Sunday, August 08, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
I miss you all Egyptian and Morocian 2006
Students can learn something useful from the books or the films they like most by taking an active part in the activity. They also can distinguish the similarities and the differences with their partners in the subject” my favorite book or film”. In the meantime, Students can learn to how to select the books or the films appropriate to themselves or others, and help them get advanced, develop their ability of practice and communicating.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Hi everyone!
I'm Shady Ibrahim. It has been ages since I contacted you. Actually, I'm lucky that I know all of the people in this blog. I can't forget my P4L members either from Moroccow or Egypt. I also know P4T members as I shared my experience with them in Fulbright building before their departure. I hope you are all ok. I'd like to activate our exchange via the blog. If anybody still remember me, Please reply to my message.
Best Regards,
Shady
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Repeating and re-phrase techinque
The repeat and re-phrase technique is effective in classrooms because a student may know various vocabulary words and now know the ones that the teacher is using. By using this technique the teacher exposes the student to new vocabulary that can be associated with the old to acquire a meaning. The student benefit by both the repetition, as the source of learning new vocabulary, and the use of old vocabulary to form a re-phrased question in order to acquire a new and better understanding of the English language. - This techniques can be used during oral instruction given to the class or an individual student. It can also be applied during question and answer time in class, and is optimal for such a use as it provides students with an opportunity to better understand the question and answer it without help. This promotes a higher level learning, understanding, and self-confidence in students.- The repeat and re-phrase strategy is used in the classroom to promote, achieve, or ensure, understanding of a given topic, standard, or question. For example: if a student doesn’t understand the question “what is the meaning of an adjective?” Then the teacher can respond by either repeating, and/or if understanding is still not reached, re-phrasing the question to promote the student’s application of knowledge. The question could be re-phrased as: “What does an adjective do?” This also helps with future questions as the student will better understand the meaning of the posed question.
Friday, February 08, 2008
Increasing Classroom Interaction
Dear colleagues,
Let me share with you some of the most interesting techniques I learnt during the last MATE middle school seminar in Ben Slimane. This workshop presented by Professor Joan Kang Shin evolved around increasing interaction between students at all levels through group and pair work activities. The goal of the workshop was to give students chances to equally interact a great deal with one another. The facilitator started by explaining that the following experiential activities are used on a scaffolding basis to practice new knowledge and skills in a safe environment. She also stressed that such activities are usually linked to students’ real contexts.
I- Little Bit of language input – check activity:
This is a controlled pair work activity which consists of:
1. Giving students a “small bit of input”, that can be a grammar definition, a definition of a word …etc. For example:
T: Skimming means reading quickly for the main idea.
2. Checking comprehension using Q and A to model the interaction desired :
T: Khadija, what does skimming mean?
K: Skimming means reading quickly for the main idea.
3. Have students in pairs do the exact same interaction.
Let me share with you some of the most interesting techniques I learnt during the last MATE middle school seminar in Ben Slimane. This workshop presented by Professor Joan Kang Shin evolved around increasing interaction between students at all levels through group and pair work activities. The goal of the workshop was to give students chances to equally interact a great deal with one another. The facilitator started by explaining that the following experiential activities are used on a scaffolding basis to practice new knowledge and skills in a safe environment. She also stressed that such activities are usually linked to students’ real contexts.
I- Little Bit of language input – check activity:
This is a controlled pair work activity which consists of:
1. Giving students a “small bit of input”, that can be a grammar definition, a definition of a word …etc. For example:
T: Skimming means reading quickly for the main idea.
2. Checking comprehension using Q and A to model the interaction desired :
T: Khadija, what does skimming mean?
K: Skimming means reading quickly for the main idea.
3. Have students in pairs do the exact same interaction.
T: ask your partner what skimming means?
