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This book contains 4 modules, 12 units covering four main areas related to English language teaching such as: 1 Syllabus and Coursebook, 2 Classroom management, 3 Lesson Planning, and 4

English Langm loathing METHODOLOGY 3

Practicalities in an English Language Classroom

Compiled and edited by Le Thuy Linh

M ã số: 01.01.10/224 - Đ H 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

PR EFACE 5

Module 1 Syllabus and Course b o o k 7

Unit 1 Using the syllabus 7

Unit 2 Choosing a co u rseb o o k 16

Module 2 Classroom M anagem ent 22

Unit 1 Classroom m anagem ent 22

Unit 2 Classroom dicip lin e s 30

Unit 3 Classroom in te ra ctio n s 34

Module 3 Lesson P lan n in g 44

Unit 1 Lesson planning 44

Unit 2 Varying lessons and evaluating le s s o n 53

Module 4 Classroom Assessm ent and Testing 57

Unit 1 An overview of assessment and te s tin g 57

Unit 2 The purposes of te s tin g 68

Unit 3 Types of tests and test ite m s 73

Unit 4 Qualities of a good te s t 88

Unit 5 Test writing te ch n iq u e s 100

READING M A TER IA LS 137

R E FE R E N C E S 138

This book contains 4 modules, 12 units covering four main areas related to English

language teaching such as: (1) Syllabus and Coursebook, (2) Classroom management, (3) Lesson Planning, and (4) Classroom Assessment and Testing

Each module begins with specific aims to be achieved and is organized into several

units with three sections The first section, Q uestions fo r discussion, can either be

used as a brainstorming activity/lead-in at the beginning of a lesson or as homework

from the end of previous lesson There are some Readings that provide students

with necessary information to answer the discussion questions and to implement the

classroom tasks The C lassroom Tasks that follow are designed to help the learners practise and apply the skills and information delivered A list of R eading M aterials is

introduced at the end of the book for self-study and for further investigation into the issues as required by the teachers The book can be flexibly and selectively deployed and exploited to serve different purposes and according to time constraints

I would like to express my special thanks to the authors, from whom I have not got any chance to ask for permission, whose books are the main sources on which this book bases I am grateful to all owners of the set of pictures and ¡mages that I have used throughout the book I would also like to thank my colleagues at the Faculty of English, Hanoi National University of Education for their support, encouragement and valuable comments concerning the contents and presentation of the book

1 Syllabus: A Definition

A syllabus is an expression of opinion on the nature of language and teaming; it acts as a guide for both the teacher and the learner by providing som e goals to

be attained Hutchinson and W aters (1987:80) define syllabus as follows:

At its simplest level a syllabus can be described as a statem ent of what is to be learn t It reflects of language and linguistic performance.

This is a rather traditional interpretation of syllabus focusing as it does on outcomes rather than process However, a syllabus can also be seen as a

"summary of the content to which learners will be exposed" (Yalden,1987: 87) It

is seen as an approximation of what will be taught and that it cannot accurately predict what will be learnt

Next, we will discuss the various types of approaches available to course designers and the language assumptions they make

2 Types of syllabuses

a Product-O riented Syllabuses

Also known as the synthetic approach, these kinds of syllabuses em phasize the product of language learning and are prone to intervention from an authority

The Structural Approach

Historically, the most prevalent of syllabus type is perhaps the gramm atical syllabus in which the selection and grading of the content is based on the complexity and simplicity of grammatical items The learner is expected to master each structural step and add it to his/her gram m ar collection As such the focus is

on the outcomes or the product

One problem facing the syllabus designer pursuing a gramm atical order to sequencing input is that the ties connecting the structural items may De rather feeble A more fundamental criticism is that the grammatical syllabus focuses on only one aspect of language, namely grammar, whereas in truth there exist many more aspects to language Finally, recent corpus-based research suggests there

is a divergence between the grammar of the spoken and of the written language raising implications for the grading of content in gram m ar based syllabuses

The above approaches belong to the product-oriented category of syl'abuses

An alternative path to curriculum design would be to adopt process-oriented principles, which assume that language can be learnt expenentially as opposed

to the step-by-step procedure of the synthetic approach

b Process-O riented Syllabuses

Process-Oriented Syllabuses, or the analytical approach, developed as a result of

a sense of failure in product-oriented courses to enhance communicative language skills It is a process rather than a product That is, focus is not on what the student will have accomplished on completion of the program, but on the specification of learning tasks and activities that s/he will undertake during the course

Procedural/Task-Based Approaches

Prabhu's (1979) 'Bangalore Project' is a classic example of a procedural syllabus Here, the question concerning 'what' becomes subordinate to the question concerning 'how' The focus shifts from the linguistic elem ent to the pedagogical, with an emphasis on learning or learner Within such a fram ework the selection, ordering and grading of content is no longer wholly significant for the syllabus designer

Arranging the program around tasks such as information-and opinion-gap activities, it was hoped that the learner would perceive the language subconsciously whilst consciously concentrating on solving the meaning behind the tasks There appears to be an indistinct boundary between this approach and that of language teaching methodology, and evaluating the merits of the former remain complicated

A task-based approach assumes that speaking a language is a skill best perfected through practice and interaction, and uses tasks and activities to encourage learners to use the language communicatively in order to achieve a purpose Tasks must be relevant to the real world language needs of the student That is, the underlying learning theory of task based and com m unicative language teaching seems to suggest that activities in which language is employed to complete meaningful tasks and enhances learning

However, as suggested earlier, a predetermined syllabus provides support and guidance for the teacher and should not be so easily dismissed Critics have suggested that a learner-led syllabus seems radical and utopian in that it will be difficult to track as the direction of the syllabus will be largely the responsibility of the learners Moreover, without the mainstay of a course book, a lack of aims may come about This leads to the final syllabus design to be examined; the proportional approach as propounded by Yalden (1987).

