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.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
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.
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Using bilingual glossaries to teach new vocabulary items.
Hello dear colleagues,
Let me share with you some activities I have just tried successfully with my students. Actually, they were about teaching new vocabulary items related to Food, drinks and cooking utensils. From my past years experience, I noticed that students liked this unit so much and they expressed curiosity and enthusiasm to know more about the mentioned above items. They used to ask me for words translation as they have very few resources if none at all. To face these constraints and satisfy their curiosity, I created a 2 page bilingual glossary encompassing the maximum “cooking” jargon. Actually, this idea was inspired by the Oxford English Arabic Picture Dictionary. So I gave students copies of this glossary, which served as a vocabulary resource for the lesson. They were happy to keep the copies for their own use later on. Below is a detailed description of that lesson steps.
Objectives: Students will
- acquire new vocabulary items related to Food, drinks, cooking utensils and practice them in meaningful context as in their everyday life
- talk about their favourite dishes and describe the process of making them.
Materials:
- Copies of the glossary encompassing English Arabic word lists related to: vegetables, fruits, spices, kitchen utensils, drinks and some key action verbs.
- Copies of recipes with pictures and phrases describing the process.
References:
- The Oxford English Arabic picture Dictionary. Norma Shapiro and Jayme Adelson Goldstein
- English for everyday activities. A picture process dictionary. Lawrence J. Zwier.
Time: 45 minutes.
Steps of the lesson:
- Students are shown some pictures of some food and drink items to determine what they already know.
- Students are given the copies of the bilingual glossary and asked the following questions to make them go through the glossary and get familiar with the new items and their pronunciation:
- Which vegetables do you eat raw / cooked?
- Which fruits are sold in the summer / winter in Ouarzazate?
- What kitchen utensils do you use in making Spaghetti / Tajine …? - Students are given copies of some dishes‘ recipes with pictured actions .Then they are asked to work in pairs, read the process and complete the following information :
Ingredients :
spices :
Used utensils :
Method/ Process - When they have completed the task, some volunteers come up to the front of the class. One reading out the recipe while the second miming the actions.
- As a follow up activity, students are asked to describe some local dishes their way.
To conclude, students were so much excited during this lesson and were happy to get copies of the glossary . I think it will be beneficial to apply the same technique while dealing with the next topics.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Effective Ways to Use Authentic Materials with ESL/EFL Students
This paper explains how authentic materials can be effectively used in the ESL classroom. Each pair of students is given a copy of the authentic material accompanied by a set of questions about the contents of the handout. Students work together with a partner to extract pertinent information that is necessary to answer the questions.
The Authentic Materials
Background
We have been using authentic materials for over 10 years and have found that they complement English classes by enlivening the class and creating a more positive attitude toward learning. We now have an extensive collection of materials that include menus, maps, newspaper inserts, store advertisements, travel brochures, catalogs, phone books, real estate pamphlets, and various pamphlets of sightseeing and tourist information. We have found that using sets of materials are particularly appealing. A set could include a map, a travel guide, a menu, and a store advertisement from the same town -- all of which are interwoven, immersing the student in a multidimensional English experience.
Choosing Authentic Materials:
There are several important points to consider when choosing authentic materials. You should make sure that you have enough copies of the materials to be used so that each student or pair of students can have a copy to use. It is best not to use material with too many pages, unless the pages are clearly numbered for easy reference. If you plan to use the same materials in more than one class, it is important that they be hardy enough to withstand a lot of handling and they should be easily refolded and put back together. Materials with multiple pieces or pages that fall out or come apart should be avoided. Also, keep in mind that some materials are more easily dated than others. For example, last season's catalog does not have the same impact as a current one which is filled with items which the student could actually order. A menu, on the other hand, can be used as long as the prices remain contemporary. Students are generally uninterested in special events, for example an Expo, that have already past. Remember to choose material that is appropriate for the students' level. However, a certain amount of adjustment can be made depending on the type and level of questions used in the accompanying question handout.