II- Integrated skills pair work:
This is an information gap and problem solving activity. Students in pairs can be provided with scenarios on different topics such as taking a trip. This activity was divided into the following 3 parts:
1. Getting information:
Students in pairs are asked to read about 2 different countries and fill in a sort of questionnaire or a foldable by asking each other questions and writing down answers. This activity offers practice in scanning information and engages students in real life interaction. The facilitator stressed the importance of providing students with sample questions and reading texts especially at very beginning levels.
2. using information:
Once they have information about 2 countries, students individually decide on which is the best country to visit and justify their choice.
3. Problem-solving negotiation:
Pairs discuss their choices and try to reach an agreement on the best country to visit and state the reasons behind their choice.
Joan Kang Shin provided this interesting world travel guide, which can be used as a teaching resource: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/
III- textbook exercises:
This technique aims to provide students with opportunities to interact while working in groups to complete textbook exercises. Below are the steps Joan Kang Shin suggested to implement this activity in the classroom:
1. Students in groups are asked to complete an exercise on the textbook or a task sheet.
2. They are asked to choose a leader whose responsibilities are :
- Leading the discussion,
- Keeping track of time,
- Eliciting responses from the group members,
- Making sure that all the group members participate equally and
- Calling on students to share their answers with the whole class when the task has been completed.
3. Students should be given clear language models to successfully lead the discussion. Model questions should be adapted to students’ level and written clearly on the board or wall charts.
4. After the discussion, the teacher calls on each group leader to elicit a response from one of their group members and share it with other groups.
5. Group leaders are assisted to use the language accurately.
This workshop was a great opportunity for me to learn useful techniques and reflect on my own teaching, which was more focused on Teacher- student interactions. It has successfully convinced me that all students need to speak out and consequently we have to establish situations and encourage them to interact with one another.
Reference:
Workshop: Increasing Classroom Interaction with group and pair work. Joan Kang Shin. University of Maryland, Baltimore County. MATE 2nd middle school seminar. Benslimane, January 26-28, 2008.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Spelling Relay : - How to play
Skills focus: Practice spelling words with this excellent stirrer.
How to Play:
Separate the classroom board into two or more equal parts by drawing rows and columns. The students will spell words in the rows. In the columns above write team names. (You can create more rows and columns depending on the number of teams.(tip- more than four rows is not advisable).
Give each team a board marker or chalk depending on the nature of your boards.
Make an equal line up of first relay runners of each team.
The teacher then says a word s/he wants the students to spell. Each runner runs to the board and writes the beginning letter of the word. He/she runs back to team members and hands the chalk or board marker to the next runner in the team. Each team takes turns writing a single letter until the word is completely spelled.
The first team to finish spelling the word correctly scores a point or gets some form of praise.
Tips:
This is an exciting game. Relay runners have a tendency to stand up before the marker or chalk is handed to them. Make sure relay runners are not doing similar unfair practices.
Start with easy words that students can spell
This is a stirrer and can be physically demanding. Some students might be good at spelling but not good runners. Mix students according to intellectual and physical strengths.
Generally, in all games of competition, make sure there is a balance of abilities in teams- physical & intellectual.
Try to help weak teams score points.
As a general rule, don’t always let one team win thrice in a row. This might discourage the other teams.
Keep the competitiveness by helping the weak teams in a way the winning teams do not judge unfair. But in the end give every team what they deserve.
Watch out for students who cannot handle the physical demands of the game. Pause occasionally and give students a few minutes to rest.
For higher levels don’t just ask them to spell a word. Describe a word and they guess and spell.
Adapt games according to the situation of your classrooms and students.
How to Play:
Separate the classroom board into two or more equal parts by drawing rows and columns. The students will spell words in the rows. In the columns above write team names. (You can create more rows and columns depending on the number of teams.(tip- more than four rows is not advisable).
Give each team a board marker or chalk depending on the nature of your boards.
Make an equal line up of first relay runners of each team.
