listento the first peoplewho speall it's very easyto get a false
impressionof how difficult or easysomethingis.Youmay find that the strongest
and fasteststudentsdominate,and you get liftle idea of how the majority of the
classfinds the work.This canleadyou to fly at the speedof the top two or three
studentsand to losethe rest completely.Make sureyou get answersand feedback
Chapter3 Classroommanagement
Tsacnsn:
No,not'd)e'- sa9'died'because
it's in thepast.
SrurENr:
. . . h e d i e d l a s t w e e. .h.
Tpr.cssn:
10 Intuition
Use ofintuition is fundamentalto teaching.It is the skill ofspontaneously
understandingsomething,bypassingttre supposedconventionalroute ofthinking
carefullyand reachinga considereddecision.Although it soundssomewhat
'magical',it is a quite down-to-earth,if rather unexplored,part of our teaching
work. It is somethingthat all teachersexerciseto a greateror lesserdegree,and it is
learnableand improvable.
Intuitive responsesare important in teachingbecausethings happen so fast in
lessontime and there is so much to notice,flying at us all at once:how the activi5
is proceeding,how eachstudent is reacting,etc. On-the-spot in class,you don't
havemuch thinking space.Fluent teachingdependson being ableto quickly read
the classroomsituationmoment-bv-moment and respond (or choosenot to
respond) appropriately.
78
10 lntuition
Intuition
yourselfin anyof the followingexamples?
Doyou recognise
a Y o ua r et e a c h i n g ( oprl a n n i ntge a c h i n ga)n d k n o w s u d d e n l y o r i n s t i n c t i v e l y w h a t
to do or howto do it.
b I n c l a s s y, o ud e c i d et o d o / n o tt o d o s o m e t h i nw
g i t h o uht a v i n ge x p l i c iy t h o u g h t
t h r o u g h' w h y ' ;s o m e t h i n g j u sc to m e st o m i n d .
c Youhavean understanding
of whatthe learnersneedthat doesn'tseemthe
resultof logicalreasoning.
d Youmakea connectionbetweentwo aspectsofthe lessonthat hadnot seemed
connectedbefore.
e Yousuddenlyrealisea sensethat thereis an overallsystem,structureor pattern
to somethingsthat you previously
thoughtunrelated.
f P i e c e so f a s o l u t i o nr e v e atlh e m s e l v eass m e t a p h o r si m
, a g e sp, u n s ,e r c .
g Youknowsomethingthat you had no apparentwayof knowing.
h Youget a suddenunderstanding
or insightinto a student'scharacter.
i Y o ul o o ka t a s t u d e n(t o rs t u d e n t sa) n d g e t a s e n s e o f w h a t t h e y a r e t h i n k i n g .
j Youfeel someembarrassment,
becauseyourwayof workingseemsto run
counterto trainingandto messagesyouget from respectedpeers.
Origins of intuition
!7here does intuition come from? How can it be improved? I think intuition is
your ability to smootily accessthe quantity ofexperience you havestoredinside
you to help you interpret what is happeningin the presentmoment.\)fecan get
bener at it by gaining more (and a wider range of) experienceand storing it away.
We do things.
W er e c a l l t h e m
a n dr e f l e c ot n t h e m .
T h i sa d d st o o u rs t o r eo f e x p e r i e n c esdi t u a t i o n s .
Processed
andunprocessed
memoriesmix,overlap,
get confused,cross-fertilise,
synthesise,
etc.
Intuitiveinsights
Figure 3.8
How we useintuition
79
Chapter3 Classroommanagement
ffi
Howyoulearned
to teach
R e c a lhl o wy o ul e a r n e d
t o b e a t e a c h eor n y o u rt e a c h etrr a i n i n g
c o u r s eI. d o n ' t
m e a nh o wy o ul e a r n e d
t h et h e o r yb, u tw h a ty o u rf i r s tl e s s o n sw e r el i k e ,h o wm u c h
y o uc o u l da p p l yw h a ty o u rt r a i n e r sh a dt a u g h yt o ut o d o i n c l a s s .
Intuition
and teaching
8A
10 lntuition
difficulty of following prescribedstepsthrough a dancethat in reality has no fixed
pattern.The 'painting by numbers' approachto teachingis possible,but with very
limited outcomes.
Yet, sometraineesdareto put the training requirementsto one side- muffling the
trainer'svoicesin their head- and manageto reachbackto their own natural
intuitive skills.They start to feel that buzz thar teachingbrings; the shiverof
excitement when an activity starts working, rhe thrill that pushes them on to
experimentmore and to enjoy it more.This isn't an argumentagainsttraining or
againstacademicinput, but it is a reminder that, iust asteacherscan,t do the
learning for their students,trainerscan neverdirectlv hand over therr own
teachingskillsto their trainees.
\7e need to study things,butwe alsoneed to put them to one side;we needto
forget things,we need to losethings insideus, we needto worry lessabout the
exactinstructions.If we hold other people'sguidancein front ofus asinfallible
route maps to follow, we are likely to get lost.And that,sprobably true ofcooking
aswell - maybewe won't be a real cook till we can leavethe book closed.Thissame
process,I thin\ is how we then go on to becomethe teacherswe are.
Most peoplewill discoverthat they didn'tlearn to be teachersfrom seminarsor
books or conferencesor observationfeedback,though all ofthese havea very
definite impact.Youlearn to teachby teaching.Youlearn to teachby doing ir.
Youruseof intuition
As a teacher,howmuchdo you makeuse of intuitionto knowwhatyourstudents
a r et h i n k i n gt ,o r e a dt h e i rr e a c t i o ntso t h i n g st,o d e c i d ei f t h e yl i k ea t a s ko r n o t ,
t o d e t e r m i n ief t h e ya r eb o r e de, t c ?W h a ti n f o r m sy o u ri n t u i t i o n ?
81
me free to worry about the lessonsand the students and what they are IearninEmore than worryingtoo much about my own feelings.'
82
1 Individuals
andgroups
ffi
changesin ctassmood
ffi
croupcharacteristics
1 D o g r o u p sh a v ea c h a r a c t e rd i s t i n c tf r o m t h a t o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l si n i t ?
2 I n w h a t w a y sa r e p e o p l ei n a l a n g u a g ec l a s s s i m i l a r t o e a c h o t h e r ?
3 H o w m i g h t a t e a c h e r ' sd e s c r i p t i o no f a , h o m o g e n o u gs r o u p ' b e a s i m p l i f i c a t i o n ?
83
reasorsfor
needlnqrq\\6h
beliefsa,arI
't\rhal
2I'eacher
da
caf or 6hould'
percafa\\l\eaand
wa'Joof re\attrq
La andworktrq
v|fth alher
ab\\'fiJro
I'h\Y\q6
f e|Y1e$1ber
preferences
for whatr
c o m e n LL a
wark on in cla55
difficdr'\eo
ar ?hystcal
disabillLleg
\eve\s\nvarroug
languaqe
sYel'eYn;and
5kill5
of
know\edqe ,
ana
Nhe',"rar\d
areaa
ePec\a\
Figure 4.1
?revious
learning
experience
preferences
for classroom
meLhodoloqy
speedsof
workingand
learning
tapicsLheyfind
interesLing
degrees
offocus.
,.application,
atoLracLion,
etc
skills,apLitudes
andabiliLies
beliefs,politica!
view3,ideas
aboultrnarality,
?reludices,etc
sensesofhumour,
res?on1eto
practicaljokes,
5arca5m,
etc
Individual differences
Motivation
Many learners have strong external reasons why they u'ant to study (to get an
exam pass)to enter university, to get a promotion, to please their parents, etc)
This is often called.external motiDatlon. Others may be studying iust for rewards
lvithin the rvork itself (the fun oflearning, setting oneself a personal challenge,
etc). often referre dto as internal motiaation.In eithet case,the strengd-roftheir
motivation will be a factor in determining how seriously they approach the work.
horv much time they set aside for it, how hard they push themselves, etc.You mal'
seethis reflected in things such as how often homework is done, how thoroughl-v
'tuned in' students are during lesson
new items are revised betr,veenclasses,how
times. A frequent cause ofdifficulties within classesis r.vhenthere is a significant
mismatch of motivation levels amongst tie course participants, eg some studenis
u'ho desperately need to pass an exam next month alongside others who want a
relaxed chance to chat and play games in their new language.
84
1 Individuals
andgroups
Multiple intelligences
The traditional idea ofhumans having a single,unified 'intelligence'may be
rather limiting. Howard Gardenerhas suggestedthat peoplecould haveseven
'intelligences'(maybe
more!):
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
linguistic
visual
musical
logical / mathematical
bodily / feeling
interpersonal(contactwith other people)
intrapersonal(understandingoneself)
workingwith individual
differences
ffi
Whatimplicationd
s o e s t h e l i s t o f i n d i v i d u adl t f f e r e n c e sa b o v eh a v ef o r t h e
t e a c h e r ?H e r e a r e t h r e e d i f f e r e n t e a c h e r s 'v i e w s .A s a g e n e r a l i s a t i o nd,o y o u f e e l
m o r e i n c o m m o nw i t h G y o r g yT, r b o ro r E d i t ?
Y o uc a n ' t r e a l l yt a k e a l l t h e s e i n d i v i d u adl i f f e r e n c e si n t o a c c o u n t .
T h e i m p o r t a n t h i n g i s t o ' t e a c ht h e c l a s s ' .
I t e a c h v e r y l i t t l et o t h e c l a s s a s a w h o l e- b u t m y c l a s s h a s l o t s
o f i n d i v i d u atla s k s a n d s m a l lg r o u pw o r k . l t h j n k t h e c l a s s r o o mi s
alwaysa set of privatelessons- as many as there are individuals.
Edit
Y o uc a n a d a p tc l a s s l e s s o n st o r e s p o n dt o m a n y i n d i v i d u anl e e d s
a n d d i f f e r e n c e sw i t h i nt h e g r o u p .
85
There is no right answer,but classescertainly seemto havetheir own characterone often surprisingly different from the sum total of individuals in ir. Many
teachers(like Gydrgy) pitch their lessonsat the perceivedcharacter,level,needs
and likes of a generalisedfeeling of this group identity.They may not be
concernedwith any individual differencesand feel their primary taskis to work
with the class'as a whole', maybeusing a supplied syllabusor coursebookand
interpreting their job asaiming'to cover'the requ.iredmaterial in a certain period
of time. Such teachersmay be responsiveto somekinds offeedback from the class
asa whole,mainly tending to pick up on whether the majority ofstudents are
keepingup or not and perhapsproviding exua practiceifthey aren't or lessif
they are.
They expectand acceptthat someofwhat is done will be unsuitableor
uninterestingor impossibleto follow for somemembersof the class,but they feel
that that is 'the price to pay'. Especiallywith large classes,the prioriw seemsto be
to maintain the senseofprogress and to hope that asmany peoplecan keepup as
possible.Such an approachmay be problematic,asthere is a dangerin'teaching'
without closereferenceto the individuals that are doing (or not doing) the
learning.
Tibor takesthe oppositeposition - that whole-classlessonsgenerallywon't
work becauseofthe variety ofpeople in a class.Ifhe can pull it off, such an
'individualised'
approachwould probably be a very valuableclassto be a part of.
Many other teachersmight find that his goal of trying to respondto the range of
different individuals in a room quite demandingfor a teacher,requiring a greater
quantity ofplanning beforehandand, in class,perhapsa constantmoving around.
with somecarefullistening and focusedindividual help.
Edit's solution is a compromiseposition that involvesworking with the classasa
whole while attemptingto alsotake individuals into account.
Teacherssuch asEdit may aim to teachthe classby pitching the lessonsto what
they perce.iveasthe majority of the group, but 'keepingin touch' with ttre othersby askingquestions,adding extra commentsand explanations,offering special
tasksfor somestudents,dividing the classto work on different things at some
points, choosingtopics that appealto different groups oflearners,designingtasks
that appealto different learning stylesand preferences,etc.
Edit's position is one ofthe classicbalancingactsofteaching - to maximise
working at everyindividual's level,fulfilling asmany wishesand needsaspossible
while alsokeepingthe entire group engaged.
How can we pull offthis balancingact?Thereare no easyanswers,but it probablr.
involvesa combinationofgathering useful feedbackfrom learners(seeSection4)
and using your intuition (seeChapter 3, Section 10).
It is hard to know how bestto work with individuals ifyou know nothing at all
about them. However,evento find out a litde basicinformation (sayevenabout
one tenth ofthe items in the 'individual differences'list above)for eachperson in
our classmay seeman overwhelming,unrealistic,unachievabletask.It might still
takethe whole schoolyear to just do that! And evenif we did know the answersfor
86
2 Whatlevelaremvstudents?
the entirelist, theremight seemto be no way we could effectivelyapply d.ris
knowledge.
However,many impossiblethings turn out to be all right rvhenI try theml Despite
the apparentlydaunting nature of the task,it's still worth a go - asevenlearning
one new thing about a learrer can dramaticallyaffect future classes.
And the more
I manageto find out, the better tured my lessonsbecome.Ifyou would like to quiz
your studentsabout their differences,try using the Questinnnairefor
learners
resourceon the DVD.
organising
studentsintolevels
1 W h a ti s y o u rs c h o o l ' s t r u c t u r oe f c l a s sl e v e l s ?
2 D oy o uk n o wo f a n yo t h e rw a y so f o r g a n i s i nsgt u d e n t si n t oc l a s s e s ?
Cornmon level structures in schools
Many schoolsdivide learnersinto classesat named Ianguagelevels,often using
coursebookslabelledfor thoselevels.A common structure is:
Advanced
Upper intermediate
Intermediate
Pre-intermediate
Elementary
Beginner
Each ofthese levelsmay be subdivided,eg into Intermediate 1, Intermediate2,
etc. Schoolsoften plan progresson an assumptionthat it will taketlte average
learnera certainperiod of time to mo.l'efrom one levelto the next, eg 45-60 hours
of classroomtime (plus homework) to move through a third of one of the named
levels.Just to add to the confusion,an 'hour' may mean different thngs rn
different places:for example,a 'period' of 45-50 minutes is referredto asan
'hour' in many
countries.
There are other level systemsyou may come across.An influential one from the
Council ofEurope categoriseslearnersasfollows (with approximateindications
of dreir correlationwith the earlierlevel scheme);
C2
C1
B2
B1
A2
A1
Mastery
Operationalproficiency
Vantage
Threshold
'Waystage
(= Nearly native-speakerlevel)
(=Advanced)
(= Upper intermediate/ Post-intermediate)
(= Intermediate)
Breakthrough
(= Beginner/ Elementary)
t'= Pre-i
nrerme,liqtc
ChaDter
4 Whoarethe learners?
Mixed-levelclasses
1 Haveyou ever said fhis c/ass is vety mixed level?What are some of the causes
of mixedJevelclasses?
2 D o s t u d e n t s i n y o u r s c h o oa
l u t o m a t i c a l lm
y o v e u p f r o m l e v e lt o l e v e la t t h e e n d o f
a p e r i o do f t i m e ? W h a t o r o b l e m sc a n t h i s c a u s e ?
3 Learners
andtheirneeds
useful generalclassificationthat givesa reasonableoverallpicture ofwhar they
might know and what they might be ableto do. It suggestsmaterialwe can use and
activitieswe can plan, and will probably allow us to teach (and survive) at least
until we havea more accuratepicture to guide us.
However,assoonasrvemove in a bit closer,say,to stand a few metresawayfrom
them, we notice that this group ofpeople is madeup of somevery differentIooking individuals.If we checkthe overallabilitiesofeach person,we find that
someare 'weakPre-intermediate',some'mid-Pre-intermediate'and some,strong
Pre-intermediate'.Maybe there are evensomepeoplervho seemto belongto
anotherlevel classihcation,say'Elementary'or,Intermediate,.
If we move in evencloserand standnext to one of tiese people (and talk to her),
we might find out evenmore.\(/emight discoverthat this person,sgeneral,level'
masksthe fact that shehas a rangeoflevels over the different languagesystems
and skills,eg perhapsher knowledgeof grammar is very good, her vocabularyis a
litde lveakerand her speakingand listeningare very much poorer.
Ve could look evencloserthan this, ofcourse, and hnd the specifickinds oftasks
that sheis competentin or weakin, eg shecan fill in an applicationform, but uses
an inappropriate stylefor writing a formal letter requestinginformation.
F*'"*""li."""-*;-l
I
I
ofoverall
classlevel
Individuals'
I o f n d i v i d u a t ls levelsin varioLts
leves
systemsand skills
I
I
-closer
.)
th in oc)
ur LuBrJrr
/)
. takea languagetesq
. tick the picture / diagramsthat representtheir use of English (eg pictures of
office telephoning,greetingcustomers);
. write a paragraphabout topics setby teacher(eg'Your successes
and
English');
diffrcultieswith speaking
. write a letter / an email / a note to your teacher(eg'Your hopesfor this course'):
. write a homework essayabout what you want to learn and why
90
3 Learners
andthetrneeds
Speaking
You can:
. interview learnersindividually or in pairs;
. plan activitiesto focus learnerson specihcissues,leadingto discussron;
. asklearnersto select(and reject) items from a menu or a set
of cardsJdiscussing
their reasonswith eachot}rer;
. askinformally for adviceabout what would be useful to work
on next lesson;
. collect oral (or written) feedbackcomments (eg about the usefulness
ofwork
you are doing) at t}reend oflessons;
. showthe intended coursebookfor the courseand discussit tosether
with the
class1egS/ral/taei tseit?How?How much?Pace?etc):
. get learnersto helpplan f:e course,tl.eweekor tre nexr lessont
. organisea socialeventat which informal discussionson needsarise;
. asklearnersto describe draw make a model oftheir workplace
/
/
or a diagram
of theircompanl srucrure,erc.
Observation
You can:
. setthe studentstasksto do in classthat will allow you to observethem
working,
speakingand using language.Thiswill give you a chanceto diagnosetheir
Ianguage/ skillsproblemsand discovermore about what they need;
. if you havea one-to-onestudent,it may be possibleto observehim at his
,
workplaceand get a realisticidea ofwhat he needsto do with English;
. askeachlearnerto bring in samplesof materialthey work with (or expecr
ro
work with in the future): leaflets,letters,tasks,professionalmagazrnes,erc.
NB If the learners'languagelevelis low, many of the NeedsAnalysisideas
could be usedin their mother tongue. Or here'sa quick answer!Copy the
NeedsAnalysis
cardsor rJteNeedsAna$tsisquestionnaire
resourceson the DVD to
help you find out more about your learners.
value ofwhat they are doing and take an appropriate amount of time to complete it.
One useful purpose in doing a NeedsAnalysis (evenifyou entirely ignore the
resulting data!) is to allow learnersto discoverthat other peoplein the room have
91
3 Learners
andtheirneeds
servean additionalpurpose:encouragingthe courseparticipantsto start taking
ownershipof their course,making choicesaboutwhat they want or need (radter
than assumingthat everlthing hasalreadybeendecidedand is cut and dried).When
peoplefeelthey havesomepolveror responsibilityoverwhathappensto them,it
can reallychangetheir anitudeto it. Ofcourse,with any NeedsAnalysis,there
might be a dangerthat,in askingpeoplewhat they want or hope for, you might lead
them to expectthat everlthing they askfor will happen.Having saidthat,I guessit's
much betterto find out ratherthan to pretendthat the differencesdon't exist.
What can you do with the data?
Anyway,let's assumethe information you get is true and useful.There are still
potential problems.Whatcan you do with it? Maybe you considerthe learners'
wishesare inappropriate or not realisticor not possible,or that the range ofneeds
statedare too wide-rangingwithin the group.\ hat are the options for making use
of this data?
ffiffi
Balancing
courseplansandneeds
l m a g i n ea s i t u a t i o nw h e r ey o u ' r ea c l a s st e a c h e ra n d y o u ' v ea l r e a d yd e v i s e d( o r
been presentedwith) a course plan before the course starts. How could you let the
d a t a o b t a i n e df r o m a N e e d sA n a l y s i si n f l u e n c eo r c h a n g et h a t p l a n ?
T a k en o a c c o u n to f t h e N e e d sA n a l y s i sd a t a . C o n t i n u ew i t h t h e
c o u r s ea s i f t h e d a t a h a d n ' tb e e n c o l l e c t e d .
R e v i e wt h e d a t a , b u t d e c i d et h a t y o u ro r i g i n a cl o u r s ep l a n i s l i k e l yt o
a c h i e v es o m e t h i n gv e r y c l o s et o t h e d e s i r e do u t c o m e s ,s o c o n t i n u e
u s i n gt h e o r i g i n a p
l lan.
C o n t i n u ew i t h t h e c o u r s ea s b e f o r e ,b u t a l l o wt h e d a t a t o i n f l u e n c e
s m a l l a s p e c t so f h o w y o u h e l po r d e a lw i t h i n d i v i d u a l si n c l a s s .
C o n t i n uw
e i t ht h e c o u r s ea s b e f o r eb u ta d di n a l i m i t e dn u m b eor f
extraactivities,lessonsor variationsto satisfysomestatedneeds
o r f o rc e r t a i ni n d i v i d u atl o
s d o f o r h o m e w o r(ko ri n c l a s s ) .
R e p l a nt h e c o u r s e ,m u c h a s b e f o r e ,b u t a i m i n gt o c o v e rt h e m a t e r i a l
i n f a s t e rt i m e ( o r d r o p e l e m e n t s )i n o r d e rt o a d d i n a l a r g e rn u m b e ro f
extra activities or lessons to satisfv some stated needsR e p l a nt h e c o u r s et o i n c o r o o r a t es u b s t a n t i a el l e m e n t so f t h e n e e d s
a l o n g s i d er e l e v a n te l e m e n t sf r o m t h e o r i g i n a p
l lan.
l\4ost
P u tt h e o r i g i n a cl o u r s ep l a nt o o n e s i d e a n d b a s e a n e w c o u r s ep l a n
entirely.
93
fr
94
4 Getting
feedback
fromlearners
. do not elicit feedbackabout opinions on course,content,methods,working
sttles, etc;
. do not deviatefrom their own plan / agenda;
. keepup their own 'radio babble' (ie a constantstreamof space-filling,though
often low-quality, talk) to block out the incoming signalsfrom the class;
. find trme-filling activities (such aswriting at length ori the board) to savethem
from having to communicatemore with learners.
Ineffective,unhelpful teachingis teachingthat proceedsfor-ward(perhaps
accordingto a plan, accordingto what you wanted to do, accordingto what the
book says,accordingto a syllabus,accordingto whatever)without referenceto
what impact this is having on the learnersin class.
The essentialengineof a richer, more productive learning environmenris
communicatron,two-way feedbackfrom learnersto teachersand vrceversa.
You could now useObservationThsk6 on the DVD to examinethe teacher'srole
in the learning environment.
Why is it hard to tune in?
When you start teaching,it's hard to think very much about anyoneother than
yourself.If you're anything like I was,you might havea tape recorderofworries
echoingin your head,evenmore so ifyou are being observed.!7henI watch new
traineeteachersin the classroom,I often nodce how they haveso many concerns
about their own actionsand words as a teacherthat they hnd it very hard to tune
in to the other peoplein the room
These are a few ofthe worries you may feel: . I hope I don't sayan1'thingsilly.
. What on earth can I do next?
. Do they like me?
. That activity only lastedthree minutes,and I thought it'd Iast45.
. This is lastingforever,and I thought it would taketlree minutes.
. I feel so confused.
. I don't really understandthis thing I'm teaching.
. Is the observergoing to catchme out?\)fhat's shewriting?
. This activity is so boring.
Finding a way to turn offthis internal noiseand start listeningto ttre genuinevoice
offeedback from outsideis often a difficult, slowly acquiredbut important
teachingskill. In gaining feedbackinformation from learners,we learn to adjust
and fine-tune our intuitive responses.
Avoiding
feedback
o
o
o
o
oo
oo
ll I really said
all the thinge I
want, il woul^
sound greedy or
loo negalive,
/\
Feedbackis probably only reallyuseful when the channelsare open all dre time,
which suggestsa different way ofworking from many traditional teaching
situations- and a different relationship.Can you imagine a coursein which the
studentsgenuinelydirect or influence or affect the prografirme on a consistent
basisand with positiveoutcomes?How could this come about?
96
5 Learnertraining
Learner training
For me,learnertaining means'raising student awarenessabout how they are
Iearningand, asa result,helping them to hnd more effectivewaysofworking, so
ttrat they can continue working efficiently and usefully,evenwhen awayfrom their
teacherand the classroom'.More simply,it means,working on teachinglearning
aswell asteachingEnglish'.
Learner training, therefore,includes:
. work on study skills,eg use of dictionaries,referencematerial,workbooks,
notebooks,filed material:
. studentexaminationofthe processoflearning and reflectionon what is
happening,eg ofteaching strategiesyou use (and the reasonswhy you usethem).
In both cases,it seemsimportant to include theseasstrandsthroughout a course.
97
98
Ghapter5 l-anguageanalysis
This chapterprovides a basicintroduction to analysinglanguage.Even ifyou
know relativelylitde about grammar,the next secdonwill showyou a way ro
analysegrammaticalform for teachingpurposesthat doesn,tdepend on
knowing grammaticalterms.Secdon3 then givesa brief introducuon to the
actualterminology.
Chapter5 Language
analysis
goingto
arflve
cook
swtm
Analysinggrammatical patterns
S u m m a r i s et h e u n d e r l i n e dg r a m m a rp a t t e r n su s i n ge i t h e ra t a b l e o r g r a m m a t i c a l
terminology.
a
b
c
d
e
100
grammaticalform
2 Analysing
language:
Substitution tables
flas
HAVE
lvlary
Juan
he
you
they
y o u rf r i e n d s
bought
eaten
book
cnrps
chocolate
story
magazine
rne
ii ave
book
chrps
JUan
he
tne
you
they
yourfriends
Writinga substitutiontable
The followingsubstitution table is for Wh-questions (Who, Where,When, Why,How,
What)in the past simple tense.
Where
What
HOW
When
whv
did
you
he
she
Karolina
the teachers
go
eat
see
do
run
101
Chapter
5 Language
analysis
An introduction
to Engtsh grammar
Recognisinggrammatical items 1
Find at least one example of each of the following in the text below: a past
participle, a base form, an auxiliaryverb, an imperativeand a multiworoverD.
broadbandlnlernel haobecomemuch
chea?erovarthe lasi fewyears.lakeuVour
e?ecialoffer in'he nexl sevendays,and
we'llLhrowin a freeNhree-monIh
subscription
Nothe best virus-?rolecLion
service.
102
3 An introduction
to Englishgrammar
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
presentperfect
past simple
past progressive(alsocalledpast continuous)
past perfect
will
golng to
conditionals
usedto
Recognisinggrammatical items 2
I nt h et e x tb e l o wf,i n da t l e a s to n eu n c o u n t a b nl eo u n ,a p r o n o u na, c o m p o u nndo u n
a n oa n o u np n r a s e .
HeylWhenyouoaiaft,.waoiuol,a lif,Ile
etudioflat, I neverexpectedlhislfhere's
oo r(iuchliqht,andihat ?anoramic
view
overthe riverioiuol amazinql
103
Recognisinggrammatical items 3
Howmanyprepositions
canyoufind in this sentence?
104
3 An introduction
to Englishgrammar
grammatical
Recognising
items4
Finda comparative,
a gradableadjective,an ungradable
adjective,an indefinite
article,an adverbof frequencyanda relativepronounin the followingtext.
Comparaive: smokier
Ungradableadjecldve: brilliant
Indefinite article:a
Adverb of frequency'.alway
Relativepronoun: rlzal
Adiectives
Adjectivesgive us more information about a noun or a noun phraselfor example,
in the sentenceThere'sa tall treenextto thehostel,theword ral/is an adjective.
lyhen we comparethings,we usethe comparative form of an adjective.For most
words, this is made by adding -erto the adlecive,eg taller (sometimeswith
spellingchanges).Longer adjectivesmake the comparaivewrth more,eg more
delightful.Thetearea few irregular comparatives,eg zuorse
is the comparativeform
of bad.
To saythat somethingis 'the most' or'the least',we use the superlative form. For
most adjectives,you add -esr(sometimeswith spellingchanges)and put /zebefore
the adjective.Longer adjectivesmake superlativeswith themos4egtheruost
asmnishing.Again,there are irregular ones,eg theworst.
Some adjectivesare gradable, ie we can uset}Iem with modifiers to saythere are
different amountsor degreesof sometbtng,eg It's a bit hot,h\ ratherhot,h\ aery
hot,It\ extrerneb/
hot,elc.
Some adjectivesalreadyshow extremeconditions or describethings that can only
be one way or the other with no intervening area.Thesecannotnormally be
gradedin any further way,ie they are ungradable. Examples areexcellent,
huge
and essential.
Determiners
Determiners arewords that come in front ofnouns or noun phrases.Theterm
includesarticlesand quantifiers.
?fte is the definite atttcle. A and an are the indefinite article. Uncountable
nouns nevertakethe indefinite article.rwhenwe havenew information to state,we
generallyintroduce it the first time with the indefinite article.The definite article is
usedwhen our listeneror readeralreadyknows what we are talking abouq tre
noun it intoduces is not new information.The followins sentencesshow
105
Chapter
5 Language
analysis
examplesof both: Thereis a aery interestinglibraryjust outsideBudapest.The
library
has ooertwo million books.
Beyondthis, the guidelinesfor use are quite complex!
Quantfiers tell us how much of somethingthere is, eg /otsof cake,afew bogs,some
Wle$ not TnuchinteresL
Adverbs
There are someeasilyrecognisablekinds of adverbs.They are words that:
. tell us how somethingis done (adverbsof manner), eg quickly,angrily;
. tell us when somethingis done (adverbsoftime), eg soon,nowadays;
. tell us how often something is done (adverbs of freque ncy) , eg regularly,usually;
. tell us where somethingis done (adverbsofplace) ,eg there,nearb);
. tell us how much thereis of something (adverbsofdegree), eg aerg,rather;
. indicate an opinion or attitude, eg /z ckilg, surprisingly.
I neverget on with adverbs.Theyalwaysseemlike the word classfor everything
that no one knows how to classify.Ifyou can't work out what word class
somethingis, it's probably an adverb!
Relative clauses
Relativeclausesare parts ofsentencesthat tell us more information about
someoneor something,eg in the sentenceCanyou seethecar thqt'sparkedoutside
thechurch?the relaive clause that'sparhed outsidethechurch tells ts rr.ore
information about which car is being discussed.
Relativeclausesoften start with a relativepronoun, eg that,who,which,zuhen,
where,why, what, whose.
Where to go from here
. Don't try and sit down with a grammar book and learn it; better to integrare
your learning with your teaching.If you are going to teachthe past perfect
tomorrow, then sit down and researchit tonight. Readand takenotes.Make
friends with the item.
. Slowly build up your grammar knowledgein this way,lessonby lesson,
item by item.
. Make good use of the notesinTeacher'sBooksthat accompanyall major
coursebooks.There are often a lot ofhelpful hints about the lesson'sgrammar.
But don't rely on only this information.Youmust get and use your own
grammar referencesaswell.
. I often find that I need to refer to two or three different sourcesto really get mv
head around an item of grammar.It's interestingthat grammaticaldescription
isn't hxed and setin stone.Different books can takevery different angleson
things, often classifyingin different waysand giving different names.Youneed
to gatherand sort all this out in your head and decidewhat is most useful and
helpful from your perspective.
. Having researchedand got comfortable with a new grammar item,let it settlei
your head and then think coolly and caknly asto what small part of that you car
dealwith in a sinslelesson.
106
4 Analysing
concept:the
meanings
of words
. Somenew native-speakerteachersget'grammar drunk' when they start
teaching.Having previouslyknown litde about their own language,they do
their researchand then find it so exciung that they go into classwanting to tell
their studentsabout all that they havelearned.Remember,you needto know as
much asyou can about grammar.But your studentscannot absorbit all in one
go. Good researchshould not lead to a ,1O-minutelecture on 'Everlthins I know
about the presentperfect'.
It's worth noting that there are different kinds ofresource book that may be
helpful, including:
. Traditional grammars,written mainly for academicsor native speakers,can be
a bit overwhelmingfor the teacher.
. Pedagogicgrammarsare written specihcallyfor teachers.Theseoften include
helpful notesabout typical errors and studentproblems.
. Usagebooks are guidesto how the languageis used.They refer to grammatical
points, but alsoinclude information on vocabularyand pronunciation issuesJ
style,idioms and so on.The items may be organisedalphabeticallyor according
to meaningsor functions rather than by grammaticalclass.
. Studentgrammarsand workbooksoften presentbite-sized(or one-page-sized)
nuggetsof grammaticalinformation alongsideexercisesto practisethosepoints.
Studentsoften like working through these,exerciseby exercise,at home.They
are alsoa useful resourcefor teachersbecauseoftheir clear,straightforwardand
short explanations,often with usableteachingexamplesand contexts.
107
Chapter5 Languageanalysis
1 Alsocalled'gumboots'.Brit.knee-lengthor calf-length
rubberor rubberizedboots,worn esp.in wet conditions.
Often shortenedto 'wellies'.
2 Militaryleatherbootscoveringthe front of the kneebut
cut awayat the backto alloweasierbending of the knee.
namedafter the lst Dukeof Wellington]
[C'19:
(CoIIi ns Eng Iish Dicti onary)
OK, that's clear,and relativelyeasyfor a good user ofEnglish to follow, but it is
more problematic for a learner.for a number ofreasons:
The definition is wrinen in languagemore complex than the item being defined:
if the readerdoesn'tunderstandwellingtons,then it is possiblethat he will also
not understand Aflee-length,ca[, rubber,rubberized,worn, esp.,shortened.The
whole entry is in a 'dictionary style',which may be hard to interpret.
There is no distinction bet",veen
the everydaymeaning ( 1) and the much rarer
secondusage(2).
Thete are no examplesof how thesewords might be used.
Commor5 everydaylcrowledge,feelingsand reactionsthatwe carry around in our
headare ignored,egwelliesareoften blackor green;welliesareassociatedwidr
farmers,ramblersand fishermenlwelliescan getvery smelly;you haveto pull them orL
In a classroomwhere a studenthasjust askedTeacher,what
means'wellingnns'?,1
can help the studentunderstandthe meaningby:
. avoidinglanguagemore complex than the word I'm trying to explain;
. focusing on the most important usages;
. using examples;
. using my own and the student'sknowledgeand feelingsto focus on what we
understandby this word.
One way to make languagelesscomplex is to avoidwords that the studentsare
unlikely to understand.Another way is to avoid complex grammar.Another waf i
to keepyour sentencesshort. In the examplebelow,I havecombined information
from the dictionary defrnition with my own knowledge,and then segmentedthis
information into small,bite-sizedchunks,eachchunk very simply staringone
featureofthis information in simplelanguage:
Wellingtons
108
Farmersoften wearthem.
Fishermenoften wearthem.
lTalkersoften wearthem.
.'^".
f--r
r^ --t
*,-t
4 Analysing
concept:the
meanings
of words
I haveput an asteriskbesidethe three sentencesthat seemto carry the essenceof
what welliesare;I would usethesesentencesifl had to explainthe rneaningto a
foreign student.However,a combinationofany four or five ofthe sentencesabove
would probably give a student enough information to understand what wellingtons
are.After all,in many cases,we won'tbe teachingthe studentwhat welliesare (they
may well have them in their own counuy); we are simply trying to allow them to
recognisethat thesenew words are the Englishway of describingsomethingthat
they know in their tongue. (Conversely,somestudentsmay notknow what they
are,and we may haveto teacha new conceptaswell asa new word.)
Analysingmeaning
S e g m e n t h e m e a n i n go f t h e f o l l o w i n gw o r d s i n t o t h e i r c o m p o n e n tp a r t s , u s i n g
languagethat is less complexthan the words themselvesi a calf, a watch, a clock,
a poster,
a calf
Findingmissingwords
I n t h e f o l l o w i n gs h o r t t e x t ,f i l l e a c h g a p w i t h a n y a p p r o p r i a t ew o r d .
analysis
Chapter5 Language
Collocation
'go together'with certain other words, we can saythat
When words tlpically
they collocate.Thus fteazy collocates with trclzc; so do jLun' coq and light. Slrch
collocationsare an essentialkey to using English well. It may be that knowledge
of collocationsis more useful to a studentthan an understandingof the fine
differencesof meaningbetweenwords. Perhapsit doesn'treally matter exactly
what the detailedmeaning of booharoorzis(ie doesithappen differently in
different countdes?);it's much more important to understandits generalmeaning
and to know that it is the normallv usedword in this context.
rwecan help studentsbetter understandmeaningin context by:
. pointing out collocationswhen they occur;
designrngactivitresthat focus aftentionon tlte collocationsofparticular lexical
items (eg finding a number of words t}at might come after ftrglz);
encouragingthe use ofdictionary researchto checkwhether a collocationis
typical or no!
settingtext gap-fill exercises;
askinglearnersto guessmeaning from cluesin the context,rather than always
relyingon explanations
or dicrionaries;
getting learnersto predict likely meaningsor lexicalitems before seeingor
hearing a text (eg This storg is about twopeopleqrriaing in q strzngetoun at nighl.
lX4ratwordsd.oyou think might bein thesnry?) .
You'Il find more ideasin Chapter 8.
Findingcollocations
F i n do n eo r m o r ec o l l o c a t i o nf os r e a c ho f t h e f o l l o w i n g :
safety,blonde, feel, bad
Relations between words
The meaningofwords is often clearestwhenyou can seethem in relation to other
words.
Relationshipsbetweenwords
What is the relationshipbetweenthe words within each group below?
I
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
hot, cold
on, off
stroll, amble
drink, Iemonade
flower, pot, spade, seeds, weedkiller
nation, national, international, internationalist
fair, fair, fair
fair, fare
grammatical
5 Analysingconcept:
meaning
5
6
ffi
grammatical
Analysing
meaning
111
Chapter5 Language
analysis
helplearnersunderstand
the grammatical
concept,in this casethe ideaof haye
somethingdone.We needa wayof analysingconceptthat will be applicableevenif
t h ev o c a b u l a ri yt e m sc h a n g e .
Lookat the sentencesbelowandunderlinethe onesthat containpart of the
essentialmeaningof the sentence/ had the car repalred. Crossout thoseones
that youfeel arewrongor do not apply.
1 | repairedthe car.
2lboughtacar.
3 S o m e o n ree p a i r etdh e c a r .
4 T h ec a rh a da n a c c i d e n t .
5 | usedto havea car.
6 l d i d n ' tr e p a i ri t m y s e l f .
7 | paidmoneyfor the repair.
8 | took my carto a garage.
9 | arrangedfor this to happen
10 N4y
car runswell now
Someoneemptindtheswimmingpool.
112
S h e ' s b e e n r e a d i n gs i n c es h e c a m e h o m e .
I'd rather have a lemonade.
H e l e nu s e d t o s m o k e .
I ' m p l a v i n gt e n n i s w i t h P a u lt h i s e v e n i n g .
5 Analysing
concept:grammatical
meaning
Once you havedecidedon your sentences,it's simple enoughto turn them into
conceptquestions.Theseare basicallythe sameasthe statements,but in question
form, with very simple answers- often no more than 'yes'r'no' or 'perhaps'.
Again, they focus aftention on the core meaning.
Consider dre conceptquestionsfor t had thecar repaired:
Did someonerepair the car?
(yes)
(no,
Makingconceptquestions
T u r ny o u rs e n t e n c efso rT a s k5 . 1 2 i n t oc o n c e pqt u e s t i o n s .
Is shereadingnow?
(ves)
Chapter5 Language
analysis
meaning is not really to do with the present - in fact, it's a sentenceabout *re
future (and, to some extent, about the past, when the tennis date was actually
arranged).It's worth noting that the grammaticalnamesof languageitems can
actually get in the way ofunderstanding the meaning.A student who believesthat a
presenttensemust talk aboutthe presentmay need someconvincingthat it can
alsorefer to dre future! Similarly,a teacherwho doesnot clearlyseparatethe issues
of form and meaningmay confusestudents.A focus on form is useful,but it will
haveconsiderablylessuseif there is no parallelfocus on meaning.
onthe DVD
Analysing comrnunicative function
'Why
Communicativepurpose
lf I saythe followingto you,whatarethe likelyresults?
I
2
3
4
5
6 Analysing
communicative
function
Analysingfunctionallanguage
For each of the following,suggest one possible context and who might be speaking
t o w h o . W h a t m i g h tb e t h e s p e a k e r ' sp u r p o s e ?
1, Phew. It's cold in here.
2 The fish is vety good today.
3 Well,actually l'm a bit busy atthe moment.
Sentence
Possible context
Who?
Possible meaning
arnome
husbandto wife
| (politely)
requestyou
t o c l o s et h e d o o r .
ina restaurant
waiterto
customers
l o o k i n ga t m e n u
I recommendthat you
o r d e rt h e f i s h d i s h .
Well,actually
l'm a bit busyat
the moment.
in the office
b u s r n e s sw o m a n
t o c o l l e a g u ew h o
h a sj u s t a s k e d
I suggestwe
c o u l dt a l ka n o t h e r
t i m er a t h e trh a nn o w .
Possible context
Who?
Possible meaning
Willyouclosethe door,
pl e a s e ?
waiterto
customers
in the office
Couldwetalkanother
timeratherthannow?
Chapter
5 Language
analysis
Functionsand exponents
l\4atch
the functionsbelowwiththe exponentson the right.Theremaybe none,
o r m o r et h a no n ee x p o n e nut n d e re a c hh e a d i n g .
1
2
3
4
G i v i n gi n s t r u c t i o n s
Refusing
Apologising
Disagreeing
b
c
d
e
f
h
j
116
P u ti t i n t h e b a g .
T h a n k sb, u t l c a n ' t .
I d o n ' tt h i n ky o u ' r er i g h t .
Surelynotl
W e l l t, o m ym i n d t, h e U Nh a st h e b e s l
chance.
I'm awfullysorry.
We regretanyinconvenience
caused.
ldoapologise.
N o .I w o n ' t .
Writethe answerin yourbook.
6 Analysing
communicative
function
r a'l
z b,i
3 f,e,h
4 c,d,e
Fillingin a functiontable
T r y f i l l i n gi n t h e f o l l o w i n gv e r s i o no f t h e f u n c t i o nt a b l e :
Sentence
Possible context
who?
Possible meaning
It's midday.
R e m i n d i n gh i m t o p h o n e .
It's midday.
W a r n i n gh e r t o d o i t n o w .
It's midday.
It's midday-
H u r r yu p !
on appropriacy
117
Chapter5 Language
analysis
118
Figure 5.1
Kachru's cirlcesofEnglish
119
Chapter5 Languageanalysis
Yourstudents'interactionneeds
Dothe studentsyouworkwith needEnglishto communicate
with English
mother-tongue
speakers?Or aretheymorelikelyto be usingEnglishas a language
to interactwithothernon-native
users?Howdoesthis impacton yourapproach?
'What
120
7 English
intheworld
andEnglish
teaching
it for discussionand choice;for example,after playing a recording, saying'!fell,
the person on the recording said ... but, myself,I say... and here in this town,I've
noticed that peoplesay ...'.
As yet, there is no agreement on what the lingua franca core might be.There
is no standard international English, no single accepted Globish. But there
might be one day.And in the meantime, we need to decide how these
arguments affect our attitudes to things like correctnessof grammar and
pronunclauon.
Appropriate
ffi
rnethodology
tt's impossibte
I n r e a d i n tgh i s b o o k ,h a v ey o uc o m ea c r o s si d e a so r t e c h n i q u etsh a th a v em a d ey o u
s t o pa n dt h i n k' T h a t ' sc o m p l e t e luyn s u i t a b lfeo r m ys t u d e n t so' r ' T h a ti s j u s t
i m p o s s i b lien t h i s l o c a l i t y / c u l t u r e ' ?
I rather hope you have,becausethe book isn't intendedto offer any all-purpose
solutions,but to suggestsomepossibilitiesand encourageyou to enquireinto how
they might frt with your own teachingand its context.The kind of techniquesand
teachingstrategiesdiscussedin this book representmy version ofwhat seemsto
me current good practice and thinking. But it is one person'sview basedon my
experiencein the kinds of schoolsand countriesI haveworked in. It may well not
be appropriatemethodologyin other schools,odrer places,other cultures.
There may be seriousdangersin trying to 'export' en massean approachthat
works in one placeand assumingit will alsowork elsewhere.Theright
methodologyis the right methodologyfor a context.It isn't a universalanswer.
This is not to saythat the right mefhodologyis automaticallywhateverthe status
quo happensto be or what conservativethbkers in a localebelieveto be best.Some
teachersor managersmay havea stakein maintaining things just asthey are and
reject any innovation or suggestionfor improvement.In thesecases,the teacher
who feels that they have something important to offer has a difficult dilemma asto
whether it is right to implement their innovation and how to do it most effectively.
Global issues
Beyond concernsabout languageand methodology,maybeteachersshould also
be askingabout their role on the planet asa whole.
My role
You might like to try out some of these questions on yourself.
. W h a t c u l t u r a li m p a c td o e s m y t e a c h i n go f E n g l i s hh a v eo n t h e d e v e l o p m e not f t h e
country and on the use of its own languages?
. S h o u l dI b e c o n c e r n e da b o u tt h e i m p a c tm y t e a c h i n gh a s o n t h e w o r l d ,t h e
p e o p l e so f t h e w o r l da n d t h e g l o b a lf u t u r e ?
.lfIbelievethatsomeaspectofIanguageeducationlocally,nationallyorglobally
is bad (or not helpful)for my students (eg the exams they have to take are poorly
121
Chapter5 Languageanalysis
122
Ghapter6 Planninglessonsandcounses
There are many waysto approachthe planning oflessonsand coursesand this
chapter exploresa number ofthese in detail.Thinking about the aims of the lesson
you are about to teachis a fundamentalskill for a teacherand one which impacts
on the choicesyou make asthe lessonprogresses.
The role ofEnglish asa world
languageis alsoexaminedin Chapter 5 Section7.
cnrrlant?
. The learners
How will the lessonengagetle learners?
\fill they enjoy doing the lesson?
STillthey benefit from it?
. The aims
rJThatwill the learnersachieve?
What are you hoping to achieveyourself?
123
Chapter6 Planninglessonsandcourses
when planning
Gonsiderations
T h e l i s t b e l o ws h o w s s o m e m o r et h i n g sy o u m i g h tc o n s i d e rw h e n p l a n n i n ga l e s s o n Decidewhich items go with each ofthe above headings
. How manv seoarate activities will there be?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
W h e r ew i l lI s t a n do r s i t ?
seed?
W h a td o l e a r n e r n
on?
W h a ts k i l l sw i l ll e a r n e rbs e w o r k i n g
H o ww i l lI c o n t r otli m i n g ?
Whatare someofthe thingsthat couldcausedifficultiesor go wrong?
Howam I goingto dealwith mistakes?
ls theregoingto be varietyof activityin the lesson?
goals?
Howdo the lessonaimsfit in with longer-term
W h a td o t h e yk n o wa l r e a d y ?
Irnportant
considerations
when planning
2 Howdopeople
learnlanguages?
long, but allowsmy personalityand creativityto start owning the material.It
usually coalescesfairly sooninto somethingmore concreteand usable.
Ifyou're having trouble planning, here'sa possiblestarting point:
Look at the next unit ofyour coursebook(or whatevermaterial you intend to
teachwith).Think about your students.Don't start wdting yet! Let your mind
wander and explore a number ofways that the two (material and learners)can
meet.Don't dismissthe impossibleor ludicrous ideasif they come;just enjoy
them and keepwandering.Imagine having a conversationwith one (or some) of
your studentsabout anything that appearson the coursebookpage.!7hat do they
frnd interestingor problematic in terms oftopic, activity,language?
After a while (one minute? ten minutes?),start organisingyour thoughts more
systematically.Can you get a senseofthe whole lesson?You'llprobably need to
start wdting around this point!
Planning becomesa lot easierifyou havea clearidea asto how you think that
peoplelearn.!7e will look at this in the following sections.
ffi
A student'sprogresswhenlearninga newitem
T h e f o l l o w i n gl i s t c h a r t s o n e p o s s i b l ee x p l a n a t i o no f a s t u d e n t ' sp r o g r e s sw h e n
learning a new item of language(eg a new piece of grammar).lvlatchthe labels to
the numberedstages listed below.
T h el e a r n etrr i e st o u s et h e i t e mi n h i s / h e ro w ns p e e c ho r
writing(maybehesitantly,probablywith manyerrors).
The learner integratesthe item fully into his/her own tanguage
a n d u s e s i t ( w i t h o u t h i n k i n g )r e l a t i v e l ye a s i l yw i t h m i n o re r r o r s .
125
Chapter6 Planninglessonsandcourses
Input
Learning
Use
U n d e r s t a ni ndg
l\4emory
RESTRICTEDEXPOSU
RE
R ea di n g
Listening
Reflection
RESTRICTED
OUTPUT
Speaking
Writing
OTHER
DATA
C o u r s e b o oi nk f o r m a t i o n
Teacherexplanations
G r a m m abr o o k s e, t c
Preparing
(to speak/write)
AUTHENTIC
OUTPUT
Sp e a ki n g
Writing
The processoflearning
'Restlicted'and'Authentic'exposure
T h e d i a g r a mi s a l i t t l em o r e c o m p l e xt h a n t h e s h o r t e re x p l a n a t i o n
g i v e ne a r l i e .
E x p o s u r ei s s e p a r a t e di n t o ' R e s t r i c t e da' n d ' A u t h e n t i ce' x p o s u r e- w h a t m i g h : ' . i r
mean?
2 Howdo peoplelearnlanguages?
Exposure
The distinction between authentic and restricted is whe*rer the exposure comes
from a text that is realistic - or reasonablylike a normal natural text (= authentig
exposure) - or if it is ftom a text that is recognisably simplifred or perhaps including
an unnaturallyhigh number of examplesof a specifictargetitem (= restricted
exposure).From a teachingperspective,the distinctionis important, aswe may
needto adopt differentapproachesto a text that is not specificallylearner-friendly
than towardsmaterialwritten to achievespecificteachingpurposes.
Authentic exposure
This is exposureto languagewhen it is being usedfairly naturally.For example:
. Readingmagazines,books,articles,product labels,etc
. Listening to small talk and listeningto recordings,radio, etc
. lTatching English films or televisionchannels(eg Cartoon Network)
. Living in a placewhere the languageis used
. Hearing incidentallanguageusedin class
. Readingpiecesoflanguage on notices,posters,etc around the classroorn
Restricted exposure
Exposureto texts specificallydesignedto be accessibleto learners- and probably
to draw aftentionto specifrclanguagepoints.
The texts will often:
. be speciallydesignedfor learners,providing clearexamplesoftarget language
items being usedin context;
. be simplified through use ofgraded language;
. haveunusuallyhigh quantitiesof specifictarget languageitems.
Learnersmay:
. listen to you saysentencesthat exemplify the languagepoint you are aiming to
work on;
. read or listen to coursebooktexts designedto presentfeaturesof certain
lanorrqoe
itemq'
127
Chapter6 Planninglessonsandcourses
Noticing
Recalla specific example from 'real life' or from a class you have taught or
observed - that shows someone 'noticing' or havingtheir attention drawn to an
item of language.
128
lessoncomponents
3 Sequencing
Cl a r i f i c a t i o n
procedure
Figure6.2'Buildingbricks'lesson
This is a popular lessonshapefor many teachers.Let's look at it more closely.
. In the first stage,the learnersget to seeor hear examplesof languagebeing used
(maybein a readingtext or by listeningto a recording).
. Clarifrcation refersto a lessonstagein which the learnersfocusin on a piece
oflanguage,to seeit, think about it and understandit, to becomemuch clearer
on its form, meaningand use.It can be done in a variety of different ways
129
Chapter6 Planninglessonsandcourses
(eg studentslook itup for *remselvesin a grammar book). For the moment, in
'teacherexplainsthe languagepoint'.
this lessonexample,let'sassumeit means
. After this, the learnerstry using the languagefor themselvesin relatively
unthreateningways.
This t,pe oflesson is often called'present- practise',ie first the learnersmeet
(or are 'given') new languageitems,then they practiseusing them - then they
produce them in freer,more fluent ways.
Of course,the building-brick metaphor is somethingof a simplification.In
practice,aspectsofthe bricks are likely to interweave,overlapor happen
simultaneously;for example,in this lesson,the explanationsdo not occupy one
long block of time, but are shorter and more integratedwith the exposureand
output stages(seeFigure 6.3).
Clarification
procedure
Figure 6.3 Breakdownof'buildingbdcks'lesson
However,althoughthis rnay be a more realisticview,it can still be helpful, for
'thinkrng through' purposes,to plan lessonsin terms of sequencingbuilding
bricks accordingto the maior aspectofeach stage.
Figure 6.4 showsthosebuilding bricks plus othersthat reflect different aspectsof
the learning diagramwe looked at earlier (Figure 6.1).
Input
Learning
represems rop.downressons
{see Chapter 10, Section 3)
representstask based
(see chapter l0, Section2)
Figure 6.4
130
Understanding
Expandedlearning diagram
Use
lessoncomponents
3 Sequencing
These bricks are purely a working tool to help you plan. $7hich bricks you choose
to label and use is up to you; there is no magic in the number of them. Maybe
you'd like to add some of the following to your set, as shown in Figure 6.5.