Using Authentic Materials:
When we first began using authentic materials, we handed out materials to each student and had them work individually. However, experience has shown that having students work in pairs is a better approach because they tend to be more enthusiastic and work harder. We give each pair the authentic material and a question handout. Interestingly, the student with the stronger command of English is not necessarily the one who is able to extract the most information from the material. Students of different abilities tend to complement one another and, as a result, do not get bogged down easily. Students tend to contribute individual strengths to the completion of the task. We usually tell students that question handouts will be collected since this keeps them more focused on the completion of the exercise. The teacher's personal anecdotes and other background information should be shared before the students begin concentrating on the material.
After the authentic material has been distributed, we give a brief explanation and point out, for example, the importance of the table of contents in a pamphlet or the legend in a map. We point out small print and other parts of the material that are easily missed. We have found that pointing out Japanese words and products raises the level of interest in the material. This is a good time for the teacher to explain measures, abbreviations, and difficult words and expressions.
While the students are working on the assignment, we help them by answering questions and commenting on their work. This is also a good chance to give hints to those who are stuck on a particular question.
Once the allotted time is up, we collect the material along with the question handout and go over the difficult questions with the class. If the handouts are to be factored into the students' grades, it is a good idea to make sure they have a chance to work with various partners over the course of the semester.
Putting the Question Handout TogetherFor the authentic materials to be effective, the questions must be well constructed to (a) give the students the opportunity to practice English, (b) help the students gain confidence in their English ability, (c) expose the students to cultural differences and customs, and (d) help the students develop their ability to find pertinent information quickly.
Tour QuestionsThe first part of the question handout should contain easy multiple choice or fill-in factual questions. These questions give the students a 'tour' of the material and exposes them to a variety of question types. The students gain an overview of the material as they answer these initial easy questions and this makes them feel confident enough to tackle more difficult questions later.
Cultural and Personal Choice QuestionsThe second part of the handout should contain questions that can be used to bring attention to cultural differences in packaging, sizes, and pricing. Authentic materials often contain references to cultural events such as holidays, and questions can be used to bring these to the students' attention. Questions which require one word or written answers could be used at this stage. Furthermore, students are familiar enough with the material at this point to answer personal choice questions. These questions usually require the students to choose items from the material or a course of action based on personal preference. These often lead to lively discussion because students must agree on what answer to write.
Challenging QuestionsThe third part should have questions that are more challenging and time consuming. Because of the differences in abilities (and sometimes luck), the time it takes students to complete a question handout can vary considerably. The more challenging questions at the end of the handout tend to work as 'equalizers' and slow down faster students so slower students can catch up. Questions can involve reading the small print, be especially detailed, or involve deductive reasoning. When students are working on the challenging questions they often begin to compare their progress to that of their neighbors'. Deliberately misleading 'red herring' questions add to the competitiveness while developing the students' critical thinking.
Types of Questions and Sample Questions
Multiple Choice:
How many Navel Oranges can you buy for a dollar? a) 3 b) 4 c) 5
Which is the cheapest? a) orange juice b) grapefruit juice c) tomato juice
One Word Answer:
What country are the seedless grapes from? __________
On the back page it says Chilean Asian Pears for $1.00 each. What do you think "Asian pears" are called in Japanese? _________
Written Answer:
Why are the strawberries on the back page called California Strawberries?
How do you order coupons on the Internet for this store?
Lists:
You want to make sandwiches for your family. What would you buy?
Stone Ground Wheat Bread - 2 loaves - $4.00
_________________ - _______________ - $ ______
_________________ - _______________ - $ ______
_________________ - _______________ - $ ______
_________________ - _______________ - $ ______
You are having a party for five friends at your house. You can spend only 50 dollars. What would you buy for the party?