The Proportional Approach

The proportional syllabus basically attempts to develop an "overall competence" (op.cit.:97) It consists of a number of elements with theme playing a linking role through the units This theme is designated by the learners It is expected initially that form will be of central value, but later, the focus will veer towards interactional components; the syllabus is designed to be dynamic, not static, with ample opportunity for feedback and flexibility (ibid: 100)

The shift from form to interaction can occur at any time and is not limited to a particular stratum of learner ability As Yalden (ibid:87) observes, it is important for a syllabus to indicate explicitly what will be taught, "not what will be learned"

This practical approach with its focus on flexibility and spiral method of language sequencing leading to the recycling of language, seems relevant for learners who lack exposure to the target language beyond the classroom But how can an EFL teacher pinpoint the salient features of the approaches discussed above?

3 Syllabus Design and Evaluation

Initially, several questions must be posed Do you want a product or process oriented syllabus? Will the course be teacher or learner led? W hat are the goals

of the program and the needs of your students? This leads to an examination of

the degree to which the various elements will be integrated, which is of great significance to White (1988:92) who comments:

A complete syllabus specification will include all five aspects: structure, function, situation, topic, and skills The difference between syllabuses will lie in the priority given to each of these aspects.

Eclecticism is a common feature of the majority of course books under the communicative banner currently on offer Attempts to combine the various aspects

of language have also been addressed by Hutchinson and Waters who state:

Any teaching material must, in reality, operate several syllabuses at the same time One of them will probably be used as the principal organizing feature, but the others are still there (opcit.:89).

Conclusion

Clearly, there is a vast amount of material to dissem inate when considering syllabus design The numerous approaches touched on here all offer valuable insights into creating a language program The synthetic approaches of structuralism, situational and functional-notional, all have objectives to be attained, a content to be processed and learnt The foundations of the product syllabuses remain fundamentally similar, whereas the underlying assum ptions about language and language learning from the analytic approaches differ greatly: process type syllabuses assert that learning a language is transient and cannot be itemized; pedagogical procedure takes precedence over content If our assumption about the nature of linguistics and language learning is one of

"language as communication" (Richards and Rodgers, 1986:69), then a syllabus based around activities and tasks which promote real and meaningful communication will seem advantageous Further points to consider when critically reviewing a syllabus are the objectives of the course as well as the needs of the learners Ultimately, and perhaps ideally, a hybrid syllabus will result purely due

to pragmatic reasons As Hutchinson and W aters (1987:51) suggest

It is wise to take an eclectic approach, taking w hat is useful from each theory and trusting also in the evidence of your own experience as a teacher.

Thus, to what extent has an integration of the various approaches taken place? Does the syllabus specification include all aspects? If yes, how is priority

established? These questions must also form part of the criteria when designing

or assessing your own syllabus

Bibliography

1 Breen, M (1984) Process syllabus for the language classroom In C J Brumfit (Ed ), General English syllabus design ELT Document, 118, Oxford: Pergamon Press, 47- 60

2 Brumfit, C.J & Johnson, K (eds) (1979) The Com m unicative Approach To Language Teaching Oxford: OUP.

3 Candlin, C N (1984) Syllabus design as a critical process, ELT Documents, No 118,

4 Gorsuch, G.J (1999) "Monbusho Approved Textbooks in Japanese High School EFL Classes : an aid or a hindrance to educational policy

innovations? " The Language Teacher 23, (10), 5- 15.

5 Hutchinson, T & Waters, A (1987) English F or Specific Purposes: A Learning Centred Approach Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

London: Pergamon & The British Council, 29

6 Long, R.W & Russell, G (1999) "Student Attitudinal Change over an

Academic Year" The Language Teacher 23, (10), 17-27.

7 Mulvey, B (1999) "A Myth of Influence: Japanese university entrance exams and their effect on junior and senior high school reading pedagogy"

JA LT Journal 21, (1), 125 - 142.

8 Nunan, D (1988) Syllabus Design Oxford: Oxford University Press.

9 Prabhu, N.S (1987) Second Language Pedagogy Oxford: OUP.

10 Richards, J.C & Rodgers, T.S (1986) Approaches A nd Methods In Language Teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

11 White, R.V (1988) The ELT Curriculum: Design, Innovation And Management Oxford: Blackwell.

12 Widdows, S & Voiler, P (1991) "PANSI: a survey of the ELT needs of

Japanese University students" Cross Currents 18, (2), 127-141 .

13 Widdowson, H.G (1978) Teaching Language As Communication Oxford:

OUP

14 Wilkins, D A (1976) Notional Syllabuses Oxford : Oxford University Press.

15 Yalden, J (1987) Principles o f Course Design fo r Language Teaching

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

(Source: Rabbini, R (2002) An introduction to syllabus design and evaluation The Internet TESL Journal, 8(5), 1-6.)