The teacher then says a word s/he wants the students to spell. Each runner runs to the board and writes the beginning letter of the word. He/she runs back to team members and hands the chalk or board marker to the next runner in the team. Each team takes turns writing a single letter until the word is completely spelled.
The first team to finish spelling the word correctly scores a point or gets some form of praise.
Tips:
This is an exciting game. Relay runners have a tendency to stand up before the marker or chalk is handed to them. Make sure relay runners are not doing similar unfair practices.
Start with easy words that students can spell
This is a stirrer and can be physically demanding. Some students might be good at spelling but not good runners. Mix students according to intellectual and physical strengths.
Generally, in all games of competition, make sure there is a balance of abilities in teams- physical & intellectual.
Try to help weak teams score points.
As a general rule, don’t always let one team win thrice in a row. This might discourage the other teams.
Keep the competitiveness by helping the weak teams in a way the winning teams do not judge unfair. But in the end give every team what they deserve.
Watch out for students who cannot handle the physical demands of the game. Pause occasionally and give students a few minutes to rest.
For higher levels don’t just ask them to spell a word. Describe a word and they guess and spell.
Adapt games according to the situation of your classrooms and students.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Three Activities to Promote Learners' Autonomy
Introduction:
I believe that many EFL teachers, like myself, have experienced the frustration of investing endless energy in designing interesting, from the teacher's point of view, tasks and organizing various activities for students, but getting little response. Learners are often reluctant to use the target language in pair/small group work. Students do not reflect on their mistakes and, consequently, do not learn from their errors. Even really motivated learners do not always seem to attain their potential.
The common phenomenon among learners is a passive role they assume in the process of learning -- they rely on teachers too much and are reluctant to develop a sense of responsibility for the outcome of their learning. This holds for other subjects as well as for foreign languages.
It is unreasonable to expect that encouraging a student to become more independent, or autonomous, in acquiring language skills will bring about any tangible changes. Learners have to be taught the skill 'how to learn'. Learning this skill is a slow process and can only be perfected in a step-by-step manner.
First, learners need to become aware of the ways they learn best, which involves their learning styles and strategies (Brazis, Kavaliauskienë, 2000). Naturally, it takes time for learners to find out what are the most effective techniques and activities for each person.
Second, learners have to change their passive attitude to learning to a more active attitude, i.e. to become less dependent on the teacher and take charge of their own learning (Wilga M. Rivers, 1992). Teacher's role is to involve students in search for interesting materials, e.g. surfing the Internet, or finding pen-friends on the Internet, taking part in competitions, chat-clubs, encouraging to read English books, newspapers, magazines, etc.
Finally, learners have to be given a chance to gain experience in 'swapping places' with a teacher, which means changing the traditional role of a teacher, developing the art of negotiation, emphasizing the importance of self-assessment, etc. (Grudzinska, 2000). This involves tasks and activities designed and administered by the learners themselves. The diversity of tasks may cover grammar, games, written work, audio- and video- recordings, news items, translation -- you name it -- anything that interests learners will benefit them.
This article presents some techniques I have used in order to involve my students in active preparation and administration of activities. I hope my experience may be of interest to other English teachers who like experimenting in the classroom and trying out various techniques.
Crossword Session:
GOALS:
Recycling vocabulary, peer assessment and self-assessment, students' communicative interaction and cooperation, enhancing motivation
LEVEL: intermediate & above
LANGUAGE FOCUS: giving definitions, evaluating performance
PREPARATION: pair work in class, between 7 and 10 minutes
DELIVERY: pair work, time limit -- about 10 minutes
In this activity students assume the teacher's traditional role of designing a task and carrying out the activity.
For many students learning professional vocabulary is a tedious task. Learners find it difficult to retrieve a specific item impromptu (speaking or writing). The possible cause of this failure is that vocabulary items have not been consolidated, i.e. have not been transferred to a long-term memory and either remained in a short-term memory or have been forgotten. Some items might be recognizable when encountered by learners, but usually learners complain that they are short for words and use rudimentary vocabulary because appropriate terms have not been effectively activated.