Activities
that promote
'memory
Activities
that promote
'noticing'
Activities
that promote
'preparation'
Activities
that promote
'reflection'
Alternativesto plesent-practise
Look at the following lesson sequences.
1 C a n y o u i m a g i n eh o w t h e y m i g h t l o o k i n c l a s s ?
2 How do they differ from the present-practise lesson above?
Lesson 1
Restricted
ourpur
Clarification:
Ieacner
explanation
Restricted
ourpur
Lesson 2
Authentic
exposure
Activities
that promote
'noticing'
Clarification:
guided
discovery
Restricted
ourpur
Lesson 3
Activities
that promote
'preparation'
Authentic
output
131
EID
ptan
Aformat
tesson
132
Teacher's name
C el i a
Observer'sname
lvlike
Class name
Pre-intermed
iate3
Room
B7
Date
2 2 n dO c t o b e r
Lessonstart time
7 . 3 0p . m .
Length of lesson
90 minutes
4 Formallessonplanning
Obselvationstart time
7. 4 5 p m
Length of obselvation
60 minutes
Obselvation agenda
(observe0
Obselvationagenda
(teacher)
Teachingpoint(ie What
y o uw i l lb e w o r k i n g
onin
termsof language
i t e m s/ s k i l l s . )
. G r a m m a r / S p e a k i n gG: i v i n ga d v i c ea n d w a r n i n g s
u s i n gT y p e1 c o n d i t i o n a l s
. L e x r s :E v e r y d a yh o u s e h o l do b l e c t sa n d e l e c t r i c a l
items
Main lessonaims
(ie Whatyou hopethe
learnerswill achreve/ be
able to do better after
y o u rr e s s o n . )
B yt h e e n do f m y l e s s o nl e a r n e rw
s i l lb e b e t t e ra b l et o :
. g i v ea d v i c ea b o u tl i v i n gi n a h o s tf a m i l y ;
. form accurateoralandwrittensentencesusing
T y p el c o n d i t r o n at lose x p r e s w
s a r n i n g so,f f e r s ,
t h r e a t sa n dm a k eb a r d a i nisn c o n t r o l l eedx e r c i s e s .
E v i d e n c e( i e H o ww i l l
y o u k n o wt h a t t h i s h a s
b e e n a c hi e v e d ? )
. S t u d e n tw
s i l lr e s p o n da c c u r a t e il n
y d r i l l sa n di n
wr'ttenexercises.
. S t u d e n tw
s i l lb e a b l et o i n v e nst e n t e n c eosf t h e i r
o w nf o l l o w i ntgh e s a m ep a t t e r n
I t e n d t o e x p l a i na l o t ; I ' d l i k et o e i c i t m o r e a n d
g ui d e s t u d e n t st o f i n d i n go u t a b o u tt h e l a n g u a g e .
l \ 4 yd r i l l sa r e r a t h e rd ul l . l ' l l t r y a n d m a k e t h e s e
m o r ed y n a m r c .
1 3 s t u d e n t s( m a i n l yy o u n ga d u l t s ;n i n ef e m a l e ,
f o u r m a l e ) .T h e c l a s s i s a s t r o n gP r e - i n t rem e di a t e
g r o u p ,t h o u g hR e l l ii s n o t i c e a b l yw e a k e ri n g r a m m a r
k n o w l e d g et h a n t h e o t h e r s .T h e c l a s s w o r k sw e l l
together and usually participates actively,though
s o m e a r e q u i e t . l \ y ' i x h a i l g e et sa s r l yd i s t r a c t e da n d
c a n w a s t eo t h e r s ' t i m e .
133
Chapter6Planning
lessonsand courses
Timetablefit
Studentshaverecentlybeenworkinga lot on
talkingaboutthe future;talkjngabouthypothetical
eventswill be a usefulnextstep
tabrei
exercises
g::'::tr;i:i:llilsubstitution
I
Fipre
6.6
Lessonpian
134
5 L e S S O na l m s
Writing
a lesson-plan procedure
Lessonafuns
For everylessonyou teach,and for every activity within that lesson,it is useful to
be ableto statewhat dre aims are,ie what's the point of doing it?What will the
studentsget out ofit? It is important to separatementally:
. the materialyou usel
. the activitiesthat will be done;
. the teachingpoint (ie the languageskills or systemsthat you will work on);
. the topics or contextsthat will be used;
. the aims of the lesson.
On training courses,or when you are being observedby a director ofstudies or
other supervisor,you will often be expectedto offer a clearstatementof aims
before you start teachinga lesson.Thiscan be a useful training discipline,forcing
you to concentate on decidingwhat activitiesand proceduresare most likely to
Chapter6 Planning
lessonsandcourses
c Lessonatms
Achievement
aims
Chapter6 Planning
lessonsandcourses
TTIEONARD'T
CAtTtE
Green,nearBostiam.EastSussex
Leonard's
Figure 6.8
ffi
(Jury& August\,vekends
only)
. Explore
the dank,ancientcellars.Willyoumeet the
ghostof Theobald
the Lost?
. Cheerat out specialmedievaltournamentson
Sp ng and Autumn bank holidays.
Opn:
Tue-Sun10:0O-5:OO
lv,larchlst-September 3oth; weekendsonly
October 1st-Novernber 30th)
Closed:
Dec-Feb.Gift Shop and Cafd open allyear except
ChristrnasDay.
Admbsion:
.1-2.95Adurts,t4.95 Children(3-14).
Concessionst8,95,
Tournaments:t17,0O-no concessions,
Dogs welcomeon leads.
'fi1
o\ ol
Museum leatlertext
Samematerial,
differentaims
T h e e x a m p l ea b o v eu s e dt h e l e a f l e tf o r t w o q u i t e d i f f e r e n ta i m s . B e a r i n gi n m i n d
t h a t t h e t e x t c o u l d b e u s e d i n m a n yd i f f e r e n tw a y s i n c l a s s , n d i f f e r e n ta c t r v i t i e s ,
w i t h d i f f e r e n ta i m s ,w h i c ho f t h e f o l l o w i n ga i m s c o u l d i t b e a n a p p r o p r i a t ep i e c eo r
m a t e r i a lf o r ?
1 B y t h e e n d o f t h e l e s s o n ,t h e l e a r n e r sw i l l h a v e a c l e a r e ru n d e r s t a n d i n og f t h e
u s e o f i m p e r a t i v ev e r bf o r m s .
2 B y t h e e n d o f t h e l e s s o n ,t h e l e a r n e r sw i l l h a v e h a d p r a c t i c ei n l i s t e n i n g t oa n d
g i v i n gi n s t r u c t i o n s .
3 B y t h e e n d o ft h e l e s s o n , t h e l e a r n e r s wbi lel b e t t e ra b l et o u n d e r s t a nadn d u s e
t h e D a s to e r f e c tt e n s e ,
This aim is possible .The activities you devised for using the material would b very different from the ones used rvhen'reading to find spccihc information
was the aim.The activities rvould draw on specific items of language in dre t.
and analyse or focus on them in rval's that made the students clearer about drform, meaning and uses.
This aim may seem inappropriate at a hrst glance, but bear in mind that you
could use thc material in many different rvays.Ifyou devised a role plal-, gir-inc
138
5 LeSSOnarms
the text to only someof the students(the 'information office') and askrngthe
otler ones(the 'tourists') to hnd the answers,then the aim would be appropriate.
3 This is a much more unlikely aim; I'm sure it would be possibleto invenran
activity that usedthis material and involvedwork on the past perfect,but there
are surelymore obviouspiecesof material to use.
Conclusion so far: a pieceof material can be usedin many ways,in different
activities,with quite different aims.Yourdecisionasto what your aim is will
determinethe way in which you work with the material.With a pieceof text, for
example,if your aim is to improve students'ability to read fast,dten you might set
a time limit to force them to read quickly, or you might turn it into a team game
where quick answerswin points. But ifyour aim is to focus on the use ofa
particular tense,you might want to allow time to discussthe problem, to use the
boardto drawsometimelines,etc
Matchingmaterialto aims
Here are th ree aims for th ree separate activities.Which of the following pieces of
m a t e r i a l( a , b , c ) m i g h t i t b e p o s s i b l et o u s e i n o r d e rt o a c h i e v ee a c h a i m ?
1 B y t h e e n d o f t h e l e s s o n ,t h e l e a r n e r sw i l l h a v e h a d o r a l p r a c t i c eo f s i x o r s e v e n
examples of the function of apologising.Theywill be better abte to use them
a c c u r a t e l ya n d i n a p p r o p r i a t es i t u a t i o n s .
2 B y t h e e n d o f t h e l e s s o n , t h e l e a r n e r s w i l lh a v er e v i s e dt h e u s e o f i r ) c a s e a n d
p r a c t i s e du s i n gi t o r a l l ya n d i n w r i t i n g .
3 B y t h e e n d o f t h e l e s s o n ,t h e l e a r n e r sw i l l h a v eh a d w r i t t e np r a c t i c ei n u s i n g
going to Io express future events.
e,&
J4JAyry
M o n a a y4 Md+'nen's ttLfih,la')
Seadflou,'?,fi "
Ta*a-c,nf,la u{f 4.3a
Tueeaay
5
LL6oh Ta^.k1230
Feztual HalL caurr
npm
Wedne7aay 6
DPnt45.lt 12 15
MET TO 6PM
,1./4-EkLoO
9unaa
y1 O
-e.xtuby!"on
V+A
Thurcaay7
Lu,ac,hiume - sLtrm
7 30 Y%a a,r,ru^4
NOTES
Fa
_ a+a45n cp
lA"q t4oags
Ifyou have a clear aim for a lesson, you can bear this in mind all the way through
the class.Klowing where you are going enables you to make moment-by-moment
decisions about different paths or options to take en route, while keeping the main
aim always clearly in front ofyou (which you are far less free to do ifyou have only
set aims that are descriptions ofintended procedures). Good lesson planning, and
especially good specifying of aims, does not therefore restrict you, but in clarifying
the end point you intend to reach, sets you free to go towards that point in the
most appropdate ways in class.Thus Figure 6.9 complements Figure 6.7 at the
start of this section.
139
Chapter6 Planninglessonsandcourses
abieclive
Figure 6.9
Lessonaimsandcontent
L o o ka t F i g u r e6 . 1 0 , s h o w r n ga s a m p l eo f a s t a g e dp r o c e d u r ef o r a 5 0 - m i n u t e
l e s so n .
1 W r i t es o m e m a i n a i m s f o r t h e w h o l el e s s o n .
2 L i s t l a n g u a g ei t e m sy o u t h i n k m i g h tb e w o r k e do n i n t h i s c l a s s .
3 D e c i d ew h a t s o r t o f ' s t o r y ' y o u t h i n k t h e t e a c h e rh a s p l a n n e d .
Stage
Plocedure
( W h a tt h e t e a c h e r
willdo)
Tasks
(Whatthe students
w i l ld o )
lnteraction
Aims
Time
Draw a picture on
t h e b o a r do f a
l a n d s c a p e( f o r e s t ,
v i l l a g e s ,r i v e r ,h i l l s ) .
N a m ei t e m so n
picture.
T&Sts
6 mins
E l i c i tv o c a b ul a r y .
P r o n onuc el e x i s
w i t hc o r r e cst t r e s s .
L e a r n e r sw i l l
u n d e r s t a n da n d
b e a b l et o u s e
l e x t sn e c e s s a r y
for the story in
Stage 3.
T&Sts
L e a r n e r sw i l l
t e a r na n o
12mins
110
Noteand practise
rtemsthat are new,
prepositional
5 Lessonaims
Askstudentsto
r e c a pb ya s k i n g
studentsto
describea new
touIe. Howwould
you get from A to B?
Studentsnarrate
newroute.
Pairs
L e a r n e rw
sill
8 mins
becomemore
c o n f i d e nat n d
accurateat using
language.
Ask students to
swap groups and
s h o wt h e i r
l a n d s c a p et,h e n
(a) ask yes / no
q u e s t i o n st o e l i c i t
s t o r y ; ( b ) h e a rt h e
story from new
partner,
Small
groups
Studentsform new
Small
g r o u p sS. t u d e n t s
groups
asKyes / no
q u e s t i o n sS. t u d e n t s
hypothesise.
Studentstell
stories,
L e a r n e rw
s illget
u
P r a c t i c es i n g
targetlanguage
morecreatively
to inventa story.
12 mins
Learnerspractise 1 2 m i n s
f o r m i n ga n d
a sK r n g
Learnerspractise
narratingstories
usrngtarget
items.
Optional: re-swap
partners so that
people have to now
tell a story that was
n o t o r i g i n a l l tyh e i r s .
Chapter6 Planninglessonsandcourses
3 A possiblestory:
Shewalked through thef.eld, down the lane,round the lake and along theriaer bank
Shesat down by the riaerJor a drink from her thermos.
ThensheLoohedaround and sighed.
Shesawa high wall in front of her.
Sheualked all aroundthewall lookingJor a uay in,but shecouldn'tfind one.
So shetooka ladderout o:fherpocket*,leanedit againstthewall and climbedouer.
In the beautifulgarden,sheutalkeddown thepath, around thepond and touards the
house.
A man wassitting at a deskunder a treepl.t4tinga gameon a computer.
Shestoodnext to hhn, watchinghis game,fora long thne.
On the screen,shesawa girl.
Thegirl walked,throughafield, downthelane,roundthelakeand abng theriaer
bank...
+There's no harm in occasionallyshockingyour studentswith a bit of surrealism!
It'll rnakethem askquestions- and there'sa good chancethey'll alwaysremember
ladder afterwards.
Alternatives
to forrnal planning
order'
142
6 Alternatives
to formalplanning
<--
ne)
,rd,-.,
CoAed as fu'roc* sPwr'h 611board
+ STAND
uP - t!1L eark o-flte.rakar*l,astrughLusulg
faPdra'ng \lerDs
5 Focus
/^ i^
^*
o
uu (/)uKsE6oo
K oy . 3 .1+
7 Ftl/e,rga.rne-
{ur*ous q/'of.atL(ns
Qft'-";
b dafio il./.,ter'ri?N
ngsclt(r+ oaet)
rl sfu&rts n;rr;d
witl irrtewiew'tbfic
to gbbelis<horl
3o or
aditg +e*l
lessons
andcourses
chapter6Planning
they canunderstandthe main message.).For eachof these,decidewhat the
'critical learning moment' will probably be, ie which thing you or they do (lasting
no more dran 30 seconds)that is likely to make the most significantimpact on
their success- and why.Think through eachof thesemomentsvery carefully.
Even if you are writing a formal lessonplan, you may still firrd it useful to mark
critical momentswith 'C' and perhapsgive more detailedinformation about how
thesewill be dealtwith.
Half-plan
This idea is for more experiencedteachers,or odrerswho feel confident
about their own language awarenessand of their ability to quickly think of
mini-activities.Put your energyinto planning how your classwill do skillswork
(eg reading,speaking,etc). Don't plan any languagesystemswork (eg lexis,
grammar, etc). In class,spontaneouslywork on languageissuesasthey come up if
they areuseful,interestingand appropriatefor students.
NB 'Work on' doesn'tjust mean 'explain' - can you invent on-the-spotpractlce
tasksaswell?
Where's the rneat?
'teachingpoints' for your lesson.Go back and list the inherent
List the main
'challenges'in eachofthese for the studentsyou are working with:
. Ifhat do you expectthem to find important, diffrcult, or hard to pick up?
. lfhere will they makemistakes?
. \7hat mistakesand problems are likely?
'challenge'.(NB this referr
Focus 95% ofyour planning on paying anention to this
to the challengein the teachingpoints themselves,not in the activitiesor tasksyou
useto focus on them.) Decide on your teachingsffategiesto'getto where the
learnino iq onino nn'
teaching moments'
'cri.tical moments'
Which instructions, explanations, feedback stages,etc will be
for you, the teacher,which may needto be preparedin detailin advance?
Lesson irnages
Draw sketchpictures of the classat severalkev momentsin the lesson.Show
learnersand teacherare doing. (Not appropriatefor a'sit down and write all the
time'kind of lesson.)
The iungle path
. . . or perhapsdon't plan anlthingl
Most lessonsinvolveyou pre-planning a sequenceof activities,predicting what
languageareaswill be worked on, what problems are likely to ariseand what the
studentsmav achievein the lesson.An alternativeaDproachwould be to not
predict and prepare so much, but to createthe lessonmoment by moment rn
with you and learnersworking widr whateveris happeningin the room,
respondingto questions,problemsand options asthey come up, and hnding
144
6 Aliernatives
to formalplanning
activities) materials and tasks in response to particular situations.The starting
point mrght be an activity or a piece of material, but what comes out of it will
remain unknown until it happens. You are working more with the people in the
room than with your material or your plan.
I imagine a group ofpeople hacking their way through the jungle towards new
experiences, new learning. Sometimes the teacher may lead, sometimes the
students. Everyone would be encouraged to think, make connections, ask
questions and draw conclusions for themselves.
The main pre-planning for a lesson ofthis kind would involve you using your
knowledge ofthe learners and of the available resources to choose some activities
and materials that are likely to prove challenging and raise important questions
and issues.You would have an intuitive sense ofvarious potential links between
activities, based partly on previous experiences ofthe outcomes oflessons using
similar activities.
In class, some of these activities and materials may be used, some not. You may
also feel the need to find other materials as the lesson proceeds, some from a
coursebook, some from your head, some from the staff-room library. Although
you may be clear about a number ofpossible directions the lesson might take, it
will be impossible for you to state the lesson's aims until after it has finished.
After a lesson like this, many teachers are surprised to find that they come out
feeling that they have taught particularly well; this may be to do with the fact that
they have had to listen and respond to sflrdents far more carefully than tiey
usually do.
Here is an example lesson description;
LessonA
1 You take a communication game (concerning different atdtudes to smoking)
in Loclass.The 'rudenrs do riis in pairs.
2 \Vhen they have finished, some students ask about some language problems
they had.The students discuss and work out some answers to the problems.
3 You invent a quick practice exercise that \\'ill focus on one ofthe language
points that arose.
4 \X/hen that has finished, a student asks about the pronunciation of some words
in the exercise.You work through some examples on the board and then tell
them to turn to a page in fheir coursebook u'here there is a game to help raise
students' awareness ofword stress.The class decides that thel' don't want to do
this now, but will do it for homework.
5 Some students remind you that they har.'en'tyet discussed smoking as a u'hole
class and they d like to hear what some of the rest of the class thought, etc.
Here are three common examples of a'jungle path'lesson where you start without
any materials:
Lesson B
You ask I1ozuzuasthe weekend?(or a similar question) and, after listening to a
number ofanswers,lead this into a discussion based on something a student said.
At some point, you select particular items oflanguage that a student has used,
focus on these (perhaps considering grammar or pronunciation), invent a simple
exercise that will help students work on thrs, etc.
145
Chapter6 Planning
lessonsandcourses
Lesson C
A studentasksa questionat the start of the lesson.Thisleadsinto somework on
the board (perhapsyou setthe classa problem to soLvethat will help to clarify the
languagedifficulty).\ hile the studentsareworking on the puzzle,you go to the
staffroom and collect a further exerciseon the samelanguagearea.Youretum
and offer the studentsthe new exercise,but they saythey feel clearnow about the
languageitem. However,there is anotherquestionwhich has ar.isen. . .
The final exampledemonstrateshow a competentand confident teachermight
hand over responsibilityand decision-makingentirely to dre class:
Lesson D
You start the lesson by asking \Y,41at
shall wework on todalt?You then wait while the
classdecides,taking carenot to manipulatethem into deciding somethingthat
you want them to do. Once the decisionsare made,you do whateveryou have
been askedto do.
The 'jungle path' lessoncan look artlessto an observer,yet to do it successfully
requiresexperience.It is not simply a 'chat' or an abdicationofresponsibility,
though in inexperiencedhandsit might well be simply a muddle and a 'lazy'
alternative to careful planning. In fact, for a competent teacher, it involves working
minute by minute with the class,activelyplanning and replanning asyou go,
constantly basing the work around the students and their needs,statements,
problems,questions,etc.
rWrhendoing this, you needto be awareboth of the peoplein the room and of the
wide variety ofoptions open to you.You needto be ableto make decrsions,
moment by moment, about which route is the best one to follow.Youneed to be
familiar with all the resourcesof material and information availableto vou.
The need for teachingexperienceand awarenessofresourcesavailablesuggests
that lessonsof this type are more appropriatefor teacherswho are alreadyfairll'
competentin planning and executingmore traditional lessons.For this reason,it
the Iessonyou don't normally learn to do on teacher-trainingcoursesl
Planning a course
I can plan a lesson.But how can I plan a da1t,a week,a ruonth,a term,a year?
Selecting lessoncontent
Lookat the followinglist of reasons.Whichseemto youthe most importanton6
considerwhenselectingcontentto workon?
a I ' mf o l l o w i nag r e q u i r e sdc h o osl y l l a b u s .
b lt's the Ianguage
featuredin the nextcoursebook
unit.
c Thestudentsrequestedit on a NeedsAnalysisform.
146
7 Planning
a course
d T h em a i nc l a s st e a c h e a
r s k e dm et o d o i t .
e I u n d e r s t a nt d
h i sb i t o f g r a m m am
r yself!
f I t h i n kt h i sw i l lb e u s e f ufl o rt h e m .
T h i si s a p p r o p r i a ft o
e rt h e i rl e v e l .
h A s t u d e nh
t a sa s k e dm e a b o u ti t .
I
j
k
I
m
n
o
I a l w a y tse a c ht h i s i t e ma t t h i s p o i n ti n t h e c o u r s e .
I don'twantto workon the languageitemthe bookhas next.
I've noticedthat the studentsseemto needthis structure.
I l i k et e a c h i n tgh i s l a n g u a giet e m .
We negotiatedandagreedthat we wouldstudythis now.
I t h i n kt h e ym i g h te n j o ym y l e s s o na b o u t h i s .
s i t ht h i s .
T h e yh a v ep r o b l e mw
There are many valid reasonsfor choosingwhat to teach.I would tend to value
thosethat direcdy respondto learnerneeds(eg'I think this will be useful for
them') over thosethat are only (or primarily) following a pre-setlist (eg'It's the
languagefeaturedin the next coursebookunit'). Having saidthat, many teachers
work in contextswhere they are expectedto work on specificthings on certain
days.In someschools,for example,the managementmay evenrequire that
different classeswork on the sameareasin lessonsat the sametime.
The syllabus
A syllabusprovides a long-term overview.It lists the ccntentsofa courseand puts
the separateitems in an order. In someschools,the syllabusmay simply be the
coursebook-'Get to Unit 17 by half term'- whereasin others,theremay be a
much moredetailedrequirement.
A syllabuscan be mainly grammaticalor functional or lexical.Alternatively,it may
be basedon skillswork (eg speakingand listening),or it may contain a mixture of
work on systemsand skills.Somesyllabusesdescribecoursecontent in terms of
topics or tasks.
Having a syllabuscan be a greathelp, settingout clearlywhat you are expectedto
coverwith your class.It can be a burden,too, if it is unrealisticfor your studentsin
terms of what they need or are likely to achievewithin a certain time.
Yoursyllabus
What syllabus are you currentlyworkingto? ls it prescriptive?detailed?
non-existent?useful? How does it affect what you do? Who decided on it?
H o w m u c h s a y h a v ey o u h a d i n i t ? H o w m u c h s a y h a v ey o u r s t u d e n t sh a d ?
lessonsandcourses
Chapter6 Planning
7 Planning
a course
Interpreting
skeletonplans
Monday
Tuesday
9.OO-10.30
Grammar
Grammar
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
Grammar
Grammar
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
Pronunciation
Writtenexercise
Grammar
Grammar
S p e a k i n gg a m e
Song
Workplan2
Monday
Tuesday
9.00 10.30
Sp e ak i n g
10.30-12.00
1.30-3.00
10.30-12.00
G r a m m a(rr e v i e w
y e s t e r d a yw
' so r k )
(coursebook)
Listening
V o c a b u l ag
r ya m e
S p e a k i n g r: o l e p l a y
Grammar
L i s t e n i n(gr a d i on e w s )
Pronunciation
R e a d i n g( n e w s p a p e r )
C h e c kh o m e w o r k
1.30-3.00
L i s t e n i n(gs o n g )
Speaking
( p r e p a r i nag
Writing
classnewsletter)
149
Chapter6 Planning
lessonsandcourses
A task-basedplan
Figure6.14 showsa differentkindof skeletonworkplanfor a similarcourse.
1 H o w d o e si t d i f f e r f r o mt h e t w oy o uh a v e j u s lto o k e da t ( F i g u r 6e . 1 3 ) ?
2 Howdo MondayandTuesdaydiffer?
Work plan 3
Monday
9.00-10.30
Introduce
task.
Language
helpand
planning.
I n t r o d u ctea s k .
L a n g u a ghee l pa n dp l a n ni n g .
Reviewandfeedbackon task.
10.30-12.00
Reviewand feedback on
task.
Researchto enrich task
performance.
Introducereal-world
task.
Task.
Readfollow-upmaterial.
Listento competentlanguage
usersdoingtask.
L a n g u a g eh e l p a n d
reprann
Ing.
Listento competent
languageusersdoing
IASK.
1.30-3.30
R e p e atta s k .
Reviewand feedback on
task.
Follow-up reading.
Introducereal-world
task.
Task.
Readfollow-upmaterial.
Language
reviewandfeedback
o nt a s k .
Repeattask.
7 Planning
a course
Declde the
duratlon
Consultthe
syllabus
l f y o u h a v ea s y l l a b u s c, o n s ul t i t t o s e e t h e i n t e n d e d
c o u r s ec o n t e n t .C h e c kw h a t w o r k h a s n o t b e e nd o n e ,
Review
lealnerneeds
R e v i e wa n y N e e d sA n a l y s i sd a t a y o u h a v eg a i n e df r o m
y o u rs t u d e n t s ,
Decide the
aims
Choose the
components
Preparea grid
Writedowna numberofthingslearners
shouldachievein the
course(orpartofthe course):
thesearethe courseaims.
D e c i d ei f y o uw a n tt o p l a ni n t e r m so f ( a )l a n g u a g e
s y s t e m sa n ds k i l l s ,( b )t a s k s ,( c )s o m e t h i negl s e( e g
examitems?texts?tooics?).
D r a wa b l a n kg r i ds h o w i n tgh e n u m b eor f l e s s o n sy o u
h a v et o p l a nf o r .E a c hg r i dc e l ls h o u l dh a v ee n o u g hs p a c e
f o ry o ut o w r i t ei n s o m el e s s o ni n f o r m a t i o n .
N,4on Tue
T h u Fri
Mon Tue
Thu
Fri
9.30
11.30
2.15
Make cards
C u t u p a n u m b e ro f r e c t a n g l e so f p a p e r ,e a c ht h e s a m e
s i z ea s t h e c e l l s .
Select
activities
T h i n ko f s o m e a c t i v i t i e st h a t a r e a p p r o p r i a t e
for your
l e a r n e r sa n d h e l p l e a dt o w a r d st h e c o u r s ea i m s y o u s e t .
Write these down, one item to each piece of paper.
151
Chapter6 Planninglessonsandcourses
t s k e l e t o nt i m e t a b l e .
; o n e b y o n e a n d w r i t ei n a m o r e d e t a i l e d
r t y o u i n t e n dt o d o o n t h e t i m e t a b l eg r i d
Figure 6.15
The detailed timetable shown in Figure 6.16 is based around tasks and was
planned using this method. It directly reflects some wishes and needs mentioned
by students.rX/hen you read it, decide:
. whether it seems to provide coherent, balanced days;
. whether you think planning work around tasks might be more useful to you
than planning around language systems and skills.
Work plan 4
Monday
9.00-10.30
1.30-3.00
Tuesday
C o m p a r ea r a n g eo f p u b l i s h e d
magazinesand notice features
y o u c o u l du s e i n y o u ro w n
magazine.
W r i t ea n e w s l e t t e a
r rticle.
D e a lw i t h p r o b l e m sa n d r e a c h
a satisfactory outcome.
R e a da n d g i v ef e e d b a c ko n
o t h e rs t u d e n t s 'a r t i c l e s .
7 PlanninE
a course
!7ork plan 5 (Figure 6.17) is a more traditional one,basedon systemsand skills.It
was written by a teacherin Spain who meetsher classfor two hours eachweek on
aTuesdayevening;this timetablecoversone month, the secondmonth of a sixmonth coursefor adults who want to improve their generalEnglish for a variety of
reasons(but no one is planning to take an exam).Their levelis Elementary (ie
they are not beginners;they know a number ofstructures and can createa number
of sentencesthemselves,though often inaccurately).
Week6
T e a c h eurs e sc l o c kt o r e v i s et e l l i n gt h et i m ea n dt a l k i n ga b o u t h et i m e( f o u r
l e s s o n sa g o ) .
Teacherasks studentsfor anyotherexpressions
involving
time theyknow(write,
eg 'at the weekend'on board;focuson use of on, in, at\.
2......................
UnitC1O:studentsdo writtenExercise3G a m e p: a s tp a r t i c i p lqeu i z( r e v i s i nlga s tl e s s o n ) .
H o m e w o r kU:n i tC 1 0 E x e r c i s e1s, 2 .
Week 7
Vocabulary:around the house. Use large poster to find out which words they
k n o wa n d w h i c hw o u l db e u s e f u lt o l e a r n .
L i s t e n i n gS
: t u d e n t sm u s t f i l l i n t h i s i n f o r m a t i o no n a p i c t u r eo f t h e h o u s e .
Week 8
4 ......................
Negotiating
/ planningthe nextmonth.
Studentsworkin groupsto writea test that theywilltake nextlesson.
L i s t e n i n gp:o ps o n g T
. a s k l: i s t e na n df i l l i n t h e b l a n ks p a c e si n t h e t e x t .
Figure 6.17 \7ork plan 5
153
Chapter6 Planninglessonsandcourses
1b 2d 3a 4c
Activity (b) seemsto go well with gramnar work on the presentperfect tense,so
space1 is appropriate.Similarly,activity (d) will offer a number of opporrunities
to practiseusing the time expressionsstudiedin week 6's lesson(space2) The
'home designing'activity links in with the other activitiesin week7.The
discussionabout the courseso far would make a good starting point for
planning the following month.
Topic-based work plans
Many teachersplan a day's- or a week's-work around a singletopic,looking for
waysto link the courseaims with the ongoing theme.Having a singletheme may
help to give a senseofcoherenceto the work.This can help you find good ideas'as
'any idea' for teachingsomething,you can focus your
insteadof strugglingto find
creativethinking onto a specifictopic area.For example,the topic of'celebrities'
might allow you to incorporate a number ofuseful lessonsthat focus on skills,
systemsand real-life tasks,eg:
. Grammar: presentperfect- sayingwhat celebritieshavedone / haven't done in
their lives;
. Speaking:discussion:'Is it good to be famous or not?';
. \ riting: writing a fan letter to a star;
. Reading:biographyofa celebriryl
. Lexis: items connectedwith a luxury lifestyle.
IJnrealistic requirements
Teachersare often facedwith planning a coursewhen there are syllabus
requirementsthey don't agreewith or teachingmaterialthat they don't like.Thert
is a fine balancebetweendoing what you are required or expectedto do and doing
what you believeis appropriate,useful or needed.
There is obviouslyno single,magic answerto problems of this kind. However,ir I
often possibleto do what is expectedofyou, to reachthe goalsyou havebeentolJ
to reach,to usethe pagesof the book you havebeentold to use,to get students
through teststhey needto pass,to make the end point of the lesson,the day' the
courseexactJywhere it is supposedto be,but still to make the journey there
surprising,interestingand exciting.The parabolaendsup at the samepoint, bul
follows a much more interestingroute.
Someexamples:
. Your bosshas told you that the only aim ofyour courseis to get studentsto Paa (very boring) written grammar and essayexam at the end of term.
The stuaightline approachis to spendall the classtime doing grammar and
written work.The parabolais to follow a balancedsyllabusthat includesa lot of
speaking,listeningand other skillswork ofall kinds, aswell asgrammar and
154
8 Unrealistic
reouirements
vocabulary.Sometirnesthe parabolais the shortestroad; you may find that the
studentsmake much better progressand get better resultsthan studentswho only
follow the strarght line .
. You havebeentold that you must'do' two pagesofthe coursebookevery
day.
The whole book must be coveredby the end of the term.
The strarght line would be to work tlrough everlthing in the coursebook asit is
wrinerl doing each exercisein order, in the way that the coursebook writer tells you
to.The parabolais to usethe two pageseveryday asrequired,but reallyexploiting
them using them asresourcematerial,inspiration.Changethe order! Get students
to crossout bor.ingexercises!Designbetter picturesfor a text! Debatewith the
studentshow to usethe book! Agreewith studentsto speedthrough six pagesin
one day (and free yourself for two days)! Supplement with lots of your own
goodies!Turntexts into dictations,information gaps,listenings,games,etcr
Straightlines are boringl Be bold - travel by parabola!Don't assumethat an edict
from abovecompletelyclosesdown all your options.
155
Ghapter7 Teachinggrammar
This chapter examineswhat we meanby grammaras well aslooking at a numb,
of different waysto approachthe teachingofgramrnar.
What is grarnmar?
For many years,'learning the grammar' has assumeda centralrole in students,
expectatonsabout what learning a languageinvolves.Nowadays,however,there
are many different viewsabout what learnersneed to learn and how best to so
about teachingit.
Here are somekey questionsconcerningteachinggrammar:
. I(trat is grammar?
. How do peoplelearn grammar)
. How can I analyseform, meaning and use for teachingpurposes?
. \X/hatare possiblecomponent parts of a grafimar lesson?
. How can I provide relevantinput for learners?
. How can I help learnersnotice,understandand memoriselanguage?
. How can I help learnerspractiseusing language?
But beforewe decidehow we can teach grammar,perhapsour first issueshould
be to work out exactlywhat exactlywe mean by.grammar,.
Defininggrammar
W h e nt h i n k i n ga b o u t t e a c h i nt h
g e g r a m m aor f a f o r e i g nl a n g u a g ew,h i c ho f t h e s e
d e f i n i t i o nosf ' g r a m m a rs'e e m sm o s ta p p r o p r i a t e ?
a
b
c
d
Rulesaboutsentenceformation,tenses,verbpatterns,etc in a referencebook
Themoment-by-moment
structuringof whatwe sayas it is beingspoken
E x e r c i s e(se gf i l l i n t h e g a p ,m u l t i p l ec h o i c ea) b o u t t e n s e se,t c
O u ri n t e r n a'ld a t a b a s ea' s t o w h a ta r e p o s s i b l e
o r i m p o s s i b lsee n t e n c e s
1 Whatis srammar?
sort ofwords werepossibleand, also,what kinds ofwords were not possible.For
exampleJyou are probably quite surethat Leona didn't sayYesterday
afternoonI
green. . . . Similarly,sheprobably didn'tsay Yesterday
afternoonI meet... .In
grammaticalterms, we might saythat the next word could be a verb (eg sazu)or an
auxiliary verb (eg dldz'r).!7e could alsosaythat the next word wouldn't normally
be an adjective(eggreen).$7e
alsoexpectrhat,whareverthe word is, it will be in a
form that follows certain other guidelines;for example,if we are talking about the
past OlesledaJr),then
the verb form will normally be in a past tense.
This, ofcourse,is the kind ofinformation you'll find systematicallyarrangedin a
gramrnarreferencebook,or maybein a simplihedform in a book forlearners.And
it's the sort of thing that grammar exercisespractiseand test.However,insteadof
being a dry record of factsand rules,the information in your head is a living
resourcethat allowsyou to communicateand be understood.For this reason,
learningrulesin a grammarbook by heartis probablynot'learning grammar'.
Similarly,reciting grammar rules by heart may not be 'understandinggrammar'.
Even doing testsand exercisesmay not necessarilybe'learning grammar'.There
is actuallyno hard evidencethat any ofthese things lead to peoplebeing ableto
use grammar accuratelyand fluently in speech.These things are only useful if
there is someway tlat studentscan transfer this studiedknowledgeinto a living
ability to usethe language.Theinformation is not in itself of much use.In real life,
peoplerarely come up to you and say'Pleasetell me about conditionals.'
ScottThornbury, in his book Uncoztering
Grammal,has suggestedthat we could
open up our conceptof 'grammar' if we start thinking ofit asnot just a noun
(ie the information), but asa verb aswell (ie the activeskill ofusing language).It's
probably this 'verby' kind of grammar that $,.emost needto help our learnerswork
with in class.
But, how can our students'grammar' better?How do people get to that point
where they are ableto uselanguagecompetendy,fluently and accurately?Is
studying and memorising rules a helpful waystageon the route to that goal?Are
practiceactivitieshelpful?What role doesteacherexplanationand actrve
'teaching'have?And do we
needto teachgrammar at all?
!7e will look at thesequestionsin somedetail,but first I'd like to set out a brief
overviewof the conclusionsyou'll get ifyou read through all the following
sections.
It seemslikely that learrers haveto do a number of things to be ableto start
making any new grammar item part oftheir own personalstock oflanguage.
They probably needto haveexposure to the language;they needto notice and
understand items being used;they needto try using languagethemselvesin
'safe'practicewaysand in
more demandingcontexts;they needto remember the
things they havelearnt.
The table on the next pageexpandson this description.Ifyou look back at the
diagram (Figure 6.1 on page 126) showing a hypodresisabout how peoplelearn,
you can probably draw someconnectionsbenveenthe table and that diagram.
1)/
Chapter7 Teaching
grammar
158
noticespecificitemswhenthey
are beingused,in texts (egin
stories,in conversations).
provrdetexts,exercisesandtechniques
that helplearnersnoticespecificitems.
Textsspecifically
writtenfor learners(eg
containingmultipleexamplesof a targt
item)maybe particularly
useful(see
Section3 of this chaoter).
. be informedaboutform,meaningand
use of language(seeChapter5
Sections2 and4).
. f o c u sl e a r n e r s ' a t t e n t i o n m e a n i n g
a n du s eb ym e a n so f e x e r c i s e s ,
e x p l a n a t i o ndsr,i l l s g
, a m e sq, u e s t i o n s .
etc (seeSection3 of this chapte4.
g i v em a n yo p p o r t u n i t i et os p r a c t i s e ,
speakandwrite,withencouragement
andfeedback(seeSection4 of this
chapter).
. offerspeakingandwritingtasksthat
allowlearnersto makeuse of all the
language
theyknow(seeChapter9).
. rememberitems.
. payattentionto howlearnersrecord
rtems;
. returnto itemsagainandagainwjth
revisiontasks.
2 present-oractise
Present-practise
Ifthere is one basicteachingsequenceusedaround the world with classesof all
types,it must be 'presentthen practise'.In other words,the teacherfirst presents/
introduces/ explains/ clarifies/ inputs the languagepoint that the lessonis airning
to work on, and then, when it seemsto be reasonablyunderstood,moveson to
give learnersa chanceto practiseusing the languagethemselves.
How doesthis 'present-practise'cycle relateto the image oflearning we looked at
earlier,in Chapter 6?
Input
Learning
Use
Understanding
R E S T R I C TE X
DP O S U R E
r-tl
\:ft /
{\--./v
AUTHENTICEXPOSURE
r-|7
\.l:t / 4\--,/v
l;
Noticing
CLARIFICATION
Explanation
BESTRICTO
ED
UTPUT
..7..
{,
AUTHENTICOUTPUT
Whenteachersdo classroomwork
on these areas,it is often called
presentatlon,input or claritlcation
Authenticexposureis the same
a s l i s t e n i n go r r e a d i n gs k i l l sw o r k .
If
.
.
.
159
grammar
Chapter7 Teaching
Authentic
oulput
Figure 7.1 Present-practisestructure
1 Lead-in: The teacher shows pictures connected to the lesson topic / context
and elicits ideas from srudents.
Authentic
output
2 Present-practise
Situational presentation
An interestingexampleofpresentationis the popular situationalpresenmtion,in
which languageis introduced via a context tiat the teacherhascreated(using
board drawings,for example).Here is a descriptionofa teacherusing a situational
presentatlontOteach usedto.
Establish the context
1 The teacherdraws a picture of a country houseand a rich man (holding dollar
bills). Sheasksthe studentsto tell her about him and his llfe (eg He\ rich, He
lixesin a bighouse).
2 Sheaddsmore pictures one by one (eg a Rolls Royce,a four-poster bed, a
swimming pool) and elicitsmore statementsabout hislife (eg He driaesa Rolls
Royce).Shechecksthat all studentsare clearabout this context.
Establish the rneaning ofthe target itern
3 Sheaddsa picture of an 'interviewer' to the context and establishesthat the rich
man is being interviewedabout his past life.
Figure 7.3
4 She draws a picture ofhis thoughts about the past (eg a 'thought bubble' with a
bicycle inside it). She invites the students to make a sentence about this. She
taps the board to explicitly link the Rolls Royce (now) and the bicycle (past).
She asks concept questions, eg lhat\ this? (abrke) Doeshe ride a bike now?
(no) Did he ride one in thepast? (yes) Bur nor now? (no) Doeshe ride a bike now?
(no). She has now inftoduced and focused on tie targelmeanlng of used to
without actually using the target language. Note that the meaning comes hrst,
before the students meet the target form - the students understand t}Ie concept
being dealt with, and, hopefully, feel the need for a piece oflanguage to express
it, before the teacher introduces rlte target language itself.
and practise the target lumguage
'bike'
5 When the
concept is clear, she asks if students can say the sentence he
said to the interviewer, ie that has the meaning of'I rode a bike in the past, but
not now'If a student produces a reasonable sentenceJshe works with that; if
not, she models it herself (eg l1e zsed to ride a bike).
6 She gets students to repeat tltis round the class (a drill) and corrects any
problems, especially taking care that she doesn't only notice incorrect words
and word order, but also notices unnatural pronunciation.
Introduce
161
grammar
Chapter7 Teaching
&
the situation where students say Wehzaesndied this bejoreor Wekntru this alrtai
162
3 Clarification
Many studentsthink they 'know' certain items;what they actuallymean is that
information about theseitems hasbeenpresentedto them, but the chancesare
high that, when pushedto usethat item, they will make errors.A major problem
with many grammar lessonsis that they provide too much 'information' and not
enough'expectation'of quality student production.This is not to saythat learners
don't needthe information - they almost certainly need some (and they needit
clearly) - but they don't needall of it every time they havea lessonon a cerrain
grammar item.They don't needto alwaysbe starting againat Step 1.'Whatmakes
the lessonchallengingis not the level oftheoretical knowledgethe lessondealsin,
but what you askstudentsto try and do. It's the differencebetweenup-here
knowledge in the head and knowledge-in-use, in other words:
moving
the
language
from
nere
to here
Clarification
You havereacheda point in your lessonwhere you want the learnersreally to
focus in on a pieceof grammar, to seeit, think about it and undersrandir, to
becomemuch cleareron its form, meaningand use.This is what many teachers
refer to asclarification or presentation. However,theseare quite broad
headings;thereis a significantdifferencebetweena presentationin which I give
you a lecturefor 60 minutes and one where I nudge and help you towards
discoveringmuch ofthe sameinformation for yourselfvia a processof
questioningand looking at suggestedreferencematerial.\X/ecould differentiate
three generalcategories:
1 Teacherexplanation
2 Guided discovery
3 Self-directeddiscoverv
163
grammar
Chapter7 Teaching
!7e can perhapsseetheseasfalling on a continuum (seeFigure 7.5):
Explanation
(Teacher
tells the learner)
Figure 7.5
Guideddlscovery
(Teacherhelpsthe
l e a r n etro t e l l h i m s e l f )
Sell-dlrected
(Thelearner
t e l l sh i m s e l f )
Three categoriesofclarification
Grammarclarification activities
C l a s s i ftyh e f o l l o w i nggr a m m acr l a r i f i c a t i oanc t i v i t i ebsy p l a c i n tgh e mo n r n e
d i a g r a mi n F i g u r e7 . 5 .A r et h e ym a i n t y( E )e x p l a n a t i o (nc, ) g u i d e dd i s c o v e royr ( S )
self-directed
discovery?
1 Youwritesomesentences
(allusingthepastperfect)onthe board,butwiththe
wordsmixedup,thenhandthe boardpento the studentsandleavethe room.
2 Youtella storyaboutyourweekend.
Everytimeyou
useaverbinthepastsimple,
repeatit andwriteit onthe board.Atthe end,youwrite,pastsimple'on the board
andexplain
thatyouusedalltheseverbsin the pastbecause
the storynappeneo
Saturday.
3 Youlecture abouttheconstruction
of conditionaI sentences.
4 Youcreatea boardsituation,
clarifya specificmeaning
andthenelicitappropriate
sentences
fromthe studentsor modelthemyourself.
youaskstudents
5 Youhandout a listof 20 lfsentences.
to worktogether,
discuss
findoutwhatthe 'rules'are.
6 Students
discussinterpretation
of timelineson the boardandtryto makeexampte
sentences
forthem.Youintervene
whenanswersseemelusiveandat onepoint
explain
the difference
between
twotenses.
7 Students
decidetheywantto learnaboutreportedspeech.Theygoto the libraryor
learnrng
centreandfindout more.
Different peoplewill, ofcourse, interpret theseshort descriptionsdifferently.I,m
sureyour positioning is not exactlythe sameasmine, but is the ordering from lefr
to right the same?
32
Explanation
(Teacher
tells the learner)
164
51
Guideddiscovery
(Teacherhelpsthe
l e a r n etro t e l l h i m s e l f )
Self-directed discovert
(Thelearner
t e l l sh i m s e l f )
3 Clarification
Teacher explanation
Teacherexplanations
talk at length;
talk fast;
use languagemore complicatedthan the pointyouare explaining;
bringin as manyother languageissuesas possible;
don't giveexamples;
don't ask ouestions:
don't use anydiagramsor visualaids;
a s s u m e t h a t t h ec l a s si s f o l l o w i n g y o u r p o i n t s - d o n ' t w a s t e t i m
c hee c k i n g ;
alwaysexplaineverydifficultybeforestudentsencounterthe problemthemselves.
165
grammar
Chapter7 Teaching
Guided discovery
An alternativeto giving explanationswould be to createactivitiesthat allow
at just the dght
learnersto generatetheir own discoveriesand explanations.Thsks
questions(and use
levelwill draw attentionto interestinglanguageissues.Teacher
of other techniques)will'nudge'the learnerstowardskey points. In this way,long
explanationscan be avoidedand learnerscan take a more activerole in their own
progress.
Your role in guided discoveryis to (a) selectappropriatetasks;(b) offer
appropriateinstructions,help, feedbackand explanations;(c) manageand
stucture the lessonso that all learnersare involved and engaged,and draw the
most possiblefrom the actrvity.
The key tecbniqueis to askgood questions,onesdrat encouragethe learnersto
notice languageand think about it.These questionsmay be oral (ie askedlive in
class)or they might be on a worksheetthat leadslearnersin a structured way to
make conclusions.Thiskind ofguidance is sometimesreferredto as'Socratic
questioning',ie leadingpeopleto discoverthings that they didn't know they knen
via a Drocessof structured ouestions.
rou can:
. askquestionsthat focus on the meaning (conceptquestions);
. askquestionsthat focus on the context (context questions);
. askquestionsthat focus on the form;
. offer appropriateexamplesfor analysisand discussion;
. asklearnersto analysesentencesfrom texts;
. asklearnersto reflect on languagethey haveused;
. asklearnersto analyseerrorsl
. asklearnersto hypothesiserules;
. setproblems and puzzlesconcerningthe languageitem;
. offer tools to help clarify meaning,eg timelines,substitutiontables (but
perhapsencouragingthe studentsto usethem to solvethe problems);
. helptiem to stayfocusedifdrey get sjderacked:
. raisetheir awarenessasto what thev havelearned.
Guided discoveryis demandingon both you and the learner,and althoughit
look artlessto a casualobserver,it isn't enoughto tluow a task at the learners.ts
them do it and then move on. Guided discoveryrequiresimagination and
flexibility.Yourjob here is not simply to passover a body of information, bui
rather to createthe conditions in which that information can be learned.Thlf
seemsto be a particularly fruidul way to work in the languageclassroom.
technique
on the DVD
{@
questions
cuideddiscovery
S t u d yt h e f o l l o w i n gb r i e ft r a n s c r i p tf r o m a l e s s o ni n v o l v i n g ui d e dd i s c o v e . .
t e c h n i q u e sa n d d e c i d ew h a t q u e s t i o n st h e t e a c h e rm i g h t h a v ea s k e d a t t l ' e
m a r k e d* .
166
3 Clarification
H o w m a n yd i c t i o n a r i e sa r e m e n t i o n e di n t h e a r t i c l e ?
SruDENr
1:
Five.
T E A o H E R : O K . L o o k a t t h i s d i a g r a m .W h a td o e s i t s h o w ?
Sruoerur
2:
How big.
T E A C H E R :Y e s- h o w b i g o r s m a l lt h e d i c t i o n a r i e sa r e . W h e r ec a n y o u p u t t h e
d i f f e r e n td i c t i o n a r i e so n t h i s d i a g r a m ?
The teacher offers a pen to the student to add to the diagram;various learners
c o m e u p a n d w r i t et h e n a m e so f t h e d i c t i o n a r i e so n t h e d i a g r a m ,p l a c i n gt h e m
to reflect the writer's comments. As items are added. the teacher asks
q u e s t i o n sa b o u tt h e i r d e c i s i o n s s, u c h a s *
The teacher then works in a similar manner with diagrams shoutinglight - heavy,
cheap - expensive, etc.
'Lcr rrr
grammar
Chapter7 Teaching
W r i t et h i ss e n t e n caeg a i nu. i t r e x a c d l
d r es a m cm e a n i n gb. u t o n l y u s i n g
sevenwords.
Reflecting on use
!7rite down someofthe sentences
you heard.
\fhy did you usethat tense?
'Where
was the problem?
\Whichofthose trvo sentencesis
correct?
H5ryothesisingrules
Is this possible?
Whatwill the ending be in this
example?
Sentence analysis
Mark all the prepositions.
Mark the main stressin the sentence.
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Self-directed
discovery
In this book, we will spendonly a htde rime looking at the right-hand side of the
diagram.This is what learnersdo when studying on their own without a teacheror in a classwhere the teacher'srole is primarily to 'facilitate'the learner'sown
self-direction.It is the leastcommonly found in classroorns.!7hereyou wanr a
classto work mainly in this way,it is essentialthat learnersunderstandand agree
with the working method.Youneed to ensurethat the learnershavesufficient
information and experienceto be ableto work out their own rules and
explanations,and perhapswork out their own goalsand learning strategiesaswell.
The obviousdangerhereis that you will abdicateyour real responsibilities.
Drillsare so old-fashioned
Y o ua r e p l a n n i n ga l e s s o nt h a t i n c l u d e ss o m e d r i l l s .Y o u rc o l l e a g u es p o t s y o u i n t h e
staff room and says Dril/s? Surely you clon't still do those! They're so old-fashioned,
and they've proved they don't work.ls it worth arguingback? What would you say?
Many teachers consider drills old-fashioned and never use them. I thint they are
wrong and they are depriving their learners of some important chances to learn.
The next section outlines some possible reasons for drills.
169
grammar
Chapter
7 Teaching
Whydrill?
Drills are often associatedwith the largelydiscreditedbehaviouristphilosophy
which suggeststhat we can be trained into automatic responsesto stimuli through
repetrnonor restrictedresponsedrills. However,I don,t think we needto throw
drills out with the behaviouristbathwater.We can still arguethat our brains need
to 'automatise'taskswithout having to buy the entire ,sdmulus-response,
philosophy.It seemsreasonablyclearfrom day-to-dayexperiencethat we become
better at doing certainthings through practice- I can feel this myself when trying
to learn to saya difficult sentencein a foreign language.I may needto .rehearse,ir
slowly and carefullymany times before I eventuallystart to get the soundsnearlJ.
right and in the right order. Only after a lot of this 'cutting a groove,in my brain,s
record can I start to get 'up to speed'with the new item. Eventually,it is so easyfor
me to sayit that I hardly notice I'm sayingit and I can stop worrying about it. Bur
my own private 'drilling to myself' hashelped.
Drilling is important for 'gefting your tongue around it' problems.They can also
help with other things, for exampleon issuesto do with selectingthe riqht form
quickly (again.somerhingrhat improveswirh famiJiarity).
For many years,somewriters encouragedteachersnot to offer studentsany
speakingtasksthat did not involve an elementof,genuine communication,.
Recently,there hasbeen a reassertionof the value of experimentingand playing
with languageevenwherethe languagedoesn'trepresentrealisticcommunication
So don't worry too much about colleaguesor methodologybooks who tell you nu
to bother with drillsl Certainly there is somedangerthat studentsrepeatingare
just making noiseswith little idea what they are saying,but of all activitiesin the
classroom,the oral drill is the one which can be most productivelvdemandins on
accuracy.