C h a ra c te ris tic s o f sy llab u s

S 3

Classroom Task 1: In pairs, look at the tentative syllabus for this Methodology course at the beginning of this book Identify the characteristics of a syllabus and fill out this form:

USING THE SYLLABUS

m

Classroom Task 2: Look at the box below in which five teachers describe how they use their syllabuses Then discuss with your classm ates the following questions:

1 With whom do you identify most closely?

2 W hat is it about his or her statement that you feel in sym pathy with?

3 W hat is it about other teachers' approaches that you reject?

4 If you found yourself in their situation, how would you use the syllabus7

Lan: The syllabus of the language school Mai: They made us read the national

where I teach is very comprehensive It syllabus in my teacher-training course, includes grammar, vocabulary, functions, but I haven't looked at it since What for? notions, situations; and gives references In my [state] school we use a class

to the material I can use, I use it all the coursebook, which lays out all the time and could not do without it When language I have to teach, as well as preparing a teaching session or series of giving me texts, exercises and ideas for sessions I go first to the syllabus and activities I assume the Ministry would decide what it will be appropriate to teach not have authorized the book if it didn't next according to its programme, plan accord with the syllabus, so there's no how to combine and schedule the reason for me to double-check if I am components I have selected, and take the teaching the right things,

relevant books or materials from the

library as I need them.

Giang: There is a syllabus, but we don't Huong: I possess the syllabus, and

have to use it; nor is there any fixed look at it occasionally, but mostly I coursebook, although the college work from the coursebook that my recommends certain ones Personally, I school chose for the class It’s just simply ignore the syllabus, since I prefer to that sometimes I get a bit fed up with

do my own thing based on the needs of my the coursebook and want to do [adult] students I use materials and something different, so I then do my activities from different sources (teacher’s own thing for a bit, using the syllabus handbooks, textbooks, enrichment' at a retrospective checklist, to make materials/literature) which are available in < sure I'm still reasonably on target with

my institution's library in order to create a the content After all, I am being rich and varied program that is flexible employed to teach a certain syllabus, I enough to be altered and adapted to can't stray too far

student needs during the course.

Long: The school where I work cannot afford to buy coursebooks for the children, so

I have the only book; I also have an officially authorized syllabus Everything I teach I take either from the syllabus or from the course book; I don't add material of my own; for one thing, the authorities do not approve, for another, I am not confident enough

of n y knowledge of the language I am teaching - 1 might make mistakes.

Source: Adapted from Ur, P (1996) A cource in Language teaching Cambridge University Press.

Com m ents W rap-up

How teachers use the syllabus varies very widely between different countries and

institutions, and depends on

• Financial resources,

• Teaching approach,

• The teacher’s personality

Questions for discussion:

1 How necessary is a course book?

2 W hat are the advantages and disadvantages of using a course book?

3 W hat criteria are involved in choosing a course book?

4 How to use a course book effectively?

%

CHOO SIN G A COURSE BOOK

Choosing a coursebook is one of the most important selections which teachers can make As teachers, you cannot influence your working lives in many ways such as: choosing learners, teaching hours, holiday periods, etc., but you can choose your coursebook You select a coursebook for your learners and for yourself, so you first need to analyse your learners’ needs and your own needs

What do you want from a coursebook?

Teachers want different things from their coursebooks and they use them in different ways Some teachers want a coursebook to provide everything They want the teacher’s book to tell us what to do, in which sequence to do each activity and how to assess the progress, which our learners have made

However, some teachers do not want the coursebook to control their lives They want to be able to plan their own lessons or even their own syllabus They want the coursebook to be a library of materials from which they can choose to be used in the ways they choose

W hat can a g o od coursebook give the teacher?

A good coursebook can help a teacher by providing:

□ a clearly thought out programme which is appropriately sequenced and structured to include progressive revision;

□ a w ider range of materials than an individual teacher may be able to collect;

□ security;

□ economy of preparation time;

□ a source of practical ideas;

□ work that the learners can do on their own sothat the teacher does not need to be centre stage all the time;

□ a basis for homework if this is required;

□ a basis for discussion and comparison with other teachers

What do yo u r learners need from a coursebook?

Students want a coursebook to be colourful and interesting They hope the coursebook will contain exciting games and activities They hope the cassettes will contain exciting stories, amusing dialogues and entertaining songs and rhymes

But what do the students need? W e all know that children have short memories They find it difficult to retain ideas and language from one lesson to the next So the children need a coursebook which becomes an accessible and understandable record of their work

A good coursebook gives the children:

• a sense of progress, progression and purpose;

• a sense of security;

• scope for independent and autonomous learning;

• a reference for checking and revising

b Does the book cover all the skills you want to teach (e.g listening, speaking, reading, writing) in a way you want to teach them?

c Does the book's method suit your own teaching method and overall aim?

d How authentic is the communication in the book? Does the language seem true-to-life and current?

e Is the book (including its cover, design, illustrations, colour, and feel) appealing and attractive?,

f Are language items recycled and reviewed enough?

g Is the book easy for the teacher to use? Is it well- organized? Is there an index? Does it have an answer key? Does it help you save preparation time?

h Is the book likely to be interesting for your learners? How do the topics relate to their lives? Just as important, is it interesting to you?

i Is the level suitable for the class you are teaching?

j Can the learner use the coursebook to learn new materials, review and monitor progress with some degree of autonomy?

k Can the book provide useful guidance and support for teachers who are inexperienced or occasionally unsure of their knowledge of the language?