In this activity a situational context and a lexical content are intertwined. Students use the wordlist of target vocabulary from the topic-based reading materials. Students choose the items they want to process and design a crossword working in pairs. It is advisable to limit the number of vocabulary items (about 10) and to set the time limit (7 to 10 minutes). Each pair is expected to deliver their crossword either on the chalkboard or transparency using an overhead projector. One student reads the definitions, and another writes the item as soon as somebody generates the answer. Students are awarded a point for each correct answer. In case of an inaccurate definition, a point is awarded to a person who corrects it. The guessing activity should not take longer than 10 minutes. The idea is to have a fast performance and delivery. The activity also helps develop fast-thinking, which is necessary in spontaneous speech. It can be administered as a warm-up or between other activities, like writing or reading, for students to unwind. The crosswords designed by other pairs should be administered in the follow-up lessons, one at a time. Thus, learners will be able to recollect and process the task-based vocabulary during a few weeks. Naturally, different pairs will choose diverse vocabulary items, which also encourages revising. Learners' interaction, cooperation, assessment and self-assessment is lively and takes place in a friendly atmosphere: students argue over definitions, pronunciation and spelling, and enjoy awarding the titles of 'the best', 'the second best' and 'the third best' performers.
An example of a crossword and definitions are presented below. This crossword example was prepared by a pair of learners using vocabulary from the reading text 'The Law and the Family' (Powell, 1993). Although the visual design may seem unprofessional, this crossword puzzle serves the goals.
DOWN
1 A legal document in which somebody states to whom they want their property & money to be given after their death (WILL)
2 The duty and the right of a parent to keep and bring up a child after divorce (CUSTODY)
3 Husband or wife (SPOUSE)
4 Born of parents who are not married to each other (ILLEGITIMATE)
5 A person who is being sued for divorce (RESPONDENT)ACROSS
6 A legal statement declaring a marriage null and void (NULLITY)
7 Dying without having made a will (INTESTACY)
8 Sexual intercourse between a married person and somebody who is not their spouse (ADULTERY)
9 A condition or requirement in a legal document (PROVISION)
10 Money paid by the state to the person responsible for a child under 16 (BENEFIT)
Grammar Training:
GOALS: identifying the right tense, self- & peer correction, self assessment, generalizing from examples, developing an autonomous learner
LEVEL: pre-intermediate & above
LANGUAGE FOCUS: usage of appropriate tenses within the context
PREPARATION: pair work, authentic materials
DELIVERY: pair work, handouts or transparencies (use of overhead projector)
The usage of English tenses is rather problematic to Lithuanian learners. The most likely cause of students' difficulty is a difference between grammar systems of English and the mother tongue. There are only three tenses in Lithuanian -- Present, Past and Future. There are no notions of either Continuous or Perfect tenses and learners find the usage very confusing. Although students are very familiar with the structures of all the tenses, they tend to simplify their usage to simple forms. The technique presented below demonstrates an opportunity for students to practice the usage of various tenses within the topic-based context.
The activity is prepared at home and administered by learners in class. Learners use authentic professional materials either from professional journals, CNN or BBC news, newspapers and so on. Each pair prepares a passage in which verbs are replaced by infinitives and reproduced on transparencies or handouts. In the classroom, all peers exchange their ideas and suggest the choice(s) of a tense. All students are involved in the discussion and present their arguments for or against the suggested usage. This activity is very lively, particularly when there is an alternative possibility. Learners argue the points enthusiastically, and as a rule a final decision is reached without the teacher's intervention. Learners enjoy awarding 'prizes' to their peers and demonstrate the ability of being objective in their evaluation. It is noteworthy that students should complete the activity during the lesson, and the teacher's feedback should follow the learners' self-assessment. It is advisable to have no more than one such activity during a lesson, so that students do not get bored or frustrated in case it is rather hard.