\7hen the studentsspeak,you are probably listening carefully.youwill use error
awarenessand correction techniques.Youwill give clearindicationsabout what
needsto be done in order to saythe sentencesbetter.Youwill encouragestudenr
to try a number of times to saythe sentenceswith befter pronunciation,with the
words in the right order, etc.Youwill keepthe level ofchallengevery high.When
teachersare'kind'and make drills easy(That\ good! Not quite,butgrear!perJect!
Fannstic! Wonderful./),
the exercisequickly becomesboring; it is the difficulty and
the senseof achievementthat make drills worth doing. Give precise,honest
feedbackrather than gushingpraise.If the whole aim ofa drill is to improve
accuracy,it seemsto make senseto aim for a very high standard.Thereis little
point in doing a drill if the teacherand studentsare preparedto acceptsloppy or
half-good production. Honest feedbackis vital.
Va.iationson drills
W h a tv a r i a t i o n sc o u l de n l i v e nt h e b a s i cd r i l lt e c h n i q u e( w h i l es t i l l k e e p i n gt h e d r i l l
a s n o m o r et h a n s i m p l er e p e t i t i o n ) ?
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171
grammar
Chapter7 Teaching
Rangeofdrill types
Designinga ddll
Devisea drillto workon practisingWh-questionsaboutthe pasl(eg Wheredid he
go? Whatdid they do? Whendid Mary arriveT.
I t ' s i m p o r t a nt to i n s i s to n a c c u r a t p
eronunciatio
wnh e ny o ua r ec o n d u c t i nagd r i l l
with students.Thisis the time to makesuretheyare sayingthe wordsand
sentencescorrectly;paycarefulattentionto rhythmandstressas well as
p r o n u n c i a t i o nf t h e i n d i v i d u awlo r d s .
&t
A l s os e eC h a p t e1r 2 , S e c t i o n1 f o r m o r ea b o u tg i v i n gf e e d b a c ok n e r r o r s .
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4 Restricted
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dialoguesandgames
drills
Substitution drills
Repetition,though useful for allowing full concentrationon pronunciation, can be
a litde mindless.Thefollowing drill demandsa little more thought.
Tsacsen: He\ going to driae the car.
SruosN.rs: He\ going to drhte the car.
TsecHen: bus
S'runnr.rrs: He\ going to driae the bus.
Tsecnpn: taxi (etc)
Not much more thought, admittedly!But ir's not difhcult to make it harder:
Tsncrrsn:
SruneN'ts:
TeecHen:
StursNrs:
Tracaar:
Sr.ursNrs:
He'sgoingto eatthecake.
He\ goingto eatthecahe.
colfee
He\ going to drink the coffee.
film
He\ goingto watchtheJilm. (etc)
These drills are basedon the principle ofsubstitution. In the two examplesabove,
the noun is being substitutedby another- but it could be any word. And to make it
reallydemanding.it couldvary senLence
by sentence:
Teacnen: He'sgoingto eatthecahe.
SlmsNrs : He\ going to eat thecake.
TencHen: calIee
StureNrs: He\ going to drink thecoffee.
Teacnen: Mary
SrunsN.rs: Mary\ goingto drink thecofree.
Tsncspn: make
Sruopuls: Mary\ goingto makethecffie.
Tsacnen: beds
SrulsN'rs: Mary\ goingto mahethebeds.(etc)
Transformation drills
A completelydifferent kind of drill is basedon the studentsmaking their
own sentencebasedon a model and information given by you.These are
transformation drills, ie the student transformsa sentenceofone kind into
anotherform:
Tsacnsn:
SrrnsNrs:
TsecHsn:
SrunENrs:
TsncHsn:
S.ruosNrs;
TsncHen:
He\ openingthecaketr,n.
He\ goingto eatthecake.
He\ standingbesidetheswimmingpool.
He\ goingto switn.
Susan'sgoinginto thepostoff,ice.
She\ goingto buy a stamp.
Thestudentsarewaitingat thebusstop.(etc)
grammar
Chapter7 Teaching
True sentences
The most useful drill may be one where the student is giving real information in
their answers- in other words, there is communication aswell as language
practrce:
TBecssn:
Sruorvrs:
Tpacnsn:
Srluplrrs:
TsacHBr:
StnoeNrs:
Finally:
keepthe atmospherehumorous but keepthe languagefocus seriousl
personalisesomeelementsl
jazz it up with mime, pictures,board cues,silly postures,etc;
don'tworry too much about whetherit is a'meaningful'or
'communicative'
drill;
do worry about whether what you're drilling is a realisticpieceof
real-world language;
don't drill possiblebut improbable English;
keepthe challengehigh;
make sure studentsget the practice,not you!
Written
exercises
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dialoguesandgames
Someideas:
. Do it asindividuals,then compare and discussanswerswith neishbours.
. STorkin pairs.
. SVorkin small groups.
. \7ork in teams-make a competition out of it.
. Do it togetheron the board - teacher-led.
. Do it togetheron the board - student-led.
. Hand out a iumbled list of answersto match to the questions.
. Do it orally in a languagelaboratory.
. Dictate the sentences,leaving
spaceswhere the missingwords are.
. Do it at greatspeed(givethem, say,three minutes to do the whole exercise).
Then shuffle papersand give to small groups to discussand mark.
. Cut up the sentencesand give one to eachstudent;negotiatearrangement
and answers.
. Hand out the exercisewith your answersalreadywriften in, someright, some
wrong, The studentsmust correct your work.
. Make a gameout of it, eg'Auction': divide classinto teams;allocatea certain
amount of 'money'to eachteam.The aim is to usethis moneyto 'buy, correct
words to fill the gaps.Give students time to read through the exercise,then,
startingwith Gap 1,proceedto 'auction'piecesof paper wilh the,an adrtd.
a on
tiem. The teams must buy the word they need to cornplete the gap.The team that
buys the correctword getsa 'money'prize.Anyone elselosesthe cashthey spent
on the wrong word. Keep a record ofhow much they have'spent,on the board
through the game;the winner is the team with the most money at the end.
175
grammar
Chapter7 Teaching
This exerciseis working on the difference between -lzg forms and infinitives and
helping studentsto sort out which onesgo with which verbs.
By writing sentencehalveson small squaresofpaper (or blank cards),we cou1d,
for example,turn an exerciselike tlle one aboveinto a gameof 'Snap'.You dealortr
all the cards, which the students keep face down, not looking at them. The
students(asindividuals or in teams)take it in turns to play a card into one oftwo
card piles (beginningsor endings).They must call 'Snapl'when the beginning
and ending make a correct sentence.If they call'Snap!' at the wrong time, they (cr
their team) must pick up both piles ofdiscarded cards.
Loplaythe guitar
Elicited
dialogues
In class
1 Use board pictures (or someother way) to establishthe context and t}re
characters very clearly.
2 By usrngmrme, gestures,questionsor picture cues,try to elicit from the
students each line of the dialogue you have prepared.The aim is to get
produce as much of it as oossible
176
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output:
drills,exercises,
dialogues
andgames
3 When the studentssaysentencesin responseto the eliciting,you needto select
a suitableone,correcting it ifnecessary.
4 You must now establishthis line ofdialogue (ie every studentin the classneeds
to be ableto sayit and rememberit).This will probably be done through choral
and individual drilling and correction;the studentsare given lots ofchancesto
repeatit, with you helping them to sayit fluently and accuratelywith the best
possiblepronunciation (especiallyintonation!).Youcan help the students
rememberthe dialogueby drawing up simple cue pictures on the board (eg a
hand ffying to pick up the suitcase).*
5 Steps2, 3 and 4 are repeatedfor eachline.
6 There are alsofrequent repetitionsofthe whole dialogueto date (in pairs,
perhaps,or by dividing the room into two halves).
* It's tempting to make Stage4 easierby writing up the words on the board and
readingit out from there.Ifyou do this, dre studentswon't needto think very
much.The fun and challengeof the activity is in uying to recallpreviouswords!
technique
on the DVD
Follow-on activities
lfhen the dialogueis complete,follow-on activitiescould include writing it out,
acting it out, continuing it, etc.
Grammar practice activities and games
Grammar praclice activitiesare designedto focus on the use ofparticular items of
grammar.The materialis designedso that the studentshavefew opportunities for
avoidingworking with the target language.Here are someexamples:
Split sentences
'i/rite out somesentencesusing the first conditional for warnings (eg Ifyou touch
thedog,it'll biteyou.) and then cut eachsentencein half. Hand out thesepiecesto
the students,who haveto read out their halfand frnd the matching half amongst
the other students.
If you
Ifyou
Ifyou
Ifyou
Ifyou
Grarnrnar
you'll be sick.
it'll bite you.
I'll neverspeakto you again.
]uu
! tscLrua(cu.
quiz
Run a quiz for two teams.\rrite a verb infinitive on the board; the tirst team to put
the past participle correctly on the board wins a point. It's not too hard to find
variationsto make a simple quiz like this more interesting.For example:
. use a noughts and crosses(rc-tac-toe) grid to scoreon - the team must get
three symbolsin a row;
. get studentsto preparethe questionsthemselvesfor the other team to answer;
. add in specialrules ofyour own to allow penalties,'jokers',bonus points, etc.
177
grammar
Chapter
7 Teaching
Memory test
Preparecopiesofthree pictures showing people doing various things. For
example,shopping in a department store;dancing in a nightclub; having a picnic
by the river. In class,this material is used as a 'memory test' to work on the
presentprogressivetense(is I aw I are + -mg). Show the first picture to the
studentsfor a length of time, and then hide it.Then read out sometrue / false
questionsabout the picture (eg for Figure 7.7, 'The cat is walking past the litter
bin', 'The policeman is talking to the shop assistant').In teams,the students
discussthem, then give their answersand are awardedpoints. At the end, the
teamsare given a different picture and preparetheir own list often questionsto
askthe other team.
Figure 7.7
Memory test
Picture dictation
The material for 'Memory test' above could be used as a picture dictation (y L.:: r
a student describes the picture while other students, who haven't seen it, u1 t.
draw it from the instructions).
Mirning
an action
Studentsin turn are given a card with an action on it, which they must mime r. C
enoughfor the other studentsto guess.For example,a studentmimes swimrr-l
and the other studentssay'You're swimming in the sea'(presentprogressirc
Dependingon your introduction.thiscouldbe u:ed to pracdsea varieryoI t.
eg'Show us what you did yesterday'/'You swamin the sea';'Show us what 1 were doing at midday yesterday'/'You were swimming in the sea'.Themim.could alsorefer to future time. An interestingidea to practisegoizgrowoul(l :.:
the student to mime what she would do before the actual action, eg mrme r, -
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andgames
The gameworks beautifully with adverbs.Preparetwo setsofcards: one setwith
actions,one with adverbs.The studentstake one card from eachpile.They tell the
classwhat the action is, but not what the adverbis.They then do the action in dre
manner of the adverb.Theothers,of course,haveto guesswhat the adverbis.
Growing stories
Storybuilding actrvitiesare excellentfor work on the past simple.Here are two
examples:
1 Start a story by sayingone sentencein the past simple tense.Thestudents
continue the story by adding one sentenceeach.
2 Hand out a large set of different magazinephotos,which the students,in small
groups,look at.Then hand out a pre-written selectionofverbs (eg decided,
wished,exploded,etc).The studentsmatch the verbs to pictures of their choice,
and then invent a completesentenceincluding the verb.\Vhen a group of
studentshasten picture / verb matches,they attempt to invent the other details
ofa completestory,which they prepareorally and tell the rest ofthe class.
Questionnaires
Turn your current grammar items into a questionnaire.Get studentsto survey
eachother.It's usuallybener if your questionnairedoesnot contain fully writtenout questions.Give them the 'bones'of the questionsso that they needto think
and make the sentencesthemselves(eg WhereI goI tonrgZr?).Other-wiseit will be
you who hashad the most challenginglanguagework, and all the studentshave
had to do is read out your workl Even better,get them to write the questionnaire!
Grarnrnar auctions
Preparea mix ofcorrect and incouect sentences.Studentsworking in groups are
allocatedan amount ofpretend money.Youread out a sentence.Theymust decide
ifit's correct or not.They then "bid" on the sentenceasifin an auction.They aim
to only buy correct sentences(asonly theseare worth anlthing at the end).u?hen
all sentenceshavebeen auctioned,revealwhat eachis worth (ie nothing for
incorrect,variableamountsfor good ones).
Board garnes
A board gamesuch a #.ne|fublock
offlar resourceon the DVD could alsobe used.
For more on freer practice / authentic use activities see Chapter 9 Productiveskills
and Chaoter 10 Receotizte
shills.
179
grammar
Chapter7 Teaching
Figure 7.8
Test-Teach-Test
I -
Restricted
ourpur
Figure 7.9
180
Clarification:
guided
drscovery
Test-Teach-Test structure
Restricted
OUIPUI
5 Otherwaysto grammar
$7hat'shappeninghere?This suggestsdlat we setthe learnersa taskto do that
requiresthem to use languageand then, as a result of monitoring them while they
wor( we offer input, correction,explanation,etc.Here is an examplelessonin
which a group of Elementarylearnersare studying prepositionsofplace :
1 Restricted output: The studentswork in pairs.Both studentsaregivena
separatepicture of the samehotel room (which they do not showto their
partner).The picturesareidentical,exceptttratfive familiar objects(ega char, a
botde,etc) arein pictureA but not in picture B, and a differentfrveobjectsarein
picture B but not in pictureA. Studentshaveto describewherethe objectsareto
eachother,drawingitemswhen they frnd out exactlywherethey are.
2 Clarification (guided discovery): rJflhenthe activity hasfinished, tie teacherasks
the studentsto comparepicturesandrecallhow they describedthe various
locations.Pairswork togetherfor a while, then someare invited to put their answers
on theboard.Sheasksthe classto decidetogetherwhich sentences
arecorrectand
which not. Sheencourages
the classto discussand agreetogether(usingreference
booksifnecessary);shedirectsthe discussionsoasto getthe classtlrinkingand
working together,but only offers specifichelp with the languageproblems towards
the end if problems remain that the classcould not solve.
3 Restricted output: Learners do a task very similar to the original hotel task,
but involving a different location.
It looks asif we are throwing learnersin the deepend and finding out what they
need to know by first testingwhat they can use,then teachingthosethings that
revealedproblemsor were absentbut needed,then letting learnerstry againto use
the Ianguage(ie test-teach-test).
The examplewe havejust looked at involved 'restricted'tasks.A test-teach-test
Iessoncould alsosetlearnersa generalspeakingtaskwithout restriction of
Ianguage;in this case,learnersmay reveala much more unpredictableset of
errors,problems,etc.
This lessontype is much harder to fully plan in advance,asyou do not necessarily
know what specificlanguageitems might come up and require work, information,
etc.For this reason,this is a lessontype that teacherstend not to try until they have
gaineda certain amount ofexperience and sufficient familiarity with the basicsof
English grammar and usage.
You may be wondering how either ofthese lessonstructuresmight be possibleHow can learnersuselanguagebefore it hasbeentaught?
! hen I come to teachmany of my studentsa 'new' grammaticalitemJI may be
surprisedto find that they 'half-know' it already.\fith studentsstudying for a
period of time on any coursethat includesskillswork (reading,listening,etc), this
effect is evenmore marked becausestudentshavebeenexposedto a large amount
oflanguageon recordingsand in texts,and they haveoften becomehalf-awareof
many grammaticalpatterns.A common exampleis the presentperfect tense:
studentshaveoften heard and read manv examolesofthis tensebefore it is
actually focusedon in class.
From this I can concludethat 'new' grammar is often not completelynew for
studentsand they may havemet it many times before it is actually'raught'.
Teachersoften talk about 'teaching' (or 'presenting')new grammarl what is meant
181
grammar
Chapter7 Teaching
is that it is the first time that they havefocusedin detail on a particular item in
class.And, in fact, it is extremelyhard to do such teachingiflearners haven,thad
this kind of exposure.It's almostimpossibleto learn somethingthe very hrst timc
you meet it, but if it has'drip-fed' into your brain over a period of time, you har-er
reasonablestarting point. For thesereasons,giving studentschancesto be
exposedto, or to attempt to use,language'above'their apparentlevel of
knowledgeof grammar is extemely useful and greatlyaids future work on
grammar.It both celebrateswhat studentscan do and clarifiespreciselywhat sdl
needsto be worked on. Maybe we should call theseapproaches.exposure-resrteach-test'rather than iust 'test-teach-test'for they will or yworkif learnersharr
been exposedto language.
There are few peoplein the world who know nothing ofEnglish. Even someone
who has studiedno English hasprobably picked up a number of,international
English' expressionsand words (dutyJree,no smoking,it\ therealthing,etc).Ma-q
adult learnerswho call themselvesBeginnershave,in fact, studiedEnglish at
schoolfor two or more years;most of this has been'forgotten' or is hard to actjr
through lack ofuse or lack of confidence.Theseare the so-called,falseBeginnerr.
By providing listening and readingwork at an appropriatelevel,this stock ofha.F
known languagewill quickly increase.Provided learnershavesufficient
it is certainly possibleto use 'exposure-test-teach-test'approachesat low levelsTotal Physical Response (TPR)
TPR is, in fact, a whole methodology and hasproved to be very successful,
especiallyat low levels.Initially learnersare given restrictedexposureto a large
number of instructsons (eg lY/alhto thedoor,Pick up Jolanda'spen). Gesnsresand
demonstations quickly help learnersto understandthe meaning,and learners
then do what they are askedto.
&I
182
-t
5 Otherwaysto grammar
Task-Based Learning (TBL)
TBL is a generalterm for somemore variationson the ,exposure-test-teach-test,
lessonstucture.
Lessonsare centredround a task,ie the learnershaveto do a particular
assignment(which will probably havea clearourcome).This taskwill usually be
'real world' rather
than 'languagefocused' (eg 'Plan a birthday party'rather than
'Fill in
the gapsin this exercise').Thelessonwill often start with the taskitself
(maybeafter somelead-in introducing the theme or topic) and may include other
stagessuch as'listeningto a recording ofcompetent languageusersdoing the
sametask','Learnersgive a report back on how thel' did the task'and a
'Preparation
of the report' stage.
183
grammar
Chapter7 Teaching
Authentic
exposure
Activitiesthat
promote
'noticing'
Clarification:
guided
otscovery-
Authentic
exposure
184
Ghapter8 Teachinglexis
Studentsoften approachthe learning ofvocabulary in a fairly random way.This
chapterlooks at how to encouragethem to be more systematic.It presentsa
number ofways to presentand practisevocabularyaswell asexploring what
aspectsof meaningit takesto reallyknow a word.
What is lexis?
Teacherattitudesto vocabularyhavechangeda lot over recentyears.Theuse of
the word /exzs(rather than the more famlliar vocabulary) reflects a fundamental
shift in understanding,attitude and approach.Theincreasingavailabilityof
corpora (largecomputeriseddatabasesofanalysablereal conversationsand
other text), and dictionaries,grammar books and other resourcesbasedon them
haverevealedmany surprisingfeaturesoflanguagethat had beenpreviously
unrealised.An influential boolg TheLexicalApproacftby Michael Lewis published
in 1993,had a significantimpact on the professionin raising awarenessof the
importance oflexis and of the weaknesses
of much classroomvocabularywork.
So what is lexis?Is it more than just a fancy word for vocabulary?How doeslexis
relateto grammar?I'll give somedefinitions on the next page,but first it may be
useful to seewhy there is a need for thesedifferent words.
785
Chapter8 Teaching
lexis
2 Lextsintheclassroom
'We
vocaDutarv
>
rcxls
s i n g l ew o r d s
and fixedtwo /
threeword
combinations
<
'ready-made'
collocations
cnunKS
Erammar
formationof
new pnrases
and sentences
ChapterI Teachinglexis
3 Presenting
lexis
Presenting lexis
You may sometimeswant to offer a short)teacherled focus on the meaning,form
and use of lexical items.This may be to clarify a singleitem, perhapswhen a
problem comesup unexpectedlyin the middle ofa lesson,though more often you
will group items togetherand teacha small setat the sametime. It is usually most
useful when the lexical items presentedare connectedin someway, for example:
. words connectedwith the samelocationor event(egshopwords,weddingwords);
. words that havethe samegrammar and similar use (eg adjectivesto describe
people,movementverbs);
. words that can be usedto achievesuccessin a specifictask (eg persuadinga
foreign friend to visit your town).
Groupinglexicalitems fo1teaching
Thinkof oneor two otherwaysto grouplexicalitemsfor teaching.
Presentation
If you just want to quickly conveythe meaning of one or more lexicalitems, there
are a number ofways you could do that.The most common techniqueprobably
involvesa presentation-practiceroute:
. Present:you first offer somecues,picturesor informalion about the target
items and elicit the words from studentsor model them yourself.Youwill need
to checkthat learnershaveunderstoodhow they are formed, what they mean
and how they are used.
. Practise:you then get the studentsto practise,eg by repeatingitems,using them
in short dialogues,etc.
These techniquesare similar to thoseusedin the present-practisesecdonon
grammar (seeChapter 7, Section2).
Alternatively,there are many other waysto conveymeaning.For eachlexical item
in the following random list, I've suggesteda different way that you could help
studentsbegin to learn the meaning.
g/ozes Mime putting them on.
disgusting Mime (eg smellingold food) and make a facial expression.
swimming Translateit.
cafi Draw a qluicksketchon the board or show a flashcardor
picture in a book.
ofun Draw aline. Mark neaeratone end ar'd alwagsatthe other.
Mark points along it'.usually,rareljt,etc.
chase Gettwo or three studentsto act it out.
Jrightened Tell a personalanecdote.
rossroads Build a model with Cuisenairerods or toy constructionbricks.
wind.owsill Point to dre object.
exploitation Explain the meaning (with examples).
ftope Read out the dictionary defrnition.
189
Chapter8 Teachinglexis
put up with
practice
4 Lexical
activities
andgames
tangible,visibleobjectsor simpleverbs), but problemattcfor more complex
meanings(eg supetficial,reaelation,
avert).In utch cases,learnersare likely to need
to seeor hearwords in specificcontextsin readingtexts or listeningmaterials.
Usinglexicalpracticeexercisesin class
Thisis a practiceexercisefrom a lexisbookfor Beginner/ Elementary
students.
H o wc o u l dy o uu s ei t i n a c l a s so f s t u d e n t s ?
@tF
W
Frorn WordGameswith Englishl,Howard-lTilliams and Herd (Heinemann,1986)
191
Chapter8 Teaching
lexis
Lexicalitemsin a practicetask
Herearetwo exercisesfrom a higher-level
lexisbook.Listten or moreitemsof
that studentswill practisewhentheydo theseexercises.
Practice
Write or discussthe answersto thesequestions.
1 How much do you know about eachof the planetsin our system?
2 H o w f a r d o y o u t h i n k m a nw i l l g e t i n s p a c ed i s c o v e riyn t h e n e x t
h u n d r e dy e a r s ?
3 Do we reallyneedto know what other planetsand systemsare like?
You are an astronautreportingbackto Earthfrom outer space.
Describewhat you can seeas you float through space.
Somepossiblelexis:planet,solarsystem,
Earth,Mars,fupiter, Saturn,Sun,stur.
galaxy, UFO, comet,spaceship,
satellite,moon,rocket,alien, black hole,nngs,
speedof light, ET, etc.
Many practiceactivitiescombine giving the studentsa list of lexical items and
setLingthem a taskto do with thoselexicalitems.The practiceactivity inTask t
192
practice
4 Lexical
activities
andgames
for example,is precededin the book by an actrvitythat focusesthe studentsclearly
on a largenumber ofuseful lexicalitems.
qffif@*
+#USEHOLD
Figure 8.2
Supermarketpicture
ChapterI Teaching
lexis
lexis
194
5 Lexisandskillswork
hr
ttui
/,//
//u
Figure8.3
Amusementpark
195
Chapter8 Teaching
lexis
reading or listening
work
196
5 Lexisandskillswork
After the first phase oflistening or reading work
Once the learnershavebecomecomfortable with the text, you can focus attention
on lexical items in the text and how they are used.Here are somethings that you
could ask:
. Can you guessthe meaningof this word from the meaningof the text around it?
. Find somewords in the text that mean . . .
. Find somewords in the text connectedwitl.rthe subiectof . . .
. In line X. what does . . . mean?
. Find words and sort them into three separategroups under theseheadings:. ..
. Sflhydoesthe writer usethe word . . . here?
. Find words in the text that match this list of synonyms.
. lfhat words come before/ after the word . .. .Vhat other words collocatewith
this word?
. Can you remember any other phrasesyou know with this word in them?
. Can you find any multiword items (ie groups of words that go together/
chunks)?
. rff/hat'sthe oppositeofthis word?
. How many different words doesthe writer useto describethe . .. ?
Lexis work after the rnain stages ofreading
or listening work
197
Chapter8 Teaching
lexis
198
6 RememberinE
lexicalitems
Studentwordlists
Hereis part of a wordlist from an Intermediate-level
Xanadusian
student'sexercise
b o o k .F i n ds o m er e a s o n sw h yi t i s n o ta s u s e f u al s i t m i g h tb e .
Word
Tlanslations
express
oprour
atcito
organokotornganinot
megumba
stron
(ff skulo,firmo)
galactio
tuo bairemedjurma
bacawao
inaterusco
megrobaro
primecxt
auditorio
kchir
oborosto
tubea
senicokotoremioinatulmulenco
semikonductto
epallisna magistralo
star
interview
shun
Krnsman
foyer
piss
poftery
o'er
hotchpotch
semr-conductor
prosecuted
JOmereasons:
. The items on the list seemto haveno connectionwith eachother.They appear
to be a random list (possiblywritten down in order ofappearancein a text).
. There are no other words that might be useful in situationswhere one needsto
use one of these words (eg Joyer:dresscircle,stalk, stage,aisle, etc).
. Somewords are very low frequency- ie tley are rarely used- and therefore,
not very useful for most students.
. How aredrey pronounced?!7hereis the stressQtrosecuted)?
. There are no examplesofthe words in use,in sentences.
. Are the words usableasnouns,adjectives,verbs,etc (interaieq express)?
. How many different meaningsdoeseachword have (star)?
. lvhat other words are connectedin form to any ofthese words (interoiewer,
interaiewee,inter x i ewroom)?
. There is nothing to help the studentsrememberthe lexicalitems.
. Where might one typically come acrosstheselexicalircms (Trespassers
will be
prosecuted,
Weprosecute
all shoplifters)?
. !7ho usesthem?
. Some ofthe lexicalitems are very specialisedand would only be usedin very
specificcontexts;not necessarilyvery useful to learn for activeuse (opt out).
. Somewords may be archaicor literary, not usedin contemporary speech.
There is no indication of this restricion. (o'er,kinsruan).
. \fhat collocationsare common (7bbinteraiew)?
. There are not alwaysdirect translations;perhapsa complex cultural idea is
being conveyedthat four or five words cannot really explain (opt out).
. No indication or warning of taboos (p?ir).
199
Chapter8 Teaching
lexis
Alternative
ways of recording
lexis
'"o uoo9
"*'-Jarr
Figure 8.4
A
'!u
--
'n"o
""orunu
motorcycE
'meute(r)
sark(e)l/
pikipiki
nde a -,
She's/ust
get on my -,
boughta
- maintenance, 60Occ
* race,
Suzuki
- couner
motorcycle.
200
6 RememberinA
lexical
items
Labelling
Another way invoh'esgrouprngwords so that a set is learnedtogether.This is
often more effectivethan studying unrelatedindividual u'ords.For example,you
could presenta set ofwords connectedwith kitchensby using a picture ofa
kitchen (Figure 8.6); the studentseachhavea copy of the picture and write the
words on it asthey learn them.
/:\
:
Ling
cuLe
5weef,
PUsh-CAat"
high chain
\
NAPPg
Figure 8.7
Word web
N7ord webs can be extended into topic webs. Learners write a topic in the centre
box and then add some useful sub-headings in the other boxes.Then tltey collect
and group words under these sub-headings, connecting each new word by a line
to the appropriate box.Thus, for example, the centre word might be srarron,some
sub-headings couldbe pl17ces,
timetqble,people,things to &er1,etc. Lexical items
201
Chapter8 Teachinglexis
re-turn to X,
return to X.
Figure 8.8
Topicweb
and chunks
This page is for recording lexical items that qpically go together in patterns with e
single key word. The learner writes the key word in the centre box and then uses
the columns before and after the box to write in phrases, sentences)chunks, etc.
Therewas a terrible
warden
The
is reallyheavytoday.
W h a t ' sh o l d i n gu p t h e
202
6 Remembering
lexicalitems
Noun
(thing)
Noun
(person)
hap?iheo.
re?orL
Adiective
Verb
(present pastpastparticipie)
hupPv
.ePorter
reporled
Advelb
Phrases
happity
Happybfih4ayl
| fi not na?Py
report,- re?orLea
re?oted
frost,
snow
\
d)-'l"9bk/",".",
/#u,
(rW
qt ./ii
handsome
charming
203
ChapterSTeaching
lexis
201
7 KnowinA
a lexicalitem
b The teacherwrote one word on the boardand then addeda few examples,then she
gavethe pens to us and we had to add other words. lf we got the spellingwrongor
put a word in the wrongplace,then she didn't correctus. She didn't needto,
becauseusuallyone ofthe other studentsnoticedit was wrongand we dtscussedit
and then changedit. At the end, when we'd filledthe board,the teacherpointedout
three wordsthat were still problems.Thenwe copiedit all down into our notebooks.
We used the words in our next activity,makinga story about a hike in the
coUntryside.
c We had to find our own wayto remembersome new words.As we learneoeacn
new word, we had to write it down in an appropriateplace,findinga strong reason
for puttingit there. The teachersaid we shouldtry to make a mental link or
associationwith that part ofthe picture;for example,one ofthe words was
spanner,so I wrote it here and tried to imaginean Australianbeachwith a surfer
comingin on a spannerinsteadof a surfboard.lt sounds a bit crazy,but I haven't
forgottenthe wordl
d We workedin pairstryingto decidewhichwordstypicallywent togetherwith other
words,and whichcombinationswere impossible.Ourteachertold us that this 'going
together'is calledcollocation.
ffiffiffi
I knowthiswordatready
He probably means that he has seen it before and knows a meaning for it. Quite a
few students seem content \vith this; lexis learning involves matching a meaning in
their language with an English word. But this definition of 'knowing a word' is
fairly limited. Does he know more than this basic meaning? Can he actually use
the word appropriately to do things in a variety ofcontexts?
Many teachers assume that the real work ofteaching lexis is introducing students
to the meanings of new lexical items) and perhaps to the spelling and the
pronunciation. In fact, much of the difficulty oflexis isn't to do with learning
endless new words, it's learning how to successfully use words one already knows,
ie learning how 'old' words are used in 'new'ways. For example, the word table
might conceivably be first met on Day one of a Beginner's course. But it's unlikely
to be fully explored and used, even as the student reaches Advanced levels. From
'core'
the basic
meaning of t,tble (a piece of furniture), we find there are various
other meanings that grow out ofthat: the food spread on it to make a meal, the
guests you meet at the meal, to table a motion, a table of data, a games surface,
football league lists, part ofa musical instrument, etc.It also feafltres in many
chunks and idioms, eg Do ltott haae afree table?,a round-table discussion,to setthe
table,m be unfur the table (.= drr11\) , gtc.To learn your way round all these takes
time and requires exposure to a lot of samples oflanguage in use.
245
Chapter8 Teachinglexis
Notes
h o wi t ' s s p e l l e d
the numberof syllables
phonemes
whichsyllablesare stressed
s h o r tw o r d su s u a l l yh a v eo n em a i n
stress;longerwordsmayhavea numbt
of secondarystresses,too
eg the past-tense
form of a verb
eg table= pieceof furniturewith a flat
surfaceand legs
othermeanings
t h e ' s e m a n t iscp a c e ' i to c c u o i e s
metaphorical
meanings
connotation
appropriacy
for certainsocial
situations,contexts,etc
restrictionson meaning
immediatecollocates
collocationalfield
colligation
c o m m o nc h u n k sp, h r a s e si ,d i o m si t
appearsin
206
7 Knowinga lexicalitem
translation(s)
false friends
w o r d sw h i c hi n t r a n s l a t i osnu g g e sat
w r o n gm e a n i n ge,g i n H a l i a nc a l d ol o o k s
s i m i l a tro t h e E n g l i s cho l d ,b u t i n f a c t
m e a n sh o t
t r u ef r i e n d s
w o r d sw h i c hm e a n a l m o s t p r e c i s e l yt h e
s a m e i n t h e o t h e rl a n g u a g e
l e x i c a lf a m i l i e s
lexicalsets
synonyms
w o r d sw i t hs i m i l a m
r eanings
homonyms
w o r d st h a t h a v et h e s a m e s p e l l i n gb u t
have different meanings
n om o p n o
nes
d e s a m eb u t
w o r d st h a ta r e p r o n o u n c et h
havea differentmeaning
opposites(antonyms)
suffixes that can be added to the word
eg possess- possesslon
eg flow - overflow
t h e v i s u a li m a g ep e o p l et y p i c a l l yh a v ef o r
this word
personalfeelingsaboutthis word
m n e m o n i c(st h i n g sh e l py o ur e m e m b e r
t h ew o r d )
Chapter8 Teaching
lexis
7 Knowins
a lexical
item
could read a text and believethat they understandall the lexicalitems, but miss the
fact that they havenot registeredthat familiar words may be being usedin new
ways and combinations.
This leadsus to a variation on the third idea:collectingitems from a text but with
a focus on longer piecesoftext. For example,you could askstudentsto:
. frnd pairs ofwords that seemto go together:eg in the senlenceHe hqd zterltgood
communicatinnshilA,studentsmay not know that corxrzunicationskillsis a
common collocation(or that goodcommuniccttionshillsis alsovery common);
. find phrasesoftlree or more words long that seemto be a frequendyused
'fixed' chunk: eg 1r'swellworth aooidingGuildfordcity cenle if you possibljtcan
corfiains h's well worth aaoiding and if tou possiblycan (andprobably Guildford
city cente is alsoa chunk, but one in which you can substitutedifferent town
namesin the first position);
. underline ten nouns (or nords used asnouns) and then searchout which verb
is usedin connectionwiti eachone: eg in the sentenceIhhough thepotrtoes
uereftttherold, weboiledthemalongwith thecarrots,lhenoun potatoesE
connectedto the verb boiled.
'Chunk sponing'is a great classroom(or homework) learning activity.It often
astonishesstudentsand teachersto realisehow much ofauthentic texts are made
out of these'pre-fabricated'piecesoflanguage.
Redesign your pages
Encouragelearnersto sometimesreorganise,reclassifyand redesignsomeof their
word pages,writing them up nicely (ma.vbewith coloured pens,sketchesor
diagrams), perhapschangingformat, eg a list into a mind map,labelson a
picture, etc.The act of mentally sorting and rearrangingwill be a helpful learning
actrvrty.
'When
lexis
Chapter8 Teaching
and they must indicatewhich of the two (or three) words is the best collocate.
the item soeswith more than one word. Decide on how studentswill indicate
choices.Youcould go for quiet ways,eg studentswrite their answersin a list;
ways,eg studentscall out their choiceofwords; physicalways,eg studentspoinr
the words written on wall noticeslaction ways,eg designatedifferent parts oftlr
room for different words and studentsrun to the right part of the room (or
betweenparts).
Guessthe collocation
Divide the classinto three or more teams.In eachteam,studentsare given a
common word (eg toun) ar.d}]'zvero preparea list of five common collocations
(egplanning,hall,horuqmarket,centre).Each team has a different starterword!7hen everyoneis ready,studentsread their lists out one item at a time and the
other teamstry to guessdre original word. If the word is guessedimmediatell o
t}Ie first clue,both teams (list-makersand word-guessers)get ten points; for
extra word, the points go down by one.This scoring schemeencourageslistmakersto find the most likelv and distinctivecollocations.
Chunk watching
Students work in groups ofthree, two ofwhom face each other.The teacher
them a topic to talk about and they simply chat naturally for a few minutes .The
third person sitsout of their line of sight and takesno part in the conversation.
listenscarefully and takesnotesofas many'chunks'as shecan catch.At the
the time, the listenershowsher list to the speakersand they go through and
discusst}te items.
210
GhapterI FrodwetEve
skills:
speakimgandwriting
This chapter examines the two productive skills and looks at \\'avs to approach
them in the classroom.
Approaches to speaking
'lffi
Problems
in organising
discussion
classes
You are a student in a foreign languageclass. A new teacher comes In, stares at the
class and says Todaywe're going to talk about oil pollution. What do you think2
Following
t h e t e a c h e r ' sq u e s t i o n ,s o m e o f y o u rf e l l o wc l a s s m a t e sl o o k d o w n a t t h e i r
t a b l e s , m a k ef a c e s a t e a c h o t h e r a n d k e e p s i l e n t .T h e t e a c h e rt r i e s t o e n c o u r a g e
t h e m t o s p e a k ,a n d , i n d o i n gs o , t a l k s m o r e a n d m o r e h i m s e l f .A t t h e e n d , n o n e o f
y o u h a v es a i d a s i n g l ew o r d a n d t h e t e a c h e rs i t s d o w n e x h a u s t e da n d m u m b l e st o
himself, f4le//,that seemed to go OK.
1 H o wd i d y o u f e e l a s a s t u d e n t ?
2 W h y m i g h ty o u n o t h a v ef e l t l i k e t a k i n gp a r t i n t h e d i s c u s s i o n ?
3 Whatadvicewouldyou giveto yourteacherwhen planningfuture lessonsof this type?
The trudr is that a discussion lesson like the one described in this task is more
likely to produce silence or a desultor_vsentence or tr\,'othan a scorching debate.
\Why this happens is not too hard to fathom. As a student in that lesson you
probably had no interest in the subiect, no relevant knouledge or experience, no
motivation, no desire or perceived need to speak about it and worst ofall, a slight
panic: 'The teacher wants me to sav something and I haven't had time to think.'
Hence, as a result ofall ofthese, there was nothing to sa1,.
If we rvant to get students talking in class,we need to ansu,er all these objections.
If the subject is relevant and interesting, if the students alread_vknow about or are
provided with information to give substance to the topic, if they feel motivated to
talk about it, ifthey feel that they really \\'ant to sa]' something, there is a good
chance of somet}ringinrere.ting happening.
So, how can we help the tcacher fromThsk 9.1 organise their speaking lessons
better? Here are some suggestions.
.
Chapter9 Productive
skills:speakingandwrjting
Structuring
talk
Pairsof learnershavedjfferentpicturescutfromtoday'snewspaper
(whichthey
don't showeachother).Theycomparetheirviews,initiallydescribing
theirtwo
Everyoneis given the name of a famous person (whichthey keep secret). The
whole.class
standsup andwalksaround(as if at a party),meeting,chatting
answeflngquestionsaboutrecentevents,in character'.
1 Approaches
to speaking
likely to provide opportuniq,*for the most speakingby rhe largestnumber of
people.\X/hetherlearnersfeel cncouragedto speakalsodependson how motivated
thcy feel by the task.Having a clear,concretetask (eg describinga photo or
ansrveringa specificquestion)ma_voffer a more manageablestarting point than a
generalinvitationto'stateyour vierv'.Similarll-,havinga'role'mav givelearners
permissionto speakmore freely,taking arva-v
someof the nervousnessassociated
with formulating one'solvn vier,v
Fluency and confidence
Fluency and conhdenccare important goalswhen consideringspeakinglessons.
There is no point kno\uing a lot about languageifyou can't usc it (which, sadly,
hasbeenthe experienceof man-vlanguagelearnersin the past- ableto conjugate
a verb, but unable to respondto a simple question).Tohelp achievethis aim, u'e
often want to find u'a1'-s
of enablingasman-vstudentsaspossibleto speakasmuch
aspossible.Sometimesan all-classspeakingactivity is useful,but ifit takesup the
whole lesson,it actualll,offers verl,little speakingtime to eachindividual student.
It's usually a good ideato organisespeakingactir.itiesin pairs,threesand small
groups,aswell asr.viththe classas a u'hole.
iffi,.{.S,1: Fluencyandconfidenceaims
The aim for anyconversation
class is for learnersto 'becomemorefluent and confident',
Whymightlearnersneedthrs ( e what may havepreventedthem llecomingfluent)?
Commentary
Very often, r.vhenpcople study a language, thev accumulate a lot of'up-in-thehead'knorvledge (ie they may knolv rules of grammar and lists ofvocabulary
items), but then find that they can't actually use this language to communicare
\\'hen they want to.There seems to be some difficulty in moving language from
'up-there'
knor.vledgeto actively usable language. For many learners, their
'passive'kno,,vledge
is much larger than their 'active' language.\Tithout
experience in using the language, learners may tend to be nervous about trying to
say things. Pardy thel' may fear sceming foolish in front of others; they may worry
about getting things tvrong; they may want to avoid your comments or
correctionsl and so on In addition to these, it may simply take a long time to'put
the pieccs'ofa communication togerhcr,Ieadingto long embarrassedpauses
$'hile the learner tries to find out ho$' to say rvhat they rvant to san perhaps while
a ticket queue waits behind or a group ofembarrassed friends Iook on.
One ofrhe bestrva-vsfor you to help learners activate this knowledge is to put them in
'safe'
situations in classr,vhercthey are inspired and encouraged to try using language
from their 'storc'.These lvould not mainly be activities that teach 'new) language;
rather, they would allow learncrs to try outlanguage that they already understand
and have 'learncd', but not yet made part of thcir active personal repertoire.
Generally speaking, you arc likely to wantto create activities in rvhich learners feel
lessworried about speaking,lessunder pressurcr lessnervous about trf ing things
out. It's a frne balance though, as you also u.antlearners to feel undcr sorne pressure
to take a risk and use language that they may have been avoiding using until now
Man-v activities in class are suitablc for fulfilling these'flucncy and confidence'
aims, but for the momenr) let's stick with the class discussion such as miqht
happen in a 'convcrsation class'.
skills:speakingandwriting
Chapter9 Productive
ffi
, L e a r n e r sw i l l b e c o m em o r e f l u e n t- s p e a k i n gm o r e c o n f i d e n t l !
T h i s i s a l e s s o na i m :
' h i c ho f t h e s e a c t i v i t i e sm i g h t h e l pf u l f i lt h i s a i m ?
w i t h l e s s h e s i t a t i o n .W
Learnersrepeat sentences you say.
plans'
A t t h e s t a r t o f t h e l e s s o n ,l e a r n e r sc h a t w i t h y o u a b o u t t h e i r w e e k e n d
p
r
e
s
e
n
t
a
tlons'
b
u
s
i
n
e
s
s
m
a
k
i
n
g
t
i
p
s
f
o
r
a
n
d
L e a r n e r sl o o k a t a l i s t o f h i n t s
t
h
e
s
a
me
w
i
t
h
w
o
r
d
s
p
r
a
c
t
i
s
e
r
e
p
e
a
t
i
n
g
L e a r n e r sl i s t e nt o a r e c o r d i n ga n d
d i f f i c u l tv o w e ls o u n d .
L e a r n e r sw o r k i n p a i r sa n d a g r e et h e i r l i s t o f t h e b e s t f i v e f i l m s o f a l l t i m e '
L e a r n e r sl i s t e nt o a n d s t u d ya r e c o r d i n go f a s o c i a lc o n v e r s a t i o n '
L e a r n e r sp r e p a r ea m o n o l o g u ea b o u tt h e i r h o b b i e sa n d t h e n g i v e a f i v e - m i n u t e
s p e e c ht o t h e w h o l ec l a s s .
L e a r n e r sl e a r nb y h e a r t a l i s t o f u s e f u lc h u n k so f l a n g u a g et h e y c a n u s e i n
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
conversations.
214
1 Approaches
to speaking
more interestingb.vgi\ing them someresourcedatareg a pageor nvo of
essentialinformation about the compan\,)recentaccidents,graphs,local
newspaperarticlesrmapSJ
ctc.
Role cards
Giving studentsbrief role cardssometimeshclps,eg,You arc a motorist $,ho
usesReddo petrol. Explain horv you \vant to support greenissues,but alsonccd
to drive your car.'It can often bc easierto speakin someoneelse'scharacter
than in your orvn. (SeeSection3 for more role plav ideas.)
Buzz groups
If a whole-classdiscussionseemsto be dying on its fect,tr-\,splitting dre class
up into'buzz groups', ie quickll' divide the classinto small setsoffour or live
students.Ask them to summarisethe discussionso far, particularly considering
if the-vagreelvith r,vhatdifferent peoplehavesaid.Aftcr a fe$,minutes (with
studentsstill in groups), askthem to think of three commentsor questionsthat
would be interestingto sharewith the rvholeclass.Thenbrine the rvholeclass
back togetherand continue the discussion.The cntire b,.,rr-g.oup ,.rg. -u-u
take only about three or four minutes,but can help inject a lot more cnergvinro
a discussion.
Break the rules
Don't feel that you can neverbend the aboverulesl sometimesit ma1,maxe
senseto go stratghtinto the discussion(perhapsbecauseyou want them to
get somepractice at unprepared speaking,or becausethe subjectis burning so
stongly that it just demandsto be startedimmediately).
ffi
Usingmaterialto generatediscussion
F i n da w a yt o u s e t h i s m a t e r i a li n a d i s c u s s i o nl e s s o n .H o ww o u l dy o u i n t r o d u c ei t ?
W o u l dy o u n e e do t h e r m a t e r i a l s ?l f s o , w h a t ?
EE
215
Chapter9 Productive
skills:speakingandwriting
Devisinga discussionactivity
Thesubjectis 'popfestivals'.Devisea discussionactivitysuitablefor a rangeoi
levels.
One possible idea: in groups, plan a pop festival for our town.$7ho should be
invited to play?\7here would it be?Vhat problims might there be? How will
we keep the locals happy? Finally, design an advertisement poster to include
important information and encouragevisitors to come. At the end, the
separategroups pin up their posters around the walls and visit each other,s.
the role ofpotential visitors and festival organisers,they ask ano answer
questions.
216
2 Communicativeactivities
Communicative activities
The discussionsand conversationsin Section 1 are examplesof communicative
activities,ie classroomactivitiesdesignedso that learnersto speakand listen to
one another.
Ve typically communicatewhen one of us hasinformation (facts,opinions,ideas,
instuctions) that anotherdoesnot have.This is known asan 'information gap'.
The aim ofa communicativeactivity in classis to get learnersto usetl-telanguage
they are learning to interact in realisticand meaningful ways,usually involving
exchangesof information or opimon.
W&
communicative
activities
C o n s i d e tr h e d e f i n i t i o na b o v ea n d t i c k w h i c hi t e m s o n t h e f o l l o w i n gl i s t a r e
c o m m u n i c a t i va
ec t i v i t i e s .
1 Repeatingsentences that you say
2 D o i n go r a l g r a m m a rd r i l l s
3 R e a d i n ga l o u df r o m t h e c o u r s e b o o k
4 G i v i n ga p r e p a r e ds p e e c h
5 A c t i n go u t a s c r i p t e dc o n v e r s a l i o n
6 G i v i n gi n s t r u c t i o n s o t h a t s o m e o n ec a n u s e a n e w m a c h i n e
7lmprovisingaconversationsothatitincludeslotsofexamplesofanewgrammar
S I T U C I UT E
8 O n e l e a r n e rd e s c r i b e sa p i c t u r ei n t h e t e x t b o o kw h i l et h e o t h e r sl o o k a t i t
217
skills:speakingandwriting
Chapterg Productive
2 Communicative
activities
4 Combine the pairs to makc fours; again,they needto reachan agreement.
5 Join eachfour with anotherfour or in a smallcrclass- $'ith all the others.
6 \Uhen the whole classcomestogether,seeif -voucan rcach one classsolution.
\flhat's the point of doing a discussion in this rvay? (After all, it vvill take some time to
do.)Well, most importand]', the techrrique gires students time to practise speaking in
smaller groups before facing the u'hole class.E l'en the rveakerspeakerstend to find
their confidence grou's as the actir.irr*procccds and they are able to rehearse and
repeat argumcnts that they ha\,e already tested on others. Learners who rvould
usually never dare state their viervsin front ofdrc cntire classrvill still get a number of
chances to speak,and becausethey have practised a litde, ma1-even get up the
courage to say them again to ever_vone.
It also tends to lead to a much more exciting
and rvell argued u'hole-class discussion.The smaller groups are seedbedsfor a variety
ofideas and opinions; ifrve jumped in the deep end u'ith the whole-class stage,ue
r.vouldprobably gct silence or possibly just one or t$'o students dominating.
&$
SeePyramiddisc{rsslon
teachingtechniqueon the DVD
Board garnes
Many commerciall.vavailableboard games lead to interesting speaking activities,
though you do need to check them out and ensure that thc5'rcpresent'good value'in
terms ofhow muchusefii languagedrey generate.It's also quite eas-vto createnew
board games speciall-r,deri*.d to. tour classand their interests.I flu.rditvery useful to
have one blank board game template (there's one in drc Srz{zll-group d:Lscttsnonresource
on the D\D). It is then relatively quick to urite in a number of interesting questions or
statementsin each squareround thc board. Learners play the game in groups,moving
theirpieces and eithcr giving a monologue or discussiagsquaresthe-vland on.
Puzzles and problems
There are many publisl.red books norvadays filled rvith logic puzzlcs and problems.
Many of these make intercsting discussion tasks, ma1'be following a structure of
(a) lening learners spend a little time individuall-v considering the problem, then
(b) bringing students together in a group to tr-v and solve the puzzle together.
Alternativell,, some puzzles rvork well with the same stage (a), but then for thc
sccond stagc having a full class'mingle' (all learners rvalking around, mccting and
talking), during u'hich learners can compare dreir solutions $,ith others.
219
skills:speakingandwriting
Chapter9 Productive
19-year-olddaughter 3-month-oldbaby
or they could offer guidanceasto what to do rather than ttre role itself,
Findout whenyour
son'sIrain from Tarie
willarrive.
220
3 Roleplay,realpiayand simutation
Role card 2
?ole card I
a
ha; Aeeiqned'
YourcomPanY
ne\,N
ranTeof revoluliona(Y
p.od L,ZL5,comVleLetY d' tf e'enr'
fromyourusualones
Y o ua r e h a v t naqm e e t i n 0 w i t n
oneol Yourbeetcu1trome15
Describe Ih e new?rad'ucTta
h\m/ ner'
""'
aboLr
";i,"";31::,can
writingrolecards
H e r ea r e t h r e e r o l e c a r d st h a t v e r y b r i e f l ys e t o u t p a r t i c u l a rv i e w p o i n t si n o r d e rt o
e n c o u r a g ea s m a l lg r o u pd i s c u s s i o no n v e g e t a r i a n i s m
a n d m e a t , e a t i n gT. h e f o u r t h
a n d f i f t h c a r d s a r e m i s s i n g .W r i t et h e m .
1 Y o ub e i e v et h a t m e a t - e a t i n g
i s n a t u r a lf o r h u m a n sa n d t h a t v e g e t a n a n sa r e
m j s s i n go u t o n a n i m p o r t a n tp a r t o f t h e i r d i e t .
2 Y o uh a v eb e e nv e g e t a r i a nf o r s i x y e a r sb e c a u s ey o u b e l i e v ei t i s h e a l t h i e r .
3 Y o ul i k et h e t a s t e o f m e a t , b u t d o n ' t e a t i t f o r m o r a lr e a s o n s ,a s v o u f e e l i t i s
w r o n gt o k r l la ni m a l s .
ffi
Adding
a missing
rolecard
S a m et a s k a g a i n .H e r ea r e s o m e r o l e c a r d s .W h a td o y o u t h i n k t h e m i s si n g c a r d
m i g h t h a v eo n i t ?
1 You are a store detective.you can see a suspicious-lookingperson at a clothes
r a i lw h o a p p e a r st o b e p u t t i n gs o m e t h i n gi n t o h e r b a g . G o o v e ra n d f j r m l yb u t
p o l i t e l ya s k h e r t o c o m e t o t h e o f f i c e .
2 Y o ub o u g h ta s w e a t e rf r o m t h i s s h o p y e s t e r d a yb, u t y o u h a v eb r o u g h ti t b a c k
b e c a u s ei t i s t o o s m a l l .Y o uw a n t t o g o t o t h e a s s i s t a n t o r e t u r ni t a n d g e t y o u r
m o n e yb a c k ,b u t b e f o r ey o u d o , y o u s t a r t l o o k i n ga t t h e o t h e rs w e a t e r so n t h e r a i l
a n d c o m p a r i n gt h e m w i t h t h e o n e y o u g o t y e s t e r d a yw
, hi c h i s i n y o u r b a g .
221
:+!q,.
Chapter 9 Productive skills: speaking and writing
Possibly:
4 You arethe managerofa large departmentstore.The police haveiust phoned
you to warn that a number of shoplifters are operating in this street'You decide
io have a walk around your store and warn the assistantsand t1',estore detective
to keeptheir eyesopen.
3 Roieplay,realptayandsimulation
ideasand language.Thenthey repeatedthe realplay (with her playing herself).
Shesaid afterwardsthat shefelt a little more confident about such siruarions.
Rather than a set ofrole cards,the most useful tool for real nlav is a blank
framework - in effect,a card that allowslearnersto createtheii own real play role
card.In class,I start by askinglearnersto choosea problem or situationthat they
might want to work on, and then guide them how to fill in their cards.Some
frameworkswill needto be worked on indiviitually, some (if they are mutually
dependent)in pairs or groups.