Cape Cod Potato Chips - 4 six ounce bags - $6.00
_________________ - _______________ - $ ______
_________________ - _______________ - $ ______
_________________ - _______________ - $ ______
_________________ - _______________ - $ ______
Factual:
How many large brown eggs can you buy for $1? _________
How much are two jars of Mayonnaise on page 7? $ _____
Analytical (multi-step):
How much do 10 ears of Florida Super Sweet Corn and 2 pounds (lb.) of Fresh Ground Round cost? $ ______
Which costs more, one lb. of Fresh Boneless Shark Steaks or one lb. of Whiting Fillets? ________
Personal Preference:
Look at the back page. What fruit would you like to eat? __________
What flowers do you want to give to your mother on Mother's Day? ________________________________ $ ______
Conversion:
How many ounces are there in a two liter bottle of Pepsi One? ____
How many grams of Florida Red Potatoes can you buy for five dollars? One pound is about 453 grams. _________
Red Herring:
One Florida Juice Orange costs $2.00. True or False (NOTE TO TEACHERS: The advertisement says one bag is $2.00.)
Which is cheaper, one lb. of Whiting Fillets or one lb. of Crunchy Clam Strip? ________
Obvious:
What is the name of this store? _____________________
What month is the Mother's Day Sale? ______________
Challenging:
Find something that is cheaper in Japan than in the USA. ________.
What can you buy in a glass jar that is usually sold in a plastic bottle in Japan? _________
ActivitiesThere are other methods of using authentic materials. Some of these can be used as a supplement to the question handout, or on their own, for variety. Here are four examples of effective activities with brief explanations.
Word Search
The students search for parts of speech such as adjectives on a given page or search for certain categories of things. An advantage of this activity is that students do not need identical copies of the authentic material.
Crosswords
The teacher prepares a crossword puzzle using words from the handout. The questions for the handout can also be presented as crossword clues. Crossword generating programs found on the Internet make this easy.
Personalizing
The students write a list of purchases for an imaginary party using a supermarket handout, plan a trip using a travel brochure or plan a meal with a menu. The students could also be asked to fill out a mail order form with an imaginary order of purchases for family members, boyfriends, girlfriends, and themselves.
Pair Practice
The students ask and answer the printed questions on the handout and are encouraged to ask their own questions. The students can role play the parts of customer and clerk either following a sample conversation provided by the teacher or making up their own.
Internet
The Internet can be used to provide authentic material as well. The teacher can search for sites that focus on a specific topic, make questions, and post them online. These online lessons can be completed by the students on their own. Although the Internet has many advantages, it cannot replace the hands-on, three dimensional quality of real materials brought into the classroom by the teacher.
Conclusion
When used effectively, authentic materials help bring the real world into the classroom and significantly enliven the ESL class. Exposing the students to cultural features generates a deeper understanding of and interest in the topic. On one hand, the students develop their ability to zero in on relevant information, and on the other, they learn how to disregard what is not relevant. As students pool their individual strengths they gain confidence in being able to function in an English-speaking society.
The Authentic Materials
Background
We have been using authentic materials for over 10 years and have found that they complement English classes by enlivening the class and creating a more positive attitude toward learning. We now have an extensive collection of materials that include menus, maps, newspaper inserts, store advertisements, travel brochures, catalogs, phone books, real estate pamphlets, and various pamphlets of sightseeing and tourist information. We have found that using sets of materials are particularly appealing. A set could include a map, a travel guide, a menu, and a store advertisement from the same town -- all of which are interwoven, immersing the student in a multidimensional English experience.
Choosing Authentic Materials:
There are several important points to consider when choosing authentic materials. You should make sure that you have enough copies of the materials to be used so that each student or pair of students can have a copy to use. It is best not to use material with too many pages, unless the pages are clearly numbered for easy reference. If you plan to use the same materials in more than one class, it is important that they be hardy enough to withstand a lot of handling and they should be easily refolded and put back together. Materials with multiple pieces or pages that fall out or come apart should be avoided. Also, keep in mind that some materials are more easily dated than others. For example, last season's catalog does not have the same impact as a current one which is filled with items which the student could actually order. A menu, on the other hand, can be used as long as the prices remain contemporary. Students are generally uninterested in special events, for example an Expo, that have already past. Remember to choose material that is appropriate for the students' level. However, a certain amount of adjustment can be made depending on the type and level of questions used in the accompanying question handout.