Here is an example.
BICYCLE PATROLS
The use of bicycle patrol (1) ___________ foot patrol in many areas. (REPLACE)
Lately US law enforcement agencies (2) _____________to recognize the many benefits of patrolling
on bikes. (BEGIN)
Patrolling on bikes (3) ____________ high visibility, accessibility and mobility. (PROVIDE)
Bicycle patrols (4) _____________ crime by the capability to approach crimes in progress without
being seen or heard. (REDUCE)
The element of surprise (5) _____________ police to catch more suspects.. (HELP)
Police bicycles (6) ______________ with radar or computerized communication systems. (EQUIP)
Electric bikes travel up to 20 mph and (7) ____________ pedaling. (NOT NEED)
Answer key
1 replaces / has replaced 2 have begun 3 provides / has provided 4 reduce / have reduced 5 helps / has helped 6 are equipped / have been equipped / were equipped 7 do not need
VariationA possible variation of this activity is combining two tasks: selecting the word order and the tense. A useful tip: usage of tenses is better understood and learnt from a context. The choice of tenses out of the context is often ambiguous. The following example is a part of a passage, which is meant to demonstrate the format of the exercise. Students-peers have to determine the logical word order and choose the appropriate tense:
/ a student / for two years / to juvenile offenders' / be sent / institution / for making / death calls / anonymous / / until his trial / be remanded / accused of harassing / in custody / young girls / the youth / last month /
Answer Key: A student has been sent to juvenile offenders' institution for two years for making anonymous death calls. The youth accused of harassing young girls was remanded in custody until his trial last month.
TranslationA way towards bilingualism :
GOALS: developing bilingualism, peer- and self-assessment, fostering formal vocabulary and style
LEVEL: intermediate & upwards
LANGUAGE FOCUS: adequate translation of legal excerpts from L2 into L1 and back from L1 into L2
PREPARATION: handouts of legal passages
DELIVERY: peer analysis, class discussionDeveloping bilingualism in learners demands their awareness of the word-combinations and options that language allows (Kavaliauskienë, Janulevièienë, 2001). Students find it hard to understand the language of agreements, contracts, treaties, laws and conventions, although they seem to know the meanings of most words.
This activity is designed to give students practice in translating short legal excerpts from English into the mother tongue. It is advisable to select two passages of similar scope that do not contain new vocabulary items. Prepare two passages of approximately the same difficulty and scope. Divide the class into an equal number of pairs and give different passages to the students sitting next to each other. Ask students to translate their passages into the mother tongue and set the time limit for translating.
As soon as students have finished translating, collect the original English texts and ask students to exchange their translations in mother tongue. Set the time limit and ask them to translate their peers' work back into English.
As soon as students have finished the translating, give them original texts and let the pairs who swapped their translations compare and analyze their work. The emphasis is on the difficulties they encountered in translation both ways. A whole class discussion is a follow-up activity.
The final stage is to provide a copy of an officially approved legal document in the learners' mother tongue so that learners can compare their own understanding and translation with the official version. As it is obvious from my description, this activity is time-consuming, because learners need some time for reflection, analysis and discussion. Discussions concern different aspects of language -- a choice of vocabulary, collocations, structure of sentences, style, etc.
I applied this technique for fostering comprehension of the Schengen Agreement documents. The majority of students were baffled by the usage of vocabulary items like 'alien' which they associated with 'a being from space' and not 'a foreigner'; 'a technical support function' has been understood as some 'computer software' which actually is 'a service' in the Schengen Information System; the term 'Contracting Party' some learners have understood either as 'a political party' or 'an entertainment contract'.
It is noteworthy that the use of the translation technique is not the old-fashioned way of teaching languages that was common in the middle of the 20th century. The communicative approach to translating is a useful means for teaching comprehension of legal texts, which are hard to follow because of the formal wording and change in the meaning of otherwise familiar vocabulary. Now that my students are aware of translation benefits, they bring their own legal excerpts into the classroom for peers to translate, analyze and discuss.