The following framework is for a two-personreal play (A and B). Each learner
needsone framework card.They start by agreeingwhich person,ssituationthey
will work with first (egA's), and then A (the initiator) will explain a ll,ork situation
ro B. Both u ill fill in Lheirown frameuork rolecard asapprofriare.
Realplay:work situationsinvolvingtwo people
Whoarethe two people?
W h e r ea r ey o u ?
W h a ta r ey o ut a l k i n ga b o u t ?
W h ya r e y o u t a l k i n g ?
W h a t h a p p e n e dj u s t b e f o r et h i s ?
l s a n yo t h e r i n f o r m a t i o ni m p o r t a n t ?
W h a t a r e s o m e p o i n t st h a t w i l l c o r n e
up in the discussion?
W h a tw o u l db e a g o o d r e s u l t ?
223
skills:speakingandwriting
Chapter9 Productive
Sirnulation
used' but there
Simulation is really a large-scalerole play Role cards are normally
aswell information
background
recorded
is often quite a lottfother printed and
come at the
r.*spup". u.ti.l.s, graphs,memos,news flashes,etc which may
causing all
unfolding,
is
simulation
the
start ;f the simulation or appear while
positions The
readiusttheir
possibly
and
partrcipantsto take.rot. oitlre n.* duta
a business
of
say,
complex.world"
intenti-onis to createa much more complete,
etc'
company.televisionstudio.governmentbody'
This is a brief descriptionofan examplesimulation:
meeting'
Theparticipants are all membersof a UFO-sqotterss.ocietyat their annual
publir'
At
thestart'
to
the
They are decidinghow they could betterpublicisetheir cause
(collected
statements
goaernment
inni ior, to*, fint aboui UFo incidentsand some
jri* *ogorirrT ond theInternet). At an appropriatepoint in the,simulation (probably
'ablout
has lqnd^d
oil-tht ,l of the wajt through),youlnt'odu" o n'*t flash-that a UFO
interaentxons
Siberia.This obxiouslychangesthedirecion oJthe meeting!Later
in
'irrlutd,
that the
o rrqrrrt m inteiaiewiembers of thesocietyand,at theend'nezus
(JFO wasanotherfake .
'working
Imagine a switch insideyour head- it swingsbet\'veentwo settings:
9 1) '
-"iily o.t u".,rru.y' and'working mainly on fluency' (seeFigure
WotuingmainlYon
Figure 9.1
language teacher.
224
4 Fluency,
accuracy
andcommunication
fluency,or fluency ratherthan accuracy.The dangerofcorrecting sflrdentsin the
middle of a mainly fluency task is that you interrupt their flolr.'andtakc *re focus
offtheir mcssage.Studentsoften frnd it hard to continue after a correction,whilst
othersin classmay becomemore rcluctant to speakfor fear of similarinterrupdons.
It is thereforeimportant for you to be clearabout rvhatis invoh'edin
accuracy-focusedwork ascomparedwitlr fluency-focuscdwork. And it's
especiallyimportant to be clearabout the differing aims - and consequently
different classroomprocedures- of the t."vo.
studentviewsonspeakingtasks
H e r ea r es o m et h i n g sy o um a yh e a ry o u rs t u d e n t s a y( o ri m a g i n teh e mt h i n k i n g ! ) .
T a k es i d e s .R e h e a r syeo u ra r g u m e n tasn dr e p l i e st o s o m eo r a l l o f t h e c o m m e n t s .
l B u t l d o n ' t w a n t t o t a l k t o o t h e r s t u d e n t s . T h e y s p e al kj ubsat dwl ay n
. ttolisten
r o y o us p e a K .
2 l s p e a k a l o t , b u t w h a t i s t h e p o i n t i f y o u n e v e r c o r r e c t r n en ?e tvwetirrl ln p r o v e .
3 Y o us h o u l db e t e a c h l n g
u s n o tj u s t l e t t i n gu s t a l k .T h a t ' sl a z yt e a c h i n g .
4 I d o n ' tn e e dt o s p e a kT. e a c hm e m o r eg r a m m a rI .w i l ls p e a kl a t e r .
5 T h e r e ' sn o p o i n td o i n gt h i st a s k i f w e u s eb a dE n g l i s tho d o i t .
6 T h i si s j u s t a g a m e .I p a i da l o t o f m o n e ya n dn o wI h a v et o p l a ya g a m e .
There are times in class when a focus on accuracl' - and therefore a greater use of
instant correction - ma-vbe appropriate.
There are other times when the focus is on fluency. At these times, instant
correction may be less appropriate and could interfere u'ith the aims of the
actrvlty.
You need to be clear about u'hether your main aim is accuracy or fluencl', and
adapt your role in class appropriately.
Having said all that, there may still be a kind of correction that fulfils the
'non-interfering'
aim offluency actl'ities, yet offers substantial concrete help to
the learner '"vho !s coming to terms $'ith language items.We will look at this under
the heading of'scaffolding' a litde later in this section.
Running
a fluency
activity
If the main aim is to get the students to speakr then one $.ay to achieve that $,ould
be for you to reduce your o\vn contributions. Probably the less you speak, the
more space it $'ill allorv the siudents. It could be useful to aim to sa-\.nothing while
the activiw is undenvay', and save any contributions for before and after. In an
activity mainly geared tolvards encouraging fluency, -vou are likely to monitor
discreetlyor vanish (seeChapter 3, Section 5).
Chapter9 Productive
skills:speakingandwriting
The activity route map from Chapter 2, Section2 (seeFigure 9.2) works well for
a fluency activity,and we can add a column for likely teacherinvolvement:
Stage
1 Before the lesson:familiariseyoursel
.-^*^-:^l
,,rdL!rrar
^-l
drru
- -':.,:-,,
d!u!rL]
Teachercentre-stage
Teacherout of sight,
uninvolved
Teachercenrre-srase
agarn
Figure 9.2
A useful thing for you to do during Stage 4 above is to take notes (unobtrusivell.)
ofinteresting student utlerances (correct and incorrect) for possible use later on
(at the end of the activitl', the next day, next rveek, etc).
Ideas for correction
.
.
.
activity
\7rite up a number of sentences used during the activity and discuss them r,r;it:the students.
\7rite a number of sentences on the board. Ask the students to come up to th.
board and correct the sentences.
Invent and write out a story tlat includes a number of errors you overheard
during the actitity. Hand out the story the next day and the students, in pairs , as a u'hole group, find the errors and correct tl-rem.
\Write out two lists headed 'A' and 'B'. On each list, write the same ten senteni from the activity. On one list, write the sentence with an error; on the other,
write the corrected version.Thus the correct version ofsentence 3 might be , :
either list A or list B (the other list has the incorrect version).You divide the
students into two groups, 'A' and 'B', and hand out the appropriate list to cac:
group.The groups discuss their own list (without sight of the other list) and r:
to decide if their version ofeach sentence is correct or not. Ifit is wrong, ther
correct it.lfhen dtey have discussed all the sentences,the groups can then
compare the tu'o sheets (and pcrhaps come to some new conclusions).
226
4 Fluency,
accuracy
andcommunication
Scaffolding
I suggested earlier that, during a fluency actit'ity, there may be a u'ay to offer
spontaneous correctron that:
.
.
.
.
.
unclear word:
Encouragement echo: repeating the last rvord (perhaps with questioning
intonation) in order to encourage the speaker to continue;
Echoing meaning: picking on a key element of meaning and saying it back to
the speaker, eg 'a foreign holidal";
Asking conversation-oiling questions (ones that mainl_vrecap already stated
information), eg Is it? Do you? Where was iti' etc;
Asking brief questions (or using sentence l.reads)that encourage the speaker to
extend the story, eg And then . . . He went ... She wanted... etcl
Unobtrusively saying the correct form of an incorrect word (but only if having
the correct word makes a significant positive contribution to the
communicatidn) i
Giving the correct pronunciation ofwords in replies u'irhout drau ing an].
partrcular attention to it;
Unobtusively giving a word or phrase thar rhe speakcr is looking for.
ffiti
ldentifying
scaffolding
techniques
W h i c hs c a f f o l d i n gt e c h n i q u e sc a n y o u i d e n t i f yi n t h i s s h o r t t r a n s c r i p to f a l e s s o na t
E l e m e n t a r yl e v e l ,w h e r ea l e a r n e rw a n t st o t e l l h i s t e a c h e ra b o u ta T V s t o r y h e s a w
c o n c e r n i n gt h e r a t h e ru n l i k e l ys p o r t o f ' e x t r e m ei r o n i n g ' ?
Sruoru:
It is like sport . . .
Trncnen: Uh-huh.
Sruoeu: . . . but is with 'eye ron'.
TEACHER:With an iron?
Sruoerur: Yes,is'eye ron'sport, They. . . er. . .
227
andwriting
skills:speaking
Chapter9 Productive
TEACHER:What do they do?
STUDENT:Er,yes. lt is like sport ex . . . ex . . '
TEAoHER:An extreme sport?
'eye rons' in extreme place.
SruDENr: Yes. Theyuse
Tencsrn: Ha - irons in ertreme places? Where?
Ah,like onto a mountain.
Sruocu:
Teecren: On a mountain!
STUDENT:Yes(laughs),on a mountain or river'
Trncnrn: What do they do?
SruDENr: They iron and in tree on top
TEACHER:At the top oftrees?
STUDENT:Yes.
Defining'genre'
'genre'mean?Whymight'genre'be an important
Whatdoesthe word
whenteachinglanguage?
consideration
228
5 Differentkindsof speaking
varietiesof speechgenre
Somepossibleanswers:
. Giving an academiclecture
. Telling a loke
. Greeting a passingcollcague
. Making a phone enquiry
. Chatting u'ith a friend
. Explaining medicalproblemsto a doctor
. Giving military orders
. Negotiating a sale
.
Gi\rino
ctrccr,l;rF.ri^ne
. Making a businesspresentation
. Communicating 'live' during an Internet game
. Explaining a grammaticalpoint
Being more specific about genre
A term suchas'makinga public speech'isstillrelativelyimprecise.It could
refer to a wide variet_v
ofquite different kinds oftask, from thanking some
colleaguesfor a birthday presentto standingup asbestman at a rvedding
receptionto presentinga one-hourtalk at a conferenceof3,000 people.
It is possibleto specifl,typesof speakingmore precisel_v
than by simply
naming a genreifrve add information about why the speakingis being
done,where it is being done and who is listening or interactingwith the
speaker.
'W
Analysing
a genre
L o o k a t t h e l i s t o f c o m m o ns p e a k i n gg e n r e s .C h o o s eo n e a n d a n a l y s ei t u s i n gt h e
g n d i n F i g u r e9 . 3 .
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
T w o e x a m p l e sh a v e b e e nf i l l e di n t o h e l py o u . N B Y o ua r e n o t a n a l y s i n ga l l e x a m p l e s
o f e a c hg e n r e ,j u s t o n e s p e c i f i co n e . F o re x a m p l e t, h e l e c t u r es p e c i f i e dh e r e m a y b e
v e r y d i f f e r e n ti f a n y o f t h e v a r i a b l e sw e r e a l t e r e d .
229
Genre
Purpose
Whatgeneral
kindof
s p e a k i n igs i t ?
Setting
Audlence
Response
Whyis this
Whereis it
sPeaking
done? d o n e ?
Whois
listening?
Doesthe speakerget a
sPokenresponsefrom
listene(s)?
. one-way
(no
response)?
. two-way(reciprocal
communication)?
. multiway?(morethan
two communicate)?
An academic
lecture
Toinform
peopleof facts
about
17th-century
British histoty
Lecturetheatre
at Budapest
University
Roomof
students
Iistening,notetaking,etc
Mainlyone-way:
responseonly in terms
of posture,expression
and possiblya question
or comment
A stand-up
conversa on at
a formal party
Making
contacts;
findingnew
clients
Livingroom of a
privatehouse
in Nairobi
Oneor more
other
professional
peopleof
similar social
status
Multiway: a varying
numberof peoplespeak
Figure 9.3
Genre-analysisgrid
230
5 Different
kindsof speaking
you are,how much you speakand horvmuch you Iisten,etc.Of course,you can
adjustyour'genre' asyou takepart in the conversation,
but againyour new
choice will colour all you say,and generally it is unlikely rhat you,ll decide to
switch dramatically into a genre that you earlier rejected as entirely
inappropriate.
From this example,it's apparentthat choice ofgenre is a vital decisiona speaker
makesbefore sheproceedswith almost any speakingact.A learner of a language
needsto learn not just rvords,grammar, pronunciation, etc, but alsoabout
appropriate waysof speakingin different situations- which may be signifrcantly
different in the target languageculture comparedwith their orvn.For this reason,
offering a range of communicative'fluency' activitiesto our learnersis probably
insufficient asa coursein speaking.\Vemust think about the range of speaking
actsthat a learnermay be faced witi and give them chancesto practiseselecting
appropnate genresand planning the appropriate languageneededfor a variery
of different speakingsituationsand audiences.
Successfulspeakinginvolvesfluently communicating information or opinions in
a clearunambiguousmanner in an appropriateway for a particular context.
231
'l
Chapter9 Productve skills:speaki|gandwritir]g
Pronunciation
S o e d k 1 9 c l e d ' l y . , i l h , o - p . p l ^ e . r s i bp s o J n o s
Usingfluent,connectedspeechwith app
word-llnking
Usingstress and ntonatlonto emphasiseor drawattentionto things,express
emotionor attitude,etc
an appropriatepace
a n d m a i n t a i n i nag s u i t a b l ee v e lo f f o r m a l i t y/ i n f o r m a l i t y
and maintaining a suitable level of politeness
Beingawareof appropriatetopics and stylefor the context(ie business
meet ng, socia ch t chat)
Coprng
w i t ha s t r e s s f usl p e a k l n gc o n t e x (t e go t h e rp e o p l ew a t i n g ,l i m i t e dt i m e
ro speaK)
Speakingspontaneousy with limited/ no preparationtime beforespeak ng
Coplngwith uncertaintyaboutthe languagelevelof other people
informatlon
Structurng speechas
Givingneithertoo much nor too little nformation
Not offer ng rrelevantinformation
ng clear,accurateinformation
to your listene(s)the structure and stagesof what you say
lnteraction
E s t a b l r snhg a r e a t o n s h i pb e f o r ea n dd u r n g c o m m u n i c a t i o n
C o p i n gw i t hu n p r e dc t a b l er e s p o n s e s
Turntakjng
Listeningand respondingappropriatelyin I ne wlth the progressof a
conversation
Sl-or\irB l erest In the pe.sor spea"i
R e a c h i n ag n e g o t i a t e/d c o m p r o m i s ceo n c l u s i o n
Copjngwith a varietyof content(facts.opinions,argurnents,anecdotes,etc)
simultaneously
Holding
t h e f l o o rw h e n
w a n tt o c o n t i n u es p e a
po itely
Interrupting
new topicsor changingtopics
Language items
Fluentlyformingaccuratestructuresto expressrequ red
Knowingfixed phrasesused ln specificsjtuations
Creatingeffectivequestions
Havingsufficientlexicalresourcesto expressmeanings
Iigure 9..:[ Griclfor assessing
spccchacrs
212
kindsof speaking
5 Different
How can you organisea speakinglessonbasedaround this idea ofhelping learners
to work better within a given genre?Broadly speaking,you havetwo options:
1 You can work on the individual micro-skills (eg things such asthosein the table
in Figure 9.4) using gamesand practiceactivities;
2 You can work on a bigger scale,getting learnersto deploy a rangeofthese
micro-skillswhile completing a genre-basedtask.
ffi
micro-skills
Practising
ffi
stagesin a speakinglesson
At various points, the learners may want correction and advice on how to do it
bener.
Here are those elements arranged into a basic Iesson sequence, together with a
worked example for'making a business appointment over the phone'.The stage
marked with a star could come at any point ofyour choosing.
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Chapter9 Productive
skills:speakingandwriting
Approaches to writing
ffi
L i s t s o m e t h i n g sy o u h a v ew r i t t e ni n t h e p a s tt w o w e e k s .W h a ta r e t h e i mp l i c a t i o sr
o f y o u rl r s tf o r t h e E n g l i s hl a n g u a g ec l a s s r o o m ?
6 Approaches
to writing
You can buy little dictionariesoftext-messageconventionsand abbreviations.
There are alsonew wavsofexpressingoneself.I can now communicateinstantly
acrossthe world and use a litde picture ofa cartoon face to expressmy reactionto
somethingwritten by my friend. Is that writing?
Beyond thesenew waysof communicating,many peopleactually do verl- lirde
r'vritingin day-to-daylife, and a greatdeal ofwhat they do write is quite short:
briefnotes to friends or colleagues,answerson questionforms, diary enrrres,
postcardsretc.The needfor longer,formal written rvork seemsto havelessened
over the years,and this is reflectedin man-vclassrooms$/hereu'riting acdvitiesare
perhapslessoften found than thosefor other skills.
Writing in the classroorn
Despite the points raisedabove,there may still be good reasonsu'hy it is useful to
include work on rvriting in a course:
. Manv studentshavespecificneedsthat require them to work on writing skills:
academicstudy,examinationpreparationand BusinessEnglish are three
common areaswherev'ritten work is still very important.
. At the most basiclevel,your studentsare likelv to be involved in taking dolr.'n
notesin lessonssuch asyours; this is a skill that is rvorth focusing on.
. \Vriting involvesa different kind of mental process.Thereis more time to think,
to reflect,to prepare,to rehearse,to make mistakesand to hnd alternativeand
better solutions.
. It can give you a break,quieten dou'n a noisy class,changethe mood and pace
ofa lesson,etc.
Much writing work in the classroomfalls on a continuum of hotv much
restriction,help and control is offered,from copying to unguided u,riting.
l_
Copying
Studentspractiseforminglettershapesin a handwriting
book, note down substitutiontablesfrornthe board,copV
examplesfrom a textbook.etc.
responseto very tightlyfocusedtasks with limitedoptions
and limitedopportunitiesfor creativityor gettingthings
wrong.
Guidedwriting
Plocess writing
Unguided
writing
Studentswritefreelywithoutovertguidance,assistanceor
feedbackduringthe writingprocess,thougha title or task
may be set, and work may be 'marked' ater.
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Chapter9Productive
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andwriting
Accuracy tends to be more of a concem towards the top of the scale,fluency
increasrnglyimportant towards the lower part. 'Copying' and 'doing exercises'are
making use of writing in order to help students learn something else,(eg grammar),
but do not significandy help students become better 'writers' .
Teaching the skill of writing
Is it possibleto teachthe 'skill of writing'? How could we do it? For many teachers,
the answer seemsto be mainly by setting a writing task, leaving the students to do
it (perhaps ashomework) then collecting it in and marking it. Notice the gap in
this diagram between setting and collecting. That is where the difficult writing
work happens - yet it is often done entirely at home with the teacher doing
nothing to help the student improve.
Someteachersdoubt if thereis any useful inclasswork that could be done on wriring,
believing that it is essentially an individual
activity. However, there are many possible
stepsthat could go into the middle areaofthe
diagram in Figure 9.5.A sfudent can learn to
become a better writer by (a) being actively
encouragedand helpedto follow through a
seriesofpreparatory stepsbeforethe final
text is produced,and (b) becomingmore
awareof that preparationprocess,so that it
can be done more independentlyand
transparently in future. For example, we
could help learners:
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Figure 9.5
choosea topic;
choosea genre;
getideas;
discussideaswith othersto get new perspectives;
selectbetweenideas;
sequenceideasl
make notes,diagrams,etc to help organiseideas;
hnd grammar and lexis suitable for the texL
do practiceexerciseson languageitems that will be useful;
study sample and model texts similar to what they want to write;
plan theirganisation oftheir text;
draft a rough text;
get feedbackon content;
get feedbackon languageuse;
co-write sectionsoftext in groups;
make alterations and rewrites;
write a filal version;
find appropriatereaders.
6 Approaches
to writing
Intloducethe topic
Getstudentsinterested,
maybebyreadinga text
(article,letter,advert,etc)showingpictures,
discussing
somekeyissues,etc.
Introduce
and
summarise
the main
writingtask
Brainstorm
ideas
Fast-write
What'sworth eavingout?
Decideon specific
fequirements:style,
information,layout,
etc
Focus on useful
models
Planthe text
10
Get feedback
11
Preparedraft(s)
Studentsoftenbenefitfrompreparing
a draftversion
beforethefinalone.ThrsgJves
themthechanceto
pel readerreactions
andcorrectons.
12
Edir
13
Preparefinal text
L4
Readels!
237
Chapter9 Productive
e skills:speaking
andwriting
In many cases,the tasks we set our students will determine the kinds of activities
and lesson stagesthat are appropriate. \(rhen selecting writing tasks,remember
that the old school 'write a story about . . .' represents only a very small (or nonexistent) part of a normal person's writing.While 'creative writing, is often a great
activiry we need to make sure that leamers maidy get practice in the range of
real-life writing tasksthat they will face.As far aspossible,selectthetasksmost
relevant for their needs.Here are some general ideas for real-world writing tasks.
You may be ableto usetheseto help you generatemore focusedideasof your own
that are relevant to your learners.
Write real letteF / emails
W te yourown newsletter,magazine,
blog,etc
Classmagazine,
schoolmagazine,
fan
newsletter,
localnews,campaigning
on
environmental
or Dolitical
issues.etc.
Advertise
aroundthe school,around
town;sendin youradsto localpapers.
238
W te questionnaires
andthen usethem
out in the street
Thesecanbewrittenin English
or in the
learners'
ownlanguage.
Writeupthe
results.Publish
them!
Long-termprojects
Thiscanbe donedirectly
onlineif
studentshaveInternetaccessor printed
outon paper.
7 Writing
lnclass
Here are someexamplesof a feu'-specifictasks:
. Write a guidebookentry about your part oftown.
. Write feedbackand evaluationofa new product.
. Fill in a car-hire booking form
. \fi/rite a review of a new gameon a computer forum messageboard.
. ITrite a postcardto a manufacturerrequestingan information leaflet about
their work.
. Wrire (andde.ignr compurerpresentarion
slides.
. \{rite an academicessaysummarisingargumentsfor and againsra \-iewpoint.
. Vrite your personalprofile for inclusion in a classsouvenirbooklet.
. Write a poem about -vourstrongestchildhood memor-r.'.
. Write a letter in reply to a job applicationto arrangean interview
Writing in class
In this section,we will look in more detail at someclassroomactivitiesand
s t r a L e g im
e se n d o n e di n t h ep r e \i o u )s e c t i o n .
Ideas for generating ideas
Brainstorrning
It can be hard to get enough good ideasto write about. Brainstormjng is a \\.a] to
get the'ideascreationengine'running.It means'openingyour mind and letting
ideaspour out'. It alsomeansnot engagingthat 'checking'part of your brain
that too quickly dismissesthings as stupid or useless(becauservelose out on a
lot of potentiallygood ideasbecausewe rejectthem too soon).For this reason,it
seemshelpful to separatethe ideascollection and the (later) critical revielv of
thoseideas.
Here's a way to brainstorm in class:
. \frite the topic or title in a circle in the middle of the board.
. Tell studentsto call out anything that comesto mind connectedwith *re topic.
. Write up everlthing on the board.
. There should be no discussionor comments (especiallyderogatoryones!)justideas.
So what will happen?Peoplervill call out ideas.You'11
write them up. It may take
a while to get going, but after a bit, the ideaswill probably start flowing. After a
reasonableperiod of time (ie howeverlong ir takesto filI the board with
thoughts), you can stop.Now there is a lot to look back over. Invite studentsto
selectideasthey like and can use,or ma1'beallou'somediscussiontime in
groups to contrnue the sifting process.Everl'one should have something they
can make uie of.
239
ChapterI Productive
e skills:speaking
andwriting
Text-starts
A lot of real-life writing involves looking at other texts and summarising,
reportfrg, responding to t]rem, selecting ideas from them, commenting on them,
etc. Supplying'text-starts' can be a good way to provide useful writing work for
students and practise reading / writing skills that are usefi;l in professional life and
academicresearch.Theactualcontent of the texts providesa lot of.support, for
the writer (especially the one who worries that she must be 'imaginative,to write)
in tfrat there is something concrete to deal with and many ideas are already
formulated and maidy need a response or opinion, rather than original thought.
Resourcemate al
W tlng task
Information
abouta holiday
location
Youarethe copy-writer
for the local
(pictures,
description,
listot attractjons, touristboard.Writea two-paragraph
etc).
advertisement
forthe placeto encourage
morevisitorsto come.
Fulldataandillustrations
ofthree
differentutrto-datehouseholdproducts
or gadgets.Possibleextrainformation
aboutconsumer
trends,theeconomy,
erc.
Youarea seniormanager
andwillattend
a meetingtodecideon onenewproduct
to produce.Writea briefreporton
eachproduct,
thenoutlineyour
recommendations
asto whichone
to choose,withreasons.
A mapof a town.Shortdescriptions
of
'ghosts'thatare
saidto hauntspecific
buildings
andlocations.
Youarea localtourguide
whohas
decided
to starta 'Ghostwalk'for
touristsaroundtown.Plana routefor the
walk.Writea shortarticleforthelocal
papertopublicise
it.
pointing
Sevenemailsto yourcompany
out problems
withthedelivery
service.
Youareheadofthe delivery
department.
Writean emailto the director
summarising
the problems
andmaking
recommendations.
A numberof articlesfromdifferent
sourceson the samenewsitem;a letter
fromyourfriendaskingifyou'veheard
aboutthe itemandwhatyouthink
aboutit.
Historyarticles,encyclopaedias,
websites,
etc.
Prepare
a wallpostertointerestand
informyourfriendsabouta historical
toprc.
Fast-writing
For many writers, the single most difficult thing is simply to start writing. The
blank page sitsin front ofyou, and it can becomevery hard evento put down
frst word. The longer you fail to write, the harder that first sentencebecomes.
240
7 Writing
inclass
Instead,imagine that your studentscould havea whole pageof their o$.n $rriting
to start from; not a final version,but somethingon which to basetheir new
writing.This is what fast-writing aims to achieve.Even if only a u,ord or a line
from this first attempt makesit into the final text, it has servedits purpose,like the
ignition key on a car,getting the writing started.
Tell studentsthat they need a fer,vpiecesofblank paper.The rules are that when
you say'start'J
the_v
should:
. start wrrtrng about the topic;
. not stop wrltrng;
. not put their pen down at all;
. not worry about spelling,grammar, etcj
. wrrte'um, um) um' or 'rubbish' or somethingelseif they can't think of $.hat
to
wrrte;
. not stop to go back and read rvhatthey havervritten;
. keepwriting till you say'stop' (which lvill be after frve eight ten mrnutes
or
/
/
howeverlong you think is appropriatefor 1'ourgroup).
At the end, they rvill havea pageor more of writing. A lot ofit rvill be rubbishl But
therewill alsooften be ideasand waysofsaying things that are worth retrieving.
Give the learnersenoughtime to look back over what they havewritten.Tell them
to be ruthlessand crossout a lot ofthe writing, but alsoto retrievesomegood
pieces.Theycan then use theseas starting points for the ner'r,writing.
It's a surprisingly useful task.Often we don't know what on earth we are gorngro
rvrite until we start rvriting it. Fast-writing is one rvayto start that finding-our
process.
Ideas for helping writing
Structuring and organising
Some simple strategiesmay help learnersfind an order for their ideas.,Card
planning' involveslearnerswriting down the main themesoftheir rext asnotes
onto separatecards.Theythen arrangethe cardsin variousordersuntil they get a
sequencethat seemsto work. Similarly,learnerscould drarva sketchdiagram
showinghorv their text will be put together,using lines and arrowsto link s.^parate
rtems.
Looking at sample texts
It is often helpful ifstudents seesamplesof the kind oftexts they are working on.
Ifyou offer this as an activity early on in the lessonsequence,it is likely that this
samplewill be vier.vedasa kind of model on'"vhichto basetheir own rvork.The
final product mav then be substantiallysimilar to the original, especiallyin layout
and organcation,but w.ithsubstitutionsofcontent. If _vouoffcr sampleslater on in
the $'riting work, learnerswill probably seerhe text assomethingto give them
extra support and ideas,but may not significantll,alter their ou'n overallstructure
and content.
241
Chapter9 Productive
skills:speaktngandwritjng
\(/hat can you study in a sample text?
. The layout
. The overall message
. How the items are organised
. Specific phrasesand sentencesused
. Distinctive grammatical features
. 'lhe style and tone
. The eflect on the rcader
Getting feedback on drafts
Feedback on writing isn't something to save up until the entire text is fully
completed. In fact, it is of very little use then, as the thing is over, and students will
probably just want a complimentary comment and then to forget it.The most
useful comments are those that will hat'e an impact as the writing is evolving; thesc
will be useful from as many different readers as possible, from fellow students just
as much as from you.
Organise pairs ofstudents to read each other's work, or groups to give comments
Feedback could be done in answer to specihc questions or according to a feedback
form of some kind or more freely as general response and comments. As a result
offeedback, students can write a ne$.'draft oftheir worll which can then be
submitted again to readers for comments.This cycle of feedback and comments
can lead to excellent results and really helps rvriters get a clearer idea ofwhat a
reader finds in their work.
Using cornputers
Ifyou like the idea of redrafting and feedback, you may $'ant to give thought to
lvhether the writing is on computer. Using a computer has significant advantagc:
for student writing ot'er pen and paper:
. It is readable (no handrvriting jungles) !
. Multiple copies can be printed out for as many readers as needed.
. Suggestions and edits can be u'ritten on to hard copies and then editing can
be done on tJ-tecomputer - no need to rervrite from scratch.
. l can be emailed directly lo other sfudents or to you.
Some specific features ofword-processing software may be useful.Ifyour
students are relatively unfamiliar with computers, you may $'ant to teach them
hou'to:
.
.
.
.
select tex! change font and font size; apply underline, bold, italic, etc;
use basic editing features'cut', 'copy', 'paste';
set the spell-check language and options for 'check spelling as _voutype';
regularly save back-up copies so that six hours of vital r.vorkis not lost after
one-flistake;
. use (and be wary of) any grammar-checking facilities;
. use a 'comment' feature, allo$'ing different readers to lcave notes in the bodr
the text that the lr'riter can then rcview and use later on;
. program simple macros (mini-programs that can do frequently repeated
actions at the press of a button). For example, I havc found that having a u'or: count macro is very handy on thc main toolbar.
:12
8 Responses
to writing
Responses to writing
ffi
successfut
writing
I n r e a l l i f e ,w h e nw e w r i t e s o m e t h i n g h
, o w c a n w e m e a s u r ei f t h e w r i t i n gw a s a
SUCCCSS?
\ ell, it's certainly quite rare for us to hand it to someoneelse,rvait a few daysand
then get it back with a short comment and / or a mark \\,ritten at the bottom.yet
this is a fairly common responsein classroomsituations.Such marking may
sometimesbe helpful or required,but often isn,t tlte most useful way to helDour
learnersbecomebetter writers.
Audience and purpose
In real life, we can judge ifour writing was successfulby whether it did rvhatwe
wanted it to do. For example:
. if we wrote a complaint email to an Internet bookshop,lve would feel
successful
if they replied, seemedto understandour problem and rook stepsto dealwith itj
. ifwe wrote a story about a happy incident in our childhood,lve might
feel we
had succeededif other peopleread it and enjoyedit, and perhaps$,antedto talk
to us about it and askquestionsor respondrvith their own stories;
. ifwe wrote a report about salesprospectsin Slovakiafor a board meeting,
we
might feel that we had achievedour goal if other people at the meeting found
the information clear,succinctand completeand u,ereableto makeuse ofit in
the discussion.
The fact that writing can achievesuchthings is part ofwhat motivarcsus ro pur
careinto our writing. And in casesu'herewe are not ableto get such immediate,
direct, tangiblefeedback,rvemay needto be particularly carefulin rereadingand
editing a rext beforewe sendit arvayto a reader.This,delayedresponse,narureof
much writing can be part ofwhat makesit hard to do. Good rvritersneedto
becomecarefulreadersof- and reflectorson - their orvnu,ork.The existenceof
audienceand purpose are worth bearingin mind in class.
Setting relevant writing tasks
Rather too many classroomwriting tasksare directionlessand audienceless.
If
studentsare only writing 'to pleasethe teacher,,there is probably relativclylow
motivation, and the quality of writing may be compromised, asstudentswill havc
213
Chapter9 Productive
skills:speakingandwriting
no clearperccption asto why the work is being done. So hou, can lr e provide
audienccand purpose?Here are somckcy strategies:
. If you havedone a NeedsAnall,sisrvith
-vourstudents,basewriting rvork on
statedneeds,ie using task types,contextsand situationsdirectl_vrelevantto
students.
. Even before studentsstart rvriting, think carefully about u'hat u'ill happen n'ith
the finished pieceoftext. If studentsknow t'ho rvill read their text and what
that readermay need or expectfrom it, then they havea clearidea of the
purpose ofthe r.vriting,u,hich rvill strongly affect many other decisionsthey
take in the u.riting.
. Make sureyou do not mark and give feedbackonly on accuracvoflanguage.
Include attentionto the questionofrvhether the $'riting is appropriate for the
tasktype and is well targctedat the probablereader.
. Even if you feel that r,ou havc relativelylittle idea of your class'sneeds(for
example,ifyour classis stud_ving
on a short generalEnglish course),you can
still select$,riting tasksthat are likel1'to reflect things that manlr studentsmay
needto rvritc in real life.
211
Real-lifepurpose
Possibleclassloomtask
Youwritea memo.
Youfill in an Internetllookingform.
8 Responses
to writing
Marking
Ifyou arerequired(or wish)to providesomemoretraditionalmarkrng/ fcedback
on rvrittenwork,l'hat aretheoptions?
'#trtr@l
'marking'
Alternatives
to traditionat
Y o u rs t u d e n t sh a v ed o n e s o m e w r i t t e nw o r k .Y o un o w c o l l e c ti n t h e p a p e r s ,
u n d e r l i n ee v e r ym i s t a k ei n r e d p e n a n d w r i t e a n n a r ko r g r a d ea t t h e e n d . T h a t ' so n e
o p t i o n ,b u t w h y m a y i t n o t a l w a y sb e a g o o d i d e a ?W h a t a l t e r n a t i v eo p t i o n sc a n V o u
thinkof?
Getting back a piece of u,ork v ith a teacher's comments and corrections on it can
be helpful. It can also be discouraging, especially if there is too much information,
if the information is inappropriate or hard to interprct, or ifthe general tone is
negative rather than positivc.The red pen particularl_v has associations for man-v
people rvith insensitive and discouraging correction and judgcment. Some
alternatives are listed belour
Variations
on traditional
teacher
rnarking
Earlier in this chapter, we lookcd at oprions for getting students to look at each
other's rvork - and they could even'mark'it. Horvever, many learners will expect
the teacher to look at their \l-ork and may feel let dorvn if it is only evaluated by
other students. Here are some other options aVailableto vou:
. LIse a green or a blue pen!
. Discuss the marking criteria rvith students. Agree on a mark or grade.
. rJ(/rite
l h e c o r r c e ra n \ $ c r c i n t h e m a r g i n .
. Use correction codes in the margin (seeFigurc 9.6).
. Underline all errors of one t-l-pe(eg all r,rrb tense mistakes, all spelling mistakes) .
. \fi/rite a letter in reply.
. \X/rite nothing. Discuss the rvork rvith the individual students.
. Only write a comment about the meaning and message of the piece.
. Create a composite essayusing good bits and problematic bits from a number
of students' u'ork. Photocopy it and hand it out for students to discuss and
correct, together or tn groups or individualll', perhaps for homework.
.IJseerrorsfromanumberofdifferentstudents'writingtodet'iseanexercise,
quiz, game, etc. Or get students to create the exercise themselvcs based on their
own mistakes (more challenging than simply col]ying out correct answers).
Give a dictation based on sentences from thcir work.
In all ofthese options, there is one important guideline to bear in mind: tell
students (or agree) before the rvriting what $'i11happen afterrvards (eg I'll be
marking te senistakes only).
215
Chapter
9 Productive
skills:speaking
andwriting
Gorrectioncodes
Someteachersliketo use 'correctioncodes'for markingstudents'work.
1 In the text below,whatdoeseachcodemean?
2 W h ym i g h t c o r r e c t i oc n
o d e sb e m o r eu s e f utl o a l e a r n e r t h a n i f t h e t e a c h e r h a d
writtenthe correctionin?
3 Whyhavesomemistakesbeenignored?
HarnSqreen-..a-a
,P
5P
wo
sPacesFLip.
Figure 9.6
Correction codes
246
8 Responses
to writing
Evaluating
writtenwork
L o o ka t F i g u r 9
e.7.
t N o t es o m eo f t h e s t u d e n t sl 'a n g u a goer w r i t i n gp r o b l e m s .
2 W h a tc l a s s r o o m
w o r km i g h th e l pt h e s el e a r n e rtso b e c o m eb e t t e rw r i t e r s ?
r\A\BARENfSA\t- D Gooa I
AY \^lHl\NfSo ERRBoRT
/ /M
Chapter9 Productive
skills:speakingandwriting
)18
Chapterl0 Reeeptiveskills:
listening and reading
This chapterlooks at the trr'oreceptiveskills,listening and reading,and explores
different rvaysin rvhich we can approachthem.\ffe consideru,hatkinds oftasks
will help studenrsto impror,'etheir skills
Approaches to listening
Even if someone knows all tJregrammar and lexis of a language, it doesn't
necessaril-vmean that they r.villbe able to undcrstand a single lr,ord when it is
spoken.Amongst other things. if ma\ seem t._rL}temthar:
. p e o p l es p e a kt o o l a s r r o l o l l o u ,
. they can't tell rvhere u,.ordsstart and stoDi
. p e o p l ep r o n o u n c ew o r d s t h c l j u s t d o n i r e c o g n i s e :
. they can't rvork out dctails ofrvhat is beins
said;
. t i e ) c a n ' rg e r e r e n a g e n e r a l. e n s c o f t i e m c r s a p e i
. tJ.re5
don t knou u har arrirude. pc.,ple are cxpris.ing:
. they can't pick out those parts that are most
important for them to understand.
So, how can you help 1'our stuclents to become more skilful at listenine?
tffiffi
A nu n s a t i s f a c lt iosrtye n i nl egs s o n
T h e f o l l o w r n gi s a t r a n s c r i p to f a s h o r t t e l e p h o n ec o n v e r s a t i o n
f r o mt h e r e c o r d i n g
a c c o m p a n y i nag c o n t e m p o r a r cy o u r s e b o o kA. l t h o u g hi t h a s b e e n s p e c i a l l yr e c o r d e d
f o r s t u d e n t so f E n g J i s hi ,t s o u n d sr e a s o n a b l ya u t h e n t i c ,i e i t s o u n d ss p o n t a n e o u s
r a t h e rt h a n s c r i p t e d ; t h ep e o p l ea r e s p e a k i n ga t n o r m a ls p e e da n d a r e n o t m a k i n g
u n n a t u r a el f f o r t s t o e n u n c i a t eo r e x a g g e r a t e
stressand intonation.
R E c E p l o N t s T : S a y e r sR e c r u i t m e nat n d T r a i n i n gC
. a n I h e l py o u ?
RuBy:
H e l l o ,y e s , e r m , I ' m , e r , I s a w y o u r a d v e r ta n d l , m l o o k i n gf o r a
J o b ,I m e a n ,I ' m i n t e r e s t e di n a n e w j o b , a n d . . .
R e c E p r r o r r s r : A h , y e s , y o u n e e dt o s p e a k t o l \ 4 r sS a y e r s ,b u t I ' m a f r a i ds h e ' s
n o t i n t h e o f f i c e r i g h tn o w .C o u l dl t a k e y o u r n a m e a n d n u m b e r ,
a n d l ' l l a s k h e r t o c a l l y o ub a c k ?
RuBy:
E r ,y e s , y e s . T h e n a m e ' s R u b y ,R u b yT u e s d a ya n d m y n u m b e rr s
0308557 1919.
R e c E p r r o | r r s r : T h a n ky o u , l \ 4 i s sT u e s d a yl.' l l p a s s o n y o u r m e s s a g e .
Ruey:
T h a n k s .B y e .
REcEProNtsT: Goodbye.
f I om Straightforward Pre-intermedi ate
Here is the opening ofa lesson procedure using this material intended to help
improve students' listening skills:
1 Say to students . I:isten to this.
2 Play rccording oncc.
Chapter10 Receptive
ski s: listeningandreading
Ttris lessonis a parody of someof the languagelessonsthat I was on the receivine end
of asa student in school.I remember feeling quite nervous about them.r /hile I wls
listening, I knew that somecomprehension questionswere going to come at the end
but I never knew what the questionsmight be or who would be aiked to answerthem.
The questions,anyrn'ay,seemedpointlesslttrey were not necessarilvwhat I would
Iisten for ifl heard the conversationin real life; it wasasif the teachir was focusins me
on the difficulties rather than showing me that it waspossibleto achievea lot desf,ite
the diffrculties.The questionsseemedmore of a memory test than anldring else.
V/hen the recording was played,I struggled to listen to everltJing, and to rernember
all I heard, and in consequenceactually rememberedvery little.
In fact, it's actuallynot necessaryto understandeverv word in order to
understandthe information you might needfrom a recording.Ve needto show
studentsthis important fact - help them to worry lessabout understanding
everythingand work more on catchingthe bits they do needto hear.Often, when
listeningin everydaylife, we may needto listen to:
. get a generaloverviewofdre main story or message
ofa conversation;
. catch specificdetailssuch asnames,numbers,
addresses,etc.
There is reallynothing in this lessonto help a studentlearn to listen better; either
he can alreadylisten and rememberthe required answers,or he cannot.But if he
wants to improve his listening,then he needsa different approach.
250
1 Approaches
to listening
IfI sum up my feelingsaboutTasks10.1and 10.2,I get a checklistlikethis:
1
2
3
4
5
6
Redesigning
a listeningprocedure
L o o ka g a i na t t h e l e s s o np r o c e d u r ei n T a s k1 0 . 2 . R e d e s i g ni t t o t a k e t h e c h e c k l i s t
above Into accoUnt.
Set questions.
Play recording.
Check ifthe studentshavefound the answers.
If not, play the recording againas often asnecessary.
This'questionhrst'techniqueis oftencharacterised
as'taskbeforeaudio'.The
word 'task' reminds us that the activity the studentsare askedto do may be
somethingmore useful,more realistic,more motivating than simply finding
answersto comprehensionquestrons.
ffi
selecting
listening
tasks
T h i n ko f a t a s k ( o t h e rt h a n f i n d i n ga n s w e r st o c o m p r e h e n s i o q
n u e s t i o n s t)o s e t
s t u d e n t sb e f o r el i s t e ni n gt o t h e t e l e p h o n ee n q ui r y a t t h e s t a r t o f t h i s s e c t i o n .
Someideas:
. Studentsmust decidewhether the conversationis betweennvo friends. two
colleaguesor two peoplewho don't know eachother.
. From a selectionoftelephone numbers in the book, studentspick out the
correctonesaidbv tie receotionisr.
Chapter10 Receptive
skills:listeningandreading
252
2 Thetask-feedback
circle
to seethe speakers,\.vhich\\'-illallow us to get additional help from gestures,
facial expressions,etc.
. In real life, althoughwe sometimeshavea clearpurpose in listening,u c
usuallywon't be directedand guided b-vtasksthat hclp us knorvu,hat
we should listen for.
. Are we really helping studcntsto becomebetter listenersby using recordings
like this?
Despiteall thesedoubtsJa task-based
approachto listeningusingrecorded
material doesseemto be generallyhelpful in improving students'abilities.And
I'm sureit's better than the memorv test r,vestartedrvith.
The task-recolding-feedbackcircle
A b a s i cw o r k i n gp r o c e d u r feo r i e s s o n s
o n r e a d i n ga n d l i s t e n i n gs k i l l s
Threeguidelines:
. G r a d et h e t a s k , n o t t h e m a t e r i a l
. T a s kf i r s t - t h e n r e c o f d i n g
. P r o c e s sr a t h e rt h a n p r o d u c t l
Play recording 01
students read text
lf they coutdn t do
the task, it telts
you that they need
ta read / listen /
view again.
253
Chapter10 Receptive
skills:listeningandreading
The task-feedbackcircle (seeFigure 10.1) can help you plan useful listening
lessonsif you simply follow it round. Go round the circle three or four times - or
asmany times asyour students need. It's important to note that it involves not
only setting a sequenceof tasks and checking wherher they can do it, but also
replayingthe recording againand again (and again).
Many teachersplan their sequenceoftasks from,general, overviewtasks(such as
'How many people
are speaking?''\Vhere are they?'.\Vhat are they discussing?,
etc) towards much more detailed, tightly focused tasks (such as.What were the
reasonsfor leaving onTuesday?') ending up with language-study issues (eg .Vftat
positivewords doeshe useto describethe,company?,.\Elhat
tensesare usedin the
story?' etc) (seeFigure 10.2).A possiblerationalefor this is discussedin the next
sectron.
'Big' General
/
l\4oredetailed
Language
focus
254
2 Thetask-feedback
circle
Here aresomebriefexamplesof a rangeofthesetasks.
Listenand...
. argueagainstthe proposition;
. choosethe correct picture;
. listen againuntil -vouhavelearnedthe poem b.vheart;
. saya reply to eachcomment
1'ouhear;
. choosethe best answerfor eachquestionfrom the four options,
. decidewhich person is sayingrvhich sentence;
. decidewhether they like the presentor not;
. follow the route on the map;
. walk / sit / move accordingto the instucttonsj
. draw a picture ofthe alien;
. label a picture of the office;
. pickup and shorvt}lecorrecLpicrurel
. follow the instructionsto make an origami model;
. note down the leader'ssuggestionsabout where the camp should be;
. note the exactwords Chi usesto refusethe offer:
. take down the message,addressand phone numbers.
Somelisteningtasksare obviouslymore difficult t].ranothers.An important point
(and typically a difficult one for nerverteachersto come to terms u,ith) is that the
studentsgetting the right answeris not necessarilytl-temost important thingl A
studentwho finds all the correct answerson first hearing and with no difficult5
has simply not been challengedby the recording.It reflectsover-simpletasksand
showsthat little progressin listeninghas beenmade.
The effort that a studentputs into listeningand searchingfor an answerthat is not
easilyfound is, however,very useful rvork.! hether shefinally getsthe right or
\\rrongans\!'erts to somedegreeirrelevant,becausein tr_vingto get the right answer)
sheis stretchingher powersof listeningto the limit. For tl-risreason,shewill
probably needto hearthe recordingplayedthree,four or more times in order to get
closeto the target.Thusthe guidelineis'processrather than product,, meaningthat
the going is more important rhan the getringthere.I'm not sayingthat gering
\\.ronganswersis good,but I am trying to steer]rouawayfrom thinking that right
answersarethe only goal.The goalis to \\'ork on tlte listcningitself.
Sorne guidelines for listening skills work in class
. I(eep the recording short: two minutes ofrecorded material is enougnro
provide a lot oflistening r.vork.
. Play the recordinga sufficientnumber of times.(This is one point that teacher
trainersand supervisorsoften comment on when they observeteachers,lessons;
the teachersdid not gi\retlle studentsenoughopporn_rnities
to hearthe recording.
The studentsfound the materiala lot more diificult than the teacherrealised.)
. Let studentsdiscusstheir answerstogether (perhapsin pairs).
. Don't immediatelyacknotr4edge
correct answ-ers
with words or facial
cxpressionslttuow the ansrversback to the class;lN,1tat
doyou think of Clcfue\
answer- doyou agree?
. Don't be led by one sfong student.Have they all got it?
. Aim to get the studentsto agreetogether rvithout your help, using verbal
prodding, raised eyebrorvs,nods, hints, etc. Play the recording again u,henever
they need to hear it, to confirm or refute their idcas,until they agrce.
255
Chapter10 Receptive
skills:listeningandreading
afteran exerciseleaching
technique
on the DVD
The lasttechniqueaboveleadsus to anotherguideline:'Grade the task,rather than
the recording.'This means'Don't worry too much about what studentlevelthe
recordingis suitablefor, but do make sureyour taskis setfor the right level.'In
theory,it is possibleto use any recording- for example,a recordingof this
morning's radio news- with any level.At Beginnerlevel,I could askthem to catch
the namesof everyfamouspersontiey heard.It would be challengingand
stimulatingfor a beginnerto feelhe hasgot somethingout of an authenticneu.'s
recording!At a much higher level,I could expectthem to be ableto understand
most of the recording and do a sophisticatedtasklike picking out unstressedwords.
In both cases,it is not the recordingthat setsthe level of the lesson;it is the task.
In practice,ofcourse, somerecordingsare naturally going to seemmore
appropriatefor specificlevelsofstudent.Thus a recording ofsomeone askingfor
directionsin the streetis more likely to be usableat a lower levelthan, say,a
discussionon comnlexmoralissues.
ffi
orderingstagesin a listeninglesson
H e r e i s a l e s s o nt o e x e m p l i f yt h e t e c h n i q u e sd e s c r i b e da b o v e .T h e r e c o r d i n gi s a
conversation
b e t w e e nt w o p e o p l ei n a b us s t a t i o n ,A t o n e p o i n t ,w e h e a rt h e
a n n o u n c e rl i s t t h e l l u s e sa b o u tt o d e p a r t .T h e l e s s o np l a n i s o u t o f o r d e r ;p u t t h e
i t e m s b a c k i n t ot h e i r o r i g i n a o
l rder.
a P l a yr e c o r d i n gs; t u d e n t st h e n c o m p a r ea n s w e r si n p a i r s ; t e l lm e t h e i r a n s w e r .l f
c o r r e c t ,c o n t i n u e ;i f n o t , p l a yr e c o r d i n ga g a i n ,e t c .
b P l a yr e c o r d i n gs; t u d e n t st h e n c o m p a r ea n s w e r si n p a i r s ;t e l l m e t h e i r a n s w e r .l f
c o r r e c t ,c o n t i n u e ;i f n o t , p l a yr e c o r d i n ga g a i n ,e t c .
c P l a yr e c o r d i n gs; t u d e n t st h e n c o m p a r ea n s w e r si n p a i r sa n d g i v et h e i r a n s w e r .l .
c o r r e c t ,c o n t i n u e ;i f n o t , p l a yr e c o r d i n ga g a i n ,e t c .
d L e a di n t o a c o m m u n i c a t i v e
a c t t v i t yb a s e da r o u n dt h e t o p i c o f t r a v e i p r o b l e m s .
e S e t t a s k : ' H o w m a n y p e o p l ea r e s p e a k i n g ? '' W h e r ea r e t h e y ? '
f I n t r o d f c et o p i c : l o n g - d i s t a n cbeu s e s ; d i s c u s sa l i t t l e :' A n y o n eb e e n o n o n e i n
E n g l a n do r t h e L J n i t e S
d tates?'
g S e t t a s k : ' H e r ei s y o u r b u s t i c k e t ' ( d i f f e r e n td e s t i n a t i o n sf o r d i f f e r e n ts t u d e n t s
'Which
b u s n u m b e rm u s t y o u c a t c h ? '
256
3 Howdowelisten?
S e tt a s k :' W h yi s t h e o l d l a d yw o r r i e d ?' W
' h a ts u g g e s t i owno u l dy o um a k e ?(' T h e
t a s k r e q u i r e lsi s t e n i ntgo a n di n t e r p r e t i nagl o n g i s h
s e c t i o no f t h e r e c o r d i n g . )
S h o wp i c t u r e
o f b u ss t a t i o n'.W h e r e
d o y o ut h i n kt h i si s ? '' W h a t ' sh a p p e n i n ge?t'c .
The originalorderis: (i), (f), (e), (a), (g), (b), (h), (c), (d).The stases(a), (b) and
(i) are,ofcourse, interchangeable.Thisorder shotvsa logical progressionfrom an
introduction to a very simple first task (to give studentsconfidence),through to a
more difficult task (requiring recognition ofthe pronunciation ofa tou'n name
and a bus number) and finally to a demandingtaskinvolving interpretation of a
much longer pieceofspeech.By the time studentsstart to listen intently for this,
they will alreadyhaveheard the recording a number of times, and the hnal task
should thereforebe that much easier.Even the weakeststudentwill alsogo away
with a feeling ofhaving achievedsomething (eg one ofthe earliertasks),evenif he
couldn'tget the lasrone perfecdr.
How do we listen?
When we listen,lve use a variety of strategiesto help us pick up the message.
Someof theseare connectedwith understandingthe 'big'picnrre, eg gaining an
overviewof the structure ofthe whole text, gettingthe gist (the generalmeaning),
using varioustypes ofprevious knowledgeto help us make senseofthe message,
etc.Listening in this way is sometimestermed'gist listening' or 'extensive
listening'. Other strategiesare connectedwitl.rthe small piecesofthe text, eg
correctly hearingprecisesounds,r'r'orkingout exactlyu'hat someindividual words
are,catchingprecisedetailsof information, etc.This is often called'listeningfor
detail'.
rWhenworking on listeningin the classroomthere are tu'o alternativestarting
points; working on the 'small pieces'(sounds,lvords and details)or on the 'big
pieces(backgroundtopics,overallstructure and organisation).The former is
knor.vnastop-down whilst the latter is known asbottom-up.
