Transcript Laboratorio di lingua inglese 3

Laboratorio di lingua inglese 3
Lesson 10
Modifying and creating teaching materials
Using English in the classroom
Planning for the English class
Part 1
TEACHING MATERIALS:
modification, (re-)creation
Evaluating materials
• When we use materials in class, we understand
immediately if they “work” or not
• Here are some common reasons for materials not working
– The level was wrong
– The target age-range was wrong
– The instructions were not clear
• The teacher could not explain the instructions
• The children could not understand the instructions
– The exercise was too long
– The progression from presentation to production ...
• Didn’t have enough practice, so was difficult/frustrating
• Had too much practice and was repetitive/boring
Evaluating materials
• Evaluate your materials as you are using them.
– Make notes on things that worked/didn’t work
– Keep these notes with the materials so you
remember next time you use them (e.g. next year)
Were the pupils able to follow the instructions? If not, what reasons can you give?
Was there enough time to complete the activity?
Was the
. age level appropriate?
Was the difficulty level appropriate?
Did the pupils enjoy the activity? How can you tell?
. pupils learn the things they were supposed to learn?
Did the
Did you enjoy teaching the activity?
What (if anything) did you have difficulty with?
What would you eliminate/ do differently next time you do this activity?
Evaluating materials
• Sometimes it is an entire coursebook that you
need to evaluate.
– Sometimes the book doesn’t work
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It is too “babyish”
The topics aren’t interesting or relevant
It doesn’t recycle vocabulary
There is no audio CD
The texts (written/spoken) are boring or stupid
– So talk to your colleagues and compare your reactions
• Show them your evaluation forms
• Call the publishers’ reps and change the book
Modifying materials
• We modify materials when
– The level is not right for our pupils
– We don’t have enough time to do the whole
activity
– We have tried the activity and found things that
didn’t work well
– We want to build on the materials
• The original materials are good, and we want to extend
the topic/activity
Modifying materials: level
• When the language level is too easy, we can
add things to make it more difficult
– Extra vocabulary/ phrases / structures
– More speaking or writing activities to extend
production, e.g.
• Question-answer for comprehension
• Shift the focus (Q-A moves from the exercise to the
children’s experience)
– This way you can build on the existing materials
but make them more challenging
Modifying materials: level
• When the language level is too high, you may
have to simplify the exercise, or abandon it.
– Select just a few parts of the exercise (e.g. games,
warm-up activities, vocabulary revision)
– Eliminate the production at the end – just focus
on comprehension
– Change it into a mother-tongue exercise (i.e.
abandon it as an English exercise, but continue the
work if the children seem interested in it)
Modifying materials: time
• Sometimes the children need more time on an
exercise
– Because it is difficult
– Because they are really enjoying it
– Because the transition time from one part to
another was a lot longer than you had planned
– Because it took longer to explain or introduce the
exercise than you had planned
Modifying materials: time
• If you run out of time, you have to decide
whether to
– Cut one or more parts of the exercise
– Continue the exercise instead of moving on to another
subject
– Continue the exercise as homework
– Continue the exercise next lesson
• If it’s difficult, cut some bits and/or continue next lesson
• If it’s enjoyable, continue as homework
– Don’t steal time from other subjects – it’s a bad habit to get into,
because you will find that you spend less time on the subjects
you don’t like.
Modifying materials: improving
• Sometimes materials work but were too easy,
boring, or irrelevant.
– Try to work out what you liked about the activity,
e.g.
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The exercise type
The way that the language was presented
The general idea
The progression of exercises
The clarity of the instructions
Modifying materials: improving
• To improve materials, you have to identify
which part needs improving
– If it is the text / picture / topic which needs to be
changed, find alternatives in books or on internet
sites
– If the exercise types / progression needs to be
changed, first see if you can eliminate something,
then consider alternatives
– If the instructions are not good, use similar
instructions from other materials
Modifying materials: extending
• Sometimes materials were successful but you
want more
– Because your pupils need extra practice
– Because your pupils are interested and willing to
learn more
– Because the topic is related to other areas of the
curriculum
Modifying materials: extending
• The easy (and sensible) way to extend materials
is...