References:
.Brazis, R and Kavaliauskienë,G Application of Multiple Intelligences Theory to Teaching English, in 'Network', A Journal for English Language Teacher Education, Vol. 3, No 2, April 2000, pp. 47-51.
.Powell, R Law Today, 1993, Longman Group UK Ltd.
.Rivers, Wilga M. Communicating Naturally in a Second Language, Theory and Practice in Language Teaching, 1992, CUP.
I believe that many EFL teachers, like myself, have experienced the frustration of investing endless energy in designing interesting, from the teacher's point of view, tasks and organizing various activities for students, but getting little response. Learners are often reluctant to use the target language in pair/small group work. Students do not reflect on their mistakes and, consequently, do not learn from their errors. Even really motivated learners do not always seem to attain their potential.
The common phenomenon among learners is a passive role they assume in the process of learning -- they rely on teachers too much and are reluctant to develop a sense of responsibility for the outcome of their learning. This holds for other subjects as well as for foreign languages.
It is unreasonable to expect that encouraging a student to become more independent, or autonomous, in acquiring language skills will bring about any tangible changes. Learners have to be taught the skill 'how to learn'. Learning this skill is a slow process and can only be perfected in a step-by-step manner.
First, learners need to become aware of the ways they learn best, which involves their learning styles and strategies (Brazis, Kavaliauskienë, 2000). Naturally, it takes time for learners to find out what are the most effective techniques and activities for each person.
Second, learners have to change their passive attitude to learning to a more active attitude, i.e. to become less dependent on the teacher and take charge of their own learning (Wilga M. Rivers, 1992). Teacher's role is to involve students in search for interesting materials, e.g. surfing the Internet, or finding pen-friends on the Internet, taking part in competitions, chat-clubs, encouraging to read English books, newspapers, magazines, etc.
Finally, learners have to be given a chance to gain experience in 'swapping places' with a teacher, which means changing the traditional role of a teacher, developing the art of negotiation, emphasizing the importance of self-assessment, etc. (Grudzinska, 2000). This involves tasks and activities designed and administered by the learners themselves. The diversity of tasks may cover grammar, games, written work, audio- and video- recordings, news items, translation -- you name it -- anything that interests learners will benefit them.
This article presents some techniques I have used in order to involve my students in active preparation and administration of activities. I hope my experience may be of interest to other English teachers who like experimenting in the classroom and trying out various techniques.
Crossword Session:
GOALS:
Recycling vocabulary, peer assessment and self-assessment, students' communicative interaction and cooperation, enhancing motivation
LEVEL: intermediate & above
LANGUAGE FOCUS: giving definitions, evaluating performance
PREPARATION: pair work in class, between 7 and 10 minutes
DELIVERY: pair work, time limit -- about 10 minutes
In this activity students assume the teacher's traditional role of designing a task and carrying out the activity.
For many students learning professional vocabulary is a tedious task. Learners find it difficult to retrieve a specific item impromptu (speaking or writing). The possible cause of this failure is that vocabulary items have not been consolidated, i.e. have not been transferred to a long-term memory and either remained in a short-term memory or have been forgotten. Some items might be recognizable when encountered by learners, but usually learners complain that they are short for words and use rudimentary vocabulary because appropriate terms have not been effectively activated.