Top-down and bottom-up
It usedto be believedthat listenersbuilt up their understandingofa text by
working out what eachindividual sound was,then adding theseup into a rvord,
understandingthe word, checkingthe meaning of rhat word with the u'ords
around them, etc (a bit like building up a wall from the individual bricks).
Although this theorl', knorvnas'bottom-up' (ie building up the messagesfrom
the individual small pieces),ma1,initially sound appealng, it is virtually
impossibleto do.
SpokenEnglish probably comesat you too fast to be ableto adopt such an rtemby-item approachon its own. It seemslikelv rhat we make use of 'bottom-up' skills
more to fillin missing gapsrather than as a generalapproachto comprehension
word by word.
257
Chapter10 Receptive
skills:listeningandreading
258
3 Howdowelisten?
everythingJbut anythingthat we havecorrectlyexpectedfreesup our energ_v
to pay attentionto things that requiremore intensiVelistening.This is summed
up in Figure 10.3.
B a c k g r o u nkdn o w l e d gaeb o u t. . .
t h ew o r l d
t h e s p e c i f i ct o p i c
the genre
c l a u s e s/ c h u n k s
in the classroom
259
Chapter10 Receptive
skills:listeningand reading
Figure 10.4 showsa possibleroute map tirough such a lesson,starting from the
'big' background
and overviewtasksand moving towardsthe 'smaller',more
detail-focusedand language-focusedissues.
Don't take such a map asa fixed 'right way' to do things;but it's certainlyworth
trying out asan experimentifyou generallyapproachlistening (or reading) texts
in a different way, sayby jumping straight in with a focus on detail.
whv?
Plocedure
D i s c u s tsh e g e n e r a l L e a r n e rsst a r tt o t h i n ka b o u t h et o p i c ,r a i s i n ga n u m b e r
roprc
of issuesthat will be discussedlateron the recording.
Thispreparation
mayhelpthemto hearthesethings
beinsdiscussedlater.
Predictthe specific
conlent
Studentshypothesise
specificissuesthat maybe
rarsed.
Gistlisteningfor
attitudes
Learnersinterpretintonation,paralinguistic
features
(sighs,etc).
l\4orecareful
Bycatchingand interpreting
smallerpartsof the text,
l i s t e n i nfgo rc o m p l e x l e a r n e rfsi n e - t u nteh e i ru n d e r s t a n d i n A .
meanrngs
Listeningto pickout
specificsmall
languagedetails
na
) yr a i s e
T h i sf o c u s e dw o r k( e go n p r o n u n c i a t i om
l e a r n ear w a r e n e s(se go f w e a kf o r m s )a n dt h u sh e l p
studentsto listenbetterin future.
260
4 Listeningideas
Listening ideas
In this section,I'll suggestsomeideasfor more adventurouslistening activities.
News headlines
One interestingand popular exampleofa lessonusing thd task-feedbackcircle
(seeSection2 of this chapter) is to useup-to-date materialrecordedoff the radio.
Many teachersregularlyrecord the newsheadlineseachmorning for classroom
luse.TheWorksheetfor
newsheadlinesresourceon the DVD givesa complete
lessonprocedurethat you can user,vithanv recording ofthe day'snewsheadlines
(NB headlinesonly, not completestorieslthe recording should be lessthan a
minute long).This lessonwould be suitablefor most classesat Intermediatelevel
or above.Rememberto settasksbefore eachlistening and to replay the recording
asoften asnecessaryin order for the studentsto find the answersto one taskl
before moving on to the next.
Jigsaw listening
No wonder this techniqueis a teachers'favouritel You can run listening activities
that allow learnersto work at tieir own speed,controlling the CD player or tape
recorderthemselvesand repeatedlyplaying parts ofa text until they are really
happy with their understandingof it. It alsoinvolvesa lot ofmessage-oriented
communication and useful group cooperatron.
Here'sthe basicidea:
. Working in small groups,learnerslisten to separatesmallparts of a longer
recording,ie eachgroup hearsdifferent things.
. They then meet up, perhapsin pairs, threesor fours, with peoplefrom groups
that listenedto other parts of the recording.
. They report to eachother on what they haveheard and compareideasand
reach a conclusionor consensusor completesomespecifictask.The taskmight
be simply to construct a full picture of the recording'scontents.
To run a jigsawtaslsa little technicalpreparationis required:
. You'll usuallyneed a separateCD player for eachgroup to listen on and the
samenumber of separaterecordings.
. To make surethat stldents cannot accidentallyhear parts of the recording from
other groups' sections,you might needto rerecordand edit somerecordings (if
your coursebookdoesn't offer ready-madematerials).
Jigsaw task ideas
Three (or more) slightly different viewpoints ofa singleevent,eachon a separate
recording.The task is to work out what actuallyhappened.Useful additional
materialsmight be a location map or diagram of a room. Example events:
. witnessesof a crime
. accidentreports
. finding where someonemight havelost their purse
. working out exactly who was at a lr.eeting (l met
Jdt and Frieda . . ., etc)
. working out the sequenceofevents (what happenedhrst, second,etc)
261
Chapter10 Receptive
skills:listeningand reading
5 Approachesto
reading
Live listening
One activity that hasgrown in populariry in recentyearsis'live listening'.The
basicidea is straightforward:studentsget to listen to real peoplespeakingin class,
ratler than to recordings.Here's a lvay of ftying this:
. When you find that your coursebookhas a fairly dull listeningtext coming up,
insteadofusing the recording,in'ite a colleaguewith a sparefive minutes to
come into your class.
. Make sure the classhas a cleartasku'hile listening,eg to note down the main
points that eachspeakermake'.
. Sit in front ofthe learnersand havea live 'ordinarv' conversationon the same
topic asthe book.
Though there is certainly a lot ofvalue in getting a variety ofvisitors with
different vocal stylesinto your class,you can do live listeningson your own) too:
readingor improvisingconversations
in your own voice)or'acting'a rangeof
charactersyourself.The following activity could be done using a visitor or by
yourself.
Guest stars
Preparenotesfor a short monologuein character(a famouspop staror
celebrity). In class)announcethat a gueststaris coming today,but don't say
who it is. Go out of the room and return'in character'(or invite another
colleaguein). The 'guest' then chats naturally for a minute or two in character,
about her life, a typical da-v,how shefeels,etc.The learnersshouldlistenand
not shout out who they think it is, but instead write down their guess,At the end
ofthe monologue,Iet tlrem comparethet guessesin smallgroups (giving
reasons)and then checkwith -vou.Vhenthey know who the guestis, they could
briefly ask a few more interview questionsto the character.Repeatthe activity
with different'guests'asa regularslot in your lessons.(Maybe studentscould
play the'guest',too.)
Approaches to reading
Readingto oneself(asopposedto readingaloud)is,likelistening,a'recepdve'
skill, and similar teachingprocedurescan be usedto help learners.Thetaskfeedbackcircle works equallywell with readingtexts,and many ofthe guidelines
given in Section2 are alsoeasill'adaptable.
The most obviousdifferencesare to do with the fact that peopleread at different
speedsand in different lvays.ri?hereas
a recording takesa definite length of time to
play through, in a reading activiry individuals can control the speedthey work at
and what thev arelookins at.
263
skills:listeningand reading
Chapter10 Receptive
Difficultieswhenleadinga foreignlanguage
s h e nt r y i n gt o r e a da t e x ti n a l a n g u a gteh a ty o u
W h a ta r ey o u ro w nm a i np r o b l e mw
d o n ' tk n o wv e r yw e l l ?
Maybe:
. I don't know enoughvocabulary.
. I needthe dictionary all the time.
. It's very slov'- it takesagesjust to get through a few sentences.
. I often get to the stagewhere I understandall the individual words, but the
whole thing eludesme completely.
. Becauseit's slow,the pleasureor interestin the subiectmatter is soonlost.
Many learnersapproachreadingtexts expectingto read them thoroughly and
to stop only when they haveunderstoodeveryword. Clearly,thereis valuein
this as a way of improving their vocabulary and their understanding of
grammar,but, aswith listening,this kind of approachdoesnot necessarily
make them into better readers,becausethis plodding, word-by-word
approachis not the way that we most often do our readingin real life. In order
to make studentsbetter readers.we needfirst of all to raisetherr awareness
that it's not alwaysessentialto understandeveryword, and that practising
some different reading techniques in English may be very useful to them.
And iftheir basicstrategyis to read slowlyand ponderously,then a good
first strategycould be to help them learn to read fast;not worrying about
understandingeveryword; not, perhaps,evenunderstandingmost words,
but still achieving a specific and useful goal.
Reading for detail
A lot ofin-class readingwork hastraditionally been'readingfor detail'- or
'intensivereading'ie readingtexts closelyand carefullywith the intention of
gaining an understandingofas much detail aspossible.Often this is so that the
student can answercomprehensionquestions(eg Whlt diclthethreemengo into tlt.
ofzZe?)
This is typically a stop / start kind ofreading, involving going back over
small piecesof the sametext a number of times to find out more and more about
it, making surettrat the words havebeen correcdy interpreted.This is how a
competentlanguageuser might read an instuction manual for a piece offlat-pach
furniture or a leafletwith guidelineson whether they haveto pay income tax or
not. It's not the way shewould typically read a chapterfrom a novel ot a magazine
article,although,in classrooms,it is often how studentsare askedto processsuch
material (with true / falseand other comprehensionquestionsto checkif they car':
pick up specificpoints).
In everydaylife, we tend to do much more extensivereading,ie fluent, faster
reading,often oflonger texts,for pleasure,entertainmentand general
understanding,but without such careful attentionto the details.\(/henwe don t
understandwords or small sections,we usuallyjust keepgoing, maybeonly
coming back when there hasbeena major breakdownin our understanding.
There is certainly a placefor intensivereadingin class,helping studentsto
' uncover and accuratelyunderstand detailsin a text - but this is by no meansthc
261
5 Approaches
to reading
only strategythat a good readerneeds.Bcing ableto read fast and fluently is also
ver"vlmportant.
Skimrning and scanning
Many activitiesdesignedto increasereadingspeedsarc variationson the
following two ideas:
. Skimming : Read quickly to get the gist of a passage(eg to discoverkel' topics,
main ideas,overalltheme,basic structure,etc). A t_vpicalskimming task would
be a generalquestionfrom the teacher,such as1sl/zlsp assage
abotttJill\
weruoriesoJurmmeror uinter? or Is this stor! setin q schoolor a resteurqnt?The
learnerswould attempt to find the ansr.ver
quickll', rl,ithout readingevery word
ofthe passage,by 'speed-reading'through someportions of the text.
. Scanning: l'4ove e1'esquickly over the tcxt to locatea specihcpieceof
information (eg a name,address,fact, price, number, date etc) ."vithoutreading
the $'holetext or unpacking any subtletiesof meaning.A common scanmng
activity is searchingfor information in a leatletor directorl,,and a typical
scanningtaskwouldbe Vhat timedoestheBiruirlghdn trqin leaae?orWhat does
Cath! takewith her to Lhemeeting?
Skimming and scanningare both 'top-down' skills (seeSection3 earlierin this
chapter).Although scanningis invoh"'edr.vithfinding individual points fiom the
text without reading carefullythrough everv rvord of the text) the way that a reader
Itnds that information involvessomedegreeofprocessingof the overallshapeand
structure of the text, moving her eyesquickly over the rvholepage,searchingfor
key words or cluesfrom the textual layout and the content that rvill enableher to
focus in on smallersectionsoftext that sheis likelv to eet answersfrom.
setectinganappropriate
readingtask
l m a g i n et h a t y o u h a v eg i v e ns t u d e n t sa c o p yo f a t o u r i s t l e a f l e tp u bl i c i s i n ga n e a r b y
t o w n a n d a d v e r t j s i n gl o c a la t t r a c t i o n sm
, u s e u m s ,s p e c i a le v e n t sa n d w t t h
i n f o r m a t i o no n p r i c e s ,o p e n n g t i m e s , e t c . W h a tw o u l db e a s u i t a b l et a s k t o g e t
s t u d e n t st o r e a dt h i s q u i c k l y( r a t h e rt h a n r e a d e v e r yw o r d ) ?
choosingusefulreadingactivities
W h i c ho f t h e f o l l o w i n gs e e m t o b e u s e f u lr e a d i n ga c t i v i t j e sa n d w h r c hn o t ? W h y ?
Brieflywork out an alternativeproceclurefor the less satisfactoryones.
1 T h e c l a s s r e a d sa w h o l ep a g eo f c l a s s i f i e da d v e r t i s e m e n t sr n t h e n e w s p a p e r .
u s i n gt h e i r d i c t i o n a n e st o l o o k u p a l l u n k n o w nw o r c l s .
Chapter10 Receptive
skilis:listenrng
and reading
S t u d e n t sa r e e a c h l o o k i n ga t a n o n l i n ep a g ef r o m a n e w s p a p e rA. s k t h e m t o f i n d
t h e w o r d o y e r s o m e w h e r eo n t h e f r o n t p a g e .
P l a c ea p i l e o f l o c a lt o u r i s t l e a f l e t so n t h e t a b l e a n d e x p l a i nt h a t s t u d e n t s ,i n
g r o u p so f f o u r ,c a n p l a n a d a y o u t t o m o r r o w .
S t u d e n t sr e a d a s h o r t e x t r a c tf r o m a n o v e la n d a n s w e rf i v e m u l t i p l e - c h o i c e
c o m p r e h e n s i oq
n u e s t i o n sa b o u t f i n e p o i n t so f d e t a i l .
One test for useful reading (or listeningrvork) might be to checkhow far tasks
reflect real-lifeusesof the sametext. If a text is usedin classin r,vavsthat are
reasonablysimilar ro reallife, it is likely that the rask\aill be effcctive.
Procedure 1 seemsunsatisfactorybecauseit is an unrealisticuse of the
advertisements;in real life, no one would read them in such a u'ay.A more realistic
task would require tiem to scantlte adsfor specificitems (aswe do when we wanr.
say)to buy a second-handTV). So 'What is the bestTv I could bu1'?'would be a
far more realistictask.
Procedure2 is similarly strange.Thisis a scanningexercise,but an entirely
unrealisticone.!7emight well scana newspaperlooking for namesofpeople or
countriesthat we wanted to read about or headingsthat directedus to informatior
we needed(such asr.veather),
but it seemsunlikely that we rvould searchfor a
singleu'ord like oaer(though asa game,it could be fun). For a more useful
scanningtask,studentscould be askedto find where specificarticlesare or hnd
certain factual information. Skimming taskswould alsobe useful,to get the gist (,:
an article for example.
Procedure3, although it perhapsappearsa little strangeinitially, is in fact a verr.
interestingreadingactivity.The studentswill be using the leafletsfor preciselyth,:
purpose for which they rvereu'ritten, and u'ill be readingthem in order to obtain
"
r.vholerange ofappropriate ideasand information; seeingwhat's available,
checkingopening times,prices,etc.As a bonus,therewill be a lot ofspeaking as
well asreading.
Procedure4 describesan exercisecommonly found in exams.It is clearly
useful asa demandingway of testingcomprehension,and is usefulfor studri:.
the fine shadesof meaninga rvriter conve1,s.
It is, however,important to ensu:.
that this kind of activityis not the onlv readingwork done,partly becauseit
seemsto be confirming to studentsthat this is the normal (or onl-v)$,ayto rcJ-:
a novel.Studentsalsoneedto be shorvnapproachesto a novelthat allow therto read fluentlyj at speed,\\'ithoutworrying about catchingeverynuance.
Real-lifepurposesare not the only way of measurir.rg
the usefulnessofclassroo;:.
readingwork. Often we might want to train studentsin specificreading
techniquesor strategies,things that will help their future reading,evenif the
immediate classroomr.vorkdoesn'titselfreflect a real-life nuroose.
Top-down reading
As with listeninglessons,many readinglessonsmove from 'big' to 'small,,ie .tL.:..
dor.vn'- from overviewto details.Using the task-feedbackcircle asa starting
point,we canplan a routemap for a basicreadinglesson(Figure10.5).
266
5 Approaches
to reading
Pre-text
Text
Post-text
Firsttask (pre-reading),
eg predictfrom someextracted
i n f o r m a t i o(ni l l u s t r a t i o kne, yw o r d s h
, e a d l t n e sr)e, a d
q u e s t i o nas b o u t h et e x t ,s t u d e n t sc o m p o s teh e i ro w n
questions
T a s k st o f o c u s o n f a s t r e a d i n gf o r g i s t ( s k i m m i n g )e, g c h e c k
t e x t a g a i n s tp r e d i c t i o n sm a d e b e f o r e h a n dg, u e s st h e t i t l e
f r o m a c h o i c eo f t h r e e o p t i o n s ,p u t e v e n t s( o r i l l u s t r a t i o n si)n
t h e c o r r e c to r d e r
T a s k st o f o c u s o n m e a n i n g( g e n e r a p
l o i n t s ) ,e g a n s w e r
q u e s t i o n sa b o u tm e a n i n g ,m a k e u s e o f i n f o r m a t i o ni n t h e
t e x t t o d o s o m e t h i n g( m a k ea s k e t c h ,f i l l o u t a f o r m , f i n d o u t
w h i c hp i c t u r ei s b e i n gd e s c r i b e d e
, t c J .d i s c u s si s s u e s ,
s um m a r i s ea r g u m e n t s c, o m p a r ev i e w p o i n t s
T a s k st o f o c u s o n m e a n i n g( f i n e rp o i n t so f d e t a i l ,m o r e
i n t e n s i v ec o m p r e h e n s i v ue n d e r s t a n d i n g )
T a s k st o f o c u s o n i n d i v i d u alla n g u a g ei t e m s ,e g v o c a b u l a r y
o r g r a m m a re x e r c i S e SU, s eo f d i c t i o n a r i e sw, o r k o U t m e a n i n g
of words from context
F o l l o w - otna s k , e g r o l e p l a y ,d e b a t e ,w r i t i n gt a s k ( e g w r i t e a
l e t t e ri n r e p l y ) ,p e r s o n a l i s a t i o(ne g ' H a v ey o u e v e rh a d a n
e x D e r i e n c lei k et h i s o n e ? ' )
C l o s i n ge, g d r a wt h e l e s s o nt o a c o n c l u s i o nt ,i e u p l o o s ee n d s ,
r e v i e ww h a t h a s b e e ns t u d i e da n d w h a t h a s b e e nl e a r n e d
SeCtronS).
Find appropriate places in the text to reinsert some sentences rhat have
previously been separated from the text.
267
Chapter10 Receptive
skills:listeningand reading
Write a reply.
Look at the title and the illustrations (but not dre text). Predict which ofthe
following list of words you will find in the text.
Solvethe problem.
Discuss (or write) the missinglastparagraphofthe text.
Discussinterpretationsof, reactionsto, feelingsabout the text.
Make notesunder the following headings:...
Before you read this text, make notesabout what you alreadyknow about the
subject.
. Act out the dialogue,story, episode,etc.
. Put this list of eventsin the correct order.
For ideason using readingto help teachgrammar, seeChapter 7.
Extensive reading
There is a greatdeal ofevidence that extensive reading (ie readinglonger texts.
such asa novel,over time) has a powerful impact on languagelearning.The more
someonereads,the more they pick up items of vocabularyand grammar from the
texts,often without realisingit, and this widening languageknowledgeseemsto
increasetheir overalllinguistic conhdence,which then influencesand improves
their skillsin other languageareas,too (though this is probably only true rn cases
where the material they read is self-chosenand is genuinelyrelevantand
interestingto them).
So,the.reare strong argumentsfor activelyencouragingstudentsto read a lot in
the target language,both in and outsidethe classroom.rVecan help by:
. providing a library ofreaders (seebelow), magazines,newspapers,leaflets,etc:
. training learnershow to selectsuitablereadingmaterial and in waysto read itr
. creatinga 'book club' environmentthat encourageslearnersto choosewhat
books to purchase,talk about favourite books,sharethem with eachother, rvrir<
brief recommendationsJetc;
. allowing sectionsof classroomtime purely for studentsto read;someteachers
who havefive or six lessonsa week setasideone ofthese lessonsasquiet
readingtime.
A library doesn'tneedto be large.It can be somethingassimple asa small box oi
books and magazines.However,it's important to include items that are relevanr
and suitablefor your class.Unabridged old copiesofworthy classicsare probablr
not a good choice.Better to havea few recentmagazineson themestiat studenr.
like (eg frlms,pop stars,computer games,etc for a teen class)and a small setof
gradedreaders.
Readers
Thesearebooksofstories (or other content)publishedspecificallyfor learnersr.,
get extendedexposureto English.They often havetheir grammar and vocabularr
'graded'to namedlevels(eg
Elementary)sothat learnersat that levelshould stan; r
reasonablechanceof successfi.r1ly
readingthem.Manl' statethe sizeof vocabular..
268
6 Extenstve
readins
usedand havefootnotesor glossariesofwords outsidetheir statedword limit. The
main aim ofreadersis to provide opportunitiesfor extensivereadingfor pleasure.
For this reason,be carefulaboutintegratingcomprehensionchecks,testsand
exercisesinto your teaching.Asfar aspossible,letstudentsread,enjoyand move on,
ratherthan read and then haveto do lots ofexercisesafterwards.Thereareideasfor
somecreatrveextensivereadingactivitiesat the end of this section.
Reading
roundthe ctass
R e a d e r sc a n b e r e a d o u t s i d ec l a s s o r c a n b e u s e d j n , q u i e tr e a d i n g c' l a s s t i m e .
S o m et e a c h e r su s e t h e m i n c l a s s f o r r e a d i n ga l o u d .w i t h d i f f e r e n ts t u d e n t sr e a d i n g
s h o r t s e c t i o n so n e a f t e rt h e o t h e r .T h i s r e a d i n ga l o u d , r o u n dt h e c l a s s ' t s
s o m e t h i n gm a n yo f u s r e c a l lf r o m o u r s c h o o l d a y sW
. h y m t g h tt h j s p o p u l a rt e c h n i q u e
not be effective?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Obviously a fluent readeru'ith the ability to inlect life and feeling into the reading
is a wonderful bonus.Most students,however,do not ht this description,and
round-tie-class readingtends to be a slow)tediousturn-offrather than a rouser of
enthusiasm.
Some alternatives to reading aloud round. the class
Here aresomealternarives
to tr1:
. You read;
. You read narrative,but studentsread character
dialosue;
. Y o ur h a v i n g r e a rdh e c h a p r e r y o u r s e l f b e l o r e
c l a s sr e - l l r Jsr et o r l i n l . o u r o w n
words,without notes,in the most spell-bindingu,ayyou canl later,you get
studentsto do the samewith other bits;
. Studentsread to eachother in small groups pairs)
or
stopping,changing,
discussingand helping eachother wheneverthev want toi
. Studentsread silently,then, rvitlout djscussion.
act out. improvrsrnga scene
basedon what happened;
. Studentssilently speed-reada chapter (say
in two minutes) then report back,
discussing,comparing, etc before silentlyreadingit more carefully.
269
Chapter10 Receptive
skills:listeningand reading
270
Ghapter1L Phonolog!:
the sound of English
Teachersoften shy awayfrom pronunciation work yet it is key for students.This
chapterlooks at the individual soundsthat make up words.word stressand
aspectsof connectedspeech.
!(/hen you teach lexical items, give students a chance to hear you saying the item
naturally spoken in the context ofa typical short phrase or sentence.Take care to
stress naturally (rather than as a 'perfect' sentence). Allow students to repeat the
phrase and give them honest feedback if there seem to be problems. Ifnecessary,
remodel it and let students work out what they are doing differentiy.
Modelling
intonation
\I{hen you teach grammar, allow students to hear some r,vpical examples of
natural uses of the language. So, for example, u'hen teaching the present perfect
progressive, don't iust teach it as dry examples, but model a typical real-life
sentence or two yourself with real feeling, such as 'I've been waiting here for trvo
hours!' A loud, angry sentence like this will be much more memorable tlan a
wriften example. Get students to repeat it to each other - and don,t let them get
away with flat, dull intonation. Encourage tiem to say it with real feeling.
Chapter11 Phonolog)i:the
soundof English
Use dialogu.es
Vhen you work with printed dialogues,don't just read them silently,but ger
studentsto spendtirne thhking about how to saythem.A useful task is to ask
them to go through the text deciding and marking which syllablesare stressed.
After that, studentscan practisethem, read them out and eventuallyperform
them without scripts.The airn is to speaknaturally - which is hard to do when you
are readingfrom text, so it's important to include sometextlesswork. Don't worrl
about studentslearning it word-perfectly;give feedbackon whether they get the
feeling right or not, rather than whether they get the grammar spot-on.
Chants
A'chant' is a poem or dialogue particularly suitable for reciting aloud; it often
involves strong rh]'thms, clear everyday conversation,often exaggeratedfeelings
and a lot ofrepetition. Usepublishedchantsspeciallywrinen for languagestudents.
or write your own. Arm to help students to learn them by heart so that they can say
them confidently with suitable pronunciation. Teach them by modelling them line
by line and asking students to repeat them. Ifyou offer dull flat intonation yourselfor if students respond with dull flat intonation - there is litde purpose in the activiq.
You might want to go for the enjoi..rnentof exaggeratingthe feeLingsand volume!
I[the Chqntresourceon the DVD, you'll find a sampleshort chant for two peoplc
(or two groups) practising lflft- questions.It provides opportunities to practise
weakforms, elision (when a sound is missedout) and assimilation(when a sound
changesbecauseofinterference from another) ifyou want to.
a-l
fc"
Shadow reading
This meansreading at the sametime along with a competent reader.So,for examplc,
you read a dialogue out loud, playing all parts, while the studentsfollow the text and
read aloud themselves.Thisis likely to be most usefirl if it is done more than once,so
drat studentsget a chanceto improve; tly short texts read a number of times rather
than one long text read once.As an altemative,you could try using a recording.
Voice settings
One interestingapproachto promrnciation may sound a litde odd at fust. It's basedm
the ideathat, rather than work on all the small detailsofpronunciation (such as
phonemes,stresspafterns,etc), it might be better to start with the larger holistic
picture - fhe general'settings'ofthe voice.Ifyou think about a foreign languageyou
havehearda number of times,you are probably ableto quickly recall some
distinctiveimpressionsabout how the languageis spoken-the sortsofthings
a comedianwould pick on if they wanted to mimic a speakerof that language;fc
example,a distinctivemouth position with the lips pushedforward, a flat
intonation with machine-gundelivery,a t5.picalhunching of shoulders,
heard sounds,a generallyhigh pitch, etc.
Do your studentshavesuch an image about British speakersofEnglish? Or
Australians?Or Canadians?One useful activitv would be to (a) watch one or
272
1 Pronunciation
startinpooints
more native speakerson video; (b) discussany noticeablespeechfeatures;(c) try
speaklngnonsense
u,ordsusingdris'voicesetting'('comedian'sr_vle);
(d) practise
reading a simple short dialoguein as'native'a u'ay asrhe_v
can. (This rvill probably
seemquite funny to l our students,who rvill initially tend to do fairly bland copies,
never quite believrngthat a voice settingma-vbe so dilferent or exaggeratcd
compared\\'ith their orvn language;encouragethem to risk looking and sounding
reallylike a native speaker.)
Before we go much further rvith pronunciation,there is one important stardng
questiona teacherneedsto consider,namelywhich pronunciation varietl' f,rel.ou
goingto tcach?
Task11.1 RP
, Kp r o n u n c i a t i o
T h ea b b r e v i a t i o' R
n P 'r e f e r st o r e c e i v e p
nriety,
d r o n u n c i a t i oanU
va
o r i g i n a l fl yr o ms o u t he a s tE n g l a n db,u ts o r n e t i m erse g a r d eads a k i n do f s t a n d a r d
educated
B r i t i s hE n g l i s p
hronunciation.
p r o n u n c i a t i odno,y o uw a n ty o u rs t u d e n t tso a i mt o a p p r o a cahn R p
W h e nt e a c h i n g
a c c e ntth e m s e l v e sW
? h v ?W h vn o t ?
Chapter11 Phonology:the
soundof English
Sounds
Phonemes
T h ep h o n e m icch a r ti n F i g u r e1 1 . 1s h o w st h e i n d i v i d u as lo u n d s( p h o n e m e so)f t h e
E n g l i s lha n g u a gaes s p o k e ni n a U KR Pa c c e n t .
Prb-lt,d,tl_if;__K'I
t',d,tI
f Ylg 6 3',2 ['3
Vowels
Diphthongs
schools
atr
a.Utonomy
patticipation
.l9y
hqpeful
coqperation
great
valuIng
b rlght
trust
pue
IN
cl e a r
learners
sounds
tnei
good
reacners
* B e c a r e f u l :h o w d o e s t h i s s o u n d i n a n o r m a l l vs o o k e ns e n t e n c e ?
274
2 Sounds
Consonants
friendliness
i n gm a c h i n e
Wash
yeast
sensitiyity
b e a ns
knives
.iam
cake
CEES
empaUry
stnl(
tidge
herbs*x
tomatoes
food mixer
brolherliness
foresight
wtsdom
kettle
compassion
vtston
bread
ch e e s e
* * U Kp r o n u n c i a t i o n
3t
on the DVD
Vowels
A vowel is a voiced sound made without any closureor friction so that there is no
restriction to the flow of air from the lungs.You'llhavenoticed that the words in
tlre task abovecome togetherto make a completesentence(Teachers
in goodschools
respect
theharners'autonomy,valuing tr ust,pa rticipation,coope
ration).Youmay fild
a mnemonic of somektnd helpful while you are learning the phonemes.Your
studentsmight alsolike this idea:you could write a simple story for them (eg'Ear
thisgoodfood,'saidthebird ...) or, better still, get them to devisetherr own
sentences.You
cor d alsoattempt more 'poetic' versions,aswith the diphthongs.
Diphthongs
A diphthong is the result of a glide from one sound to another within a single
syllable.Thes e form ttree phrases: clearpure air, greatjoy, bright hopefulsounds.
Consonants
A consonantis a sound produced by partially or fully restricting or closingthe
flow of air, which may result in friction. Consonantscan be voicedor unvoiced.
These fall into three sets:
I Food'.potatoes,bearu,tomatoes,bread,cake,eggs,cheese,jam
2 Positive human characteristics:y'rcndliness,sensitivity,empathy,brotherliness,
loresight, wisdom,compassion, ui sion
3 Words associatedwith kitchens:/ood mixer,knioes,sink,herbs,hettle,fridge,
washingmachine,jeast
Alternatively,devisesequencesthat make use ofany currentledcal items being
studied.
275
Chapter11 Phonology:
the soundof English
Studentsof most other foreign languageswill find that, while a number ofEnglish
phonemesare familiar, somewill be distinctly different from the onesthey use.
Particularproblems ariservhen:
. English hastwo phonemesfor a sound that seemsJto an untrained ear,to be a
singlesound.A common exampleof this is the distinctronbetween/r/ and /i:/
(asrn ltip vs.heap),which sound the sameto somestudents;
. English has a phonemethat doesnot exist in the students'own larrguage.
In both cases,getting studentsto produce the soundsthemselvescan be difficult;
it is necessaryto raisetheir awarenessofthe fact that there is somethingto work
on, and the first stepis to get them to hear the difference.Receptiveawareness
comesbefore productive competence.
Simple variationson well-known gamesare helpful in familiarising studentswith
phonemic symbols:
. Phoneme bingo: Hand out bingo cardsrvith phonemesinsteadof numbers;
call out soundsrather than numbers (see:JtePhonemebingocardsresottce on
the DVD).
. Anagrams: Get studentsto work out anagramsof words using phonemes
rather than normal alphabeticletrers,eg /kbu/ (- booh).
. Category words: Choosefir'e or six categories- suchas'Food','sports',
'Animals','Household
objects','Clothing',etc.- which studentsshouldcopy
down. Studentswork in smallteams.\?henI'ou call out (andwrite up) a phonern.
the teamsmust attemptto find a word containingthat phonemefor eachcategor..
So,for example,if the phonemeis /i;/, a teamcould choosecheese,
skiing,sheep,
teapotandjeans.Theteamsthen comparewords and points areawarded.
And here are somegeneralideasfor u'orking with phonemes:
.Integratephonemic$'orkintoallyourteachingofgrammarandlexis.Alwaysrr.,r
on helpingthe studentsto achievegood pronunciation,and encouragethem to
makea recordofthe phonernictranscriptionasrvellasthe spellingofnew item:
. Observationofmechanics:let stltdentswatch how you and they make
particular sounds.
. Ear-training:get studentsto listen to and distinguishwords which havesoun:.
that seemto them ver-vsimilar (eg /zatvs.hut; thin vs.tin; examplesof this kir::
are known asminimal pairs).
. Tongue twisters,to work on particular soundsor to contrastsounds (eg ?/iri.
thin treesend threetall trees).
. Transliteration:get studentsto $'rite out a rvord or sentencein phonemic sc::Jokesseemto work well.
. Train learnersin using a dictionary to hnd pronunciation aswell asspelling
. Keep a phonemic chart on the wall ofyour classroom.Focusbriefly on onc
phoneme each lesson.
Thp out words on the chart and ask students to say the words.
Use the chart for pointing out correct sounds $rhen students pronounce
sometl-fng wrong.
. Try a phonemic crossr,vordlike the one inTask 1 1.3. Students complete rhi. :
the same way as a traditional crossword but have to frll in phonemic
transcriptions of lr'ords rather than their spelline.
.
.
276
3 Wordstress
Phonemic
crossword
ffi
t
Across
1 Pastof 1 Down.
3 Someteachersdo this too much!
5 S o l d i e r sw o r k f o r t h i so r g a n i s a t i o n .
6 Pastof7 Across.
7',
here!'
Down
your time!'
1
2 No movement; still.
3 A clock makesthis noise.
4 You use this to make your hair tidy.
For the answers,seepage 395.
Word stress
Stressand its opposite- unsfess - are very important aspectsofEnglish
pronunciation. Getting the stresswrong can seriouslydamageyour chancesof
being understood.
\fords havetheir own stresspattern;for example,zuarer,
uicket andjusticeare
stressedon the first syllablewhereasabroad,enoughand todayare stressedon the
second.A stressedsyllablein a word is usually noticeableby being slightly louder,
longer and higher in pitch than the syllablesnext to it.
Stressandunstress
d s sl o u d l ya n dw i t ha m o r e ' r e l a x e d '
U n s t r e s s esdy l l a b l etse n dt o b e p r o n o u n c el e
'
w
e
a
k
'
.
m a n n e rv; o w e sl o u n d sa r et y p i c a l l y
C h e c kt h i so u t :t r y s a y i n gt h ew o r d s
waterandjusticewith the stresson the wrongsyllable.Whathappensto the
p r e v i o u s sl yt r e s s e ds y l l a b l e s ?
Chapter11 Phonology:
the soundof English
Markingstress
!t-l!
formation
'window
unhappy
r mp o s t o r
m agaZ lN E
""@
waterfall
delightful
Findingstressedsyllables
I M a r kt h e s t r e s s e ds y l l a b l ei n t h e f o l l o w i n gw o r d su s i n gt h e m e t h o dy o u f i n d t h e
clearest.
photograph photographer telescope telescopic chemical
computer forest
F o rt h e a n s w e r s ,s e e p a g e3 9 5 .
sortingstresspatterns
ffi
P u tt h ew o r d si n t ot h e c o r r e cct o l u m n s .
nrr
r !r
The kinds oftasks given in this sectionare alsovery useful for your studentsto
work with. As with work on the soundsof English,awarenessitself is an essenda.
starting point, and it is worth devisingtasksand activitiesthat assistthis.
andstressteaching
technique
onthe DVD
Prorninence
Although individual words havetheir own stress,stressis alsoan important featurc -i
sentences,when it is known asprorninence or, lessaccurately,sentence stress.
Rather tlan considering sentences,we analyseufterancesin terms oftone units. r.:
sectionsof speechwith one main stress.Themain stressis known asthe tonic s-t.llahc
(or nucleus); theremay alsobe oneormore secondary stresses.Changesin
promrnencemakesubsrantialdifferencesto meanirg.
ffi
Intonation
andmeaning
I n t h e f o l l o w i n gs e n t e n c e ,d i d t h e s p e a k e rg o t o P a r i s ?( W a r n i n gT! hi n k c a r e f u t,
I didn't go to Patis because of the food.
278
5 Connected
speech
Effects of changingstress
Considerthe effect that changingstress has on the meaning of a single sentence.
F i n i s ht h e e x p l a n a t o r yn o t e s i n t h e s a m e w a y a s t h e f i r s t e x a m p t e .
1
2
3
4
5
( n o tt h e r e dj u m p e r )
(not...
(not...
(not...
(but...
F o rt h e a n s w e r s ,s e e p a g e3 9 5 .
Connected speech
Weakforms
One important effect of prominence is to mark out a rhltlm. There is also a
dramatic effect on unstressedwords in a sentence.Note, for example,the difference
betweenthe pronunciationof/orwhen saidon its own comparedwith how it appears
tn a normal sentence,egfor lfc;/ vs. What doyou want;fortea? lfel or possiblyjust /fl.
279
Chapter11 Phonology:the
soundof English
5 Connected
speech
Learn a limerick
Poemsare a good way to pull togethersomeofthese ideas.Teacha short poem
line by line, modelling it and getting students to repeat it. Make sure rhlthm and
stressare accurate.\X/henit's really well learned,hand out tie text and askstudents
to mark it first with stresses,
then with schwas.l{ere,sa silly limerick that you
might be able to make use of:
A curaa,ceous
Jtoungphonemecalledschwa
Said'I neuerfeelstrong.It's bizarre!
I'm reiring and meek
And I alwayssoundweak
But infrequencycounts- I'm thestar!'
Markingschwas
At random,choosea sentencefrom anywherein this book.l\4arkeveryschwain it.
What do I actually
say?
Transcribingpronunciation
Considerthe followingsentence:Whatareyougoingto do aboutit? lmaginethat
youwantto saythis sentencefor yourstudentsto hearas an examplesentence.ls
the followingtranscription
an appropriate
modelto offer?
'geurq
odr)ju
tur
du:e'bautrtl
/wDt
Connectedspeech
It's quitehardto catchoneselfsayinglanguagenaturally;as soonas you sran
o b s e r v i n gi t, c h a n g e h
s o wy o us a yt h j n g s B
! u ta l lt h e s a m e ,t r y s a y i n gt h e s a m e
seltenceas if it's in the middleof a conversation;
maybeevensaya few sentences
beforejt. Speakat a naturalspeedandwithoutanyattemptto speak,properly'
(whatever
that means).Canyoudetectanydistinctdifferencesbetweenthe
transcription
aboveandhowyou sayit?
soundof English
Chapter11 Phonology:the
282
/'wotJagana'duwebaudr/
/ tJega 'dubaudr/
5 Connected
speech
Findinga Iinkingsound
F i n da n e x a m p l e
o f a l i n k i n gs o u n di n t h e e x a m p l easb o v e .
Analysingconnectedspeech
P r a c t i sa
e n a l y s i nm
g o r es e n t e n c eisn t h i sw a y w
, orking
o u tt h e c i t a t i o nf o r m sa n da
continuum
offluency.
l Haveyougot yourkeys?
2 S h ew a sv e r yf a m o u sa y e a ro r t w ob a c k .
3 W ew o n ' tp l a yt h et a p et o a l l o f y o u .
speechteaching
technique
on the DVD
Intonation
Intonation is sometimesreferred to asthe'music'of the language,and we useit as
a kind oforal equivalentof written punctuation.It is closelyconnectedto
prominence,for the mdn movementof intonation beginsat the tonic syllable.
This movement can be upwards (a rise), downwards (a fall), a rise with a fall
(a rise-fall), a fall with a rise (a fall-rise) or flat. Intonation has a defrniteeffect on
meaningand alsogivesus information about the speaker'sattitude.
It is hard to teachintonation systematicallybecause,althoughthere are some
corunon pafterns,there are few clearru1es,and many peoplewith an 'unmusical'
ear hnd it hard to recogniseor categoriseintonation patterns,It is, however,so
important that it is essentialto include work on intonation in most courses.Many
learnersspeakEnglish with a flat intonation, which can sound boring, bored or
uninterested.Using wrong intonation can alsogive offence.
Someideasfor working on intonatron:
\7ork with a function grid (seeFzrctional worksheetresourceon the DVD).
Get studentsto mark intonation patternson dialogues.(How can you mark
them?Arrows? Lines?Music?!7rite the words in a wiggly way to reflect the
movement?)
Get studentsto saythe samesingleword (eg hello)with different inronation to
conveycompletelydifferenrmeanings.
Use thesedifferencesto prepareand practisesomeone-word conversations,eg
A: Cinema?
B:No.
A: Tomorrow?
B: Maybe.
Hum / whistle/ sing the sentencewithout words beforeyou sayit.
Indicate intonation with hand gestures,wavesJetc.
Exaggerateintonation (this can be very funny).
283
Chapter11 Phonology:the
soundof English
. Exaggeratelack ofintonation.
. Encouragestudentsto 'feel' the emotion asthey speak.Emotions ofanger,
interest,surpdse,boredom, etc can naturally power the intonation.
Intonation
Addthe wordsfal/or rlseto the followingguidelines:
questions(Where,Who,What,etc)usually...
1 1.44,2 Q u e s t i o ntsh a ta r ea n s w e r eyde s/ n o u s u a l l y. . .
3 O r d e r us s u a l l y . . .
Forthe answers,see page395.
A n s w e r s :l f
2e 3c 4h
Descriptions
a pronunciation
(\r\vs \ ir\)
o pronunciation
(\$ vs \tfl)
n o r ds t r e s s )
c p r o n u n c i a t i o( w
d grammar(wrongtense)
e l e x i s( i n c o r r e ccto l l o c a t i o n )
f grammar(verb-noun
agreement)
c g r a m m a(rw o r do r d e r )
h l e x i s( i n c o r r e cwt o r d ) -a n dr u d e !
5b 6e 7d, 8z
til*ag9
l-.-T:l-.-r
Sanbeerammaticallycorrect but completelyinappropriate
m the context in which
it is used.Errors can alsobe made i[intonatron and
rhy'thm;in fact, wrong intonation seemsto causemore
unintended offenceto
natrvespeakersthan almost any other kind oferror.
Five teacherdecisionshaveto be madewhen working with
oral errors in class:
1
2
3
4
5
correcnon.
onlanguage
Chapter
12 Focusing
correction
Griteriafor on-the-spot
Lookbackat decision2 in the list above.Whatare yourcriteriafor whetherto give
on-thespot immediatecorrectionor not?
When to corlect
accuracy
f o c u s e di m m e d i a tceo r r e c t i o n
or
tarer
or
n o ta t a l l
fluency
later
or
b r i e,f u n o b t r u s i v iem, m e d i a t e
correction(scaffolding)
or
n o ta t a l l
1 Errorsand correction
smallgroup
all class
coursebook/
reference books
Chapter12 Focusing
on ldnguage
.
.
.
.
Ask a question(eg'\Vasdrislastrveck?').
Ask a one-rvordquestion(eg'Tense?''Past?').
Drar.va timeline on the board (seepage 307).
Draw spacesor boxeson the board to shorvthe number of lvords in a sentencc
Indicatervhich rvord is the problem, eg Hc
. \(/rite the problem sentenceon the board for discussion.
. Exploit the humour in the error (eg Student 1: 'The doctor gaveher a recipe '
Teacher:'So shemadea nicecake?'Student1: 'Oh, not the right word?'
Student 2: 'Prescription.')Be careful,though: this techniqueis often more
amusingfor the teacherthan for the students!
. Usethe phonemicchartto point at an incorrectphoneme(seepage274).
Therc is one important student-studentcorrection techniqueworth looking ar i:
detail,the'chain'. Ifstudent A makesan error, elicit a correction from studentB
Ifshe alsofails to get it rightJthen get anotherstudentto help her.This is where
the chain comesin: C correctsB, and onl_vwhen B has got the idea doesB thcr'l
correctA's error. A then givesthe correct ansrverback to _vou.
The effect ofthis r.
to involveman-vpeoplein thinking about the problem and finding a solution;do::effectivell',the errors and their correctionscan be passedaround the classlike a
ball ofstring unrvinding,tying togethera netrvorkofcnquiry and support.
E"E
*:!<tt
ai;G
1 Errors
andcorrection
Responding
to errors
| a m b o r i n gw i t ht h i s l e s s o n !
| enjoyto swim.
H eb r o k e n etdh e c a r .
lgo to the partylast Saturday.
I ' d l i k es o m ei n f o r m a t i o nasb o u t h e p l a n et i m e s .
A useful correction
technique: fingers
1 Put down any pensJpaper)etc you haveand hold up one hand in front ofyou.
2 Each finger representsone word. Use your other hand to indicateeachword /
finger in turn asyou saythe sentence(or you elicit the sentencefrom the
students).
3 The learnergetsa clearvisual indication of the shapeofthe senrence.
(NB The word order for your studentsmust read left to right, so from your
position 'behind' your hngers,the sentencewill appearto be right to left.)
Studentsmay need a little training before this techniqueshowsits real simplicity
and power.The first time you use'finger sentences,,
make sureyour studentsare
clearthat fingersrepresentwords. Don't let them rush you; allow time to focus
clearlyon the individual words / fingers and clarify the problem they have.Once
learnershaveseenthe techniqueusedt}ree or four times, it soonbecomesa
valuableclassroomtool.
Variations and ideas
A learner saysa sentencewrongly.Youget her to repeatthe sentencewhile you
indicatewith your fingers eachword asit is said.rVhenthe error is reached,
indicatethat this word is ttre problem by facial expressionor a gesture.youcan
then clarify the error by meansof more specihcsigns:
. These two words are in the wrong order (draw a small circle above
the two
appropriatehngers).
. You don't needthis word (fold down the frnger correspondingto the extra
word).
. There should be an extra word here (point to the gap betweenthe
appropdate
fingers).
289
Chapter12 Focusing
on language
Sayit quickly (hold out spreadfingers,and with the other hand closethem
together).
Third syllableis wrong (usethe ioints ofyour frnger to representthe syllables
Contaction (eg I am > I'm) (hold the appropriatefingers apart and t}renmt r c
them together).
ffi
usingfingersentences
P r a c t i s et h i s w i t h a c o l l e a g u ef a c i n gy o u ( o r a m i r r o r ,i f t h e r e a r e n o v o l u n t e e r s
around).Think of a nonsense sentence, eg Pop tee tipple on ug, Say the sentence
q u i c k l ya n d g e t y o u rc o l l e a g u et o r e p e a ti t . T h e nu s e t h e t e c h n i q u e sa b o v et o g e t
themto:
1 i m p r o v et h e i r p r o n u n c i a t i o on f i n d i v i d u awl o r d sa n d t h e w h o l es e n t e n c e ;
2 lea.n a question form with two ofthe words in a different order.
Testing
Your director of studiesor headteacherhas askedyou to preparea test for your
class.How do you go about this?
You could test:
. the students'progressover the courseso far (a progresstest);
. their generallevelofEnglish, without referenceto any course(a proficienc-rr.'.:
Most internal schoolteststend to be progresstests;most externalones (eg statc,r
internationalexams) areusually proficiency tests.
You can test anything that hasbeen studied;this usuallymeansthe four langr.l;:
systemsand the four languageskills.Rememberyour students'coursehas
probably included not only readingand writing, grammar and lexis,but also
speaking,listening,phonology and function. Someho$'testsoften seemto foc.-!
far more on the first four than the last four.
Three criteria ofa good test
. A good test will seemfair and appropriateto the students(and to anyonerr h
needsto know the results,eg headteacher,other teachers,employers,
oarents.etc).
290
2 Testing
. It will not be too toublesome to mark.
. It will provide clearresultsthat servethe purposefor which it was set.
A good test
above'
fulfilthethreecriteriafor a goodtest mentioned
examples
Decideif thefollowing
1 lt is the daywhennewstudentsarriveat yourschool.Whenyouchatto them'
test to decide
theyseemto be verydifferentin level.Yougivethem a placement
gets a markbetween63 and67
whichlevelclasstheyshouldgo into.Everyone
out of 100.
2 Y o u s e t a t e s t f o r y o u r c l a s s u s i n g m a t efrrioam
l t h e n e x t h r e eu n i t so f t h e b o o k
month.
over
the
next
they
will
be
studying
that
3 Yourstudentshavebeenstudyinga balancedcourseof skills andlanguage
test, you have
workfor the lastten weeks.Forthe end-of-term
imDrovement
andyou havethe
you
is
now
midnight
essays.
lt
write
five
askedeachstudentto
pileof essaysin front ofyou.
on language
Chapter12 Focusing
Categorising
test questions
? i l lt h e m a r k i n E
t h e f o l l o w i n gq u e s t i o n s .A r et h e y d s c r e t e ?I n t e g r a t i v eW
Categorise
b e o b j e c t i v eo r s u b j e c t i v e ?( T h ea n s w e rm a y n o t a l w a y sb e c l e a r - c u t . /
1 T a l ka b o u tt h i s p i c t u r ew i t h y o u rt e a c h e r .( S t u d e n t sa r e g i v e na p c t u r e o f p e o p l e
d o i n gv a r i o u st h i n g s . )
2 C h o o s et h e w o r d o r p h r a s ew h i c hb e s t c o m p l e t e se a c h s e n t e n c e .
J o h na l w a y s_ t o
t h e c i n e m ao n S a t u r d a y .
A go B goes C going D gone
3 ( l n t h e l a n g u a g el a b o r a t o r y )
Voiceon recording:Replyto these comments in a natural way.
Excuseme, Do you know where the nearcst bus stop is?
(ten-seconp
dause)
Wouldyou mind lending me your car,just for tonight?
(ten-seconp
dause)
I've lost my watch. Youdan't have the time on you, do you?
( t e n s e c o n dp a u s e )
4 F i l li n t h e g a p s .
a Haveyou _
lleen to Ny'oscow?
t h a t n e wc a r ?
b H o w l o n g h a v ey o u 5 Y o u w a n t t o s e l l a d i g i t a l m u s i c p l a y e rt h a t y o u w e r e g i v e nf o r C h r i s t m a s( y o u
a l r e a d yh a v eo n e ) .W r i t ea s h o r t n o t i c et o p u t o n y o u rs c h o o ln o t i c e b o a r d(.N o t
m o r et h a n 3 0 w o r d s . )
6 ( l n a p r i v a t ei n t e r v i e ww i t h a t e a c h e r )
R e a dt h i s a l o u d :
'The
a d v e r t i s e m e nst t a t e st h a t t h e n e w d e s i g nm e a s u r e s2 0 m x 3 5 m . l f y o u
a r e i n t e r e s t e di n r e c e i v i n gm o r e i n f o r m a t L o np,l e a s ec o n t a c tN 4 sH . . J J o n e so f
a r e h o u s e so, n 0 7 t 4 8 9 2 2 2 2
P O R T I L LW
O a r e h o u s e st,h a t ' s P O - R - T - | - L - LW- O
ext.97.'
Questions 2 and zl seem to be clearly testing discrete items and to be suitable for
objective marking, but even s'ith simple examples such as question 4, the matter :'
not quite so clear-cut.
At hrst, it scems obvious that the ansr.verto (a) is ecer and the ansr.verto (b) is ia.;
But $.hat about the student u,ho u,rites ire?el for (a) and ownedfor (b) ? Both
anslvers are perfectly good cVeryda-vEnglish. Do rve havc to write a marking
schcme for (b) that ir.rcludesr/r'itcn, uanLed,desit-ed,etc? Or do rve give a samplc
ansrver and leave it to thc (sr-rbjective)discrctior.r of thc marker? Or do lvc give a
mark only to the most obvious answer?
Another problem: what about the student rvho r'vrites beenhopittg to bul for (6) t
This is a problem rvith the instructions; although the snall ansrver space allorved
'one
$,ord'. rhere is no instruction to that effect
on the question paper implies
Moral: make your instructions as complete and clear as possible.
The dividing line benveen subjectivc and obiectir.e is usually in thc marking
scheme. Question 6 coulc{ bc marked b-vgiving a subjectivc overall impression
mark or it could be marked more objectir,ely on discrete points (eg proDunciatior
of 20 m x 35 m: one mark for ptonourrcing numbers corrcctly, one mark for &1':
one mark for correct stress on advertisement; ctc).
292
2 Testing
Criteria
testing techniques
Gap-fill
. Singlesentence
Fill in the blanks.Use only one word in eachspace.
go to the cafethan the pub.
I'd _
Answer: rqther
(Ifanswers of more than one word are allowed,then other answersare possible;
instructionsneed to be clear!)
. Cloze
A clozetest is a gap-fill exerciseusing a longer text and with a consrstent
'cloze'is often
number ofwords betweengaps (eg every ninth word).The word
incorrecdy usedto describeany gap-filling task.
. Multiple choice
Choosethe word or phrasewhich best completeseachsentence
buy somejewellery.
If I went to Jakarta,_
a I'll bI c I w.ill dI'd
Answer: d
(Multiple choiceis, of course,a very widely usedtestingtechniqueand can be
usedfor more tian simple gap-filling tests.)