Using Authentic Materials:
When we first began using authentic materials, we handed out materials to each student and had them work individually. However, experience has shown that having students work in pairs is a better approach because they tend to be more enthusiastic and work harder. We give each pair the authentic material and a question handout. Interestingly, the student with the stronger command of English is not necessarily the one who is able to extract the most information from the material. Students of different abilities tend to complement one another and, as a result, do not get bogged down easily. Students tend to contribute individual strengths to the completion of the task. We usually tell students that question handouts will be collected since this keeps them more focused on the completion of the exercise. The teacher's personal anecdotes and other background information should be shared before the students begin concentrating on the material.
After the authentic material has been distributed, we give a brief explanation and point out, for example, the importance of the table of contents in a pamphlet or the legend in a map. We point out small print and other parts of the material that are easily missed. We have found that pointing out Japanese words and products raises the level of interest in the material. This is a good time for the teacher to explain measures, abbreviations, and difficult words and expressions.
While the students are working on the assignment, we help them by answering questions and commenting on their work. This is also a good chance to give hints to those who are stuck on a particular question.
Once the allotted time is up, we collect the material along with the question handout and go over the difficult questions with the class. If the handouts are to be factored into the students' grades, it is a good idea to make sure they have a chance to work with various partners over the course of the semester.
Putting the Question Handout TogetherFor the authentic materials to be effective, the questions must be well constructed to (a) give the students the opportunity to practice English, (b) help the students gain confidence in their English ability, (c) expose the students to cultural differences and customs, and (d) help the students develop their ability to find pertinent information quickly.
Tour QuestionsThe first part of the question handout should contain easy multiple choice or fill-in factual questions. These questions give the students a 'tour' of the material and exposes them to a variety of question types. The students gain an overview of the material as they answer these initial easy questions and this makes them feel confident enough to tackle more difficult questions later.
Cultural and Personal Choice QuestionsThe second part of the handout should contain questions that can be used to bring attention to cultural differences in packaging, sizes, and pricing. Authentic materials often contain references to cultural events such as holidays, and questions can be used to bring these to the students' attention. Questions which require one word or written answers could be used at this stage. Furthermore, students are familiar enough with the material at this point to answer personal choice questions. These questions usually require the students to choose items from the material or a course of action based on personal preference. These often lead to lively discussion because students must agree on what answer to write.
Challenging QuestionsThe third part should have questions that are more challenging and time consuming. Because of the differences in abilities (and sometimes luck), the time it takes students to complete a question handout can vary considerably. The more challenging questions at the end of the handout tend to work as 'equalizers' and slow down faster students so slower students can catch up. Questions can involve reading the small print, be especially detailed, or involve deductive reasoning. When students are working on the challenging questions they often begin to compare their progress to that of their neighbors'. Deliberately misleading 'red herring' questions add to the competitiveness while developing the students' critical thinking.
Types of Questions and Sample Questions
Multiple Choice:
How many Navel Oranges can you buy for a dollar? a) 3 b) 4 c) 5
Which is the cheapest? a) orange juice b) grapefruit juice c) tomato juice
One Word Answer:
What country are the seedless grapes from? __________
On the back page it says Chilean Asian Pears for $1.00 each. What do you think "Asian pears" are called in Japanese? _________
Written Answer:
Why are the strawberries on the back page called California Strawberries?
How do you order coupons on the Internet for this store?
Lists:
You want to make sandwiches for your family. What would you buy?
Stone Ground Wheat Bread - 2 loaves - $4.00
_________________ - _______________ - $ ______
_________________ - _______________ - $ ______
_________________ - _______________ - $ ______
_________________ - _______________ - $ ______
You are having a party for five friends at your house. You can spend only 50 dollars. What would you buy for the party?