In this activity a situational context and a lexical content are intertwined. Students use the wordlist of target vocabulary from the topic-based reading materials. Students choose the items they want to process and design a crossword working in pairs. It is advisable to limit the number of vocabulary items (about 10) and to set the time limit (7 to 10 minutes). Each pair is expected to deliver their crossword either on the chalkboard or transparency using an overhead projector. One student reads the definitions, and another writes the item as soon as somebody generates the answer. Students are awarded a point for each correct answer. In case of an inaccurate definition, a point is awarded to a person who corrects it. The guessing activity should not take longer than 10 minutes. The idea is to have a fast performance and delivery. The activity also helps develop fast-thinking, which is necessary in spontaneous speech. It can be administered as a warm-up or between other activities, like writing or reading, for students to unwind. The crosswords designed by other pairs should be administered in the follow-up lessons, one at a time. Thus, learners will be able to recollect and process the task-based vocabulary during a few weeks. Naturally, different pairs will choose diverse vocabulary items, which also encourages revising. Learners' interaction, cooperation, assessment and self-assessment is lively and takes place in a friendly atmosphere: students argue over definitions, pronunciation and spelling, and enjoy awarding the titles of 'the best', 'the second best' and 'the third best' performers.
An example of a crossword and definitions are presented below. This crossword example was prepared by a pair of learners using vocabulary from the reading text 'The Law and the Family' (Powell, 1993). Although the visual design may seem unprofessional, this crossword puzzle serves the goals.
DOWN
1 A legal document in which somebody states to whom they want their property & money to be given after their death (WILL)
2 The duty and the right of a parent to keep and bring up a child after divorce (CUSTODY)
3 Husband or wife (SPOUSE)
4 Born of parents who are not married to each other (ILLEGITIMATE)
5 A person who is being sued for divorce (RESPONDENT)ACROSS
6 A legal statement declaring a marriage null and void (NULLITY)
7 Dying without having made a will (INTESTACY)
8 Sexual intercourse between a married person and somebody who is not their spouse (ADULTERY)
9 A condition or requirement in a legal document (PROVISION)
10 Money paid by the state to the person responsible for a child under 16 (BENEFIT)
Grammar Training:
GOALS: identifying the right tense, self- & peer correction, self assessment, generalizing from examples, developing an autonomous learner
LEVEL: pre-intermediate & above
LANGUAGE FOCUS: usage of appropriate tenses within the context
PREPARATION: pair work, authentic materials
DELIVERY: pair work, handouts or transparencies (use of overhead projector)
The usage of English tenses is rather problematic to Lithuanian learners. The most likely cause of students' difficulty is a difference between grammar systems of English and the mother tongue. There are only three tenses in Lithuanian -- Present, Past and Future. There are no notions of either Continuous or Perfect tenses and learners find the usage very confusing. Although students are very familiar with the structures of all the tenses, they tend to simplify their usage to simple forms. The technique presented below demonstrates an opportunity for students to practice the usage of various tenses within the topic-based context.
The activity is prepared at home and administered by learners in class. Learners use authentic professional materials either from professional journals, CNN or BBC news, newspapers and so on. Each pair prepares a passage in which verbs are replaced by infinitives and reproduced on transparencies or handouts. In the classroom, all peers exchange their ideas and suggest the choice(s) of a tense. All students are involved in the discussion and present their arguments for or against the suggested usage. This activity is very lively, particularly when there is an alternative possibility. Learners argue the points enthusiastically, and as a rule a final decision is reached without the teacher's intervention. Learners enjoy awarding 'prizes' to their peers and demonstrate the ability of being objective in their evaluation. It is noteworthy that students should complete the activity during the lesson, and the teacher's feedback should follow the learners' self-assessment. It is advisable to have no more than one such activity during a lesson, so that students do not get bored or frustrated in case it is rather hard.
Here is an example.