– Take the original activity and make ONE change, e.g.
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Change the text or song
Change the characters in a story
Use a different picture
Use plasticine to make models instead of drawing pictures
– Do the same exercises as before, but with the new
medium, so
• Children revise the language they have just learned
• They extend their vocabulary
• They develop their creative and cognitive abilities
Writing materials
• Improving and extending materials are two
ways of writing new materials.
– You build on a successful base
– You personalise the activities to suit your pupils
– You adapt existing exercise types and sequences
• Once you have been teaching for a few years,
you will probably want to write some
materials
Writing materials
• Whatever you do, always consider:
– What am I teaching?
• vocabulary, phrases, grammar
– Why am I teaching it?
• to revise, for comprehension, for production
– Who am I teaching it to?
• age, level
– How long do I have to teach it?
• how many minutes/ lessons?
– How many exercise types can I use to teach it?
• 3-5 in a 1 hour lesson
Writing materials
• When you write materials, remember
– You are writing them because they are not
available
– The aim is for your pupils to learn English more
effectively
– Production is the ultimate aim of learning foreign
languages, so always include lots of speaking.
Writing materials
• Use teachers’ websites, e.g. onestopenglish.com before
you spend time and energy writing materials
• Consider buying one or two good teachers’ resource
books with plenty of ready-made exercises
• Give instructions in English: copy them from other
exercises
• Use authentic texts: download them from reliable
websites, e.g. www.bbc.co.uk
• Use songs sung by native speakers: download clips
from YouTube
– If you need to edit audio (make it shorter, make it slower)
use Audacity, which is free and easy to use
Part 2
USING ENGLISH IN CLASS
Teaching foreign languages
• Learning a new language is not just about learning facts
and concepts; it is about communicating.
• Teaching a new language to primary children is challenging
– You are opening doors to other cultures and customs
– You are passing on your own attitude and beliefs about the
different people who use this new language.
– You have to make the effort to use English with your children.
• They learn to communicate in English because they have to
communicate with you in English
• They learn to express themselves in English because you ask them to
express themselves in English and encourage them in their efforts
– You have to keep studying!
• But you will find that teaching English makes it easier to remember
the things you already know, so you will improve over time
Teaching in English
• Using English when you are teaching English is essential
– Learners need to hear real people using the language –
recorded voices do not have the same effect
• You can help your pupils understand what you say in
English by
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Changing your tone of voice (especially in storytelling)
Using gestures and facial expressions, and making eye contact
Pointing at pictures, diagrams and real objects
using familiar contexts and topics, rephrasing what you say in as
many ways as you can, occasional use of their mother tongue
• But do not feel that you are failing if you use some Italian
in class too
– Just try to use English as much as possible
Responding to mother tongue talk
• One of the most effective ways of using
English to communicate to respond to all your
pupils’ questions and comments in English.
• In doing this, you are showing them
– that you are listening
– that you can do the same things in both languages
– how to say in English what they said in their own
language
– that they should try and say more in English.
Recasting
Recasting ( to repeat what children say in their
mother tongue in English) is a very important
step in children’s language development.
It helps
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children to know they are understood
children’s acquisition of English because they hear what they said repeated in
English
to strengthen the idea that they can communicate in English as they do in their
mother tongue.
You may
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have to develop the habit of recasting
just start by recasting single words into English, then short phrases, and so on.
Recasting: some examples
Recasting: some examples
Responding to mother tongue talk
• Look at the table. On the left is a list of questions and
comments from pupils, and the answers the teachers gave
in English are on the left. The teachers’ answers are mixed
up. Can you match the questions and answers?
.i) Che cosa significa cooking? a. Well, l didn’t hear you. Say it in a loud voice!
ii) Posso andare in bagno?
b. Yes, but in English - not in Italian!
iii) Posso farlo con Marta?
c. I don’t know ... Let’s see what happens...