Cape Cod Potato Chips - 4 six ounce bags - $6.00
_________________ - _______________ - $ ______
_________________ - _______________ - $ ______
_________________ - _______________ - $ ______
_________________ - _______________ - $ ______
Factual:
How many large brown eggs can you buy for $1? _________
How much are two jars of Mayonnaise on page 7? $ _____
Analytical (multi-step):
How much do 10 ears of Florida Super Sweet Corn and 2 pounds (lb.) of Fresh Ground Round cost? $ ______
Which costs more, one lb. of Fresh Boneless Shark Steaks or one lb. of Whiting Fillets? ________
Personal Preference:
Look at the back page. What fruit would you like to eat? __________
What flowers do you want to give to your mother on Mother's Day? ________________________________ $ ______
Conversion:
How many ounces are there in a two liter bottle of Pepsi One? ____
How many grams of Florida Red Potatoes can you buy for five dollars? One pound is about 453 grams. _________
Red Herring:
One Florida Juice Orange costs $2.00. True or False (NOTE TO TEACHERS: The advertisement says one bag is $2.00.)
Which is cheaper, one lb. of Whiting Fillets or one lb. of Crunchy Clam Strip? ________
Obvious:
What is the name of this store? _____________________
What month is the Mother's Day Sale? ______________
Challenging:
Find something that is cheaper in Japan than in the USA. ________.
What can you buy in a glass jar that is usually sold in a plastic bottle in Japan? _________
ActivitiesThere are other methods of using authentic materials. Some of these can be used as a supplement to the question handout, or on their own, for variety. Here are four examples of effective activities with brief explanations.
Word Search
The students search for parts of speech such as adjectives on a given page or search for certain categories of things. An advantage of this activity is that students do not need identical copies of the authentic material.
Crosswords
The teacher prepares a crossword puzzle using words from the handout. The questions for the handout can also be presented as crossword clues. Crossword generating programs found on the Internet make this easy.
Personalizing
The students write a list of purchases for an imaginary party using a supermarket handout, plan a trip using a travel brochure or plan a meal with a menu. The students could also be asked to fill out a mail order form with an imaginary order of purchases for family members, boyfriends, girlfriends, and themselves.
Pair Practice
The students ask and answer the printed questions on the handout and are encouraged to ask their own questions. The students can role play the parts of customer and clerk either following a sample conversation provided by the teacher or making up their own.
Internet
The Internet can be used to provide authentic material as well. The teacher can search for sites that focus on a specific topic, make questions, and post them online. These online lessons can be completed by the students on their own. Although the Internet has many advantages, it cannot replace the hands-on, three dimensional quality of real materials brought into the classroom by the teacher.
Conclusion
When used effectively, authentic materials help bring the real world into the classroom and significantly enliven the ESL class. Exposing the students to cultural features generates a deeper understanding of and interest in the topic. On one hand, the students develop their ability to zero in on relevant information, and on the other, they learn how to disregard what is not relevant. As students pool their individual strengths they gain confidence in being able to function in an English-speaking society.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
The importance of eye contact inthe classroom
Teachers often complain about discipline, about lack of attention, about the use of L2 in the classroom and many other problems, many of which amount to a breakdown in communication between teacher and students or between students themselves. It is well known that speech is only one part of communication, yet teachers often forget about or underestimate the importance of non-verbal communication in their own and their students' performance. One aspect of non-verbal communication is the use of the eyes to convey messages. The eyes are a powerful tool for both the teacher and the learner, yet much classroom time is spent with eyes firmly fixed on the book, the board, the floor, the window, or roaming randomly around the teaching and learning environment.
Teachers working in all disciplines in secondary schools have always been advised to develop 'the look' as part of their teaching persona. 'The look' ranges from 'be quiet please', through 'I'm not going to tell you again' to 'don't mess with me, sonny', and in this respect is seen as having a disciplinary function. Meanwhile, the business world has accepted eye contact as an important component of achieving success in giving presentations and improving rapport between representative and client, while these days it is possible to find many websites offering advice on how to forge personal relationships through the judicious use of eye contact. Researchers and practitioners in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) have brought the notion of body language and eye contact back to the attention of language teachers, but largely in the context of providing clues to the nature of the learner rather than in terms of a teaching tool. We have recently had the pleasure of observing English language classes at the Izmir University of Economics, and have seen a lot of pairs of eyes performing a lot of functions.