I Is there a range of activities which provide enough practice for students?

m Do the number of lessons in the book fit the number of hours available in the school year?

(Source: Adapted from Ur, P (1996) A Course in Language Teaching Cambridge Cambridge University Press p 184 and Tanner, R & Green, C (1998) Tasks for Teacher Education Harlow: Longman, p 121)

Classroom Task 2: Choose a Tieng Anh textbook 10, 11, or 12 that you are m ost fam iliar with Discuss in groups and fill in the table of textbook assessment below.

^ USING A N D A D A PT IN G THE COURSEBOOK

When selecting a coursebook you always need to make a comprom se There will be things which you don’t like about any coursebook Look at the following questions:

1 How im portant are those things?

2 Can you create materials to substitute those aspects?

3 Has the coursebook got something missing?

4 Can you find or create materials to fill that gap?

Remember that you work in partnership with your coursebook Never expect the coursebook to do everything for you You will always need to personalize yourteaching with your own personality

J Classroom Task 3: Read the table and then answ er the questions

below it.

You can’t always get w hat you w ant

Changes of some sort are inevitable if you want a book to fit your aims, your setting, and most of all your learners There are various actions you can take to tailor a selected textbook to fit your teaching situation

CHANGE

Make small changes to the

existing materials in the textbook

REMOVE

Remove a textbook activity from the lesson

REPLACE

Replace one activity with another

related one which is more

1 Which, if any, of the four types of actions (change, remove, add, replace)

do you already have experience of?

2 W hich requires the most / least work for the teacher? Why?

3 W hich ones are the hardest for inexperienced teachers to do?

4 W hich ones are the hardest for all teachers?

Classroom Task 4: Examine Tieng Anh 11, Language Focus, and

answer these questions:

a) W hat are the language points being taught?

b) How communicative are the exercises?

c) W hat adaptations can be made to make the exercises more communicative?

Classroom Task 5: In 5 groups, choose one Reading activity in Tieng

Anh 10, 11 or 12 Evaluate the activity by answering these questions:

a) W hat do you think about the comprehension exercises?

b) How m eaningful/realistic are the questions?

c) How interesting is the exercise?

d) W hat adaptations can be made to improve the activity?

e) Is there a pre -, while, - post - reading stage?

Classroom Management

Aims:

• To provide you with some techniques, skills and practice of successful classroom management;

• To help you deal with discipline problems and unplanned lessons

• To introduce you to some types of classroom interactions to fit in your

teaching context

Questions for discussion

1 W hat is classroom m anagem ent7 ' ^ ^ 2 W hat does good classroom m anagem ent involve7

f 3 W hat influences teachers’ decisions7

4 How to create a positive classroom clim ate7

5 W hat are the techniques for giving and checKing instructions?

by the teacher to enable teaching to take place most effectively” (Richards ' 990)

Classroom management includes classroom interaction, various w o r k - f c ^ s and activities such as organizations and giving instructions, discipline problems

Classroom management includes abundant of factors ranging from - c v you physically arrange the classroom' to ' teaching style to "classroom ene'~

^ CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT INVOLVES

1 The classroom itself

• Sight, sound and comfort;

• Seating arrangement: make interaction among students most feasible;

• Blackboard use: neat and orderly;

• Equipment: mind the practicality surrounding the use of equipment;

2 YOU and The MESSAGE you send through

• Your voice: loud and clear enough;

• Your body language: non-verbal communication: your image, body posture, face, dress, eye contact, move around

3 Unplanned teaching: midstream lesson changes

Decide about what to do when:

• Your students digress and throw off the plan for the day;

• You digress and throw off your plan for the day;

• An unexpected but pertinent question comes up;

• Some technically prevents you from doing an activity (machine break downs, handout is illegible);

• A student is disruptive in class;

• You are asked a question you don’t know the answer to (e.g a grammatical point);

• There isn’t enough time at the end of a class period to finish the activity that has already started;

• Assessing the situation quickly;

• Making midstream change in your plan;

• Allow the lesson to move on

4 Teaching under adverse circum stances

TEACHING LARGE CLASSES

• Make students feel important;

• Get students do as much interactive work as possible;

• Optimize the use of pair work and group work;

• Do more than the usual num ber of listening com prehension activity using

tapes, videos, yourself;

• Use peer editing, feedback and evaluation in written work;

• Give a range of extra-class work from minimum to challenging task;

° Do not collect written work from all students at the same time;

• Set up small learning centers for individualized work;

• Organize informal conversation groups and study groups

CHALLENGES OF LARGE CLASSES

Problems

• Ability varies widely;

• Individual teacher-student attention is minimized;

• Teacher’s feedback on students’ written work is limited;

• Opportunities to speak are lessened;

• Students' motivation may be poor

S olutions

• Keeping everyone’s attention;

• Checking individual progress:

• Helping weaker students;

• Maintaining attendance and continuity:

• Marking large quantity of written work;

• Setting up groupwork and pairwork;

• Making students feel important.

CHALLENGES OF CLASSES WITH MIXED ABILITIES

• Different language levels;

• Different language learning skills;

• Different learning speeds;

• Different interests;

• Different levels of confidence;

• A wide range of ages.

All classes are mixed ability, but the challenges are bigger in a large class.