.iv) Guarda! Un uccello!
d. What do you want, Davide?
v) Maestra! Maestra!
e. OK, go to the toilet, but that’s the last one today!
vi) L’ho detto anch’io
f. Yes, you can do it together, but you have to be quiet.
.vii) Posso dire la mia?
vii) Capiranno che è lui, no?
g. What does cooking mean? OK ... It’s ...
h. Yes, there's a bird.
Rephrasing
• Rephrasing is a type of correction
– Changing a child’s English into better English without
any negative comment is very supportive.
– When you do this, you show:
• That what they said was not perfect but that it’s OK
• That what the child is communicating is valuable
• That the child communicated successfully
– You are also
• Helping individual children improve
• Helping the class learn (you are rephrasing for one child but
other children are usually listening too.)
When and how to correct
When and how to correct cont.d
• Later the teacher, Flaviana, asks Giacomo to
take over.
• In the next two slides, look at the transcript
(the column on the left)
– There are several places where Giacomo does not
understand, and three where he says the wrong
words.
• Can you find them?
• What do you think Giacomo misunderstood?
• How would you correct him?
Resources for teaching English
• A coursebook is one of the language resources you can
use. Other important resources are:
– YOU yourself and the way you use English, the stories you
tell, etc.
– story books
– picture and word cards for various uses
– a puppet
– wall displays and posters
– masks
– real objects
– photocopiable material
– cassettes, video recorders, computers.
Part 3
PLANNING FOR THE ENGLISH CLASS
Planning your English lessons
Think about long-term and short-term objectives.
• Long-term: course preparation
– How will you plan your teaching environment?
– How will you introduce the idea of always using English during English
lessons?
– What topics are you going to teach and how do they relate to each
other?
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Mid-term: general lesson preparation
– What routines might be useful to establish for language practice?
– What language will you need to use in nearly every lesson?
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Short-term: specific language planning for a lesson
– What language will you need for the activities you want to do?
– Which activities are core (essential), which are for reinforcement, and
which are for extension (i.e. for the pupils who finish early)?
Planning your English lessons
Before the course
• Before you start a new school year or term, consider how you
arrange the classroom:
– Set out the desks and chairs so that it is easy to move around
– Reserve wall space for displaying children’s work
– Create a space for displays that can be used for language practice
• It should be at a height which is comfortable for children to point at
• You should also think about these subject-related matters
– How will you connect the topics you will be teaching?
• e.g. from pets at home to zoo animals.
– What will you give “quick” children when they finish an activity before
the others?
• e.g. small puzzles, picture-card games, a book to look at…
– How can you create a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere
• e.g. don’t use English to criticize or punish children – always do these in Italian
Planning your English lessons
General lesson preparation
– Remember that you teach English by using English in your lessons
• Remember what you know about how children acquire language
• Use, re-use and then modify the language the pupils already understand
• For new language, remember to use context and gesture to help children
understand
– Plan the content of the lesson
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Build on what they know
Include a mixture of listening, speaking, reading and writing
Include class-, group-and pair-work
Include different kinds of activity (listen and do, look and speak, action games, etc.)
– Plan the sequencing of activities in your lesson.
• Revise what they know before you introduce anything new
• Create some classroom routines because children feel secure with patterns they
know
• Try to have a quieter activity after a lively, energetic one.
– Remember to prepare all the materials you need in advance.
Planning your English lessons
Specific language planning for a lesson
– Prepare what you are going to say when you
• greet your pupils
• talk to your pupils as you start/finish your English lesson – different topics and
routines
• set up an activity - arrange the room - organize your pupils - say what you are
going to do - and give instructions
• speak to groups or pairs or individuals if you have the opportunity
• want to say something positive to your pupils.
– There are many ways of organizing lessons
– Many teachers like to have a standard plan that they follow
• This gives structure to the lessons, and is reassuring
– Other teachers choose to vary their lessons
• This keeps children paying attention
– Always remember that you know your teaching situation best
• Develop your own plan to suit your classes and circumstances.