Here are some of the things that we have been reminded of or learnt anew:
'The look' still works, but don't overdo it or you will become a caricature of yourself.
Establishing a management role in the classroom involves eye contact from the outset. Be in your classroom before your learners, and welcome them individually with a combination of eye contact and their name as they enter the room.
Talk to your learners, not to the book, the board or the screen.
Eyes can set the tone of a lesson. As the lesson starts, walk around the room looking to checkwhether the learners are ready -- books out, pens and paper handy, mobile phones off. If not, eye contact should suffice to rectify the situation.
Try teaching part of a lesson without saying anything. This should remind you of how important paralinguistics is as well as helping to control your teacher talking time.
Good eye contact does not mean staring or gazing. Many learners are likely to find this uncomfortable and consequently avert their own eyes and lose concentration.
Neither does good eye contact mean eyes darting from learner to learner around the room -- this has no effect whatsoever. It is recommended that there should be three to five seconds eye contact for non-verbal communication to take place.
Watch your learners as well as listen to them, particularly while they are performing tasks.
Look for signs of being bored or being lost.
Encourage your learners to make eye contact while they are working together in pairs or groups. Start by training them to listen to each other using non-verbal responses only.
Research shows that there is a strong link between the amount of eye contact people receive and their degree of participation in group communication -- in the number of turns taken in a group conversation for example.
The NLP approach to eye contact is holistic and individualistic, but is soundly based on the premise that good eye contact increases rapport.
Save time and effort with specific messages delivered by eye and facial expression. Show praise, encouragement often, and disapproval occasionally. Remind learners that they ought to know an answer or that they could provide a response if they tried.
Use eye contact as a correction technique.
Nominate and invite responses by eye. If the nominee is not watching, someone will give him/her a nudge.
Eye contact is, fundamentally, time and effort saving. Much of the above is likely to seem transparently obvious, only natural, and an aspect of human behaviour either innate or developed over time. But watch yourself, watch your colleagues, and watch your learners!
Teachers working in all disciplines in secondary schools have always been advised to develop 'the look' as part of their teaching persona. 'The look' ranges from 'be quiet please', through 'I'm not going to tell you again' to 'don't mess with me, sonny', and in this respect is seen as having a disciplinary function. Meanwhile, the business world has accepted eye contact as an important component of achieving success in giving presentations and improving rapport between representative and client, while these days it is possible to find many websites offering advice on how to forge personal relationships through the judicious use of eye contact. Researchers and practitioners in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) have brought the notion of body language and eye contact back to the attention of language teachers, but largely in the context of providing clues to the nature of the learner rather than in terms of a teaching tool. We have recently had the pleasure of observing English language classes at the Izmir University of Economics, and have seen a lot of pairs of eyes performing a lot of functions.
Here are some of the things that we have been reminded of or learnt anew:
'The look' still works, but don't overdo it or you will become a caricature of yourself.
Establishing a management role in the classroom involves eye contact from the outset. Be in your classroom before your learners, and welcome them individually with a combination of eye contact and their name as they enter the room.
Talk to your learners, not to the book, the board or the screen.
Eyes can set the tone of a lesson. As the lesson starts, walk around the room looking to checkwhether the learners are ready -- books out, pens and paper handy, mobile phones off. If not, eye contact should suffice to rectify the situation.
Try teaching part of a lesson without saying anything. This should remind you of how important paralinguistics is as well as helping to control your teacher talking time.
Good eye contact does not mean staring or gazing. Many learners are likely to find this uncomfortable and consequently avert their own eyes and lose concentration.
Neither does good eye contact mean eyes darting from learner to learner around the room -- this has no effect whatsoever. It is recommended that there should be three to five seconds eye contact for non-verbal communication to take place.
Watch your learners as well as listen to them, particularly while they are performing tasks.
Look for signs of being bored or being lost.
Encourage your learners to make eye contact while they are working together in pairs or groups. Start by training them to listen to each other using non-verbal responses only.