DEALING WITH WEAK, AVERAGE AND STRONGER STUDENTS

1 Plan suitable learning activities where

- The weaker students can complete only one part (finish part of the work easily and correctly, than to complete all the work in a hurry or incorrectly);

- The average students can finish the whole learning activity;

- The stronger students can complete all the planned learning activity:

• give them some extra questions or examples to do;

• encourage them to work by themselves (self-access learning) to ensure that they are not wasting their learning time

2 Use the individual differences and use the range of skills, abilities and personalities in the class to everyone's advantage Ask students to work

in groups, according to their different abilities

3 Distribute your time appropriately

- To help the slower, weaker or less confident students you need to give them more time to help them understand and be successful:

- The average and fast or strong students will need less of your time so you can spend most time with students who need you most

^ CREATING A POSSITIVE CLIMATE

The role you play and the styles that you develop will merge to give you some

tools for creating a classroom climate that is Positive, Stimulating E rerg izin g

1 Establish a rapport

• Showing interest in each student as a person;

• Giving feedback on each person’s progress;

• Openly soliciting students’ ideas and feelings;

• Valuing and respecting what students think and say;

• Laughing with them and not at them;

• Working with them as a team and not against them;

• Developing a genuine sense of vicarious joy when they learn something

or otherwise succeed

2 Praise and Criticism

Effective Praise

• Show genuine pleasure and concern;

• Show verba! and nonverbal variety;

• Specifies the particulars of an accomplishment, so students know exactly what was performed well:

• Is offered in recognition of noteworthy effort on difficult tasks;

• Attributes success to efforts, implying that similar success can be

expected in the future:

• Foster intrinsic motivation to continue to pursue goals;

• Is delivered without disrupting the communicative flow of ongoing

interaction

Ineffective Praise

• Is impersonal, mechanic and “robotic”;

• Is restricted to global comments, so students are not sure what was

Performed well:

• Is offered equally strongly for easy and difficult task

• Attributes success to ability, luck, or other external efforts;

• Fosters extrinsic motivation to perform only to receive more praise;

• Disrupts the communicative flow of ongoing interaction

• An aura of creativity sparked by the interactions of students;

• Students and teachers take energy with them when they leave the

classroom and bring it back the next day

Energy is unleashed through a quiet, reserved but focused teacher who brings in

to the classroom:

Q.1 Write two or m ore options for each o f the following situations.

a) A student says, “I don't want to do this exercise”.

b) You expected an activity to take five minutes It has taken twenty so far and the students still seem to be very involved There is something else you would like to do before the lesson ends in ten minutes

c) The next activity involves students working in groups of five At the moment, all the desks (which take five people) are facing forward in rows They are movable, but it takes a few minutes of chaos to do it

d) The students are working in groups of three Two groups have finished the task you set them and are now sitting looking bored The other groups still seem to have a long way to go before they finish.

Q.2 What influences and informs your decisions between different options?

At every point in the lesson the teacher has options: to say one thing or to say something different, to stop an activity or to let it continue for a few more minutes,

to take three minutes to deal with a difficult question or to move on with what you had previously planned These options continue throughout the lesson; at every step your decision will take you forward on your particular route Classroom

management also involves teachers’ decisions and actions As a teacher, you

have to decide which options or actions to take/do in the classroom.

c) The teacher uses tapes recordings of native speaker conversations.

d) The teacher reads something to the students and then asks them to do some follow-up comprehension activities.

e) In every lesson, the teacher includes at least one game that involves students moving around the classroom.

a) The teacher shouts out O K OK, let’s start the lesson; you can continue that later

The room quietens down a bit; some people continue whispering animatedly to

each other Now today we are going to look at ways o f talking about the future, continues the teacher One student asks, but this subject is very interesting, could we continue the conversation if we use English?

b) The teacher says, I am sorry, but we have to get through unit 9 o f the book today Perhaps we can have a discussion next week Open your book at page 48.

(Source: Scrivener, J (2005) Learning Teaching: a guidebook for English language teachers Macmillan Publishers Ltd)

G IV IN G A N D C H E C K IN G IN S T R U C T IO N S

Classroom Task 4: Match the names of the techniques and their definitions.

a The teacher doesn't talk about what the students

must do: instead s/he shows them w hat to do by

giving a demonstration

b The teacher gives the students one instruction at a

time not a list of instructions all together

c It's NOT im portant which language the teacher uses -

Vietnamese or English - but the way the instructions

are delivered is the im portant thing

d The teacher follows 3 steps for each instruction First,

s/he says the instruction, then s/he gets the students

to do it, then s/he checks that they've done it

correctly before going on to the next instruction

e The teacher checks that the students understand

everything by saying, "Tell me what you have to do

in Vietnam ese" or "Say it again in Vietnamese"

1 "Step-by-step" or the "feed-in"

approach

2 Dem onstrate it,

"model" it or "show- don't-tell"

3 Say - Do - Check

4 Student Recall

5 Not What but H ow

(Source: adapted from Lower Secondary School Methodology Course Book One)

U n it 2: C L A S S R O O M D IC IP L IN E S

Questions for discussion

1 W hat is classroom discipline?

2 W hat factors contribute to a disciplined classroom ?

3 What causes discipline problems?

4 Howto deal with discipline problems?

5 Howto use mother tongue in a language class?

According to Penny Ur (1999), classroom discipline is a state in which both

teachers and learners accept and consistently observe a set of rules about behavior in the classroom whose function is to facilitate smooth and efficient teaching and learning a lesson There are many reasons for problem behavior, it can stem from students’ reactions to their teacher’s behavior, from other factors inside the classroom, or from outside factors