. Using given words
Put one word from the list below in eachgap.
thought switched unlocked arrived
the front door, he
home late that night. As he (2) He (1) (3) room.
He
tiptoed
carefullyinto the
he heard a noisein the sitting
. room and (4) on the light.
Answers: I arrioed 2 unlocked 3 thousht 4 switched
293
IEEI
He lookedthroughthe l99l 31d'"yasamazedro seethat shehadfinally
come
fi\I_J
Ans,xers: window,home
. Transformation ofa given word
He could produce no
Alrsweri photogrq.phic
Sentencetransforrnation
. Using given words
Starting with (or making use of ) a given word or words; changingthe form, bur
keepingthe meaning
He liked the theatrebut hated the play.
Although . . .
Answer: Ahhough he lihed the theatre,he hatedtheplay.
. Following a given instruction
Changethis sentenceso that it describesthe past.
She'slooking closelyat the sculpture,trying to decideifshe likesrt.
Possible answer: Shelookedcloseljtat thesculpture,trging to decideif sheliked it.
Sentence construction and reconstruction
. Rearrangingwords
brother/much/he's /than/his /taller
Answer: He's much taller thqn his brother.
. Using given words
Although / I / bad headache/ go / concert
Possible answer: AhhoughI havea badheadache,I'llstill go to theconcerr.
. Finding and correctingmistakes
1 Crossout the incorrectword.
\7hen I will visit you, I'll seeyour new baby.
Answer: lX/henI ttill visitjtou,I'll seeyour newbaby.
2 Rewrite ttris sentencein correct English.
I am enjoy swimming at the swimming pool of the sports centre.
Possible answer: I enjojtswimmingin thesportscentreswimmingpool.
. Situational
You want to borrow ten dollars from a colleague.\fhat questionwould
you ask?
I wonder_
borrow _
?
Possible answer: I wonderiJI couldborrowtend.ollars?
Two-option answers
. True or false
Often usedafter a readingpassage,eg Paul wanted,to aisitthecastle.Tiue
orJalse':
294
2 Testing
. Correct or incorrect
Write y' if the following sentenceis in correct English. If it is incorrect put a X.
They alwaysplay football on Sundays.
Answer: y'
. Defined options
Jili is a fifteen-year-old schoolgirl. Marta is a one-year-old baby.STrite J next to
the things that belong to J l.Vrite M next to the things that belong to Marta
[-ist ofwords: teddy,mobile phone, calculator,cot.)
Answers: Mobilephone,calculator: J;ted$4cot= M.
Matching Gicnrres, words, sentencepieces, labels, etc)
. Pictures and words
s hr p
motorbike
caravan
Drinks
Meals
potaroes
milk
breakfast
nce
tea
d t nn e r
295
Chapter12 Focusing
on language
Grammatical Iabelling
Mark eachsentencea, Dor c dependingon the tenseused.
a = presentperfecq b = past simple;c = presentprogressive
I He's just come back.
2I've neverbeento the Andes.
3\Vhen did you go there?
4 I'm living inVienna at the moment.
Answers:la 2a 3b 4c
Putting ligsawpiecestogether
IThich beginning goeswith which ending?
1 He planted
a the stones and weeds.
2 Shepicked
b some beautiful red apples.
3 Shedugup
c the seedsin rnreeseparate
rows.
Probable answers:I c 2b ia
Note that someother answersare linguistrcallypossible(eg 3 6), though they
makelesssenseor seemmore unlikelv.
3 Usingthe
learners'
firstlanguage
a 'three learnerswith one teacher'activity is a very good way to assess,
ie settinga
task that getsthe three learnersto interact toqetherwhile vou watch and evaluate.
Self-assessment
Aldrough fear of bad marks can sometimesbe motivating, it's surprisingto find
the amount ofpower that studentsfeel when assessing
themselves.It can be a real
awareness-raising
activity.Distribute a list of criteria and askstudentsto first write
a short line comparing themselvesagainsteachcriterion (in English or in their
own language)- a reflectiveview rather than just a yesor no. Encourage,guiltfree' honestreflection.After dte writing stage,learnerscan meet up in small
groups and talk through their thoughts,explainingwhy they wrote what they did.
on language
Chapter12 Focusing
. Negotiatethe ground ruleswith the studentsor - better - let them set rules
completelyby themselves.
. Discuss (asopposedto 'Tell') the point ofthe activiry lesson,course Agree
how it will be done,why using English is important'
. Respondpositivelyto every effort at using English.
. Don't tell learnersofffor not using English,but keep operatrngm
English yourself.
. Only'hear' English.
. Spend a lot of time on fluency work without correctron
. Eitablish that you are delightedfor them to speakanything at all;
communication is your prioriry rather than accuracy'
. Createlots ofpair and small group activitiesthat require them to do somethina
with English without the lossof face of getting it wrong in a bigger group'
'I
. \flhen it becomesa big problem, stop the activity and negotiateagain: noric<
that many ofyou are using (Portuguese).Is this OK?'
.BepreparedforEnglishusetogrowgradually,ratherthanbeestablishedfor'r
whole lessonat the start of the course.
Activities that rnake use ofl-l
Activities that involve use ofthe learners'L1 (their hrst language)in the language
classroomhaven't had a terribly good press.Many teachersfeel their training has
discouragedthem from usingit at all in class.But ttrissupposedprohibitionwasan
over-strongreaction to sometraditional teaching stylesin which teachersused onll
Lt to explainand discusslanguage,and learnershardlygot to hearor useanyEngli'l:
But therearemany helpfiI waysofusing L1 in class(evenfor teacherswho don't
know that language!) .This sectionlooks at usesof L 1 in classand mediation skills'
A few ideas:
. \yhen learnersread an article or short story, sometimesaskthem to summari'<
it orally in L1 .This can revealinterestinginsightsabout what learnershave
understoodor misunderstood.
. \(/hen a new grammaticalitem is learned,encouragelearnersto think how tht':'
would saythe samethings in their own language.Don't just askfor a
translation,but encouragelearnersto considerifthere is a direct one-to-one
correlationwith their L1 and to notice differencesbenveenthe two languages
. rVhen working on pronunciation, explicidy focus on contrastsbetweenho\\'a
sound is formed in L1 and English. Get learnersto work like laboratory
scientists,trying out experimentsto seeif they can notice and characterise
important differences.
. Vhen watching a DVD frlm, the availabilityof switchablesubtitlesin L1 and
English can be very helpful (seeChapter 15, Section 13)'
. Comparethree different L1 translationsofthe sameEnglish sentence
(extractedfrom a longer text) and decidewhich is the bestand why This u'ill
help studentsto understandthat translationis not an exactscienceand that on<
languagedoesnot directly convert directly into anodrer'rJTord-by-word
translationisn't alwayspossibleand frequently missesthe messageFrequendlcontext and styleneed to be seriouslyconsidered
. Comparelayout and stylebetweenL1 and English conventions,eg for letters'
formal notices,etc,
. Ifyou feel that the best,most effectiveway to explain somethingis in L1, go fo:
itl (But keepit for times it's needed,rather than asa matter of course)
298
learners'
firstlanguage
3 Usingthe
. A lifile teachertanslation (in instuctions or explanations)can bring things to
light that would otherwiseremain hidden. But exercisecaution - use a litde L1
when you havea clearpurpose and then return to English.As the generalmain
aim ofyour lessonsis to get studentsusing English,avoid the tempution to
conduct the rest of the lessonin L1 just becauseit's easier!Learnersneedto
hearyour English;it's an important part of their exposureto the language.
Mediation
Many studentsfrnd themselvesin situationswhere they haveto help a friend or
colleaguewho doesn't speakthe local language.Thisis mediation.It refers to the
skills we use in real life when we have to help others to comnunicate by conveying
a messagefrom one party to another.For example,imagine that you are in a
British railway station,waiting to buy a ticket.The person in front ofyou is a
foreign visitor who is failing to communicatewith the clerk - but you realisethat
you know his Ll.You can now help asa mediator,translatingthe customer's
messagesto the clerk and vice versa.
Give studentsmediation practicetasksin class,for example:
. Help a friend who doesn'tspeakany English.He wants to senda lefter to an
English friend.Translatehis letter for hm.
. Help the conference-programmewriter by providing summariesof the English
text in your own language.
Even if you don't speakyour learners'L1, there are many waysto practisethis skill
in class.Here are four interestingmediation games.
English whispers
Prepareabout fifteen cards,eachwith a short everydayphrase (eg'Could you
sparea moment, please?').Ask sevenstudentsto stand in a line at the front of the
class.Thkethe first card and give it to the student at one end of the line; he looks
at the card and then whispers- once only - the messageto student 2. No one else
shor d hear the sentence.Student 2 now passesthe messageon in L1 to student
3, who must whisper it to student 4 in English - and so on, the messagegoing
from languageto language,back and forth, down the line. When the message
reachesthe end of the line, the first and last student saytheir messagesout loud
so they can be compared.Often the confusionswill be interestingand funny,
and you can discussif tley are translation or listening errors.It may also be
useful to hear what people said all along the line.!7hen finished, play the game
againwith the next card and so on. Make new lines to give more studentsa
chanceto take part.
Diplomatic affairs
Studentsstandin groups offour: two 'ambassadors'and two 'interpreters'.One
'ambassador'only speaksand understandsEnglish;the other only understandsL1 .
The 'interpreters'(oneworking for eachambassador)understandboth languages.
The ambassadorsnow meet at a'party'and must havea conversationwith each
other (about an)'tiing!) .The ambassadorswhisper their communication to their
interpreter,and the interpretermust tlen communicatealoud (in translation)what
their ambassadorsaidto dre other ambassador.(Ifyou havea group ofthree, then
only haveone interpreterwho doesall the mediation.)
Chapter12 Focusing
on language
Diplornatic incident
Play the gameasabove,but eachinterpretermust completelymistranslateone
communication.At the end, ambassadorsshould guesswhich messagescame
through wrongly.
Translation role plays
Preparea pack ofcards with everydaysituationson them, especiallyonesin u'hich
a foreign tourist needsto do somethingin an English-speakingcountry) eg
'Buying a ticket at ttre
'Booking
train station','Asking what time the film starts',
into a hotel', etc.In groups oftlree, one studentis a foreign tourist who doesn't
speakEnglish (and speaksonly L 1).The other peopleare the person they are
talking to (eg a ticket sellerrvho only speaksEnglish) and their friend who speaks
both languages.Each group picks one situationcard from the pack.They read it
together,decideexactlywhat the role play will be, then do it.The friend translates
in both directionsto help the tourist and the native speakercommunicate.
Cuisenaire rods
Cuisenairerods are small colouredblocks of wood (or plastic).They come in
different lengths,eachof vr,'hichis a multiple of the smallestrod. Each length is a
different colour: 1 is white, 2 (twice aslong aswhite) is red, 10 is orange,etc
(seeFigure 12.6).
4 Cuisenaire
rods
Somestarting points:
. The rods can be themselves(ie rods) or they can representother things
(eg trees,houses,people,syllables,diagrams,phonemes,words, intonadon
pafterns,abstractideas,money, graphs,etc).Their lack of decorativedetail is,
in fact, a greathelp in enablingthem to turn instantly into almost anything else.
. The 'magic' comeswhen peoplereally start to 'see'the objectsthat the rods
represent- suddenlythey come 'alive', and you start to get whole litde epic
hlms, adventures.
. The rods alonewon't do the trick.You can usethem as an unambiguous,
tangible,visiblepoint ofreference,but you still needto find waysto extract
languagefrom them.Youneed to askquestions,elicit ideas,make surepeople
agree,etc.
. Rods help studentsto 'focus in' on meanings,ideas,stories,languageitems, etc.
They seemto askfor more concentrationand a narrowing of attention.For this
reason,activitiesinvolving rods tend to be quieter and more focusedrather than
noisyand on a rangeofsubjects.
If you're nervous of trying them, remember ...
. you don't haveto be incredibly imaginativeto use them; the studentshaveto do
the imaginativework in order to 'see'what you sayis there.
. they are greatfor teacherswho tiink that they are 'bad drawers'- insteadof
drawing a hopelesslymixed-up car on the board or drawing a dog and students
'This
thinking that it's an elephant,you can just put one rod on the table and say
ic o dno'/nr
q cor
ete\
I've heard a number ofpeople worry that their students rvould find the rods
childish.I have never found this a problem. I suspect that the slight hint ofa
childhood toy we see in the rods might actually be a positive factor, and in some
way helps to set people a litde freer from the 'adult' behaviour they feel is expected
of them.The rods are only going to be childish if you do childish things with them!
And of course, if you don't like them, don't use them.They're not compulsory.
'plan'
If you do like them, my advice is - initially at least - don't
to use them; just
try carrying a box into each class you teach with no specihc intention ofusing
them. At some point in a lesson, where a sftldent asks a question about the
meaning of a word, just think whether you could make a better picture with the
rods than with the board - and try it out. Consider afterwards ifit worked better or
worse than the board might have done.
Some approaches
the lexis
By using or y a single noun (rod), we can focus more clearly on the form or
meaning of grammar, without distraction from other words. For example, if your
lesson is on .Flaz'eyoagol? with short ansrvers,you and the students conceal rods in
your hands. Then ask and answer around the class: Ilaue you got a red rod?
N4I haaen't.I Yes,I have.
The same exercise could be done without rods, using personal possessions,but
confusion with the meaning and pronunciation ofnew or half-knou'n items of
lexis (eg comb, chewing gum, calculator) interferes with and often dominates the
essential)y grammarical aim of *re actir it y.
301
Chapter12 Focusing
on language
This use of rods is not restricted to simple forms; it works equally well with
sentences like fI, adn't already ghxn the red rod to Jo,I could'aegizten it ro 1tou.
Making rneaning tangible and being precise about meaning
Imagine that some students are havingproblems with the meaning of some languagcYou and the students sit around a table and together aftempt to create arrangements
of the rods that sholv the meaning. Here is an example lesson sequence:
1 Place rods on one side ofthe table. Leave a working space in the middle ofthe
table.
2 Introduce the rods to learners bv exDlainins that the two areas are the 'bank'
and the 'workins area'.
w o r k r n ga r e a
DANK
Showme'opposite'.
(StudentAplacesa red rod neara whiterod.)
Thered rod is oppositethewhiterod.
(to class) lxlhat doloLt thinh?
rods
I Cuisenaire
SruosNT B :
TElcnsr:
SruosNr B:
SrulsNr D:
Clarit/ing structure
By dividing a word up into syllablesor a sentenceup into words, u'e can help
clarify how they are constructed (or at leastho$'-many words / syllablesthere are).
The rods are helpful in making such stucture visible and can help highlight
problemsw.ithincorrect stress(Figure 12.7) or wrong u'ord order (Figure 12.8).
(In this use,they are similar to 'Fingers'- seeSection 1 of this chapter.)
mountrainoug
X
mounlainore/
nnnnnnnffiJohn aul.ed re
Lo
tly
,o
voL
?"ri'.
nnnofficflflfl
John aekedme
I,a
fly
you
tro
(not Mary)
(noLdrive)
Chapter12 Focusing
on language
Contextualizing
Becausethe rods can move and quickly 'become'other things, it is possibleto
createremarkablyabsorbinglittle story situations,almostcinematicin scopeand
detail,despitethe fact thar the only actorsare smallblocks ofwood (helpeda bit
by your own gesturesand facial expressions).I quite often combine using the rods
with story.tellingto make a visual accompanimentto the tale.
The rods are alsovery effectivefor eliciting (eg for grammar work).They show
the studentswhat happensand provide the words.For example,when teaching
the presentsimple tensejplacea red rod on the table.Say This is Fred. Add a green
rod and show'Fred'lying down on it (and make snoring noisesifyou like!). Ask
lYhctt\ this?and elicit'his bed'. SayEuerjt dogat sixo'clocfrlze. . . and move ,Fred,
to showhim rising from the bed. Elicit'gets up,. Continue in a similar way, adding
rods and eliciting ideas,eg 'He has breakfastand then he catchesa bus to work,.
Contextualizingis equally appropriatefor lexis work.When combined with
conceptquestrons,it helps clarify meaningswhen two words are often confused.
For example,/zbrart and bookshoparecommonly mixed up. Here is a short lesson
sequenceto clarify them:
Tell and showa story of a woman (greenrod) who wantsto reada book.The book
(white rod) is in a smallbuitding (madeof variousrods) wherethereis an assistanr
(greenrod). Shecollectsthe book,takesit home readsit then returnsitto the
building. (Rods aregreatfor thesemeaningsthat are bestdefinedwith some
'movement'.)
Ask a rangeof conceptquestions- Dads/ze readthebook?Did shenkt
it home?Did shegiae monq) to thedssistant?Why not? I,Y4ntdjd shedo whenshehad
Jlnishedreadingtheboob?Did shekeepz7?etc - leading up to the question ,So what is
the nameof this place?'and confirm that it is a library.Having done this,you can
contrast it with a second,very sirnilar story, basedon tl.re concept of bookshop
.
Cuisenaiterod exercises
The best way to learn to use the rods is to play with them, to try out ideas and see d
t h e y w o r k .H e r e a r e s o m e e x e r c i s e st o s t a r t w i t h .
1 C h o o s ef i v e o r s i x w o r d s r e l a t e dt o a p a r t i c u l a rl o c a t i o n( e g , k i t c h e n w o r o s ,
'street'words,'station'words,'office'words)
a n d b u i l da c o m p l e t er o d p i c t u r e
t h a t i n c l u d e st h e m .
2 H o w c o u l dy o u u s e r o d st o h e l py o u c l a r i f yo r t e a c h t h e m e a n i n go f s o m e o f t h e
f o l l o w i n gw o r d s ?
motorway, castle, discount, cricket, annually, reliable, south, engineer
3 l\4akea short rod story to exemplifyone use of goingto.
4 U s e r o d s t o c o m p a r e/ c o n t r a s ts o m e o f t h e f o l l o w i n g :
Wages/ salary; wood / forest / jungle; comfortable / comfortable: steal / rob:
must be / might be
Dictionaries
Teachershaveoften recommendedthat studentsbuy and use a good printed
dictionary- while retaining a suspicionofelectronic alternatives.But asdigital
materialsimprove, someof the adviceteachersgive may needto change.
301
5 Dictionaries
Printed
vs digital
dictionaries
305
Chapter12 Focusing
on language
printed dictionary
6 Timelines
Longer-term and lessgameJikeworkwould activelyencouragestudentsto see
their dictionariesasa resourcewhen writing, speaking,reading and listening.
Here are somesuggestions:
. Upgrading:rWhen studentshavewritten a draft ofa story / article / lener, etc,
go through and suggesttiree words that they could'upgrade' (ie find a better
way ofsaying) by using the dictionary.NBThese are not'mistakes'- dley are
thingsdratcould be saidbener.
. Alongside reading:rWith most texts,readersdo not needto understand every
word. So unlessit is important for a specificpurpose,encouragestudentsnot to
look up eachword one by one,but to hrst read the whole text and'get the gist',
then economicallyselectthoseitems drat will really help their understandingby
checkingthem in a dictionary.One way is to agreeon a setnumber ofwords
which the studentsare allowedto lookup
. Explore: Help learnersto use dictionary entriesto look around words they
know alreadyin order to enrich what they can do with apparentlyfamiliar
items, eg by building word webs (seepage201) of collocadons,connected
items,grammaticalforms, etc.
Rather than takeup classroomtime with random fillers and games,consider
adding a regularthread ofactivities on dictionary use,sayfor sevenminutes every
two or threelessons.
Tirnelines
These are a tool for clarifying the'time'of variousverb tenses.A timeline attempts
to make the flow of time visible,and thus enablelearnersto seemore clearly
exactlyhow one tensediffers from another,or how a singletensecan refer to
different'times'.
The starting point is a line representrngtime. On this line, we needto mark zozr,the precisepresentmoment. From the left, time flows from the past towardsnow
To the risht of this. time flows into the future.
Now
Future
?aeL
Ful,ure
?a6t
I
307
?aot
Future
I
Now
?a5t,
Future
I
Now
?aal
Future
Now
Past
Future
Now
?aat
308
_,.=--D
Futurc
6 Timelines
The diagram showsthat we are looking back into the past to the time the waiting
stafied.It showsus that the waiting has continued up to now It alsoshowsthat
there is a possibilityit could continue into the future.
rffe can alsoshow thc relationshipbetrveentrvo or more different tenses
fzlalllrzg
since 7.00, f or example):
Now
?ast
Fulure
I uas cookingsupperwhenthecookerexploded.
One action (that might havecontinued) hasbeen interrupted by another (past
progressiveinterrupted by past simple).
Timelines are one way of making English grammar more accessible.But do
rememberthat their meaning and usemay not be transparentlyclearto everyone.
Somelearnersmay be asmuch confusedor puzzledby them asenlightened.Use
them to help clarify the meaning oftensesfor yourselfand then to help your
learners.Whenyou are askedfor an explanationof the meaningofa verb tense,
try putting a timeline on the board as a visual aid.Ask questions;invite ideas.Use
timelinesas a cue for elicitation (seeChapter 3, Section8). Get studentsto draw
timelinesfor themselvesto help checkunderstanding.Invite studentsto the board
to work out timelinestogether.Adapt timelinesand personalisethem to suit your
own approach (somepeopleuse colours;somedraw little peopleall over them).
As we haveseen,there is not necessarilyone right answer.
Timelines are one way ofbecoming clearerabout meaning.For other useful ideas,
seeChapter5, Sections4 and 5.
techniqueon the DVD
. See Timelinesleaching
ffi
Tensesandtimelines
| u s e dt o s m o k e c t g a r s .
l l i v e i n Na i r o b i .
I ' m l i v i n gi n N a i r o b i .
| w a s w a l k r n gp a s t t h e s t a t i o n
| h e a r dt h e e x p l o s i o n .
I w a s w a l k i n gp a s t t h e s t a t i o nw h e n I h e a r dt h e e x p l o s i o n .
B o b c o o k e dl u n c hw h i l et h e y w e r e s l e e p i n g .
W h i l et h e y w e r e s l e e p i n g B
, o b w a s c o o k i n gt h e l u n c h .
H a v ey o u b e e nt o T h a i l a n d ?
H e ' s j u s t w a l k e di n t h e d o o r .
I ' d h i d d e nt h e m o n e yb e f o r es h e c a m e i n .
309
1 ESP
ESP standsfor English for SpecificPurposes.Those specificpurposesare often
jobs:English for hotel receptionists,English for pharmaceuticalsalesmen,English
for call centreoperators,English for architectsor many others.Thereare some
more generalwidely studiedspecihcpurposes:English forAcademic purposes
and BusinessEnglish.
In one sense,every individual studenthashis or her own 'specificpurpose,,evenif
it may seema litde vaguein somecases- perhaps.to improve my job prospects,or
'to make
my holidaysmore interesting'.ESP contrastswith the rather mischievous
acronymTENOR (TeachingEnglish for No Obvious Reason);it implies that u.e
are going to take the client'sneedsand goalsmore seriouslywhen planning the
course,and ratJrerthan teach'generalEnglish', we are going to tailor everythirg 1.
his or her characterand particular requirements.
I haaeto teochq three-week
ESPcourseJor
nuckar engineers.
But I don't know abotLt
nuclearpower!
Don't panic! You are an English teacherlno one expectsyou to know anlthing
about nuclear power (other than what the person-in-the-streetmight know).you
know about English;they know about the topic. put the two together,and you
havethe potential for someexciting lessons.For one thing, thereis a genuine
information gap and thus a real reasonfor communication.The learnerscan
speakand write about their field ofwork and do appropriatetasksthat they need
to perform in English.Youcan help them find waysto do this more effectively.
Thus ESP often means'Go on teachingall the normal English you alreadyteach
in all the waysyou know how to do already,but uselexis,examples,topics and
contextstllat are,asfar aspossible,relevantto the studentsand practiserelevant
specificskills'.Ifyou don't havethe appropriatetexts / recordings/ etc to hand,
then it may be possibleto get your studentsto provide them by giving them
feedbackand support on their language.
A NeedsAnalysis (seeChapter 4, Section3) is a good - almost essential- startinp
point for ESP teaching.\l(/ecan't really addressa student,sspecificneedsunless
we are absolutelyclearabout what they are.A typical ESp NeedsAnalysismighr
be a questionnairethat you and the client(s) talk through and hll in together.
This might include an analysisofwhat the client usesEnglish for, what their
expectationsare,what they need,what they want and what they don,t have.
Unfortunately a lot ofNeeds Analysisdone nowadaysin languageteachingis
fairly token.Finding out that your student(s)work asa ,receptionist'or are
interestedin 'English for computing' doesn'tgive you more than an approximatc
generaldirection for your course.Toaddressa specificneedyou haveto hnd out
more than that. I think of it asmining - digging deep down to discoverthe real
needs.
l ESP
Digging deeper
. Start with the general job eg So you area hotelreceptionist.
. Focus onto one speciffc task eg Tbllrneonespecifictask thatyou needto use
Englishfor.
. Explore wide-ranging details ofthat task eg when the learner answersthat
eg I wekomepeoplewhenthey arriae at thehotel, askfirther questions that
uncovermore and more wide-ranging information eg What doesthehoul
W4ratkind of questions
do
counterlookkke?What\ thertr$ thing that happens?
gour customers
etc.
ask?Hou dnyoufeelwhenthat happens?
. Dig deeper. Each time you get an answer,askmore, like a miner digging
deeperinto the situation,moving slowly from the generalsituationto details
and difficulties.Elicit specificexamplesoflanguageused (and language
problems) eg Hozt doyou say that to theguest?What do the! repb)?lYhat problems
doyou tgpicallghaaewith what theysay?Aim to build up a focuseddetailed
picture ofa single occasionwhere your student needsEnglish.
Simply talking it through in this way can be helpful for a learner asthey clarify for
themselveswhere somereal problems are.Beyond this it can form the basisof role
play,real play and reformulation activities(SeeChapter 9, Section3). And you
can do this againand againfor other work tasksand situations.
Someideas:
. Maria listensto detailedinformation and makesnotes on, for example,
numbers and product names.Thisactivity could be done over the phone ifone
is availableto use.
. For homework,shepreparesa ten-minute presentadonon a work-related
subject.In class,shemakesher presentationand you give her oral feedbackon
the languagesheused.Shecould alsobe given a short written feedbackform
which notesgrammar,lexis and pronunciation problems,togetherwith a
generalcomment about the successof the presentation.Later in the course,she
could try the task againand seeif shehas improved.
. You preparea worksheetlisting many words shecommonly usesin her work.
Shethen attemptsto mark the stresspatternson eachword and to pronounce
them correctJy.
. You role play meetingat a party and chat with her about topics ofinterest.
311
Chapter13 Teaching
differentclasses
Activitiesfor ESpneeds
F o re a c h o f t h e f o l l o w i n gs p e c l f i cs k i l l r e q ui r e m e n t s ,f i n d o n e a c t i v i t yt h a t y o u c o ul d
d o i n t h e c l a s s r o o mt o p r a c t i s ei t .
1 Travelagent: taking telephone bookingsfor flights
2 C a l lc e n t r et e l e p h o n i s t s: p e a k i n gt o p e o p l e( i n a n o l h e rc o u n t r y )m a k i n g
c o m p l a i n t sa b o u tm o b i l ep h o n eb i l l s
3 H o t e lr e c e p t i o n i s tr:e g i s t e r i n ga n d h e l p i n gf o r e i g nh o l t d a y m a k e r s
Business English
Pre-experience
courses
312
2 Business
English
In-service courses
If English lessonsare taken when participants are alreadyin work, a coursehas
the possibihtyof becomingmuch more tightly focusedonto real and immediate
needs.By doing a thorough NeedsAnal_vsis
with learners(seeChapter 4,
Sectron3) we can find out exactlywhat they require from a course.Ifthe course
haspeoplefrom different employers,jobs or departmentsyou may find that, for
the most part, a genericcourseis the most suitable- but the NeedsAnalysiswill
still help you to offer useful focuseson specifictasksand skillsto replaceor add to
what is in the book.
Look for waysthat allow your participants to make use ofcurrent examplesand
storiesfrom their daily work in ciass:
. Presentations Get participantsto prepare,rehearseand do presentationsin
classabout their daily work, current tasks,problems,etc followed by feedback,
discussionsand relatedlanguageimprovementwork.
. Diagrams and models Use Cuisenairerods, models or pencil and paper to
get participantsto createand talk through imagesoftheir work - eg my office
space,my travels,who I communicatewith around the u,orld,the
manufacturing process)etc.
. Diaries and blogs Insteadoftraditional exercise-based
homervork.ask
participants to write (and read eachother's) diariesand blogs.They can record
detailsoftheir daily work, difficult situationsand languageproblemsthey have
faced.Use excerpts (with permission)asthe seedfor in-classdiscussion,
languagework, etc.
. Role play Find out asmuch asyou can aboutthe specifickinds ofmeetings,
negotiations,discussions,etc that participantsdo in their daily job, Create
similar role play opportunitiesin class,making use ofas much unclassihed,real
stuffas they can provide (documents,images,diagrams,Powerpointslides,etc).
In-company
courses
Chapter13 Teaching
differentclasses
of the studentand the purchasermay be very different,and you may find it a hard
act to balance.
Whether or not -vouuse a coursebook,much ofin-company coursestends to
becomespontaneous,responsiveteaching.If the participants are using English in
their day-to-dayrvork,they r.villbe hitting live problems all the time - and they u rll
often want to bring them to you for help and advice.Allorv time for this, perhaps
eventimetabling it (eg a participant Q and A discussionat the start of each
lesson);you may find that you can grou' all the work from such questionsand
requestsand that it seemsto be more focusedand useful than coursebookwork.
Teaching one-to-one business lessons
Many businesscoursesare one-to-one.Here are a few hints:
. Rapport Relatronshipis crucial.Thketime to find out abouteachother.Thketimc
to go on building that relationshipoverfuture lessons.
If you don't like eachother
and feeluneasyin eachotier's company,the courseis nevergoingto takeoff.
. Needs Spendtime on discoveringneeds.Go back to discussand re-look at
them every feu' lessons.
. Plan lesson to lesson Createthe coursefrom lessonto lessonrather than
entirelyin advanceor by relying entirel-von a coursebook.Use the coursebook
to supplementneeds-relatedwork asit emerges.
. Study what is live and relevant Bring along material suggestedby errors.
discussionsand ideasfrom the previouslesson.
. Plan beginnings, not whole lessons Plan lessonsin terms of starting poinr:
(interestingdocuments,relevantvideo clips,important languageitems etc)
rat:er t}rancompleteplanned-trroughprocedures.
. Take your lead frorn the participant For at leastpart of eachlesson,take
your lead and pacefrom the student.Start u'ith discussionlrespondto
comments,questionsand requestsasflexibly asyou can. (But alsorvatchout
for the participant r.vhousesyour flexibiliB asa wa_vto avoid focusing).
. Vary the challenge and pace A leisurelypaceis fine for much of the Lime,
but alsomake sureto include concentrated,challengingtasksand exercises.
. Cooperative work!7ork with - rather than in front of- your student.Don't
presenteror entertainerat the front of the classall the
feel the needto be t1-te
time (or an-vof the time). More a colleaguein the next seat.
. Reforrnulate as a correction strategy After your participant has done an
oral task,rather than correcting lots oferrors and problems,give them the
chanceto seeyou doing the sametaskin _vourlva1rThey can take notes,ask
about what you saidafterwards- and then try againdremselves,using any of
your ideas,expressions
or approaches.
. Silences Don't lvorr1,if there are silences.Silenceis thinking time and
adjustingtime.
. Board Use a pad ofpaper on the tableasyour sharedboard.Youcanboth u,rir.
and drarvon it, adding to and editing u'hat the other u'rites.
. Build progress Get the participant to prepare and do things (eg role playing
somethingthey do in their daily job, explaininghou' somethingworks, making
"
presentation)- then give them feedback- then get them to do it again.
. Audio recording Use your computer'smicrophone and softwareto record
u'hat the participant says.Listen together,rvork on raising awarenessof
problems and improving them. Practise- then record again.
3 EAP
Writing Ifyou set an in-classwriting task asa changeofpace, don't be too
presentwh\Ietheyu'ork. Don't swampthem with helpful advice.One-to-one
can get very intense.Theyneedto breathetoo!
Internet Exploit the Internet. Look up things asyou needthem. Find
examples.Viewvideo clips.Write tweetsor emailsto eachother. Get odrer
online peopleinvolved.Contribute to forums. Make phone callsfrom class.
EAP
As more and more studentsstudy in more and more English-mediumuniversity
and collegecoursesaround *re world (not just in English-speakingcountries,but
almost everl.rvhere),English for Academic Purposes(EAP) programmeshave
grown hugely in number over recentyears.An EAP coursefocuseson the
languageand skillsthat studentswill need on a future (or possibly,current) course
ofstudy, typically a higher educationcourse (though increasinglyat lower levels
of study too).This meansthat the majority of EAP studentsworldwide tend to be
between16 and 20 yearsold.
EAP coursesare not typically focussedon the languageneededfor a specific
courseof study (though they can be).They tend to be more generalprogrammes
aiming to raisethe learnersto a point where they are capableof getting the most
out of their coming courseof study.However,the more focusedit is on the
specificneedsof the students,d1emore successfuland relevantit is likely to be.
An EAP courseis likel-vto include work on someof theseelements
. Listening to and understandinglectures,ie following long monologues,often
deliveredwith digressionsand perhapshaving minimal contextualisationor
visual support.
. Note-taking ie making effectiveand usablerecordsin a number of different
learning situations:lectures,seminars,from coursebookreading,etc.
. Effectivereading and researching- working with both short and long texts.
. Using references,avoidingplagiarism (seebelow).
. Raisingawarenessof formal stylesof languageused in academicwriting. Don't
underestimatehow dilferent the styleconventionsmay be in different culturesfor example,the westernacademicessaylooks nothing like the Arabic one in
organisation,tone or focus.
. Essaywriting,eg planning.drafring.wriring.ediring.
. Making presentations,eg book reports
. Thking part in seminardiscussionsincluding awarenessof cultural issues,eg
expectationofcontribution, enjoymentof a good argument,etc.
. Generic academiclanguagepoints, eg use ofpassivesin formal descriptionsof
processes,avoidanceofcolloquial language,use oftentative languageitems to
to suggest,Itqp?earsthat This
stateinterpretationsor conclusions,eg thisseetns
might bea reuth oJ TheresuhscotLldbeseenas.
. Academic stylisticconventions,eg use of an impersonaltone, getring to dre
point quickly - avoidanceof flowery padding (which may be common rn
certain cultures),use of concreteexamples.
. Learning to learn - generaltraining in study skillsthat learnersmay not have
looked at in previous education.
. Contextual and cultural awareness- learning about the way that things are
done in the learnins environment.
315
Chapter13 Teachingdifferentclasses
At its heart, EAP is just like any other ESP subiect.To preparea really good
course,t]re teacherhasto know what is being preparedfor. Ifyour studentshavea
specificcourseto preparefor, the EAP coursecan focus.A genericoff-the-shelf
EAP courseis likely to be of only partial use asit will work on things the students
don't need or may evenmisleadby teachingthings that are done in one way when
the context they will be in does them completely differently.
Researchwhateveryou can about what your studentswill study and how they will
be working. Get asmuch information asyou can about their future coursesand
working methods.Download prospectllses.Get former studentsin to talk to you
(and your new class).Call a lecturer or principal and askfor advice.
Context and culture
A large part ofany EAP coursehasto be focusedon the context where the studenr
will be studying.The ground rules for how to do things will vary significantlyfrom
one academicenvironmentto another.
A foreign studentwho comesto a UK university may facenumerous culturdl
difficulties.He will havegrown up in one educationsystemand is now faced with
one where all his basicassumptionsabout what to do and how to do it may
suddenlybe wrong.For example:
. He may be fearful of appearingto not know an answer,to the degreeof not
sayinganything in classfor fear of gening it wrong and losing face- or he may
sayyeswhen askedif everythingis OK - whereasUK studentsmay often quite
happily participate,make guesses,takerisks and demandhelp until they have
reachedunderstanding.
. He may believethat it is wrong everto questionor challengea tutor's comments
asthis would conveydisrespect- whereasa IJK university tutor might
deliberatelymake a provocativestatementexpectingit to be arguedagainst.
This is just one example,but similar difhculties- to a lesseror greaterdegreewill affect every learnermoving from one learning culture to another- and this
might evenbe within the samecountry, eg moving from a rural high schoolto an
American-run university in the capital.
Plagiarisrn
and cheating
4 Examclasses
avoid it by using techniquessuch askeepingdetailednotes ofsourceswhen
reading,referencingaccuratelyand so on.
Attitudes
to marking
Exam classes
Many teachersat somepoint need to teach a classpreparing for an exam.This
may be a nationalor schoolexarnor it might be one ofthe British_or US_based
internationalexams.Figure 13.1 showsthe popular examsrun by someexam
boards and their approximatelevel.
CommonEutopean
Framework
C2Mastery
Cambridge
ESOL
Proficiency
(cPE)
IELTS
TOEFL
Pen.andpapertest
7.5
633
7.O
6O0+
Intelnetbased test
C1 Operational
proficiency
Certificateof
Advanced
E n g l i s (hc A E )
6.0 6.5
540+
7to - 1,20
B2 Vantage
First
Certificate
(FCE)
c.u - 5.5
500+
87 - 109
B1 Threshold
Prelim
inary
EnglishTest
(PET)
4 . O- 4 . 5
350+
57-86
42 Waystage
KeyEnglish
Test
J.U _ J.5
250+
2 . 0- 3 . 0
41 Breakthrough
Figure 13.1 Comparisonofexams
The main suiteof Cambridge ESOL examsare widely recognisedand are
rmportant qualificationsfor many studentsinternationally.First Certificate,in
317
d,fferentclasses
Chapter13 Teaching
4 Examclasses
Posters
ri(/hennew languageis studied,the students(or you) make postersto help them
rememberit. As the courseprogresses,theseslowly take over the room, acdlg asa
very useful aide-memoireand a sourceof further work. I often find students
browsing through thesebefore classstartsor in lunch breaks.Typicalposters
might be on phrasalverbs,tenseproblems,articles,presentparticiple vs
infinitive, etc.
Lexis box / lile
ri(rhereaspostersare a good way ofrecording lexis,
the sheerquantity ofnew
words rnet on a coursecould soonfrll the walls.An alternativeis the 'lexis box,. At
the end ofeach lesson(or day), the studentsreview what they havelearnedthat
day,record any words worth recording on squaresofpaper (or card) and hle them
in the box or file.This record is a good sourceof material for you to exploit in
future lessons(eg exercisesand gamesrecycling thesewords) and for studentsto
look through.
Both ofthese ideasare,ofcourse, alsoapplicableto a wide variety ofnonexarninationcourses.
Finally, here are a few ideasto make practiceof exam techniquesa little more
interesting.Many ofthese ideasalsoperform the essentialtask ofraising
awarenessabout how the testsare marked and the criteria the examinerwill use.
. Studentsdo exercisesin pairs or small groups. (Possiblerule: they must all
agreeon the sameanswerwittrin eachgroup.)
. Studentsmark eachother'stests.
. 'Blitz'it:do an exerciseat great speed(eg 10-20% of the normal time
allowance- no thinking time, just do it!). Keep the atmospherelight-heartedit's not a serioustest.Then let them go over it and considertheir answersat
leisure.
. A'teacherless'lesson:give the studentsthe chalk or board pensand let them
discussand work through an exam paper togetheron the board. Only look at
(and mark) the board when they havecompletelyhnished. (This is alsoa good
'group-building'
exercise,asitbecomes a joint responsibilityro get rhe best
possibleanswers.)
. Studentssettestsin a particular stylefor eachother (eg they take a text and
rewrite it with gaps,tiey preparemultiple-choicequestionson a rext, etc).
. Take somewritten information about the exam (eg from a prospectusor a
marking scheme)and turn it into exercisesin the style oftypical exam
questrons.
. You do the exercise(including a rnistakeor two!) and the studentscorrect it.
IELTS
Many overseasstudentswho want to enter a university,collegeor training course
in the UK,Australia, Canadaor New Zealandare required to prove their English
languagelevel.Similarly,peoplewho want to enterthesecountriesfor residential
or employmentpurposeswill alsooften haveto demonstratethat their language
has reacheda certain minimum level.For all theseneeds,IELIS is a popular
solution with worldwide annual candidatureofover a million.
319
Chaoter13 Teachins
differentclasses
Linguistically
demanding
academic courses
Linguistically less
demanding
academic courses
Linguistically
demanding
tlaining coulses
Linguistically less
demanding
training courses
7 . 5- 9 . 0
Acceptable
Acceptable
Acceptable
Acceptable
7.O
Probably
acceptable
Acceptable
Acceptable
Acceptable
6.5
E n g l i s sht u d y
ne eo e o
P r o b a b l ya c c e p t a b l e
A c c ep t a b l e
Acceptallle
6.O
English
study
neeoeo
E n g l i s hs t u d yn e e d e d P r o b a b l y
acceptable
Acceptable
5.5
E n g l i s hs t u d y
ne ed e d
E n g l i s hs t u d yn e e d e d E n g l i s hs t u d y
nee d e d
Probably
acceptable
320
5 Young
learners
Although IELIS claims to be capable ofdifferentiating all learner levels from
Beginnerto near-nativespeaker,you may needto treaidris claim with a little
caution.Testmaterialsinclude a quantity ofvery challengingwork and are good at
distinguishingbetweenlearnersinAdvanced levels(C1 and C2). For anyone
below theselevels,much of the materialwill presenta significantproblem. Many
Intermediatestudentswould find ithard to evenknow how to start workins on
someof the dense,highJeveltexts.As a result,IELIS seemsmore likely tJ
accuratelydifferentiatethoseusersin higher bandsthan thosein lower ones.For
similarreasons,IELIS preparationcoursestend to be fairly painful for teacherand
studentswhen the classlevelis too low.\Vhilemarketingimpiratives may
increasinglylead schoolsto sell'IELIS classes,
to very low-levelstudents,teachers
needto approachsuch courseswarily.In many cases,a broad-based,general
languageimprovementcourseusing appropriatelygradedmaterialswill be much
better exam preparationthan focusingmainly on IELIS tasksand texts.Repeated
exposureto way-above-levelmaterialscan be discouragingand demotivating.
Young learners
Younglearnersseemto be gettingyoungerand younger!In many countries,second
languagelearningusedto be mostly a secondaryschoolpreserve-but therehas
beena definitetrend towardsteachingprimary learnersat lower and lower ages.In
many Iocationsthereare evenwidespreadnursery-levellanguageclasses.When
someonereported,a few yearsback,that a famousexaminationboard wasabout to
launch a new Englishexamfor learnersin the womb, it soundedalmostbelievable.
These changesare basedon the beliefthat the younger you start,the more chance
you haveof making the learning successful.If there really is a critical age- up to
which it is natural and easyto acquirea secondor third language- and after which
it is much harder to -then it doesseemto make senseto exploit this.After all,
young children who are brought up in bilingual householdsoften speakboth
languagesto native-speakerlevel;why shouldn,t a similar effect be achievablein
schools?A strongerreasonfor teachingEnglish to youngerlearnersmay simply
be that starting earlywill give them many more yearsat schoolin which to develop
and improve their languageskills.By the time they reachhigher levelsin
secondarymany will be very competentusers.
Characteristicsof younglearners
List some ofthe main features that characteriseyoung learners.What do you need
t o c o n s i d e rw h e nt e a c h i n At h e m ?
Chapter13 Teaching
differentclasses
5 Young
learners
. Don't expectimmediate (or evenlong-term) studentuse ofEnglish. Just keep
using English yourself. $(/hena child sayssomethingto you in their language,
reply in English.
. Keep activitiesshort. Plan for variety and frequent changesof focus,working
modesand pace.
. Keep much ofthe focus on the children'slife and thiirgs they understandrather
than abstractor hard-to-graspconcepts.
Exarns
There are now many excellentYL exams.Theonesfrom Cambridge ESOL are
known as Starters(lowestlevel),Movers(midJevel), Flyers (higher level).They
are colourful and interestingteststhat will motivate and encouragestudents.
Some popular ideas for young learner classes
Teach around a topic
Ifyou decidenot to get tied to a coursebook,a strongalternativeis to choosea
theme or topic to give shapeto each',veek's
work. Explore it from a rangeof
different angles,choosinga wide variet]' of pmctical activities.For example,with
the topic ofshops, studentscould make a pretendshop in the classroom,write
namesand price labelsfor different items,match words cardsto shop items,design
postersto advertisetheir shop,read a story about a girl who goesshoppingwith her
dad,look at photos ofshops in the past and guesswhat they sold - and so on.
Teach around a book
Choosea book that you think studentsin your classwill enjoy (eg The Gruffalo,
TfteBFG). As with the teacharounda ropeZ
idea,devisea rangeof activitiesthat
pick up themes,charactersand languagefrom the book. For example,with Z/ze
Gruffalochl.dren could designa monster, sayfrightening words in the most
frightening way,mime walking through a forest,think ofa good plan to trick a
monster,hnd words to describea mouse,collectrhyming words,make a monster
mask- and so on.
Show and tell
Every day,asktwo or three studentsto bring in somethingthat is important to
them.They will come to the front of class,show the object and tell everyoneabout
it. Alternatively,askeveryoneto bring something- and the show and tell can be
done in small groups.
Circle tirne
Everyonesitsin a circle. Somebasicpolitenessground rules are established(eg
one person speaksat a time). A topic is given by the teacher(eg SomethingI
enjoyedin schoolthisweek).The teacherleadsby giving an example,and then,
going round the circle,eachperson sayssomethingon ttre topic.Translateif
studentscan't saywhat they want to in English.
Total Physical Response (TPR)
The teachergivesa seriesof imperativeinstructions (eg Standup,shakehands
with someone,
zoalkto theJrontof theroorz).As eachinstruction is given,the teacher
323
Chapter13 Teaching
differentclasses
showsthe movementherselfand the chrldrencopy it. Don't worry that it's only
listeningto teacherwith no learnerproduction. It's fine becausethere is a huge
amount oflisteningJunderstandingand internalisinggoing on: very rich exposure
to English.
TPR fairy stories
Tell a story asa sequenceof sentenceswith mime-ableverbs.Studentscopy the
teacher'sactions (eg Sltewaxedgoodfute
to her mother.She
walked.throughthewoods.
Shesawa beauttfulJlower.Shebentdowntopick it. Shelookedup.Shesawa wolf.)
Carousel
Selecta variety of different activitiesand make sufficient copiesof them.They
should be simple enoughto understandquickly.Arrange different tablesaround
the room. Each table should havelots of copiesof one ofthe activities,ie each
tablehas a different activity on it.Vhen the children arrive in class,ttrey
immediatelyform groups basedat one of the tables.Each group works on the task
on their desks.After a settime (eg eight minutes) or when the teacherfeelsthe
time is right, sherings a bell (or taps the table or shouts) and every group stands
up and movesclockwiseround the room to the next table- u'herethey can start
work on the new task.The lessonproceedsin dtis way,with regular changesof
table and task.The teachermay needto do a lot ofbuzzing around,assistingwirh
understandingwhat to do. Studentswill get a lot ofchancesto use English in a
wide rangeoftasks and exercises- lots ofvarietlr
Community
Language Learning
(CLL)
324
6 Teenageclasses
Teenage classes
Teenageclasses comparedwith adult classes
Listsomewaysin whichthe atmosphereandworkin a classofteenagestudents
m i g h td i f f e rf r o ma c l a s so f a d u l t ss t u d y i n sgi m i l a m
r aterial.
difrerertclasses
Chapter13 Teaching
something that they are being required to do.There is very little chance oflearnc:.
doing something with con'iction or interest unless it is something that they halc.
at least in some degree, chosen to do.Y/hich leads me to a general proposal thar
the more a learner feels that they 121'echosen \'!'hat to do and how to do it and fec in control while r'vorking, the more thel,will be likely to teel engaged and to
achieve something r.vorthrvhile lrom it.
When these things are abscnt or at a low level in an-vclass,there are likely to be
problems.With adults, rve might get students not coming to lessons, remaining
quiet and passive, rvriting negative feedback comments, complaining to school
management and so on.With teenagers, rve might get more instant, more tangit':r
outcomes: refusals, complaints, rudeness, abdication, etc.
All of which suggests that key techniques for teenage classesmight include:
. a willingness to listen and be flexible in responsel
. follolving the class as much as leading;
. where appropriate and possible, sl'raring the responsibilitl, for ke-vdecisions topics, work methods, work rate, homework, tests, etc;
. ways of getting usable feedback regularly through lessons and courses.
Teenagers also need a sense of securit]. amid the sometimes beu'ildering world
tJrey are meeting, so your task rvould be to find a u'ay ofoffering the more flexibl.
democratic, inclusive approaches suggested above rvhile also providing an
ordered, organised but unthreatening environment.
Sorne specific
Virtually all of the ideas and activities in this book apply equall-vto teenage classcas much as to adults. Here are a few exua hints:
. Avoid anything that might be seen as childish to students. Many materials tha:
adults would happily work rvith may be rejected by teens ifthey see them as
unsuitable or patronising in any way.
. Ifwhole-class rvork doesn't seem to be working, try avoiding it rvhere possiblc
Instead, consider the possibiliry ofrvork groups, ie small sections of the class
drat work independently on tasks that you agree rvith them.
. Experiment with a mixture of quiet, r.vorking-alone activities and activities th.'
require active participation. Find out rvhich individuals seem to respond befte:
to these different kinds ofrvork.
. Avoid too many acti\dties that put embarrassed students in the spodight.
. Select reading and listening materials from up-to-date sources that are rele\ ar::
for learners, eg current magazines, websites, recently released films, hit songs.
. Better still, ask learners to bring in materials they rvant to work with.
. Consider project u'ork on topics entirel-v selected by the learners and invoh'ing
research methods that the-vwill find both interesting and challenging, eg
preparing a report on a live topic that interests the students (see Chapter 15.
S e c t i o n1 1 ) .
. Ifyour school, syllabus and exam requirements allow it - and your class is keen consider the possibility of throwing out the whole coursebook and syllabus an.1
working on one very large projectwirh a definite outcome) eg staging a play or
shor'vin English or preparing a local magazine in English. (Again,I stressthat
326
7 CLIL
.
.
'
this will not work if you imposethe ideaon students;tiere must be genuine
investrnent
from rhem.)
Be truthful. Try not to be just a spokespersonfor schoolor society.Saywhat
you really think about things.Explain to learnerswhy certain activitiesmay (or
may not) be valuable.Let them agreeif they want to do them or not.
Don't get botheredwhen challenged.Listen and don't feel undermined. Be
preparedto back down ifa strong argumentis presented.
Dare to askimportant questionssuch as,,\Xtrat could we do in Enelish lessons
that would really be interestingfor you?,
Ratherthan settingout with the assumptionthat disciplineand difficulty w l be
the order of the day, start out with the intention of working w.ith the learners
and listeningro rhem.
If disciplinebecomesa problem, asfar aspossibleaskthe learnersthemselvesto
give adviceasto what should be done.sTherepossiblenegotiateand agree
codesofbehaviour and penaltiesin advanceof problemsboiling up.
CLIL
CLIL (which must be one of the ugliest-everELT acronyms)is a Europeanterm
dating back only to 1994.It standsfor Content and LanguageIntegrated
Learning. It refersto teachingcontent (eg secondaryschoofcurriculum subjects)
through a languageother than the fust languageof the learners.
So,for example,studentsin Spain might study Sciencesubjectsin English (rather
than in Spanish). Similar approacheshavebeenknown asbilingual education,
content-basedinstructiorl languageacrossthe curriculum and language
immersion. In Canada,for example,many English-speakingstudentshave
followed their whole curriculum in French. (CLIL could be with any second
language,but I'11useEnglish for examplesin the rest of this section.)
There are two aims in CLIL: the learning of both the subjectand the language.
The languageis *re meansto the end oflearning subjectcontent.
The hope is that achievementin both subjectand languagewill be higher.The fear
is that both may end up worse.
Chapter13 Teaching
differentclasses
simply teachin a different language;the important thing is to make sure that th.
studentsare supportedin undcrstandingand using that language.TheEnglish
lessonsappearto still be teachingEnglish in general,rather than focusing thc \, :.
down to what the learnersneed for their subjectstud_v.
The essentialpoint of CLIL is that the languageteachingisn't separateand
disconnected.It is integrated:it supports and is directl_vrelevantto the subjecr
teaching.
A GeneralEnglish teachermight teach conditionalsat a time specifiedby a
coursebooksequenceofunits and using examplesthat are basedon imrginrrl
characters,situationsand examples.A CLIL languageteachermight teachrl.ri.
languagepoint rvhenit u.asneededin the subjectsyllabus(pelhaps for descrih::::
chemrstryexperiments)and using languageexamplesand exercisesdirectll
drawn from that classroomsubjcctu'ork.
General English cornpared with CLIL
One \,vayto get a senseof the rationalebehind CLIL is to compareit with nonCLIL GeneralEnglish teaching.
Subiect content
CLILTopics are directly relevantto the studentsbecausethe-vare in the actull
subjectareasthat the.vhavechosenand probably needfor their exan'rsar.rdthcr:
future. Everything studiedis useful.