BICYCLE PATROLS
The use of bicycle patrol (1) ___________ foot patrol in many areas. (REPLACE)
Lately US law enforcement agencies (2) _____________to recognize the many benefits of patrolling
on bikes. (BEGIN)
Patrolling on bikes (3) ____________ high visibility, accessibility and mobility. (PROVIDE)
Bicycle patrols (4) _____________ crime by the capability to approach crimes in progress without
being seen or heard. (REDUCE)
The element of surprise (5) _____________ police to catch more suspects.. (HELP)
Police bicycles (6) ______________ with radar or computerized communication systems. (EQUIP)
Electric bikes travel up to 20 mph and (7) ____________ pedaling. (NOT NEED)
Answer key
1 replaces / has replaced 2 have begun 3 provides / has provided 4 reduce / have reduced 5 helps / has helped 6 are equipped / have been equipped / were equipped 7 do not need
VariationA possible variation of this activity is combining two tasks: selecting the word order and the tense. A useful tip: usage of tenses is better understood and learnt from a context. The choice of tenses out of the context is often ambiguous. The following example is a part of a passage, which is meant to demonstrate the format of the exercise. Students-peers have to determine the logical word order and choose the appropriate tense:
/ a student / for two years / to juvenile offenders' / be sent / institution / for making / death calls / anonymous / / until his trial / be remanded / accused of harassing / in custody / young girls / the youth / last month /
Answer Key: A student has been sent to juvenile offenders' institution for two years for making anonymous death calls. The youth accused of harassing young girls was remanded in custody until his trial last month.
TranslationA way towards bilingualism :
GOALS: developing bilingualism, peer- and self-assessment, fostering formal vocabulary and style
LEVEL: intermediate & upwards
LANGUAGE FOCUS: adequate translation of legal excerpts from L2 into L1 and back from L1 into L2
PREPARATION: handouts of legal passages
DELIVERY: peer analysis, class discussionDeveloping bilingualism in learners demands their awareness of the word-combinations and options that language allows (Kavaliauskienë, Janulevièienë, 2001). Students find it hard to understand the language of agreements, contracts, treaties, laws and conventions, although they seem to know the meanings of most words.
This activity is designed to give students practice in translating short legal excerpts from English into the mother tongue. It is advisable to select two passages of similar scope that do not contain new vocabulary items. Prepare two passages of approximately the same difficulty and scope. Divide the class into an equal number of pairs and give different passages to the students sitting next to each other. Ask students to translate their passages into the mother tongue and set the time limit for translating.
As soon as students have finished translating, collect the original English texts and ask students to exchange their translations in mother tongue. Set the time limit and ask them to translate their peers' work back into English.
As soon as students have finished the translating, give them original texts and let the pairs who swapped their translations compare and analyze their work. The emphasis is on the difficulties they encountered in translation both ways. A whole class discussion is a follow-up activity.
The final stage is to provide a copy of an officially approved legal document in the learners' mother tongue so that learners can compare their own understanding and translation with the official version. As it is obvious from my description, this activity is time-consuming, because learners need some time for reflection, analysis and discussion. Discussions concern different aspects of language -- a choice of vocabulary, collocations, structure of sentences, style, etc.
I applied this technique for fostering comprehension of the Schengen Agreement documents. The majority of students were baffled by the usage of vocabulary items like 'alien' which they associated with 'a being from space' and not 'a foreigner'; 'a technical support function' has been understood as some 'computer software' which actually is 'a service' in the Schengen Information System; the term 'Contracting Party' some learners have understood either as 'a political party' or 'an entertainment contract'.
It is noteworthy that the use of the translation technique is not the old-fashioned way of teaching languages that was common in the middle of the 20th century. The communicative approach to translating is a useful means for teaching comprehension of legal texts, which are hard to follow because of the formal wording and change in the meaning of otherwise familiar vocabulary. Now that my students are aware of translation benefits, they bring their own legal excerpts into the classroom for peers to translate, analyze and discuss.
References:
.Brazis, R and Kavaliauskienë,G Application of Multiple Intelligences Theory to Teaching English, in 'Network', A Journal for English Language Teacher Education, Vol. 3, No 2, April 2000, pp. 47-51.
.Powell, R Law Today, 1993, Longman Group UK Ltd.
.Rivers, Wilga M. Communicating Naturally in a Second Language, Theory and Practice in Language Teaching, 1992, CUP.
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