^ SOME BASIC REASONS FOR PROBLEM BEHAVIOUR

Family - sometimes indiscipline can be traced back to a difficult home situation,

Education - students’ expectations of learning experience can be colored either

by unpleasant memories or by what they were once allowed to get away with

Self-esteem - a lack of respect from teacher or peers can make students feel

frustrated and upset, in such a situation disruptive behavior is an attractive opton:

Boredom - when the chosen topic or activity is inappropriate students show

their lack of interest by behaving badly;

External factors - teachers notice significant behavior changes in o.fferent

weathers, sometimes a high wind tends to make their students go wild:

W hat the teacher does - students who feel their self-esteem to have been

damaged especially if we are unfair, it is more likely for the students to be badly behaved in the future;

Classroom management - teachers cannot handle some situations of which

Reseating - an effective way of controlling a student who is behaving badly is to

make the student sit in a different place immediately, troublesom e students

should be separated

Change the activity

Talks after the class

The fact is that strategies are no substitute for good teaching Good teaching is a preventative measure It keeps students so involved and attracted that they do not want to cause discipline problems

Classroom Task: Read through the descriptions of 5 episodes Deal with

them in any order that you like and think about or discuss the following questions:

1 W hat caused the problem?

2 W hat could the teacher have done to prevent it from arising7

3 Once it had arisen, what would you advise the teacher to do?

EPISODES: DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS

Episode 1

The teacher of a mixed class of thirteen-year-olds is working through an English lesson He asks Terry to read out a passage “Do we have to do this book? says Terry “It’s boring” Some members of the class smile, one says: "I like if others are silent awaiting the teacher’s reaction

(Adapted from: Wragg EC (1981) Class management and control: a teaching skills workbook MacMillan, p 12)

Episode 2

The teacher is explaining a story Many of the students are inattentive, and there is a murmur of quiet talk between them The teacher disregards the noise and speaks to those who are listening Finally she reproaches, in a gentle and sympathetic way, one student who is taking particularly noticeably The student stops talking for a minute or two, then carries on This happens once or twice more, with drfferent students The teacher does not get angry, and continues to explain, trying (with only partial success) to draw students attention through occasional questions

(Adapted from: Reinhom-lurie S (1992) Classroom discipline Unpublished research project, Oranim School of Education Haifa.)

Episode 3

The teacher has prepared a worksheet and is explaining how to do it He has extended his explanation to the point where John, having lost interest in the teacher’s words, begins to tap a ruler on his desk At first the tapping is occasional and not too noticeable, but John begins to tap more frequently and more noisily building up to a final climax when he hits the tabs with a very loud bang The class gets startled by the noise, falls silent, and looks at both John and the teacher to see what will happen

(Adapted from: Wragg, E.C (1981) Class management and control: a teaching skills workbook MacMillan, p 18)

Episode 4

The teacher begins by giving out classroom books and collecting homework books

Teacher (to one of the boys): This book's very thin

Boy1: Y eah,'tis, isn't it?

Teacher: Why?

B oy1: I've been drawing in it

Boy 2: He's been using it for toilet paper, sir (Uproar)

(Adapted from: Wragg, E.C Ed.) (1984) (Ed.), Classroom teaching skills, Croom Helm, London, p 32)

Episode 5

The students have been asked to interview each other for homework and write reports In this lesson they are asked to read aloud their reports A few students refuse to do so The teacher tells these students to stand up before the class and

be interviewed by them They stand up but do not relate to the questions seriously, answer facetiously or in their mother tongue or not at all The teacher eventually sends them back to their places and goes on to the next planned activity, a textbook exercise

(.Adapted from: Reinhom-lurie,S.(1992) Classroom discipline U n p u b lish e d research project, Oramm School of Education Haifa)

Questions for discussion

1 W hat are classroom interaction patterns?

2 W hat are possible problems in classroom interactions7

Classroom interaction is the patterns of verbal and non-verbal communication,

and the types of social relationships that occur within classrooms

Classroom Task 1: Rearrange the following interaction patterns in

order o f the m ost teacher - dominated to the m ost student - active pattern.

a Group work

b Open ended questioning

c Students initiates, teacher answers

d Choral response

e Teacher talk

f Close-ended teacher questioning

Student Talking Time (STT)?

4 W hat are types of work arrangem ent7

5 How to use pair work and group work effectively in a

3 W hat is the balance of Teacher Talking Time ( i l l ) and

g Individual work

h Collaboration (pair work)

i Self-access

j Full class interaction

Classroom Task 2: In the list o f statem ents below about classroom

interaction, tick any that you feel you can agree with:

1 a It is more important for learners to listen and speak to the teacher than for learners to listen and speak to each other

b Students should get most conversation practice in interacting with other learners rather than with the teacher

2 a People usually learn best by listening to people explaining things

b People usually learn best by trying things out and finding out what works

3 a The teacher should speak as much as possible in classroom time,

b The teacher should speak as little as possible in classroom time

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS IN CLASSROOM INTERACTIONS

Various types of classroom interactions may raise several potential problems that can be named as following:

1 Teacher Talking Time (TTT)

2 Echo

3 Helpful sentence completion

4 Complicated and unclear instructions

5 Not checking understanding of instructions

6 Asking Do you understand?

7 Lack of confidence in self, learners, material, and activity/making it too easy

8 Not really listening (hearing language problems but not the message)

9 W eak rapport - creation of a poor working environment

10 Using L1 in the classroom

(Source: Scrivener J (2005) Learning Teaching: a guidebook for English language teachers Macmillan Publishers Ltd)

^ TEACHER TALKING TIME A N D STUDENT TALKING TIME

Classroom Task 3: R ead about what these teachers talk about the

balance o f Teacher Talking Time and Student Talking Time and give your own statements.