General English Coursebookstry to featurea range of appealinggeneralinteresttopics but somestudentsmay hnd them uninspiring or irrclcvant to th! :
livesand needs.Theymight ask: Wry shotLld
I beinterested
irt rcadingaboutpolar
bears?ot \X/hatreleattnce
to utyfuntre ts listeningto twocartoonpop st.ushaDingnl
argLLment
eboLLt
a l'estaurqntbill?As much asteachersmight arguelong-term
understandingofEnglish asbeing useful,there can be problemswith the
immediatetopical content of lessons.
Methodology
CLIL Many researchershavearguedthat the bestway to learn a languageis rr, - verl' focusedon learning about somethingelse(ie a content area)rather than
focusing on the languagefor its own sake.Thestudent (rvith a brick in one hanc
and a trorvelrvith cementin the other) rvho really lvantsto understandhou'to
build a brick wall is so focusedon the content of the instructor's guidancethat s::hardly noticeshow much languagesheis picking up alongthe way. Sl.reacquirc.
English by understandingmeaningsthat are directly useful and immediatell'
relevantto thc task sheis doing.
General English There havebeen valiant attemptsto replicatethis kind of
learningin GE classes.
Thsk-basedlearning (TBL) methodologies are \rerymuL:
basedon d.ris.But they are facedu'ith the difficulty that most GeneralEnglish
classroomtasksremainartificial,createdsolelyfor the purposeof learningEng...'
rather than for someother motivating goal.
Language focus
CLIL works with the languageyou need as-vouneedit- or just betbre you nccc The traditional coursebooklanguagesyllabus(eg lots ofdiscrete itcms scqucnc.:
328
7 CLIL
in a fixed order) is out the window. Ifyou needto usethe pasttensenow, why not
study it now (evenifyou haven't studiedthe presentsimple tensefirst) ?
General English rvorkson languageyou might need in caseit is important at
somepoint in the future.The syllabusorganisesit in what is supposedto be a
logical ordcr - though this doesnot necessarilyreflect usefulness,learnerneedsor
cvcna supposednaruralorderofacquisitron.
CLIL approaches
Some CLIL is taught by the subjectteacheronly (who has responsibilityfor both
subjectand languagervork). In other cases,work is split or sharedbetweensubject
and languageteachers.
CLIL is implementablein a wide variety of ways.It can rangein quantity from
being a small part ofone subjectto having the bulk of the curriculum taught in
English.The waysthat teacherswork can alsovary hugely.For example:
. Small segrnents ofsorne lessons Only a part ofsome subjectsis taught
using English - for example,in a PhysicalEducation class,there is a written
revision exercisein English at the end ofa seriesofinputs and tasksin the hrst
language.
. Integrating themes across school subiectsThis approachdoesnot involve
much (if any) direct liaisonbetweenteachersof subjectand language.Rather,a
topical areais chosen(eg cars) that can be addressedfrom different anglesin
different lessons.For example,a physicslessoncan look at acceleration,the
internal combustion engineetc.A geographylgsssnganstlldy car production
in different locationsover time and how that impacted on the area.An English
lessoncan discussusesofcars and their impact on society,perhapsmaking
predictionsabout the future. Despite not directly linking, it may be that there
are substantialoverlaps(ofsubject and language)and the separateapproaches
to a singletheme make for more connectedlearning and better understanding
of subjectsand English.
. Separate language supportThe subiectteacherand the languageteacher
havesomelesson-planningtime together.The subjectteacherbriefs t-he
languageteacheron what sheplansto teach.The languageteachernoticeswhat
languagedifficulties might ariseand advisesthe subjectteacheron potential
problems and solutions (perhapsevencoming into classto observeat some
points).The languageteacherexplainswhat work shecan do in her English
lessonsthat will support the subjectteacher'slvork.
. Fully integrated classrooms There are no English lessonsas such- only
subjectlessons.Thesubjectteacherand the languageteacherare timetabledto
work together.In class)ttre languageteachersupports the studentswhen they
havelanguageproblems- for example,shehelps clarify instructions or
mentors and assistsduring tasks.At certain parts of the lessonshemight teach
for 15 or 20 rntrutes, to focus on problemsthat haveoccurred or upcoming
languageissues.
CLIL can alsohappen outsideschool.For example,short-term immersion
projects.Children might be sentfor two weeksto do a history project alongside
studentsfrom other schoolsat a speciallanguagecamp or centre.
329
Chapter13 Teaching
differentclasses
ffi
cLlLconcerns
l v l a t h i l dt e a c h e sA r t .S h eh a sj u s t b e e nt o l db y h e rl o c a e
l d u c a t i oanu t h o r i ttyh a t
n e x ty e a ra l l l e s s o n si n h e rs u b j e cm
t u s tb e t a u g h ti n E n g l i s hW
. h a tm i g h tb e s o m e
o f t h e c o n c e r ntsh a t s h eh a s ?
8 Largeclasses
Large classes
Laura works in a statehigh school.She saysI can't usegroupworkandpairutorkin
m1tclassbecausethereare somqnt studentsand they can't moxefrom their seats.
In many countries,teachersfind that the main constrainton creativeteachingis the
sheersizeof their classes.Of course,'large'is relative;it dependson what you are
usedto. If you areusedto groups of eight students,then you might regard25 as
large.Someteachersregularlyteachclassesof40 students,others80. Some
teacherswork with 100 or more studentsat a time.
Sorne cornrnon resulting difliculties:
. Studentscan't move easily.
. You can't move easily.
. The seatingarrangementseemsto prevent a number of activities.
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Chapter13 Teachingdifferentclasses
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Largeclasses
I t ' s a l w a y sa b i t d a n g e r o u so f f e r i n gq u i c ka n s w e r sw h e ny o u d o n ' t k n o wm u c n a D o u l
s o m e o n ee l s e s p r o b l e m ,b u t , a l l t h e s a m e , s e e w h a t s u g g e s t i o n sy o u m i g h t o f f e r i f
L a u r ac a m e u p t o y o u w i t h t h e p r o b l e mo u i n e da t t h e b e g i n n i n go f t h e s e c t i o n .
8 Largeclasses
. Negotiatea contract:quiet movementin exchangefor a largervariety of
activities.
. Divide the large group into smaller'classes'within the class.
\X4renlooking for answersto a problem such asthis, it may be too easyjust to say
lVe[ I'll try theseideasonedalt.How about pushing yourself into action with a
concise,written action plan - ie make a simple statementof what you intend to
do - and perhapsa small'ty-out'of one idea in your next class.Choosemodest
steps.For example:'Next lesson,I will try a short five-minute speakingactivity
where I will ask the students to turn around and work with the student in the row
behind them'or'I will talk with the deputy head teacherand find out if our class
can use the schoolhall for theTuesdayafternoonclass'.
333
Ghapter1tl Usingtechnologff
In this chapterwe look at the waysin which technologycan be usedin the
classroom.
ffi
Technotogy
andyou
Howcomfortable
areyouwithusingnewtechnology?
Ona continuum
fromtechno,phobic
- whereareyou?Doyouknowmoreabouttechnology
to keen-adopter
thanyour
- or is it theotherwayround?
students
Many ofour young studentshavegrown up with 21st-Century digital technologl .
it is just a part of their normal world: familiar and well understood.Mark Prenskl
callsthern digital nalzbes.
They havesophisticatedphones,music players,game
consoles,netbooks,home computers,GPS systems,digital personalvideo
recordersand media centres.Theirteachers,however,may fallrnto ttre diginl
xrumxgrant
category- trying hard to catchup and understand (perhaps
reluctantly) - and often having problems.
But we needto be a little r,varyofbuying into thesestereotypesoftechno-wary
teachersstrugglingto turn on an interactivewhiteboard,being helped by keen
techno-sawy youngsters.Despite hrowing about certain aspectsof technolog-v
(eg a particular socialnetwork) many young people'sfamiliarity may not have
much breadthor depth.Justbecausesomeoneis young doesn'tmean that they arc
334
2 Interactive
whiteboards
fu factotechnologicallyadept.Justbecausea teacheris older doesn'tmean that
they can'tuse the Internet intelligently.
There are a lot ofuses oftechnology that are specificto education (egVirtual
Learning Environments,seeSection5) and it is actuallyteacherswho introduce
thesethings to students.
The 2lst-Century teacherneedsto takethe time to be comfortablewith those
technologicaltools that are useful for her students.It's no longer acceptableto
write offtheir usewith excusessuch asI'm not technicalor it'snot realteaching.
Technologyis at the heart ofeducation now.The questionis: how can we bestuse
it to improve teachingand learning?
New tech hone5,"rnoons
\7e needto make sure that we usetechnologyto a real purpose.A computer can't
teachyour studentsany more than a blackboardor a cassetterecorder can.It is all
down to what you do with the tools.
But it is very easyto fall in lovewith a new tech tool for its own sake.It can takea
long time for a teacherto learn how to use a new pieceof equipmentor software
and to feel comfortablewith it.The dangeris that all your energygoesinto that
challengeand you don't havethe sametime for thinking about how you will actually
useit with your classes.Vhichmeansthat earlylessonswith a new tool can tend to
be technology-focused,
showingoff the cool new tech tricks,ratherthan aim-driven.
You need to get past that honeymoon time and get fluent enough with the technology
so that you can start to think how to reallyexploit it rather tltan justuse it.
Interactive whiteboards
An interactivewhiteboard (IWB) is a multi-purpose, touch-sensitivesurface,
usually attachedto a computer and a setofloudspeakers.An imageis proiected
onto the board from a data projector.
On an MB you can typically:
. Write or draw with a specialpen (or your finger), much asyou would on a
normal board - althoughthe image is electronicallycreatedand projected.
. Save what you havedone for later retrieval.
. Change or erase what you havewriften or start a new page.
. Show images,documentsand other resourceson your computer, eg wordprocessedtexts,Powerpoint shows,music or audio files.
. Annotate previouslypreparedword-processortexts.
. View videosand imagesby using the board asa large computer monitor.
. Access the Internet (ifthe board is connectedvia cableor wi-fi) projecting
the imagefull-board to the class.
. Revisit saved digital boards / pages from your lessonand print them out as
handoutsfor your students.
. Display and mn automated content There are often many ready-made
templatesto easilycreateengagingautomatedexercisesand activities- eg
quizzes,puzzles,tests.
. IJse comrnercial IWB materials Many coursebooksoffer I\78 versionswith
animatedpagesand interacdveexercises.
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Chapter14 Usingtechnology
'lhere
336
3 Presentation
software
after studentshaveread and answeredquestionsabout a story in their
coursebookor handout, you can project it on the board and go through, add
notesor underlining, take out sectionsoftext to look at more close.lyand so on.
You can work interactrvely, frlling in tables and templates together.
. Share learners' work The board is a greatway to showwhat learnershave
done.Youcan displaygood wor\ reviewmarked work, discussdrafts and work
on them together.Learners can preparepresentationsand lead them.
. Integrate Internet-based rnaterials into the lesson A whole new world of
materialsis out therewaiting to be used creatively:banksof images(via search
engines),newswebsites,magazines,YouTubevideos,stimulatinglecturesand
presentations(eg via theTED website),discussionforums on almost any topic
you can think of. The fWB makesit simplein the middle of a normal lessonto
quickly take a sidestepawayfrom what you are writing to accessthe Internet
(eg view a short video clip) and then come back to the in-classwork. Suddenly
the whole world is availableinstantly in your classroom.Thisis the teacher's
dream come true.Though do remember thal integrationis the key;watching a
20-minute video can be just asdull on an I\7B ason aTV screenifyou don't
use it well.
. Run automated exercises eg drag and drop You may find that you (and
your students)love using (or creating) automatedexercises.Theycan havea
computer-gamelike quality and may get people doing grammar exerciseswho
would haveturned tieir nosesuo at them in a book.
Useful optional peripherals
. Interactive 'votirg' buttons These allow studentsto selectanswersand
conveythem to the board. For example,a teachermight set a multiple choice
questionto which all studentsin classsendan answer.Theteacherwill be able
to seethe percentagesof studentswho got eachanswer.Depending on the
set-up,thesevotescould be anonymous,allowing the teacherto get an overall
impressionof what the classthink without spodightingindividuals.
. Tablet computers These can allow studentsto write onto the board without
actuallycoming up to the MB. Similarly,studentscan seean image of the
board on their tablet screens.Thismay be especiallyuseful in caseswhere
studentshavetrouble readingthe I\)7B itself.
. Warning notice One essentialperipheralfor any I\7B is a very largenotice
(to be placed on the board or right next to it) sayingDo NOT write on this
board with ordinary boar.d pens.N(4een
ISTBsare first introduced to schools,
teacherswho havenot beeninducted often mistakethem for normal boards
and usewhiteboard ink pens on them.Thesecan seriouslydamagethe IWB so pre-empt and preventthis in any way you can.
Presentation software
Presentationsoftwareis probably better known by its product names:Powerpoint
(Mrcrosoft), Keynote (from Apple), the free Impress (OpenOffice) and a
growing range offree or paid online options,including Prezi and Presentattons
(GoogleDocs).
For many teachers,presentationsoftwarehasbecomean important way of
organising,storing and showinglearning content.The basicconceptis akin to a
slide show.Each slide can havepictures,text, audio,video clips in any mixture.
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Chapter14 l.Jsing
technology
Making betrterinputs
. Minirnal text Don't write all the words of your input on slides.Go for the ler.:
that is enough.Put headings,key words, important ideas.Use theseas
milestonesand signpoststo teacharound - eliciting,telling, askingquesrions
Include good examplesand diagrams- but not the explanationsof them.
. Be demanding on your clip art Lots of presentationsare filled with clichd,
overusedc/rparr(= royaltv-freecartoonsand images).Ifyou want to use an
illustration,take the time to look for really good images,thought-provoking
images,inspiring images.Thereis a greatdeal ofquality royalty-freestuffour
there.It's worth taking a little bit longer to searchrather than just dumping a
hackneyedcartoon beancharacterinto _voursho$'.
. Make a show with only pictures A greatway of teachingvocabulary.Collecr
lots ofgood images,animations(and,perhaps,videos).LIset}reseasa great
resourceto assistyour teaching.Hold back on the urge to fill the slideswith lots
ofwords, text and explanationsl
. Animated gramrnar Preparenew rvaysof looking at sentencestructuresfor
verb tensesor other grammar items.Use the animation options to move text to
make a new ending attachitselfonto a verb or to shou'how a word changes
posrtlon.
. Drills Revealrvords,pictures or other cuesone at a time to lead drills in
sequenced,innovativeand creative$'ays.
. Dowrrload showsThere are lots of shared,read-v-made,
cop-vright-freeshous
availablefree online.Personall]',I alwaysfind it hard to use someoneelse's
lesson,but they can still be greatinspiration- and you can alwaysuse one asa
startrngpoint to edit and adapt for your learners'needs.Repaythe debr by
uploading your olvn original shows.
. Ask yourself rWouldthe classget the sameamount of learningif they just took
home the show and didn't participate in tl-teclassroominput at all?Make sure
that you really add to the on-screencontent.If the lessonIS the shou',why not
just give them the shorvand go home?
Students using presentation software
Perhapsthe bestway to usepresentationsoftwareis get your studentsactively
involved.Ask them to make showsand tien presenttlem.This is a great
interactiveproject that scemsto motivate all ages.Here are a fe$' ideasfor studen:createdpresentations;
. Present a current news story Get studentsto look at online news sites,gathc:
material including imagesand then presentto the lvhole class,sayingwhat's
important and interestingfor rhem. Help to focus studentsby allowing a
maximum of three slides.
JJ8
3 Presentation
software
Research an unlikely topic Allocate some weird and unexpected topics (eg
unusualinsuranceclarms,animalghosts)for studentsto researchand presenton.
Make a vocabulary lesson Give a setofconnected words and get studentsto
think ofhow bestto teachthem using a singleslide.
Pecha Kucha As a responseto Death by Powerpoint(seebelow) this is one of
the simplest ideasfor using new technology, yet proves to be immensely engaging
and inspiring.A PechaKucha is a Powerpointpresentationthat is exactly20
slideslong.Each slideis automaticallytimed to changeafter 20 seconds.This
meansthat the total showis exacdy6 minutes40 secondslong.The challengeis
in preparingslides,speechand interactionsso carefullytiat it all flows smootbly
without undue rushing or silentgaps.Thisis a greatcreativechallengefor groups
of studentsand the sharedshowscan be reallyamusingand exciting.
As with many classroomactivities,creativityseemsto grow better out of
restdctionsthan it doesout of completefreedom.Give studentsunlimited use
ofPowerpoint and you can get flabby,unfocusedwork. Set a restriction and it
seemsto focus the mind and the work.
Dangers with presentation software
Presentation
warnings
lmagineyou are briefinga newteacheraboutusingpresentation
softwarein class.
A p a r tf r o ma n yt e c h n o l o g i cparlo b l e m sw, h a tw a r n i n gm
s i g h yt o um a k ea b o u t
p o t e n t i ael d u c a t i o n ai sl s u e s ?
Chapter14 Usingtechnology
Irnproving
skills
Technology
andskills work
H o wc o u l dy o u e x p l o i tn e w t e c h n o l o g ya n d t h e i n t e r n e t o h e t ps t u d e n t sw o r k o n
e a c h o f t h e f o u r s k i l l s :I i s t e n i n gs, p e a k i n g w
, r i t i n g ,r e a d i n g ?
4 lmproving
skills
(eg requestinginformation about somethingof interestto them). Use all the
techniquesyou would normally use to help studentswrite better letters- but
focus on emails- and then really sendthem.
Word processors Studentscan preparetexts individually, in pairs or groups
or collaborativelyasa whole classusing word processorsrather than pen and
paper. As appropriate,show them how to use tools such asspellchecksand
tables.Use the commentsfacility to allow srudentsto add their thoughts
and ideasto someoneelse'stext.Teachthe use of change-trackingto allow
different peopleto work cooperativelyon drafts and clearlyseewhat alterations
othershavemade.Preparestories,articles,classnewssheets,answersto exercises,
homework drafts, classroompostersand drsplays.Ask studens to designforms for
their own questionnaires,quizzesand exercises.Setwriting tasksmth ught
restrictions that will require carefiI draftng and redrafting - eg writing a haiku or a
mini-saga (= a s1s1ywith exacdy 50 words - neither more nor fewer). Get students
to post their texls and homework on the classwebsiteor blog.
Wikis A wiki is a co-createddictionary or encyclopaedia,built up from the
writing ofa number ofpeople.Try creatinga wiki on languageareasbeing
studiedin the course,eg our typical mistakes,hints for passingthe exam or
useful words.Many sitesoffer free wikis - but they are frequently used aspart
ofa wider websiteorVirtual Learning Environment.
Blogs A blog is a diary kept online.There are many servicesthat allow blogsto
be setup and maintainedfree.Youcan encouragestudentsto keepan individual
blog or sharea whole-classone.The focus can be kept strictly on work-related
rssues- or you can invite commentsand tJroughtson anlthing (so long asit is
in English).
Social networks Sitessuch asFacebooklet you creategroups ofpeople who
can easilykeepin touch with eachother or sharedocumentsand pictures.
WebsitesTo setup a websiteusedto require a skilful programmer who had
a knowledgeof HTML or accessto expensivedesignsoftware.Nowadays,
it is astonishinglyeasyto createa personalisedwebsiteusing free services
on the Internet: I createdmy last websitein lessthan two minutes. (Try
wwwweebly.com,Google Sitesor searchfor 'free website'.) Obviously it will
takemore time to makeyour sitelook really good and to maintain the contents.
One advantageofa websiteover a blog is that you can havemore freedom in
arrangingcontent onto different pagesand using a varieryofpage designs.A
websitecan contain a classblog asone ofits features.
Forums Many popular websites(eg pop fan sites,film sites,news sites)allow
readersto add their own commentsand questions.Help studentsto read sites
they like, choosewhat they want to post or reply to and word their contribution.
A lessonon basiczeiquette(polrtenessguidelinesand things to avoid) may be
useful.
Online noticeboards and walls A wall is the online equivalentof a
noticeboardin class.It is typically a websitewith a singli pagerhat anyonecan
add a messageto. It's like stickinga post-it note or scrapofpaper on a board.
Popular usesinclude collectingbirthday greetingsfor a friend, brainstorming
ideasor collectingfeedbackcommentson a suggestion.Veryeasyto setup and
to use.A greatcollaborativetool.
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Chapter14 Usingtechnology
. Text and voice messaging It's easyfor peopleto get in touch over the Internet
Messenger,
with messagingservices(eglTindows Live Messenger,Yahool@
Skyper$.$7ith text messagesyou can get your studentsto participarein
spontaneousfluent conversations.Pair up peoplein different parts of the
classroomand get them to discussa topic, solvea problem or role play two
specifrccharactersinteracting. Use voice callswheneveryou need phone
practrce.
Reading
. Treasure hunts and web puzzles This is a seriesof questions.Studentshave
to find the answersby searchingand readingthe Internet. You could designa
treasurehunt basedon a list ofdisconnectedquestionsor they could all be
relatedto a current coursebooktopic or anotherareaofcurrent study.Here is a
short examplefor a class studying'seas':
(2)lY4t1can't1ou swimin the
(1) lVhy doesn\theSargasso
Seahavearytshores?
Seqof Cleverness
? (3)IYrhat
is themostunusuqlrealseamonsterJtoucanlind?
You could alsomake a more complex and puzzleJike hunt (seeFigure 14.1) that
requiresthe use of the answerto question 1 before you can answerquestion2, eg
H e n r y( 1 ) w a s a c a r m a n u f a c t u r ewr h o m a d et h e
" lvlodelT"
L J s eW i k i p e d i a
U s ea n o n l i n ed i c t i o n a r y
( 2 X 3 )s t a r r e dw i t hH a r r i s o (n1 ) i n t h e f i l m
lndianaJonesand the LastCrusade.
U s e a m o v i ed a t a b a s e
A ( 3 ) i s a b i r d . F i n da p i c t u r eo f i t . W h a t i s
special about it?
LJseGoogle
5 Learning
online
summary document (perhapsa poster or article) or a presentation(rather than
just a singleshort answer).Answerswill typically include evaluationand
personalopinion aswell asfacts.Webquesttopics are often setby the teacher,
possiblycloselylinked to a current coursebooktheme,but they could equally
well be chosenby studentsor agreedafter discussionand negotiation. Here are
a few ideasfor webquests:
. How is life in the UK different from life in our country?
. lWhatis a typical schoolday like for studentsof our agein Nepal?
. Is fast food reallybad for you?
. \7hich is the besttheme park in the world?
. Sfhat do very rich peopledo with their money?
. Are the Olympic Gamesa wasteof money?
Learning online
Virtual Learning Environments
AVirtual Learning Environment (VLE) - alsoknown asa Learning Management
System(LMS) - is a websitethat brings togethera number ofresourcesfor
running a course.The bestknown free\{LE is Moodle.To run a\lLE, you needto
havea server- ie a host computer that is alwayson and contactableby other
computers.
Some common\rlE featureswould include:
. forums for studentsand teachersto sendand read messages;
. the ability to attachtext documents,videos,audios,presentations,etc that
studentscan download;
. a facility for studentsto post their work, haveit marked and collatethe marks in
a mark book;
. automatedexercises,activitiesand tests;
. add-onssuch aswikis (eg allowing online co-createdencyclopaedias)and blogs
(eg for classdiaries).
Teachersare given authoring or editing rights so that they can createcontent.
Learnersare given user accessto be ableto read,download and post messages
on forums.
You can use aVI-E for either:
. stand-alonedistanceprogrammeswhere the whole course- aII the interaction
and content - is managedon the\T-E;
. part ofa blended course (= a combination offace-to-face and online). For
example,a classteachercould usethe\4-E to supplementher lessonsby
posting handouts,whiteboard images,Internetlinks or extra reading and
tasksonline.
VI-Es, for all their grand name and senseof importance, are relativelysimple
organisationalplatforms,gatheringtogethera number ofuseful resourcesinto a
singleaccessiblelocation.It seemsquite possiblethat, beforelong, they will evolve
and mergewith other tools (eg virtual worlds) to provide a more rounded and
exciting learning experience.
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Chapter14 Usingtechnology
Practical considerations
;-$ffi,
studentsandtechnology
D o y o u rs t u d e n t sh a v ed i f f e r e n tl T a l r i l i t i e s ?H o w c o u l dy o u f i n d o u t a b o u tw h a t t h e y
cando?
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5 Learning
online
345
Chapter14 tlslngtechnology
6 Bravenewworlds
shopping.The differenceis that the 3D charactersyou seewandering around the
world are eachdriven by a real human somewherein the real world.The
charactersare avatars,representingtheir human counterpafi.The placesthey
explore are entirelyuser-created.The makersofSecond Life provided an empty
world and the basicbuilding block tools and programming languagewith which
userscould fill the new lands.So, SecondLife is a whole world.!7hat people
chooseto do in it is up to their wishesand creativity.Wecan build castlesand hll
them with dragons.Or islandbeachesand fill them with discos.Or educational
establishmentsand invite studentsto come along.And SecondLife is frlled with
language- people communicateall the time, both in text and in vorce.
The technologyhere is very young and the openness,freedom and limited
regulationmeansthat dropping your classinto SecondLife is potentially as
dangerousasleavingthem alonein a!7ild\7est frontier town. So,I,m not surethat
at the time of writing) I would recommendmoving a substantialpart of your
teachinghere.But, it doesn'ttake a huge leap of imagination to seerhat this is, at
the very least,a remarkableinsight into a huge part of the future of education.
Imagine that you can put on a comfortable audiovisualheadsetat home and walk
into a totally believablevirtual classroomwhere you can meet and talk with your
students.Thiscannotbe very many yearsaway.
. A whole world to explore Ifyou can explore a whole range oflocations
and environmentsin a virtual world, why restrict your teachingto a single
classroomwith its limited resources?Already online you can take your classto
climb the EiffelTower, walk around a vfutualmuseum,aftend a lecturein the
UK, seehow spacerocketsare built or visit thousandsof other places.
. Imrnersiveness If studentsengagein a more focused,concentratedway in virtual
worlds (much asthey do when immersed in games)might this be a bener way to
work with them than by forcing them into classroomsthat they filld dull and
uninspiring? Perhapsthe natural environment for 2 1st-Century teaching is virtual.
. No need to travel Ifwe can createconvincingvirtual-reality classroomswhere studentscan engagewith teachersand eachother without the needto
actuallygo to a real classroom- then why would a learnerpay huge sumsof
money to travel overseasto attendcourses?The sameresultsor better misht be
achievablefrom their own living room.
Teaching in virtual
worlds
If you decideto test the watersand try a little teachingin a vhtual world, what can
you do? Obviously your studentswill needto download the program, registeron
the virtual world's websiteand createtheir avatar.Theywill alsoneed an induction
into how to useit (eg how to walk around,how to senda message,how to teleport
to a new location,etc). Don't underestimatetheseissuesasttre initial hour or so
can be very difficult for new users. Beyond that, there are a wide ranEeof
completelynew teachingoptions open to you:
. Virtual classroom Setup a virtual classroomfor your students.youcan rent
virtual land and buy ready-madebuildings and furniture in-world - and there
are thousandsoffree items availabletoo. Use this asyour meetingplacefor
discussionsand lessons.Rememberthat a virtual classroomdoesn,thaveto
recreatethe look of a real-world one.It could haveboard, desksand chairs.But
it could equallywell be rocks and deck chairson the banksofa tropical lake.Or
thronesin a fairy-tale castle.
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Chapter14 Usingtechnology
348
Ghapter15 Tools,techniques,
activities
Here is a wide-ranging collectionofideas.Dip in here and try someout in class.
(But alsokeeptinkering with them. Don't let any of them setlike concrete.)
Flashcards
Flashcardsis ELT jargon for pictures (or diagrams,words, etc) r}taryou can show
to students, q4rically something you can hold up when standing in front of tJre
whole class.Theyare alsouseful for handing out aspart ofvarious activities.They
are a very useful teachingaid especiallyin your earlieryearsofteaching.
The easiestway to find good picturesis to do an Internet image search- though,
you alsoneed accessto a colour printer or I$7B to show them. Many schoolshave
their own library ofpublished flashcards.
If you find a good picture, rather than using it once,keepit and slowly build up
your stockofresources.To start collecting,you need to approachthe world with a
'flashcard'frame
of mind!Whenever you look at a magazine,advertisingleaflet,
etc,keepyour eyesopen for suitablepictures.\Vhenthe publication is ready to
headfor the bin, cut out the picturesyou need.Generally,chooselarger pictures
that will be clearlyvisible evenfrom the back of the classroom.Youwill find some
subjectsare very easyto find (cars,food products,perfumes,etc) whereasothers
(peopledoing specificeverydaytasks,facesexpressingdifferent moods, etc) are
harder.After a while, you'll needto startlooking for specificthings that frll in gaps
in your set.
\X4renyou havea number ofpictures, you'llhave to frnd someway to organise
thern,maybein folders sortedby topic. It may alsobe worth taking rie extra time
to make cardslonger-lasting,by stickingthem down on cardboard,keepingthem
in plasticpocketsor evenby laminating them.
'$?hat
can you do with them?Here are a few qpical uses:
. to quickly show the meaning of a I eical itern, eg to iron;
. to illustratepresentationsoflanguage,for exampleby giving a visual image
to an imaginary character, eg This is Marilyn. Eaery day shegetsup at six
o'clock...,etc;
. to tell a story,providing occasionalimagesto give studentssomethingtangible
to look at and help their understandi ng, eg . . . and thena largegreenkrrg turned
around thecornerand drote towardsthem;
. asprompts to remind them of a specihcgrammar point or typical error, eg a
flashcard with the word p4st on it to quickly remind students to make verbs in
the past form;
. as seedsfor student-basedstorltelling activities,eg handing out a small
selectionof pictues to groups of studentsand askingthem to invent a story
that incorporatesall thoseimages;
. asprompts for guessinggames,definition games,descriptiongames,etc. For
example,one person in a team has a picture ofa person,which they describe.
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Chapter15 Tools,Iechniques,
acttvrties
Picture stories
Picturesand picture storiescan be in a book or handout, drawn on the board or
OHP, on flashcardsor on posters.Traditronallythey havebeenusedasa starting
point for writing exercises,but they are alsovery useful for focusing on specific
languagepoints or asmaterialfor speakingand listening activities.Most picture
storiesseeminevitabll' ts ilysh's p.actice ofthe past simple and past progressive.
Look at the picturestoryshownin Figure 15.1.
2 Picture
stories
Draw a blank UFO-shaped frame on the board, hand out board pens and invite
studentsto fill the frame with words connectedwith spaceand spacetravel.
students are encouragedto discusswords, to checkmeaning,to lookwords up
in dictionaries,and correct mistakes.Occasionallyadd words yourself.By the
end of the activity,the board may look like Figure 15.2 .
Chapter15 Tools,techniques,
activities
The studentsare put into groups offour. At Stage2, eachstudentis handed one
pictue from the sequence,with the instruction /(eepit seuet!Don't showit to
an)nneeke!
taskis for eachgroup to work out what order the prcturesgo rn
.The
without looking at eachother'spictures.This can be done by intelhgent
questioning,good describingand a few leapsof imagination.
IThen they haveachievedthis taslgin Stage3 studentswill probably frnd they are
ableto tell the story.At this point, you might chooseto move on to later stageiin
which studentsdo someaccuracywork, asdescribedabove.
Variations
352
3 Storytelling
Storytelling
One of the messagesthat teachingsupervisorsand teacher-trainingcoursestend
to hammer home asmuch aspossibleis that teachertalking time (TTT) is a bad
thing, and that it should be cut down.lyell, just to prove that therereally are no
goldenrules,here'sa delight'ul classroomtechniquethat involvesvirtually
nothing but TTT
Many teachersuse storiesasan interestingroute into grammar lessons,but bear
in mind drat storieshavea greatdeal ofvalue in their own right. Just tell storiesfor
pleasure;not storiesand then comprehensionexerciseslnot storiesand then
studentsretell;not storiesand then write it up for homework.The aim here is the
sameasthat of the uibal elder round the campfire or the mother readingto her
children at bedtime or a group offriends in a bar telling anecdotes- to tell a story
for the listener'spleasure.Storytellingis a useful short activity for the end ofa
lesson,perhaps,or mid-lessonto provide a changeofmood.
Basic technique
1 Mentally prepareyour story beforehand;internalisethe mood, the smells,the
look, the colours,the key events,any specialwords or expressions;make
skeletonnotesifyou wish but (perhaps)don't write it out in too much detail
(this tendsto dull the edge).
2 Give a clearinstruction along the lines of 'I'm going to tell you a story.Listen
and seeif you enjoyit.There will be no comprehensionquestionsafterwards,
no exercises,'This essentialinstruction setsyour audiencefree;there is often a
visiblereduction in tensionamong the students:changesofposture, relaxing of
facial exoression.etc.
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Chapter15 Tools,techniques,
activities
3 Tell your story (howeveryou like but, ifpossible, don't read it - a 'told, story is
often far more immediate and involving than a 'read' one).
rWhen
4
it's over,let them talk about it if they want to (discussionoffeelings,
interpretations,etc should be a genuinereactionto what they haveheard;don't
breakt}te promise you made beforethe story).
5 Leaveit and go on to somethingelse.
Can we justify ths in the ELI classroom?Sfhatare the studentsgetting from it?
This exerciseis abour real listening;not listeningbecauseI am going to hound you
with questionsafterwardsor listeningbecauseyou don't want to seemlessalert
than the other students,but listeningbecauseyou want to. For that reason,it is all
the more focusedand invoh,rng.Thereis much academicspeculationthat
studentslearn languagebestwhen they forget about studyingthe grammar and
get totally involved in the content itself.
Good seedsfor storiesare:smallincidentsin your own life (maybeslightly
dramatised);farry talesand legends,especiallyrare or local ones(raid the secondhand bookshopsfor Chinese,Arab, African tales,etc); ghost and mystery stories;
singleincidentsfrom longer biographiesand novels;versionsofstories you read in
the newspaperor magazine;soapoperasorTV shows,etc.
Figure 15.4 showsa set ofstory notesyou could flesh out in the telling.It's a
classic'urban
mlth'.
fh.Yiaw
Myftiend Mithawofued in a hospitalfor elderly people.
ln one old, dark tuom - two very ill men -couldn,t move
One- in bed beside window
Lookedout -allday
Detc bed everything he taw to fiend in next bed: pa* - thildrcn playiry - fiver boatt -young couplet -tunshine, etc.
Other oatient loved thesetto et.
One day man by window died.
HitJ end very tad.
AskedMitha ifhecould have hit bed,
Mithaatked whyT
'l've beenherc
Jor sevenmonths. I'd love to tee the world again.'
'Rut,' Misha taid, 'there't
nothing outtide thit window. Just a tolid brick walt.,
4 SonEs
andmusic
content (eg Tom'sDinerrses a lot ofpresent progressive)or speciallywritten and
recordedfor studentsofEnglish. Ofcourse, you can alsoselectinteresting
authenticsongsyourself,with the advantage,perhaps,that they are often more
up-to-date.
Songscan be usedin many of the samewaysttrat you might use an ordinary
speechrecording.Interestinglyrics and clarity ofvocals help to make a songinto
appropriateclassroommaterial,and for this reasonfolk music or a solo sinpersongwriter are often a better bet than a heavymetal band.
Ideas for using songs in class
. Gapped text Give studentsthe lyrics with certainwords blankedout.They
haveto listen carefully and frll in the missingwords.This is, perhaps,the
'classic'way
of using songsin class!It's so common that it's a bit of an ELT
clichd.Varythe taskusefully by, for example,using the gapsasa preJistening
exercise,with studentspredicting what the missingwords are.
. Song iumble Cut the lyrics up into separatelines.In small groups,studentstry
to work out the original order.lrhen ready,they listen and comparetheir guess
with the actual song.
. Matching pictures 'Here aretwenty picturesconnectedwith the song.Listen
and put them in the order in which you hear them in the song.'
. Reading or listening comprehension IJsethe songtext asa normal reading
or listeningtext with the bonus ofhearing it sung afterwards(usethe lesson
ideasin Chapter10,Sections1 and 2).
. Dictation Dictate the chorus or the whole song.Comparewith the recording.
. Picture dictation Decide on a representativepicture of somethingrhat
happensin the song.Dictate the information about this picture, a line at a time,
to t-hestudentswho draw (not write) their interpretation.For example,'The
sun is shining in the sky,there are a lot ofpeople in the street,there is a dark
cloud overhead,it's just starting to rain,' etc.By the time you havefinished,a lot
of the essentiallexis and phrasesfrom the songwill havebeencirculating,and
the songshould be not too difficult to follow.
. Listen and discuss Get studentsto listen to the whole songonce or twice, or
to a shorter section.Discusswhat happened,reactions,interpretations,
predictions,etc.Printed lyrics could be given out ifyou wish.
. Sing alongThe aim is to learn the tune and to get the rhlthm well enoughto
sing alongwith the original recording.This can be quite challengingand
requiressomecarefulpreparationwork on practising stressand rhythm
(probably with spokenrather than sung sentencesJ
perhapsusing individual,
mouthed and choral practice).And ifyou haveaccessto a video machine with a
karaokerecording,the possibilitresare limitless!
. Compose 'Here's the tune - now you write the lyrics.' (Again, an activity that is
quite challengingon stressand rhythm.)
. Action movernents Listen to one line at a time. For eachline, the students
invent a mimed action,which they teach eachother and then all perform.
Regularlyreplay the songfrom ttre beginning for them to recall and do the
relevantactions,After ttrey havedone one or two verses,hand out the complete
lyrics; in small groups,the studentshnd movementsfor the rest of the song.At
the end, all come togetherto watch a performanceof the different versions.
Chapter15 Tools,techniques,
activities
Fillers
Most teachers find they need a small collection of hllers, ie things to do when
they've run out of other material, perhaps because the main activity went much
faster than expected and (even having stretched it) there is still a seven-minute
gap at the end ofthe lesson before the bell rings.
Fillers are also useful at the start ofa lesson as a warmer (particularly when you
are waiting for some latecomers) or mid-lesson as a way of changing the pace, or
ofbreaking up similar activities. Fillers may be quite separate from the
surrounding lesson or they might connect in some way.They are often useful as a
chance to recycle lexis from earlier lessons or as an opportunity to work on
activities that have a 'group-building' aim rather than a purely language aim.
I suggest you aim to get together a list ofyour own favourite fillers (and prepare
any necessary material); file these in a handy place - at the front of a course file,
for example - so that in an emergency, you can quickly look at the list and be
reminded of the likely choices.
Sorne cornrnon
fillers
Revision dictation
Divide the class into teams. Choose between five and hfteen sentences (or words)
from the lesson. Dictate the words, challenging the teams to write down the
sentences / words with correct spelling. Allow them time for arguing and agreeing.
At the end, go through the whole list. Give points for completely couect answers.
356
5 Fillers
Yesand zo questions
Quick story puzzlesoften go down well. Describe a slightJycrlptic basicsituation
or problem (perhapsan incident from your own life); the learnershaveto
questionyou further, discussand find a solution that explainsthe story.Youcan
only answeryesor no to any questionsasked.For example:'A strangercrawledall
over my sitting room today.' (Answer: 'I'd droppeda contactlens;theTVrepair
wan helpedmefind rr.')There are somefamous examples;this seemsto be the
favourite:
FeargalMcDonald liaed on the tweniethfloor of a blockofflats and eaerymorning
nok theffi downto thegroundJloorand caughtthebusinta toutn.lX4rcn
hecamehome,
he nok the lift m theseaenthJloor and then climbedthe stairsall theway to the twentieth
Jloor.lX'4ty?(Answert He wctsa schoolboland couldn't reachthelift control buttons
higherthanfloor sexen.)
And I lrke this one A man is pushing a car on a road.IYhen hegetsto thehotel,hewill
hseall his money.lY/hat\happening?(Answer: Irt a gameof Monopoly.)
The hotel receptionist garne
Preparea list oflikely (and unlikely) sentencesthat a guestwould sayto a hotel
receptionist(eg '\?hat time is breakfast?''!(here's the restaurant?''MyTV has
exploded!''I've lost my wallet'). Hand one of thesesentencesto a student who
must mime it well enoughfor the classto guessthe original sentence.It could be a
team gamewith points; it could use odrer situationssuch asairport, theatre,family
at dinner, etc.
Kirn's game
Preparea tray with about 25 to 30 small objectson it (eg pencil, cassette,mobile
phone, comb, etc). Show it to the studentsfor two minutes,then cover it
(or removethe tray from sight).The studentsmust make a list (asindividuals
or in teams) of all the objectsthey can remember.The winner is the one who gets
most. Could alsobe done with a list of words on the board or with flashcards,if
you can't get enoughobjects.
Ordering
Instruct studentsto standin line accordingto their birth month and date (ie
l srJanuarystandson the left,31" December on the right).They will needto
discussand rearrangethemselvesa litde. Once they havegot the idea of
organisingthemselvesin this way,you can try someother instructions:for
example,by alphabeticalorder of frst name;by first letter of your favourite
hobby; by distancelived from school (furthest to closest);by how much you like
sport (most to least),etc.
Students provide the fillers
You needto setthis one up beforehand!Ask studentsworking in pairs to prepare
their own five-minute filler (a garne,a physicalexercise,a recording ofa songto
Iistento, a story, etc) and to keepthem somewheresafe.Every time you need a
frller, invite one of the pairs to introduce and run their activity.
357
Chapter15 Tools,techniques,
activities
Paintbox
This a a way to get sntdents to $,ork rvith different peoplc rvithout specifically
saying Oi( n o..rall stand up andJind a nezl pLtrtnet'to rLto* zuirft (along rvith the
subsequent groans and mumblings). Assign one ofthree or four colours to each
student in the class, eg green, red, blue, orange. Arrange the seating in a circle so
that there is one less scat tian the students prescnt.The leftover student stands in
the middle. He must call out a colour, eg (ireez. At tl.ris,all 'green' students musr
stand up and find another seat for themsclves.The]i cannot sit dos,n in thc same
scat that thev have just left.The student in the middle is also using this
opportunit_v to find a vacant seat for himself. \X/hoever is lcft rvithout a seat at the
end continues thc game by calling out a new colour She also has the option of
calling Paintbox,in which case everyone must move and find a nerv seatl Lots ol
movement and happ-v chaos.\flatch out that it doesn't get too rough; tre game
should be plaved r.vith catlike stealth rather than rugb,v tacklesl
This popular movement game has man.v namcs and variations - I'r'e heard it
called'Fruit salad'and'The rvind blou,s'.It's eas-vto seehorv it can be adapted:the
lexis area could be changcd to offer practice in man.v differer.rt areas, cg fruit,
grammatical terms, clothes,etc.You could also personaliseit: 'All people wcaring
rvhite socks change placcs','All people rvho arrived late to this lesson change
Dlaces'.etc.
Adaptinggamesfor classroomuse
R e c a l la g a m ey o u h a v e p l a y e do u t s t d et h e c l a s s r o o m W
. h a t a d a p t a t i o n so r
v a r i d t i o n sw o u l dy o u n e e d i n o r d e rt o m a k e i t n t o a c l a s s r o o ma c t i v i t y ?
Lexical garnes
Many rvell-knorvn rvord games can be used in the classroom as fillers or as
integrated practice activities.Perhapsthe most popular one is 'Hangman'
(although I prefer variations rvhere something a little less gruesome happens!) !
but man_vother rvord games are possiblc. Here are some I have found useful. In
every case, the rules are l'er-v adaptablc and I encourage.vou to decide on whatever
variations might r,vorkbest nith your class.
Back to the board
Dil'ide the class into two teams. One team sends one member to the front, \vho
then sits facing the class,rvith his back to the board.Thus everyone except rhis
student can see what -vourvrite on the board.Write a u,ord on the board (probabh'
onc rccently studied or met); the team of the student sitting at the front must
dehne the n'ord or give examples ofits use r,ithout saying thc actual word itself.
As soon as he guesscs the word, write another r,vord up and so on until a time limit
(perhaps two minutes) is reached, at which point the teams change over. Cler.er
players use all manner of techniques to con\re_vtl.reword: rh-vme, collocations,
synonyms) etc. A great gamc for redsing arrd consolidating earlicr lexis rvork.
358
6 Lexicalgames
KIrcHEN
list
Do an example first; slowly read out a list of ten items; the teams must guess what
the title of the list is, ie what the connection between the items is.They start with
ten points and lose one for ever1,wrong guess. If they get it right, they score a
point for each remaining (unread) item. Once the example has been understood,
give them some time to work in their teams and prepare their own similar lists,
which they then challenge the other team with.This game is usable, with varying
degrees ofdifficulry from Beginner to Advanced.
Low-level examples'.sink, spoon,cooker,frying pan,fridge, etc (kitchen words)
HighJevel examples: a Beatles CD, a wedding ring,file pqper, ct dougllnut, etc (things
with holes)
Fictionary
The students, working in teams, are given a list offive rvords; for each word, they
must look up and copy out the correct dictionary definition and also invent and
write out two completely false definitions.When they are ready the teams come
together and challenge each other by reading out a word and all three dehnitions.
The other team(s) must guess which is the correct definition.
Word seeds
Dictate a list ofabout twenty words $/hich the students all write down.Their task
then is to work in small groups and orally prepare a srory thatuses all the words,
exactly in the form dictated (ie if seewas dictated, that is the word they must use,
not sau ot seeing)and in exactly the order they originally came in. Finally, each
group tells its story; it's fascinating to u'atch what very different results can grow
from tlte same seeds.This could also be done as a writins task.
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Chapter15 Tools,techniques,
activitres
Word dominoes
bil'd
button.
shirt
shop
Take a number ofwords dtat the class has met over tle previous lesson or trvo anci
rvrite them up on the board rvith their letters mixed up.The studenrs rry to
decipher them. (Possibl_vthe rvords could then be formcd into a sentence?)
360
6 Lexicalgames
{A
wl( t )(Y
V_/
\--l \9./
f\ T"\
, 1) [ L B r L ]
\{f_y
Instant crossword
Ask the classto look back over words that they havestudiedin the lasttwo or three
days. Get them to shout out two to you that have at least one letter in cornmon;
write them clearlyon the board, interlocking,asin a crosswordpuzzle.
This could now continue as a competitive team game (teams take it in turns to add
a new word to the grid) or asa classeffort, trying to make the grid asbig as
possible.Thestudentscould take over the writing oncethe rules havebeen
established.
?
BEARD
I
B
BA
BAC (Ttnnl<tng of back)
OBAC
Challcnge!(They rhinkTeam 2 is bluffrng and cannot possibly
make a word from theseletters.)
(Tlney win the round.)
Tobacco.
361
Chapter15 Tools,techniques,
activities
Exarnpk2
TE,r.u2:
TEAUl:
Tsarr 2:
N
AN
(Theywin - az is a completelvord.)
Challenge!
Dictation
Traditional dictation - u'here .vou read a text aloud and the learners must write it
down accuratel_v- is often quite unpopular u'ith learners. It can feel like an unfair
test. Could we make it more enjoyable and useful? Maybe the key question is:\7ho
does rvhat? Usualllr the teacher makes all the decisions about a dictation, Horv
about turning the tables? Let the learners choose the text. Or let them decide ho$
many times it should be read. Or u''ho should read it. In fact, could the learners
choose everything and tl-rendictate to the teacher? Here are a few ideas:
Keyvords
dictation
Find an interesting short story and underlinc fiftcen to twenty of the most
important words in it (eg key nouns and verbs). Dictate these words to the class,
but don't tell them the original story'.They now must make a new story tlat uses
7 Dictation
thosewords, in exactlythe original order and the original form you dictated.
At the end, the classcan swapstories,reading or telling them.you could alsotell
drem rhe original ifyou wanred.
Collocation dictation
Preparea Listofbetween ten and twenty useful two_word collocations(ie words
that naturally go t ogether I.tkeftafr.icjam).For the dictation, read out one word
from eachcollocaion (eg taflic;.Learners must not write rtrisword (checkthat
they don't cheat!),but insteadwrite a collocation- a word that goeswith ir (eg a
learner might writ e light or policemanor heaayto go wirh taffi) .When yo.t hive
read the whole list, put the learnersinto small groups.They can comparetheir
answers,seeifthey can rememberthe original collocatingwords and decideif all
their collocationsare good or not.
Wall dictation
Choosea short printed text. Divide the classinto ,readers,and ,writers,.pair each
readerwith a writerl writers sit down, readersstand.Stick the text up on a wall far
awayfrom the writers so that they cannot possiblyread it. (If you havea large
class,you'll need to placemore than one copy ofthe text in different places.)Each
readerwalksto the text, readsand memorisespart of it and then goesback to their
wdter to dictateit.The writer writes it dowrl askingany relevantquestionsabout
words, spellings,punctuation, etc.lfhenever necessarythe readergoesback and
readsmore and returns for more dictation.The pair is aiming to write the most
accuratetext t-heycan.It's a race,and studentstend to get quite competitiveabout
it.You may need to set somerules,such as.!7alk- no running,,.No shouting
acrossthe room'. Studentsswaprolesabout half-way through. (By the way, the
popular staff-room name for this activity is ,Running dictation'!)
Variation
I]se_onetext, but cut it into separatesentences.lrlite a letter (1, .B,C, etc)
randorr y next to eachsentence.Placethesecut-up texts around the room in
different locationsso that studentshaveto read all of them, one bv one.!7hen
pairs haveall the pieceswritten down, they should work togetherio work out the
correcrorderfor a completecoherenttext.
The'bad
cold' dictation
Explain that you havea bad cold today (sneezeor cough a bit to prove it!).Tell the
classthat you're going to do a normal dictatron,but if you haveto sneezeor cough
(and they can't hear a word), they should write any good word that fits the spacJ.
For example, you might dictate l-.zsl Thursday,Maria decidedto haztesome
lcottgh]
for breakfast.Thelearners could write the sentencewith a word like e3g,s
or
cornfrakesinstead of the coueh.
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Chapter15 Tools,techniques,
activities
The wild dictation
Dictate a numbered list of descriptions of words,like this: No. 1 - the name of a
sportsman; No.2 - an adjectiaedescrihingsomeJood;No.3- a zterbof moaement,
No.4 - a kind of anerualetc. The learners should u'rite dov'n answers to thesc
prompts, eg Ra/aeI Nadal, sahg, swun, tuger,etc.\When the lists are hnished, dictate
a short story you have prepared, but u'ith appropriate gaps (into which the
learners will write their own pret'iouslv chosen words), eg 'A car drove up to the
zoo and stopped suddenly and No. 1 got out. He looked really No. 2 as he started
to No. 3 tolvards the No. 4's cage', etc.You'll get some ver1.funny stories. Don't
forget to prepare both the story and the list ofword descriptions before the lesson
Dictogloss
For manv teachers, this is a favourite technique. But note that it's one activity
where it's important tlat students really understand the instructions before they
start.
Choose a short text that is longer than the students could completely remember,
eg about twenty words at Elementary level. The text could include an example of a
grammatical item you are interested in. Tell the class that you u'ill read a dictation
at normal speaking speed and ]'ou u'ill read it only once. Students probably won't
believe this - so check that they do!Then check that students understand that thei
may hnd this difficult but must keep quiet and not distract others by complaining.
sighing, etc! Read the text at a normal pace, then give students about three
minutes to write down everything they remember - words, phrases, etc. It's
important that students get a good, quiet time to do this.They must not compare
during this phase.When they have finished, invite students to compare rvith
another, then later to come together as a class to seeifthelr can reconstruct the
entire text at the board.The aim is to get as close to the meaning of the original as
possible. It is a very interesting task, which may feel impossible to students and
teachers at the start, but r.vhich proves to be an excellent group-building activity.
Living
tape recorder
Draw some tape recorder controls on the board (eg a symbol for a'play'button, a
'rewind'
button and a 'stop' button). Introduce yourself as a 'living tape recorder'.
Get two studenc to stand near the board to control the'tape recorder'while you
read the dictation. Members of rhe class can call out to ask the 'controllers' to
'press'
the buttons.You ignore anything said, but strictl_vobey any button presses.
In this way, you lr,'illread the dictation, rervinding, replaying, rervinding, etc, until
the students are happy that they all have the dictation. It's a bit chaotic at first, but
it's great after that!
Other
variations
You can devise many more dictations b_vchanging the basic variables.Try getting
students to dictate to each other, perhaps back to back or on opposite sides of
the room (noisily calling out to each othcr).Try asking students to choose and
record a short dictation that they think a friend will like.Try getting students to
organise and do every stcp; selecting a text, planning how to do it, etc. One nice
touch is to lct students really study a text and then predict hou'many mistakes
361
8 Sound-effects
recordinus
they wrll make in advance.!7henthey havefinished the dictation, give credit
for thosewho get closestto their 'bets' rather than to thosewho got the most
cortect answers.
Sound-effects recordings
Sound-effectsrecordingsare a useful teachingresource.Theseare recordingsthat
havehardly any words on, but insteadcontain a sequenceofnoises such as
crashes,bumps, bangs,whistles,screams,etc.Heard together,they may add up to
a story.There are many comrnercialrecordingsof this type or you could make
your own.