Research shows that there is a strong link between the amount of eye contact people receive and their degree of participation in group communication -- in the number of turns taken in a group conversation for example.
The NLP approach to eye contact is holistic and individualistic, but is soundly based on the premise that good eye contact increases rapport.
Save time and effort with specific messages delivered by eye and facial expression. Show praise, encouragement often, and disapproval occasionally. Remind learners that they ought to know an answer or that they could provide a response if they tried.
Use eye contact as a correction technique.
Nominate and invite responses by eye. If the nominee is not watching, someone will give him/her a nudge.
Eye contact is, fundamentally, time and effort saving. Much of the above is likely to seem transparently obvious, only natural, and an aspect of human behaviour either innate or developed over time. But watch yourself, watch your colleagues, and watch your learners!
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Teaching listening activities
Dear colleagues,
Here are some listening activities I tried successfully within my last classes. They are actually adapted from Deborah Detzel’s workshop “Teaching listening”. The objective was to give students an opportunity to:
Here are some listening activities I tried successfully within my last classes. They are actually adapted from Deborah Detzel’s workshop “Teaching listening”. The objective was to give students an opportunity to:
- Use vocabulary items related to family members, possessive adjectives and the genitive apostrophe,
- Talk about their families and get to know each other in lifelike interactions.
- “Obeying instructions” activity:
I ask students to stand up if they have a brother or if their father is called Mohamed for example. Those who don’t have should not stand up. Then I keep asking them using if statements till I have covered the maximum of previously taught vocabulary items. - “Guess who” activity :
- I ask students to work in pairs and complet a kind of questionnaire by asking the other classmate in his/her pair. On the board I write down questions to make the task easier. Below are examples of questions I used.
- How many brothers and sisters do you have?
- What’s your father’s name?
- Do you have any cousins?
- What are their names? … Etc.
- When they have completed the task, I ask them to write on a draft paper a small paragraph in which they talk about their classmate’s family. They have to write his/her name on the top of the paper then start the paragraph with: He/she has …………
- I collect the paragraphs when they have finished writing.
- At random I read a paragraph this way: Guess who has ………..
- Then students have to make guesses and find out who is subject of the paragraph before I move to another paragraph.
These activities successfully helped me meet the outlined objectives and gave an injection of vitality to the lesson. So thanks Deb!
Naima
Monday, November 19, 2007
Using humour in our classrooms
Introduction:
This article examines how humour can be an effective tool in teaching and in creating the affective second language classroom. It will also examine the reasons why humour is sometimes avoided, and will dispel the myth that one must be a comedian to use humour in a language classroom. The focus is on the use of cartoons with practical examples of how to use and adapt this particular resource. One doesn't have to be a gifted humorist to reap the benefits of using humour in the classroom.
" Classrooms in which laughter is welcome help bring learning to life."
Much has been written in recent years about the importance of the affective environment in the second language classroom. Such classrooms are ones in which learners are not afraid to take risks and use their second language. Students are encouraged and praised for their efforts to always use their second language in class. Students don't face ridicule, nor negative criticism. Error correction is appropriate, timely, constructive and seeks to instill confidence in each student.
However, at times we overlook humour as an important element in teaching, in teacher training and how humour can contribute to a positive environment for learning. Students of education are not always given the opportunity to examine the impact of their own preferences of teaching style or their own willingness to use certain strategies, such as humour in the language teaching. Because of the lack of time to explore such personal views we may be missing an opportunity to enhance learning in our classrooms.
Kristmanson (2000) emphasizes this need to create a welcoming classroom for language learning;
"In order to take risks, you need a learning environment in which you do not feel threatened or intimidated. In order to speak, you need to feel you will be heard and that what you're saying is worth hearing. In order to continue your language learning, you need to feel motivated. In order to succeed, you need an atmosphere in which anxiety levels are low and comfort levels are high. Issues of motivation and language anxiety are key to this topic of affect in the second language classroom."
Why Haven't We Been Using Humour in Our Classrooms?