Samir Ibrahim, Syria

/ always try to break the balance / think / have because / want the classroom to be the students 'stage as long as possible.

2 In my country, education is still traditional I t is only

imitating and dictating from teacher to students although

th e re are computers, most people don't use them to learn

only as a video Really students don't speak, only listen.

Rasha , Egypt

3 I have noticed that native - speaker - teachers let the students speak more than non native - speaker - teachers of English In m y opinion this is because we tend to teach a lot o f grammar and make comparisons between the two languages, while native speakers use the language

“naturally” and so they tend to be more conversational -

Teresa Ferrero, Italy

4 It's tru e th a t students learn a lot from th e ir teachers, especially

when they are starting out The teacher must be an example ,

therefore listening as well as speaking is the art o f the fine

conversation Strike a balance - Rebecca 5 Hudson , UK

5 I think I have a good balance o f teacher talking time in the

sense that I try to reduce or expand m y talk according to students' ) < ^ / _

rapport What I mean is that I adapt m y talking time to the group's

needs and activities involved - Maria Magdalena Rua, Argentina

Ao Bfc> Cc Dd E« Ff

One of the solutions to achieve successful lessons is that teachers retain a balance between TTT and STT W hat can teachers do about that?

• D on’t abuse even though teacher speaking is a good source of language

• Teachers should learn to talk less and create more chances for students to practice their speaking

• Teachers should consider the characteristics of the lessons to decide a flexible amount of time talking

TYPES OF W O R K ARRANG EM ENT

Classroom Task 4: Walk around the class and FIND so m e o n e w h o :

1 thinks PW/GW makes the classroom too noisy

2 thinks PW/GW is not possible with a mixed ability class

3 thinks PW /GW encourages students to make mistakes

4 thinks the teacher has less control over what students are

doing in PW/GW

5 thinks PW /GW is not possible with a large class |

6 thinks PW /GW takes a lot of time

7 thinks PW /GW can't make students speak English in class

8 thinks Ss can’t do PW /GW

Note: P W = pairw ork ; G W = groupwork

e g

Classroom Task 5: R ead the following text and com plete the

sum m ary table below for y o u r text:

don't have to do it in front of the whole class You follow the principle of learning

by doing, there is a direct correlation between the level of e student's participation

and the amount of learning taking place: high learner participation results in effective learning for the majority of the class At the same time, pairwork cuts teacher-talking time down and provides a much more co-operative, learner- centred working environment

As a work arrangement, pairwork is based on an information gap between partners This means partner has one set of information and the other partner has a different, but complementary, set of information By getting together, discussing what they have got, the pairwork task enables students to fit pieces of knowledge together into a richer, or more complete picture W ithout an information gap and the need to 'co-operate', the pairs do not have any real reasons to talk to each other

For example, Student A has a picture Student B has the same picture with some features missing In pairs, they have to find out the missing features

2 Groupwork

Groupwork has the same co-operative learning advantages as Pairwork in that:

❖ it is non-confrontational (no-one has to get up and speak in front of the whole class)

❖ it elicits a high degree of student participation (the teacher cannot dominate the talking time, the class is learner centred and de-centralised)

❖ it forges a good group dynamic (as long as the group is given challenging tasks with productive roles for each member)

In addition, groupwork is an excellent way of dealing with mixed ability levels which divide the class and leave only a few strong students as 'contributors' in a teacher - whole class (plenary) set up By putting learners into groups, the trainer can begin to deal with encouraging weaker students to perform well

Groupwork tasks are usually divided into share and/or compare activities In a share activity, each group works on solving a different problem (but with a common theme) and then shares their problems and solution with other groups In a compare activity, all groups work on solving the same problem then compare the different solutions they have come up with

An example of groupwork would be to get the members of each group to brainstorm a list of things they would like to know about a given topic in the course Then, as a whole class they pool their crossing off duplication and coming up with a final list of points they all want to know about

3 Cross Grouping (Jigsaw)

Cross grouping is a co-operative work arrangement where students are put into a first group and regrouped into a second group In the first group, the class is split into, say, 6 groups of 5 members each The six groups all work on different aspects of the same topic - no two groups are working on the same thing Everyone in the group takes notes Then the teacher regroups the students into groups of 6: one member from each of the original 6 groups becomes an 'ambassador' for his/her group in the new group

First Group: 11111 22222 33333 44444 55555

Second Group: 12345 12345 12345 12345 12345

The advantage of this work arrangem ent is that the reporting back from the first group happens in another group, not as a plenary report-back s e s s s c n which is

often boring and repetitive In this way, certain 'strong' students are not able to dominate the forum; everyone must speak because everyone has a different piece of the jigsaw puzzle to contribute; there are no 'passengers' I" addition, a lot more information can be covered; each of the first groups becom e expert' in one piece of information and they then relay their new knowledge to the members

of their second group There are also confidence building aspects to this co­operative work arrangement: each m em ber of the second group has something unique to contribute to the group - they have a real role to play