Making your ovm'sound
sequence' tape
Someone saysSftftftft.r
Noisy footsteps.
Somethingbreaking.
Someonemoving with difficulry, grunLing.erc.
Someonerapidly opening and closinga number ofboxes, drawers,etc.
SomeonesayingO/z.t
Lots ofthings being dropped.
Someonerunning.
Someonesaying an amusedAh-ha!
Storybuilding
Learnerslisten to the sequence,then in pairs work out what they think the story is.
They then comparewith othersand try to agreea consensusstory.Groups tell
their versionsto the class.
What's wrong with rny story?
Prepare- and tell - a story with parts that do not match the recording
(eg charactersuse a motorbike rather than walking). Learners discussand
agreewhich noisesdo not fit with your story.
Pictures from noises
Bring a setofCuisenairerods or building bricksto classand distributethese
around the class.After hearingthe recording,groupsuse their rods or bricks to
ceate a picture of a scenethey imagine from the recording (eg walls with other
piecesrepresenting burglars breaking in) .Afterwards, rnk up people from
different groups,keepingat leastone of the original group with their'picture'. New
people to the group should look and ask questions to find out what the construction
represents(and work out the story), eg'Is this a person?''Is sheclimbing through a
window?' etc. Members of the original group can only answeryesor no.
365
Chapter15 Tools,techniques,
activities
Poetry
Wh-v poetrl'? Bccause it stimulates, tvakes us up to seethings in ner.vrvays,hear
things in neu'wa_vs,think of things in nerv r,vays.Language teaching can be a bit
dull if '"veconstandy look at linguistic points using onl]' predictablc textbook
examples. It ma,v be very helpful to teach 'I went to the shop yesterda-vand I
bought some bread'or'Jack was har.inga bath,,r'hcnthe telephone rang', but it
doesn't stir my heart. I'm not moved b-vit. I'm sure I'll forget it But thcn again,
linguists point out that the language used in 'real communication' is also
frightfully dull to study. It's bland, repctitir,e, completelv forgettable.To remembcr
something, rve nced to be surprised b1,an odd idca or use ofu,ords. It's horv
children learn many things in their first language.
Man_vteachers don't f'eel confident using poetry because thel' are not confident
about reading it or u'riting it themselves. And rt may u'cll not be an appropriate
activitt for ever]'class. Students or teachers ma1' say 1'ru not crcatiue,imag\ning
that creativitl'rs something that one must $'ait for. But of course -vouhave to start
lvriting to find out $'hat you $.ant to write about, ho!l' .vou can sa-vwhat 1,ouhave
to say. Creativitv arises out ofthe act ofrvriting.You start with rorhing.The
difficulty ofrvriting forces thc ner,videas to thc surface.
Here are some ideas for usingpoems in class:
Reading
.
poerns
Choose a poem \\'ith some interesting and accessible metaphors. Before t1.rey
seethe poem, dictatc to students thc sentences that have similes or metaphors
(eg 'My girlfricnd's eJ'esare . . .', 'The rivcr moved slou,'lvas a . . .'), but leaveout
the actual comparison itself. Ask students to brainstorm thcir ou.n comparisons
They can then compare them rvith cach other and finallt'r,vith the ones used
in the poem itself.
9 Poetry
. Tell studentsthe topic oftie poem and let them brainstorm asmany words as
they can that mrght be in it.
. Alternatively,look at a list ofwords and decidewhich words might be in a poem
about a certain subject.
. Before the lesson,write out a poem asifit were a newspaperarticle mini-story,
/
etcj studentsstudy and understandthis (easierveriion) before they
look at the poem.
. Do a picture dictation: describethe scenein the poem, item by item, and
studentsdraw a picture. At the end,they comparepictures and then read the
poem, decidingwho is closestto the original.
Writing poems
. Finish it Provide a nearly completepoem with gappedparts to complete.
(Could be greatfor slipping in a target grammar point!)
. Forrn to poem Give or elicit specificaspectsof a poetic form, eg a rhyme
scheme(or actualrhymes), a preciserhythm, the precisenumber of syllables,
etc. Studentsthen make a poem following this exactpattern.
. Alterations Give eachstudent group a different publishedpoem.The groups
must copy out the text wittr a fixed number of alteredwords (eg 'Change five
nouns and five verbsto somethingdifferent') -When they seethe copied text,
the other teamsmust guesswhat is not from the original.
. Found poerns Studentssearchfor and hnd potential 'poems'within prose
texts (or in signs,posters,etc) by selectingphrasesor blocks of normal text,
copying them out and adding line breaks.
. Cut-ups Studentsare given (or find for themselves)variouslines from
magazines,brochures,newspapers,etc.They order theseto make a poem.
(Low-risk activity - it's not the students'words, so they feellesstlueatened!)
. Facts to metaphor Studentswrite list offacts following your instructions (eg
'\7rite down how you
cameto schooltoday'); then, when they've finished,they
go back over their list adding a metaphor to each(eg 'I cameby tram' > 'The
tram is like a yellow snake').
. Instant poetry This is a surprisingly simple activity that often produces
outstandingresults.Give a seriesofinstructions that askstudentsto look,listen,
notice what is around them and within them. Each instruction is given,followed
by a longish pauseto allow studentsto follow the instruction.After-wards,the
studentsgo back and 'poemify' it.This is an exampleset ofinstructions:
1 Look around you and notice the things you don't normally notice.
2 Look at one item in the room - furniture or object.\Jfriteone sentence
describingthis object.Don't try to be clever.Don't useimagination.Really
look and write just what you see.Don't be poetic - you are not writing a
poem yet.Youare trying to Iook and write accuratelywhat you can see.
3 Notice the light in the room - the shadowsand patterns.\7rite one sentence
about this.
4 Look at one other person.Don't just half-look at them, really study them.
I give you permissionto stare,asif you'd never seena human beforeIlJ?rite
one sentenceabout one person you see.
5 !7rite a sentenceabout what he / she'sthinking.
Chapter15 Tools,techniques,
actlvitles
10 Drama
Six t1,pesof drama activit_vare commonll' found in EnglishJanguage tcaching
classrooms:
.
.
.
.
.
.
Role play Students act out small scenes using their ou'n ideas or from ideas
and information on role cards (seeChaptcr 9, Section 3).
Simulation This is reall.va large-scale role pla-v Role cards are normall-v used,
and there is often otl]er background inlbrmation as \\ ell. The iltention is to
createa much more complete, compiex'rvorld', sa1'ofa busrnesscompanli
television studio, gor.ernmentbod1,,etc (seeChapter 9, Section 3).
Drarna games Short games that usualll. involve movement and imagination.
Guided irnprovisation
You improvise a sccne and the students join in one b_v
one in character, until the rvhole scene (or stor1,) takes on a life ofits orvn.
Acting play scripts Short r,ritten sketches or sceues are actcd b_vthe students.
Prepared irnprovised drama Students in small groups invent and rehearsc :r
shott scene or stor-vthat the5' thcn perform for the othcrs.
All ofthese are good wa]'s to get students using the languagc. Blr bringing rhe
outside lvorld into the classroom like this, u,e can pror.ide a lot ofuseful practice that
would othenvise be impossible rn caf6s,shops, baDks,businesses,srreets,parties,
etc.There mav also be a freeing from the constraints ofculture and expected
behaviour; this can be personalll, and linguisticalll' very liberating. Curiousll', it is
sometimes the shyest students who are oftcn most able to seizethe potential.
Success or failure of drama activities depends cruciallv on your pcrceived attirude
and that ofthc other students; \\,ithout a cerrain degree oftrust, acceptance and
respect) the chanccs for useful rvork are greatly diminished.
Hcre are three short examples of drama games and a briefdiscussion ofguided
improvrsatron.
Interesting
situations
Students call out any interesting or 'difhcult' situation invohring tu'o pcople, and
pairs act it out togcther; for example, a rvell-meaning hostess serving meat to a
polite vegetarian.This technique could, in approprrate circumstances,be used to
'real play' (ic
act out and explorc some ofthe students'orvn real-life problem
sltuations).
10 Drama
Strange meetings
. Preparetlree setsofcards (eachset should haveone card for eachstudent):
1 a setwith characternames(aliveor dead,fictional or real), eg Einstein,
Madonna;
2 a setwith locations (eg 'in the kitchen', 'on the bus');
3 a setwith unusualproblems (eg 'You havelost your cow', 'You are desperate
fnr a qrrono
cnffee'\
. Hand out one card from eachsetto eachstudent (so that everyperson has a
person,placeand problem) and then allow them a few minutesto work out
their story (ie what explainsthe incident).
. Studentsthen stand up and walk around the room, meeting eachother and having
short conversations(eg Shakra meeting Shakespeare;Nelson Mandela meeting
Batman) where they fy to explain their problem and get help and suggestions.
. At a given signal (when you tap on the table or ring a bell, etc), studentsmust
move on to a new meetingwith anotherperson.It's quite possiblethat bigger
meetingswill naturally start to form after a few turns asone charactersuggests
anothe.rwho might be ableto help a particular problem.
. Afterwards,asklearnersto recallinterestingthings they heard.
Making a picture
Call out a subject;tie studentsmust agreeand make a frozen 'tableau'ofthat
scene.For example,call o.uIairport;the studentstake different positions.Some
are check-inclerks,somebecomedesks,somebecomeplanestaking off, some
becometourists,until the whole room 'becomes'an airport. Now unfreeze
the tableauand bring it to life for a short scenewiti improvised dialogue.
Everyonecan talk and play their part - eventhe desksand planes!
Guided improvisation
Selecta scene- say,a winter landscapewith a frozen lake.The idea is to tr,unthe
classroominto the scene,and then to let the story unfold in any way it can,by the
group improvising together.Youmight start by describingthe sceneand getting
studentsto becomepeoplein the landscape,slowly building up a living, moving
scene,or you might jump in the deepend by adopting a characteryourselfand
encouragingothersto join you in the improvisation asand when they are ready.
The skill of running this kind of complex improvisation is to find a balance
betweenallowing a free-flowing,growing, aliveimprovisation and the necessity
ofkeeping somecontrol over it to ensurethat it keepsmomentum and avoids
sillinessor trite solutions.Most of your interventionsto achievethis can be done
subtly by sayingsomething,in character,to someofthe participants,ratier than
by steppingin and making grand announcementsto everyone.
Someideasfor guided improvisations:
. the perfect school;
. a museum (or waxworks) at nighq
. the beach;
. inside a plane;
. ktchen implementscome alivel
.
on qmqzino
nqtt"
Chapter15 Tools,techniques,
activities
11 Projects
Lessonscan sometimesfeel a linle separateand disconnecteci.
Activities ma-r'have
small,isolatedoutcomesand sometimcsdon't seemto offer much in the rvayof
tangibleprogressor achievcment.Youcan too easil-vget caughtinto thinking of
lessoncontentpurel-von an isolated,lesson-to-lesson
basis.
'tl.rread'
Projectsare one useful rvayofprot iding an ongoing
to classroomu,ork.
They supply a longer term goal to focus on, and studentscan investtheir energy
in somethingthat has a tangible outcome.'I'heyalsooffer a valuablechancefor
learnersof mixed levelsto rvork on somethingat their orvn current ability level.
Projectsare usuallytask-orientedrather than language-oriented;in other rvords,
the learnersfocus on doing somethingpracticalrather than directly on studying
language.The_v
typicallv involvelearnersin decisionsabout preciselyr.vhatis
done and hou' to do it, asrvcll asin collectinginformation, solvingproblems
and presentingthe final outcomc asa lr'ritten or performed presentation.The
planning, decision-making,ideas-collecting,structuring, discussion,negotiation,
problem-solr,'ing,etc are all an integral part ofthe rvork.The languagelearning
arisesfrom learnershaving a reasonto communicateauthenticallyin English to
achievea specificgoal Projectsoften alsohavc a strong group-building outcome.
Teachersoften fear that a project rvill be rroublesometo organisc,especiallyas
they may involvc different groups oflearners u'orking on quite different things.
This soundslike it may require a lot more teacherpreparation.In fact, it rarely
does,becauseprojectsquickly becomeverJ'learner-centred,and learners
generallyrequire guidanccand advicerather than to havervork speciallydevised
for them.The most demandingpart of a projcct 1br a teacheris in the initial
planning and then in tl.restarting-off phasc.
Most projectsr.villwork best if undertakcnby small groups of three or four
learners.Individuals could do one,but it can be isolating,and learnerson their
own tend to losemotivation and focus astime goeson.rvorking togetherprovides
mutual support and a r,viderrangc ofideas.
Proiectswill tlpically follovva florv plan asshownin Figure 15.9.
tr.-;;'..".;'.,c-l
[w-it"."r"hhc
D e cd e p r o j e ctta s l -|
I
t Prd;t ."".il,f
liltr. ""'".C ]
_
N
a\
Decrdeoro,ect
p ' e p a . es o m e-l _h i n gl
rorrrson-etrirI
, Per
[il."'""*'',c l
[vs."**l,r--l
E;;;-;;;t
Figure 15.9 Project riork
_.
D i s o: ,l ;a.' . . . , , "
t'"."nt ="*l
Et-';,ft.
12 Gettingtoknowa newclass
Somepossibleaims:
By the end of the lesson,you will have:
. spokento everyoneat leastonce;
. learnedeveryone'snamesl
. startedto learn somepersonalinformation about them;
Chapter15 Tools,techniques,
acttvttles
One simple tactic would be to change the questions so tltat they ask about
something they don't knoq'the answcr to (eg '\rhat did you do last Saturday?').
Findsomeonewho..,
Hereis an icebreaker
calledFindsomeonewho... Readthe handoutshownin
Figure15.10 and predictwhatinstructions
youwouldfind if youreadnotesaboutit
in an accompanying
teacher'sbook.
'
Findsofieonewho
. Hasuwobrot'ha(5orlwo gietero
muslathieweek
eorne
' iuu ao*nlouaed
. Watchedr'heneweonWlasrnl7hr
qanetnthelastmonth
""^pur'e(
' likeo chocolate
"ir1oZ,i
'
dreams
^
Hasnioe
' Doeen'tllketootball
. ls wearlnqcolouredsocko
. W ouldlikero qo to Vare
phone
' Neversends1ext me55a0e5onihelr
373
Chapter15 Tools,techniques,
activities
374
12 Getting
to knowa newclass
People bingo
Each student draws a largethree-by-threegrid (ie nine squares).Slowly read
through all the nameson the register (spellingdifficult names).Studentsmust
randomly selectnine of thesenames (of peoplethey don't alreadyknow) to write
into spaceson their grid.\7hen everyonehas a full grid, the studentswalk around
the room, hnd their nine people,chat a litde and make somenotesabout each
person.
Afterwards,play 'bingo' by calling out namesrandomly * studentstick a name if
they haveit on their own grid. For eachname,askthe classto indicatewho the
personis and tell you somethingabout the person.SThensomeonecompletestheir
grid with nine ticks,they win. (But you could alwaysplay it again!)
The srnall dilference
On the board, draw a seatingplan of the room and get the classto copy it. Each
student round the room then saystheir name and everyoneelsewrites it down in
the correct placeon their plan.Ask the classto study the namesfor two minures,
then put their plans away.Ask a volunteerto leavethe room; while he / sheis
outr two other studentschangeplaces.\rhen the volunteercomesbaclghe / she
must notice and name both studentsthat havemoved. Repeatthe gamea few
times with different volunteers.After a few turns, make the gamemore difficult by
changingtwo pairs at a time.
Anagrams
Put up a mixed-up spellingof your own first name on the board, eg I might put up
'mij'. Now askstudents
to write an anagramof their own name.Collect thesein
and write them all up on the board. Every student now tries to write down all the
original names.Whenthey've finished,they can checkby walking round the room,
meeting peopleand hnding out if rhey havewritten eachperson'sname correctly.
Spv
Preparea set of small cards,one for eachstudent.On about half ofthe cardswrite
'True'; on the other
half write 'False'.Distribute them; studentsmust not let the
othersseetheir card. Studentsthen standup and mingle,meetingpeople and
talking.!7hen askedquestions,anyonewith a 'True' card must give true answersl
anyonewith a 'False'card must lie (exceptabout their name), inventing falselife
stories.Afterwards,form small groups of bet'oveen
four and six people.Each
group should try to work out who was'True' and who was 'False',writing a list
identifying all the suspected'False'people.Finish up with a whole-classstage
when the lists are read out and the truth is revealed.Groups get a point for each
'False'person
correcdy spotted,but loseone for anyoneincorrectly identified.
There is a set ofphotocopiable TIyeI Fahecardson the DVD in the resources
secuon.
375
Another option
This section has introduced a number of ideasfor activitiesthat may help a ne,,r,
classto get to knorv eachother. Despite all this, you might feel -voudon't need any
'activiq"
at all. It's possiblethat the best\vav for peopleto get to knos' cach other is
simpl_vby meeting and talking, rvithout speciallypreparedgamesor acti.r,ities.
I
find that in classeswith more than a basiclevel ofEnglish, I increasinglyprefer not
to use'icebreakers'at
all,choosinginsteadto startsimplyrvithconversation
and
introductions.Ifr,ou rvould like to do this in a slightl_v
more 'organised,lva1,,you
could try this:
Ask studcntsto work in a pair u,ith someonethcy don't knou'.Explain that the-v
should chat for ten minutes about an1'thingthey u'ant to - life, interests,hopcs,
etc - dividing the time about equall-vbem,eentl.rcm.Each student should make a
few notesabout his / hcr partner - basicinformation and any particularll'
interestingor unusual things.At the end of the ten minutes,askthreepairs to meet
up togetherin sixes.In eachgroup, studentsintroduce rheir partner to the others,
sayinga fervinterestingfacts about them.The otherscan askquestionsif ttre.v
want to. (In a small class,5,oucould skip the group stagcand havestudents
introduce their partners to the $'hole class.)
13 TV DVD andvideo
Many teachers have at some time pushed a DVD film into the player and sat back
u'hile their students watched. It's the classic 'lazv' teachcr's lesson and rvorks hne once in a rvhile. But other than for the occasional special lesson, it's important that
we find ways to exploit video material in more uscful rvavs to help students learn.
With the growing accessibilir]*of the Internet and the possibi)ity of using
interactive whiteboards to display video content, u'e nou'have a large number
of new possibilities for using r,ideo films and clips in class. I(/hether you use
published materials, online shared materials or.vour o\,vnrecordings, there are
many ways to makc the r,vorkrelevant and engaging.
When I use video films or clips in class,I tr-v to keep l.rold of a fcrv basic guidelines.
These may sound simple, but the,v oftcn make the dilTerence betrveen a slick video
Iessonand techno-muddle:
Keep it short.
Exploit the matcrial.
Blank the screenrYhenthe studentsdon't needto look atit (a fuzzy,bLtzztng
blank screencan be distracting).
Ifpossible, find your placebefore the lcsson(othern'iseyou end up rvith ,Justa
minute,I thint it's just afterthisbit, oh perhapsit's ...').
Don't only usevideo to extractlanguagefor stud-v.Vidcocan be a great starting
point for communicativeactivitics,too, for r,vritingor for introducilg
drscussion
topic areas.
Video is simply another classroom tool; it doesn't do the teaching for you. It,s not
too hard to extracL 30 to 60 minutes'rvork out ofa three-minute recording, and
that ma-vbe a lot more use than putting a one-hour recording on and just letting it
run all the way through t'hile the students quietly nod ofi
13 TV,DVDand video
Videoin class
In orderto exploitvideorecordings,
we needto considerwhatthereis to
exploit.Whathas a videorecordinggot that my classroom/ textbook/ CD player
hasn't{ot?
A video has:
. soundl
. moving pictures:the picturesgive context to the soundswe hear.\7ecan see
facial expressions,eye contact, physical relationships, background, etc;
. a 'rewind' button: we can replay theseimagesagainand again;
. a 'pause'bufton:we can freeze-frameimages,stopping the action at any point;
. a volume control: we can turn the sound off, or make it quiet or very loud.
In addition, you can usually:
. accuratelyiump to a specificmomen!
. replay small secdonswitlr precision;
. show subtitlesin English - or any included language- on screen.
Commercial DVD discs (eg of feature films) often have bonus supplementary
materialswhich are an excellentsourcefor studentresearch,'jigsawviewing' (see
below) etc.'Deleted scenes'and 'out-takes'can provide interestingdiscussion
matter.
Ifyou havea web cam or video camera,there are evenmore possibilities(for
making programmes,recording studentsspeakingin activities,etc).
Using video recordings in class
We can divide video playbackactivitiesinto tlree generalcategories:
1 Preview:what you do before you watch a sectionofrecording
2 Viewing: what you do while you watch
3 Follow-up: what you do after watching
Any one lesson might include a number of these as different sections of the
recording areused,eg preview first section;view ftst section;preview second
sectionlview secondsection;follow-up first and secondsections;preview third
section,etc - eachsectionmight be minutes long or could be only a few seconds.
Preview activities
Here are four typical preview activities:
. A language focus on lexis, function or grammar that will come up on the
recording;
. Studentspredict what will happen from somegiven information or picturesl
. StudentsdiscuSsa topic that leadsinto or is connectedwith the subjecton the
recording;
. Students study a worksheet that they will use when watching the recording.
377
Chapter15 Tools,techniques,
acttvities
The whole of the previouslesson(or week) could itselfbe a sort ofprevieu, task
leadingup to the recording.For example,ifa particular function is being srudied,
the studentsmight alread-vhavespent a lessonor t\,\'oworking with it and now
view the recording to expand their knorvledgeofit.
Vie\Ying activities
As u'ith audio recordings,it usuallyhelpsto set clearviewing tasksand to follow
similar proceduresto thoseoutlined in Chapter l0 on listening.The task-textfeedbackcircle still rvorksu,ellas a basicprocedurefor video.iasks might be in thc
form oforal instructionsor in the form ofa worksheet,or they might be a natural
follow-on from the preview activities.Youmay want to play the recording through
many times with harder tasks.
Thskscan be listening,looking or interpretingl for example,Ilrhy are theysoheento
getinto themuseuma.fterit'sclosed?
or \X/hatseuenthingsdoestheman do afterleaaing
thegondola?or Hoz.odoesLheshopassistqntfeel?
Ix/hqtwill thegdo next?Thetaskscan
focus specificallyon function, grammar,lexis or pronunciation;for example,Floa
ruan1twaltsda thecoupleask.forhelp?IVhicho;fthe.following
zterbs
doesheuse?lx/hatis
on tlleshef?Is shebeingpoliteor rude?The answersto man-vof thesequestionswill
involve activeinterpretation of the visual asu.ell asthe audio messages.
Focusing
on gestures,facial expressions,body language,etc is especiallyuseful when
studying functional language.
Follow-up activities
There are many activitiesthat you can do after viewing;here are just a few ideas.
. Discussion,
interpretation,
personalisation
(eg'\X/hatwould you havedone?,or
'Has
this everhappenedto you?').
. Study of ne'"vlanguage.
. Role play the scene(or its continuation).
. Inspiration for other work: 'What did thc newspaper llel/o magazine
saythe
/
next day?Design the front page.'
. \J rite a lefter from one characterto another.
. Plan what they should do next.
Other ideas
Those are the basics.Nor.riif you're feelingkeen, here,sa mixed bag of ideasto
liven up the lessons.(Don't try all of thesein one go, but do try one or two of them
sometimel)
Don't let students mentally switch off; make them think; challenge them. Cover
up t1le screen and ask questions; Lltren tu the words I music - what's thepicture?
Wat are thej describing? lX/hereare the-1?Then,look at the images and compare .
In pairs, the above idea becomes an instant communic aive activrty: Tellyour
par!ner uhat you rhink was happening I r cou ld lead to drarving and compari"un
ofpictures.
Switch off the sound: lYhat are they sa3.,lzg?
Advertisements work beautifull-v:
in pairs, imagine and write the script. And then the two students .lip-synch'it:
Come up to the TV; sit on either side of it and while I play t/re (silent) recording again
while yu speak the zr.'ords.
(Hilarious - try itl)
'pause'
Use the
button to freeze ima ges-.lX4tathappensnexr? (Thlk about it;
$'rite the story, etc.) Then (later) watch and compare.
13 TV,DVDandvideo
Divide the classin two, on separatesidesof the room. Only one half can seethe
screen.Have the soundturned off. Half (A) watchesfor one minute.Then (asa
group or in pairs) tellsthe other half (B) what happened.Thenswapover and
repeat.This is greatwith short' silent comedy sketches.For a very noisy
variation,everyoneinA tells a pre-chosenpartner in B what is happeningwhile
it is happening,ie live commentary.The quiet variation:A watchesand mimes
to B whatis happening;at the end, B must tell the story to A. All ofthese sound
quite silly (and they are),but there'sloadsofexcellent and challengingspeaking
and listeningpractice.
With a camera:make your own news/ entertainment/ documentary/
advertisements,etc.
Film studentsdoing somethingelseand play back later for focus on
pronunciation, gramrnar,effectivecommunication,error analysis)etc.
Play through a sectionof an unknown film at 8 x or 16X speed Ask studentsto
watch and try to work out what is happening.Whenfinished,groups can
compareand argue.Maybe the classasa whole could then try to reach a
consensus,after which everyonecan watch the film at normal speedand check.
Watch a one- or two-minute clip a number of times with the sound down and
English subtitles.Ask studentsto fllst copy thesesubtitles.Replayit often
enoughfor them to do this.I(/hen all havethe text (and havecheckedit), ask
them to work in pairs to decide what the subtides would be in their own
language.\7henthey havefinished writing and havecompared (and actedout
their versions?),they can, ofcourse, watch the DVD wittr subtidesin their
languageand seehow closethey got.
Choosea one- or two-minute clip no one is familiar with, perhapsof a very
visually dramatic or humorous moment. Cover up the top four-frfths of the
screen.Switch on English subtitles.Play the clip. Ask learnersto sketchwhat
they tlrink is happening on screen.$7henfinished,they compare,and at the end
get to seewhat is really on screen
379
Ghapterl6 Nextsteps
This chapterincludessomekey ideasfor moving forward.There are suggestions
you could use for observationsand for action researchaswell asthinss to consider
asyou developasa teacher.
380
1 Whatis 'learningteaching'?
- \ a-1^:'_)-\
| 7RE55uRE5)
O
o
oo o
o
o
o oo
ooo
,-. a)
o oo
oo
Teacher
developrnent
Learning about teaching doesn't stop whenever your training courses finish. In
fact, this is where your development as a teacher really begins. You could:
. read new ideas in magazines, on blogs and try them out;
. write an article for a magazine (most articles in magazines for language
teachers are by teachers like you);
. start a local newsletter:
. take part in online social networksl
. try a'bold parabola' (seeChapter 6, Section 8);
. go to a conferenceor a seminan
. go to a conference and give a talk about what you have been working on in class;
. learn about a completely different approach;
. discuss what you are doing with other teachersl
. make an agreement with a colleague to observe each other's lessonsl
. find a way to get involved in some in-service teacher training;
. do a seminar for your colleaguesl
. start your own schooll;
. give private lessonsl
. specialise (eg computers, business, self-access centres, video, exams, etc)1
. write a message for a website or a magazine article or even a book;
. read this book asain!
381
Chapter16 Nextsteps
associations
2 Observed
lessons
Thus, in theThoistvie% we do not needto struggleto changeourselves.Rather,
we needto be awareof the world around us and our placein it- and remain open
to moving with the changesthat takeplaceand involveus. In other words: be here
now, fully and alertly.
Krishnarnurti
Krishnamurti (1895-1986) was an Indian thhker who had a most extraordinary
life. Much ofhis philosophyrs ofdirect relevanceto peoplewho work in
education.The following passageis part of Krishnamurti,s answerro a child who
asked'How can you changeyourself?'
peoplesay'I am changingJrom this to that', thq) think they are mooinglY,4ten
They think they are changing.But in actualfact, they havenot movedat
all.lX/hattheyhaoedoneis projectedan ideaoJwhat theyshouldbe. .. But it is
not a moaernent.Theythink it is change,but what is changeisfirst to beawareof
what actually'is'andto live with it,and thenoneobseraes
that the'seeing'itself
bringsabout change.
Krishnamurti on education (Krishnamurti Foundation, 1974)
I frnd this very powerful guidanceon a way to change.He is arguing against
settingup distant goalsand trying to reachthem. Ifyou are fully awareofthe
presentand what'is', he suggests,then that awareness,
of itself, alreadyproduces
change.
Observed lessons
I'm goingto obserueyou ,,.
A trainer(or headof departmentor directorof studies)stopsyou in the corridorand
s a y s , ' l ' mg o i n g t oc o m ei n a n do b s e r v e y o ul er s s o no n T u e s d a y . '
1 Howdo youfeel?
2 Whatwouldyou liketo knowbeforeshe comesin?
Observationis a common featureofteacher-training coursesand is a part of inserviceteachersupport in many schools.Many teachersrespondto news ofan
upcoming formal observationwit}t somedegreeoftrepidation (or sheerterror).
lThatever the statedpurpose,it may feel like a test of somesort - and tiere is
alwayslikely to be somedegreeofintrusion when an extra person is sitting in your
classroom.Studentsmay respond differently (often more reticently), and it is
often hard for you to do what you do naturally when, every time you blin\ that
guy in the corner scribblesa new comment. It can lead to a heighteneddegreeof
self-consciousness
which, in the worst cases,can interferewith your natural skills
and the successof the lesson.
Having saidthat, observation,done well, providesperhapsthe most useful help a
learning teachercan get.When we are teaching,it's very hard to takein coolly and
objectivelythe whole panoramaof what is happening around us in the classroom.
'We
may naturally get lockedinto particular habits,waysof working, waysof
Chapter16 Nextsteps
yourownteaching:
3 Studying
feedback,
reflection
andactionresearch
trainer). In a developmentalobservation,you would typically specifyyourself
what would be mostuseful to havefeedbackon.
. Assessment To assessyou and your teachingagainstcriteria of quality,
acceptability,appropriacy,etc.An assessment
may be part of a course (with
grades,levels,points, etc) or it may be an internal or externalinspection,for
exampleby a national associationofschool recognition.
. Data collection Sometimesschoolsor teachersor othersmay want to
objectivelyinvestigatesome aspectof classroomlife (such as'comparing
participation levelsof male and femalestudents'or 'varietiesofteacher
questions').Often such observationswill be basedon making quandtative
studies(ie how often, how much, etc) ofwhat goeson. Such observadonsare
often by peersrat-herthan by trainers or membersofthe schoolhierarchy.
. Peer observation Peerobservationis when a colleaguecomesin to watch
your lesson(or part ofa lesson).The aim is for both participants to learn
something.Youare not expectingyour colleagueto give you 'trainer-type'
feedback,but there can probably be an exciting exchangeofideas, discussion
about different waysofworking, comparisonofviews, etc.
Chapter16 Nextsteps
Getting
feedback
on teaching
386
yourownteaching:
3 Studying
feedback,
reflection
andactionresearch
the lessonwaslike, there will havebeengood points in it and things that could be
worked on.This is true for the most experiencedteacherasmuch asfor a beginner.
If you are taking an initial training course, then your tutors may be just asinterested
rn encouragingyour own self-awareness
asin pointing out successes
and problems
themselves.Theycould spendthe whole time praisingwhat you di4 or tearing
your lessoninto litde pieces,but the only thing that is going to move you forward as
a teacherisif you yourselfbecomeawareof what works and what doesn't.
'Hot and cold
feedback'is one way of becomingmore awareofwhat you are
doing. It works like this:
Hot feedback
As soon asyou sit down after teaching (and assoon asyou havegot your breath
backl), write down a descriptionof someof the things that happenedand / or
your first reactionsand feelingsabout what happened.None of this needsto be
more than a sentenceor two; you may find that the simple act of trying to get your
thoughts together in writing will help you to clarify exactly what it is thar you are
thinking. For example:
Theoralpracticeseemed
to worhwelLThestudents
got reallginaolaedq.nddidn't u)qnt
to stop.I noticedthat I wqsconcentrqtingon studentsto my right; I rather I{t out thefiae
sitting near thedoor.Checkingthehomeworkwith the whoh classwasz;erydull.There
must bea betterua! to go throughall theanswer'
Cold feedback
rJThenthe lessonhasbecomea bit clearerin your head- maybe an hour or so later,
or perhapsthe next day (or, if the lessonwas observed,after the observerhas
talked over the lessonwith you) - add a few more sentences,rememberingto look
for the positivethings aswell asthings that needwork. For example;
lVhat wassuccessful:
the lexicalgame-;fast andfun - thegpractiseda lnt of words.
I felt moreconfident;I'm beginningto get usedto the way this classworhs.
Towork on:I could beclearerwith instuctions.Thql weredefinitelyconJused
at
the stqrt of thegame.I talked rather a lot. I noticedmyselftalking oaersomeof
their answerszDhen
I got impatient - I'll try to watchfor that in future. I don't
think Joanna said angthing all lesson.I must havea chat with her andfind out if
eoerything\ OK. PerhapsI couldask questionsdirect to namedindiaiduak, rather
than generalquestionsto the wholeclass.Thqtwould stopthe two strongonesalways
comingin f.rst.
The 'feedback'sheetwill now representyour views at two differenr stagesof
consideringthe lesson.Youmay well find that your reactionis rather different at
thesetwo points. Finding which view of thesetwo is the most objective,realistic
and supportiveto yourselfmay improve your ability to analyseyour own lessons
in the future, and thus help your developmentasa teacher.
Your own approachto this kind ofself-feedbackwill reflect your own style and
your own perceptions,but ifyou find it hard to get going, try using rhe selfassessment
model describedbelow.
Chapter16 Nextsteps
Lesson self-assessment
Ifit's not possiblefor a colleagueto observehere is an idea you can try on your
own. For eachlessonyou teach,chooseone questionfrom partA below,one from
part B and one from part C. rX/riteyour answers.Ifpossible, talk through your
answersrvrthanotherperson who has agreedsimpll' to listen (rathcr ttran take
part in a conversation).
Roughly speaking:
. A focusesyou on recallingu'hat happenedin the lesson.
. B focuseson reflectingon the lesson,particularly looking for what was
successful.
. C focuseson drar'vingconclusionsfrom the experienceand hnding waysto
move forward in ,vourfuture teaching.
A
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
B
8
9
10
11
C
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1
2
3
4
5
6
-
388
yourownteaching:
3 Studying
feedback,reflection
andactionresearch
8 List someintentions or 'action plans' for your future teaching.
9 Write a brief descriptionof yourself asa teacherseenfrom a student's
viewpoint. Vhat is it like to be taught by you?
Action research
Action researchis a teacher'spersonalstudy ofhis / her own teachingor of the
students'Ieaming.It contrastswidr a more common image of researchas
somethingdone by academicsin distant universities.Action researchhas the
advantagethat it can be very small-scale.Anything you do in your work that is
activelyseekingto help you learn and progressis a kind ofaction research.A more
systematicroute (eg when you want to experimentwith a new classroom
technique) might follow the route shown in Figure 16 . 1.
Choosea generalarea
for the experiment
Do backgroundreadingand research
Decidethe specificfocus of
the experiment
Decidehowyou can assessthe results
What you
rearncan
feed into
y o u rc h o r c e
of the next
expeflment
Experiment
Actionresearch
F i o n ai s t a l k i n ga b o u th e ro w ns m a l l - s c a a
l ec t i o nr e s e a r c hM. a t c hp a r t so f h e r
description
to the diagramin Figure16.1.
I beganto worry that I was talkingtoo much in class and that it wasgettinEin the
wayof students' Iearning.I founda book on the schoolbookshelfwith a veryshort
mentionofthe SilentWaymethod that soundedinteresting.I researchedSilent Way
on the lntetnet and foundsome samplelessonplans. I thoughtthere was no wayI
could do a full Silent Waylesson, but I decidedI could try somethingfrom one of
the plans. I planneda normal lessonbut with a ten-minutestage whenl wouldtry
out a student activitywhereI wouldsay verymuch less than usual. I decidedto
rccord the wholeso-minutelesson and listen back to it afterwards.WhenlisteninE,
I wouldmake a rcugh assessmentof how much I talked everythree minutes. So I
389
Chapter16 Nextsteps
'When
observing nerv teachers in class,I usually keep a note ofissues we talk about
after the lesson. I've noticed that many of the same comments and advice tend to
come up again and again. Here, I't'c selected some of dte most frequent or more
interesting thoughts and presented them as a random list.Think of it as a pack of
cards - if you're feeling bored or in need ofa nudge to move you forward a little,
try picking one of these 'cards' at random, think about it, check ifit applies to vou
and seeifyou can make any use of the suggestions.
1 Don't correct good, natural sentences because you want them to use 'full
sentences', eg in anstver to 'Are you going to visit Greece next year?', 'No,
2
3
4
5
7
8
390
I'm not'is actuall.v a befter answer tl.ran'No,I'm not going to visit Greece
next -vear'.
Getting students to repeat single words is less useful than real-u'orld phrases,
'marry'
eg
is lessuseful than 'He's married' or 'She'sgoing to get married'.
Don't just aim for students to 'understand'. Plan for students to be better able
to use ltems.
Don't teach and tcach.Teachand check. Check againl Check the quiet ones!
(Try: input 5%, checking 95%.)
Don't over-rely on the stronger students. Don't assume ever.vonehas got
sometling because one has 'got it' Don't say 'Excellentl', pouncing on the first
answer, and rush on. Did all the learners agree? Find out!Throw language and
answers around.
Teachers often rvorry that students'are too good'and maybe'know it all'!
Don't let this get in _vour\,vayor put you off. It can lead you to rush because
you're a litde embarrassed at the possibility of boring them.
Do you need to keep organising all the time? Do you typically take quite an
over-active, motivating role? Can you lear,eit up to tltem a bit more?
You ask'All agree?' (there is silence from srudents).You say 'OI{ ...' and
continue to the next item. Is it urorth waiting until you get some real ans\l'ers?
Watch out for a tendency to 'fill all the silences'.
Be careful that games don't become more important than the language work
itself. If -vou get too focused on rvho's first, winners, points, etc, it can obscure
the real aim.
4 Thepackofcards
391
Chapter16 Nextsteps
and people
5 A closingcomment:language
lexis work could come after the task rather than interrupting the reading? Let
them struggleand try to'read'flrst.
49 \Jghenyou teachor checka word, make sure your definition is aspreciseas
possiblerather than just in the generalarea lf a student didn't understandthe
would someonehitling their hand on the board help? Or
meaningof craslz,
could they equallytotally misunderstand?Ifit's not precise,what is the
purpose of the mime activity?
'getting to the meat' quicker.
50 Don't let'into' stufftake too long.\7ork on
51 Students'writing on the board can be very hard to read.Don't avoid it, but
rememberthat they may need encouragementtowrite more clearlyif it's for
'public'reading.
'learner-centred'lessonbut your internal image ofa'teacher'is
52 Ifyou want a
someonewho sitsat the front, talking, helping, questioning,etc,tiere may
'tell eachother'but then still sit very
be a clash.Ifyou askthe studentsto
visibly up front looking at them, frequently interrupting, helping, guiding,
questioning,etc,you'll probably get a largely silent room, waiting for your
next responserather than a lively discussron
Joker Heyl Slow down!
Answers to tasks
Ghapter11 Phonofogl!:the sound
of English
(page274l
Vowels
Consonants
/i:/ tcachers
/\/ tn
,/b/beans
/u/ g99d
/t tomatoes
/u:/schools
/dl bread
/k/ cake
/e/ It'e
/a/ epas
/3:/learners
/c:/A.Utonomy
/t"Vebeese
/d3/ jam
lel ualuing
/fl friendlrness
/^,/trust
/v/ sensitiyity
/q:/patticipation
/0/ empalby
/D/coqperation
/d/ brotherliness
/s/foresight
Dlphthongs
/z/wisdom
/re/ ctear
/ue/ pUIe
{/ compassion
/3/vision
/ea/ air
/h,/herbs
/er/ lreal
/m/food mixer
/crljq
/n/ knives
/arl brtEhI
/!/ sitk
/eu/ hqpeful
/aul sounds
/l/ kettle
h/ tLidge
/j/ yeast
394
(page277l
t
2
t
3
k
ci
5
OI
OU
7
K
EI
(page278)
photograph photographer telescope telescopic chemical computer forest
dlctionary comfortable reception
(page 278)
nnr
interview
innocent
suitable
universe
opposite
n Er
computer
revtston
completely
important
example
recorder
(pa$e279)
The following pattern seems most likely (thoughother answers are possible).
Caroline was g:oing to leave for Alrica on Tuesday.
(paee279)
2 not stealit borrowit, etc.
/
3 not Jun/ lvlaria/ Li,etc.
4 not the greenone / blueone,etc.
5 b u th ed i d n ' t .
(page 284)
l fall 2 rise 3 fall
W
I
D(
aookeAeleeping
a
cookinq--
eleepin1-o
10
I
hiaden
396
I
camein
Somekeyterminologli
activity
arrns
assirnilation
authentic exposure
authentic ouq)ut
backchaining
blendedlearning
CLIL
CLL
CLT
can-do statements
the chain
chunk
citation form
clarification
crassfooIrr management
cloze procedure
collocation
Comrnon European
Framework of
Reference for
languages (CEFR)
398
comrnunicative
activitv
concept questions
concordance
connected speech
consonant
context
corpus
co-text
Cuisenaire rods
diphthong
Dogrne
drill
echo
'aware'echo,
Repetition of what a studenthasjust said.This may be
with a purpose (eg indicating that an error has beenmade), or
'unaware'echo (eg you are feelingthe needto fill silences).
EAP
EIL
ELF
ELT
English LanguageTeaching.
ESOL
ESP
eliciting
elision
exponent
extensive reading /
listening
false beginner
false friend
fluency
400
function
groupwork
information
gap
intensive reading/
listening
intonation
intrusive sounds
language skills
language systerns
lexical item
lexical set
A s e to f u o r d s t h a ta r ec o n n e c t eidn s o m cw a 1( e g
i t e m rl o u n do n
a farm; words starting with fteador words that describe
human
qualities).
141
lexis
Vocabulary.
metalanguage
minimal pairs
Two words that contain all the samesoundsexceptfor one egpetI pat,.
bunI pun.These canbe difhcult for learnersfrom somelanguage
groups to hear,distinguishor produce.
monitoring
NLP
Needs Analysis
'Ways
offinding out (eg using questionnairesor interviews) what
srudentsneed(or wanl r lo stud) on a languagecour:e.
observation task
PPP
pair"work
phoneme
phonology
practlce
142
pfesentation
productive skills
prorninence
RP
ranking task
rapport
Seeintensivereadircg.
real play
receptive skills
Readingand listening.
restricted exposure
restricted output
role play
STT
scannlng
schwa
sentence stress
skimming
stage
stress
Seeword stress,prominence.
structufe
- lbrm.
substitution tables
syllabus
TBL
TTT
task
Test-teach-test
tone unit
101
units. A tone unit can be one or more syllableslong and must contain a
nucleusat which there is a movementof pitch.
tonic syllable
VLE
VAI(
vowel
weak forrn
wofd stress
work plan
world Englishes
405
Further reading
There are hundreds ofELT books around.This is a short list ofjust a few books
you rnight frnd helpful, inspiring, time-savingor life-savingduring your fust years
ofteaching.
106
407
Technology
Dudeney, G. and Hocklg N. (2007) I1ow to TeachEnglishwith Technologjt
(Harlow: PearsonLongman).
An oueroiewof technologyin languageteachingby two keen,actiaelt iw.)olaed
teachers,
408
Delta
Hockll', N. and Clandfield,L. (2010) TeachingOrulize(Peaslake:
Publishing).
Practicalhelpfor thisimportdlltnewarea.
Sharma,P and Barrel'B. (2007) BlendedIzaming (Oxford: Macmillan).
introductiontogetherwith wanjt inspinngsuggest?ons
A comprehensiae
409
410
Index
100%exposure,184
actrevementarmsj 137-8
acqursitionvs learning, 127
actronresearch,389
activities,classroom
pairwork, 45 51
pLannngr J /-9
route map, 40-42
sampleanalysis,43-5
small group work, 51-3
adjectives,105
adverbs)106
aims, iesson,135-42
anagrams,375
analysis,language
communicativepurpose) 114-18
grammar,99-107
grammaticalmeaning, 111-14
meaningsof words) 107-11
appropriacy,117-18
Asher,J.j32
atmosphere,learning, 15-16, 78
auctlons,grammar, 179
audienceand purpose)243
audiolingual merhod, 31
autnenDcexposure,I26-8
aurhentrcit]',16-1 7, 35
9uthentc outputJ 128-9
authoriq,, exercising,76
B
'back
to the board'gameJ358
'bad cold'
dictation, 363
'biring your
tail'game, 362
boardgames,179,219
board use, 70-73
bools teaching around a) 323
bminstorming, 239
business
EnglishJ312-15
lruzzgroups)215
c
CA (communicative
approach),31-2
Cambridge ESOL
e x a m s8j 7 , 3 1 7 - 1 8
carouselactivities,324
categorylist game, 359
chain dictarionJ362
chain of co ection, 288
chantsj272
cheating,3l6 17
checkingunderstandingof
instructjons,T6
children,3214
chunks
defined, 185-5
sponing,208-9
word pagesand, 202
E
EAP (English for Academic
Purposes),
315-17
echomg,75
elicitrng,T3-4
empath],,16-17
enablers,18
English languageteaching (ELI)
subjectmafter, 24_31
Enghsh wh6pers, 299
'entertainer'
teaching, 14
errors, correcting,285 90
ESP (English for Specific Purposes),
310-12
examclasses,3l7-21
exams
for young learners,323
exercises
grammar teachingandr 174-7
experientialiearning cyciej l9_20
expianers,17 18
explanations,23
grammar reachingand, 165
exposure
r00%, ta1
planrung and, 126-8
extenslvereading)268-70
F
tast-$'rtting,240-1
feedback
lrom leamers,94-7
listening task feedbrck
al cte,IJJ /
providing) for wdnen
drat1.s,
242,215
teachers'fearol 76
on teaching,386-7
ficLionar-vgame,359
fillers,356-9
finger correction, 289-91
first lmpresslons,82
firsr language,using, 297-300
first lessons,33 6
flashcards,349-50
flow charts, 143
fluenc!', speaking,224-8
form, grammatical,99 101
formal lessonplannmg
alternativestoj 142-46
Dasics! I Jl-J)
function
defined, 24
examplesofj 25
G
grllery exercise,262
Sames
fi ller activities,356-8
grammar rcachingand,
177-9
lexical,358-62
teachinglexis wrh, 191-93
gap-fil1excrcises,293-4
Gardner, Howard, 85
411
412
J
listening, 26 1-62
iigsaw
'jug
and mug,' 15
'iungle path' (unplanned
lessons),
144-45
K
Kachru,Braj, 118, 119
keJ.vords dictation, 362-3
r\rm s gafirer J) /
knowledge-in-use,163
Krashen, Srephen,32, 127
Krishnamurti, 383
L
L1, using, 297-300
labelli4g,201
languageskills,26-30
languagesystems)24-8, 28-30
large classes,331-3
leamers
feedbackfrom, 94-7
individual and group
characteristics,82-7
levelsJ87-9
needsoi 89 94
training o! 97-8
'learning
teaching,'380-3
leaming theory, 125-9
learning vs. acquisition, 127
lessonimages)144
levels, 87-9
Lewis, Michael, 32
lexical approaches,32
lexical games,358-62
lexical items
collocationsand chunks as) 186
defined, 185
knowing, 205-10
lexical item pages,202-3
lists of, 199
lexis
box file, 319
in classroom,187-8
defined, 24, 185-7
examplesof 25
practice activitiesand games,
191-93
presenting, 189-9 1
remembering, 198-205
skills work andr 194-8
teaching emphasison, 28
lingua franca, English as, 118-22,
2734
listening
apprcachestq 249-53
as basic skjll, 26
rdeasfor activities,261-63
to messageas well as
language, 78
task-feedbackcycle, 253-7
top-down and bottom rtp,257-60
live listening,263
Jiving tape recorder, 364
M
macro skills) 26
management,classtoom
basic elements, 5z[-
board use, 70-73
eliciting, 73-4
gestures,69-70
giving instucrions, 64-7
mteraction,58-6 1
intuition, 78-8 1
moDrtonng,6T-9
seating,6l-4
snapshotsJ1-12
tips for preventing learning 75-3
marking,245-6,317
meaningsof words, 107-11
mediatioq 299
mem^
, tFar c'mp
I ?a
methods,31 3
micro skills, 26
mirning, 178
minimal pairs, 276
monitoring, 67-9
mood) class)83
modvation, 84
multiple choice testsj293
multiple intelligences, 85
multiword items (seechunks)
music,3545
N
names,leatning students',35
Daturalapproach,32
Needs Analyses,90-94, 310
Neuro-Lnguistic Programming
(NLP), 85
news headlines,261
notebooks,203-5
nouns and noun phrases,103 4
nucleus,278
o
observedlessons,383-5
online learni[g, 343-6
orderlng game,357
over-helpingand over-organising,77
over-politeness,76
own language,using, 297-300
P
'pack ofcards,'390-3
paintbox,358
pairwork, 45-51
partrciples,102
people bingo, 375
personal learning networks
(PLNS), 344
person-centredapProaches)32
phonemes,274-7
phonology (see.r/so
pronunciation)
defined, 24
examplesof, 25
picture dictation, 178
picture differencetasks,218
ni^hrrF
at^ricc
I5n-S
plagiarism,316-17
planning
altematives to formal lesson
planning,14246
courses)146-54
fomal, 132-35
learning theory and, 125-9
lessonaims,135 42
overview, 123-25
sequencing,129 3l
unrealisticrequirements,154 5
world Englishes,118-22
PLNS (personallearning nerworks),
344
poetry,366 8
posters,319
placcice, in present-pm ctice cycle,
159-63
prepositions,104-5
presentation(seeclarification)
presentationsoftware,337 40
present-practicecycle, 129-3 1,
159-63
procedure aimsr 135-6
production, define4 159
productive skills,26 (seeabo
rpcaNIEr
wrrurrts./
projects,370-71
prominence,ll7,278-9
pronouns, 103-4
pronunclaoon
connectedspeech,279-84
intonatron,283-4
prominence, 278-9
sounds,274-7
starting points, 271-4
word sress) 277-8
pvzzles,2l9
pyramid discussions,218-19
a
questionnaires,
179
R
ranl<ingtasks,218
rapporr)15-16,78
rcading
approachesto, 263-8
as basic skill, 26
extensive,267-70
rcaI play,2224
receptive skills, 26 (seea/so listening;
speaking)
reconstruction,sentence,294
relativeclauses,106
respect,16 17
restrictedexposure,127-8
restrictedoutput
grammar teaching and, 169-79
planning and, 128
revision dictation, 356
Rogers,Carl, 16
rcle cards,215,220-22
RP (.eceivedpronunciation), 273-4
running commentaryJ 77
running orders, 142-3
S
scarroromgjz/ /-6
scanning,265
schemesof work, 148
schwa,280-81
seating,6l-4
secondarystesses,278
SecondLife,346-7
self-directed discovery, 169
eane^rw
nrefcrcn.cc
C<
sentencecompletion, 75
sentencedrills, 174
sentencestessr 117, 278-9
sequencing,129-31
shadowreading, 272
show and tell, 323
Silent\fay, 32,300
simulation,224
situationalpresentations,161 2
skeletonwork plans, 148j 149
skills)Ianguage,26-30
skills work
lexis andJ194-8
technologyand, 340-43
skimming, 265
slowing down,36
small differencegame, 375
small group wor\ 51-3
snapshots,classroom,1-12
songs,354-6
sound effectsrecordings,365-6
speaking
approachesto) 211-16
as basic skill, 26
connunicative activities,217-19
fluency, accuracyand
communication, 224 8
gemes,228-34
role play, real play, and
srmulation,220-24
split se4tences,177
spy game, 375
story-building activities,179
storltelling,353-4
stress
sentence,117) 278-9
wordj 277 8
ch,r{phrs
r.,,
lco'nPrs1
teachers
characteristicsof, 13-17
typesol 17-19
teachertalking time (TTT)
classroommanagement
and, 58-9
preventing learning by, 75
unnecessaryr35
teaching and learning, 19-23
reachingpoints, 144
technology
IntemctiveVhiteboards
(llJrBt,33s-7
overview,33zl 5
presentationsoftware)337-40
skills work and, 340 43
Vrrtual Learmng Environments
(wEt, 343-6
U
Underhill, Adrian, 17
unrealisticrcquirements, 154 55
up-here knowledge,163
V
verbs, 102 3
video,376-9
Virtual Learning Environments
(\T-Es),343-6
vifiual worlds,346-8
visual dictionaries,346
vocabulary,185-7 (seeaAo lexis)
voice settlngs,272-3
vowels,27,1-5
w
wall dictatiorL 363
weak forms, 279-80
web puzzles, 342
wild dictationr 364
word clouds,345-6
word dominoes,360
word jumbles, 360-1
word listsJ199
word pagesJ202
word processing,242
414
word seeds,359
word thieves,360
word webs)201-2
work plans, 148
worldEDglishes,118-22
wnung
approachestq 234-9
as basic skill, 26
ln class,239-42
respodsesto) 243,6