(Source: adapted from Lower Secondary School Methodology Course Book One)

Classroom Task 6: Here is some m aterial from a student coursebook

In using it as the basis for a class activity, which o f the follow ing work

be p o ssib le ?

a) If you were the prime minister or president of your country, what would you do? Look at the ideas below.

stude; ts think and

then write answers

on their own

students prepare a

short monologue

statement of their

own views which

they present to the

whole class

Build better hospital/schools Pay teachers/politicians more Open more universities/cinemas Make the weekend four days long/the working day shorter iMake the army bigger/smaller Build more roads/shopping malls Clean up cites/rivers

Give more money to old people/the unemployed

^ G R O U P I N G S T U D E N T S

When deciding how to group students, we need to consider a number of differentfactors:

1 The teaching aim: It is much easier to choose how to group students when

we have decided on the aim of the lesson and the aim of each activity

2 The learning styles of the students For example, some students prefer to

work as individuals, others in groups Students also have different personalities and find it easier to work with some partners or groups than with others

3 The ability and level of the students Most classes are 'mixed ability', i.e they

include students of different abilities We can group students for some activities so that students of the same ability work together, and for other activities so that students of different abilities work together

4 The personalities of our students Most of the time students will work well

together, but sometimes there are students who do not work together

positively, e.g when one student is shy and another is quite dominant (i.e

always talking and stopping others from taking part) W e need to think carefully about how to group these students

5 The class size With a class of between 20 and 30 students, we can manage

pair and group work quite easily With classes of more than 30 students, pair and group work are possible, but need more careful planning

6 The previous experience of the students When students are not used to

pair and group work we need to plan how to introduce this way of working

We can start by doing short pairwork activities and gradually introduce longer and more varied groupings

7 The activities that we have chosen For example, a discussion activity can be

done in groups, a role-play can be done in pairs But we can also choose to do these activities differently, depending on the needs of the group and the aims of the lesson So, for example, a discussion activity can be done in pairs or as a whole class, and a role- play can be done in groups

8 The balance of interaction patterns in a lesson A lesson where learners

are doing pairwork for the whole lesson will probably not be successful: learners will become bored and there might be discipline problems A lesson

where learners are doing individual work for the whole lesson v*ll probably

not be successful either: learners will lose concentration and becom e bored Equally, a lesson which is wholly teacher - led is unlikely to be successful: learners need a balance of different interaction patterns within one lesson

9 The group dynamics of the class, i.e the relationships between the

students and how students will behave towards each other

^ G RO U P W O RK O R G A N IZ A TIO N

1 Presentation

a) Introduce the technique

b) Justify the use of small groups for the technique

c) Model the technique

d) Give explicit detailed instructions

e) Divide the class into groups (by chance, streaming or friendship)

f) Check for clarification

g) Set the task in motion

h) Give a time limit

2 Process: Monitoring the task

a) Don't sit at your desk and do something else

b) Don't leave the room and take a break

c) Don't spend an undue amount of time with one group at the expense of others

d) Don't correct students' errors unless asked to do so

e) Don't assume a dominating or disruptive role while monitoring groups

3 Ending

a) Draw the activity to a close at a certain point

b) Finish the activity while the students are still enjoying it and interested or only just beginning to flag

4 Feedback

a) Get feedback

b) Give students a chance to demonstrate their work

c) Check student work, give correction if necessary,

d) Come to conclusions of the topic,

e) Add constructive comment and feedback to enhance students motivation

(Adapted from Ur, P (1996) A course in language teaching Cambridge University Press p 234)

Classroom Task 7: Teacher self-evaluation

1 Observation: Reflect on the interaction patterns in your last few classes Use the

circle below to create a pie chart indicating the approximate percentage of your time your students spent

a) Did you vary the pattern of interaction?

b) How would you describe your role in the class and the role of thestudents?

c) W hat was the balance between teacher talk and student talk'?

d) Was there any of the teacher talk that could have been student talk orcould the students access the information in any other w ay7

(Source: adapted from Lower Secondary School Methodology Course Book One p 123)

An example of classroom interactions

w it h a p a rtn e r

( 10%)

Lesson Planning

Aims:

• To raise awareness o f different teachers' attitudes towards lesson and

lesson planning;

• To help you solve some o f the problems you have w ith lesson planning;

• To give you some guidelines fo r w riting effective lesson plans;

• To help you provide more variety and flexibility in lessons and lesson

planning;

• To provide you with criteria to evaluate the effectiveness o f a lesson;

• To introduce you to the application o f Bloom taxonom y in lesson planning

Questions for discussion

1 W hat is a lesson plan?

2 W hy do we need lesson planning?

3 W hat are the components of a lesson plan?

4 W hat are your problems in writing a lesson plan7

5 W hat are the steps of writing a lesson plan7

^ M ETAPHOR OF A LESSON

e s

Classroom task 1: Exploring metaphors for a lesson

A Choosing a metaphor: Decide which of the items below best express the

essence of a lesson, and say Why?

A lesson can be generally compared to:

- what to include and what to leave out

- timing for each activity