For many the simple mention of humour condors up notions and protests of, "I'm not funny, I don't use humour." " I can't tell a joke; let alone use one in class." For others it is something to be feared, synonymous with classroom disorder and chaos. "I'm not about to start telling jokes, it will mean complete loss of control."
For some this resistance to using humour may simply be a lack of knowledge as to how one may use it effectively in class. " I enjoy humour, but I don't know how to go about using it, so I don't. I don't want to look foolish." Others associate humour and its use with non-productivity. Students can't be learning if they are laughing. Yet humour is as authentic and as communicative a human reaction and social skill as is greeting and conversing with friends.
Commercial language teaching methodologies have tended in the past to avoid the use of humour. It is one thing to train or explain to teachers how to teach the future or passe compose, however, it is a more evasive concept to train teachers to have a sense of humour or even develop such a human characteristic.
The humour discussed in this article however requires no form of humour training, nor requires that a teacher have the humouristic skills that would match the Robin Williams of the world. It will demonstrate a simple yet very beneficial use of humour, the use of cartoons in the communicative teaching of a second language.
Why Should We Use Humour in Our Classrooms?
Humour and laughter are areas that have not been closely studied. Their role in education and medicine has been briefly examined as far back as Wells (1974) to as recently as Provine (Dec. 2000) in, "The Science of Laughter", Psychology Today .
Loomax and Moosavi (1998) in an article on the use of humour in a university statistics class point out that anecdotal evidence in past studies consistently suggests that humour is an extremely effective tool in education. These same studies suggest that the use of humour in the classroom reduces tension, improves classroom climate, increases enjoyment, increases student-teacher rapport and even facilitates learning.
Regardless of what evidence there may be, we all have personal views on the value of humour, as depicted in the film "Patch Adams" and for years in Reader's Digest, "Laughter is the Best Medicine." Yet, there is little in literature that speaks of its pedagogical value and in particular in second language teaching and in second language teacher training.
According to Provine (2000) laughter is generally subdued during conversation. Speech will dominate and laughter serves as a phrase break creating a punctuation effect in language. Laughter therefore has a specific role in conversations and is not random. Therefore, as in authentic communication, humour in the classroom shouldn't be random. It shouldn't be used without preparation and a clear objective. It may be simple or complex in nature. It is your decision as to how, when and why you will use it.
One reason for using humour is that as a human trait it is a self-effacing behavior (Provine, 2000). It can allow the shy or timid student in your class to participate with the group. If it is used properly humour allows the student to feel a part of the class and possibly contribute without loosing face, feeling exposed or vulnerable. This is of particular importance in a communicative classroom where the accent is on verbal authentic communication, participation and interaction. It's a way of reaching out to those students who are too afraid or nervous to attempt expressing themselves in their second language. Humour is as human and as authentic as the need to communicate. As with other facets of our lives it plays a major role in our every day social interaction. We should therefore not ignore it but instead make it part of our everyday classroom learning.
Laughter helps us forget about ourselves, our problems, our fears and allows us to lose ourselves momentarily. This momentary loss may be interpreted by some teachers as a loss of control, poor classroom management and therefore something to be avoided. However, humour as with all activities in the communicative language classroom, must be well prepared and have a specific objective.
Interestingly enough, Provine (2000) also discovered that even though both sexes laugh a lot, females laugh more. It might explain why the females in our classes seem to enjoy more the humour used in the classroom. Although, as Provine points out, males appear to be the initiators of humour in any culture, beginning in early childhood.
As was stated earlier, Kristmanson (2000) stressed the importance of the affective environment in second language teaching. It can't be emphasized enough that students are more willing to participate and take risks in using their second language in a classroom that allows them to do so without fear of criticism and ridicule. It's important for the teacher to create a "positive atmosphere" for learning. Humour, by decreasing anxiety and stress can, contribute to this positive classroom, to class unity and learning.
"Indeed, the presumed health benefits of laughter may be coincidental consequences of its primary goal: bringing people together.
Guidelines for Using Humour:
"The job of the teacher is to get students laughing, and when their mouths are open, to give them something on which to chew. "
Although the above quote is an interesting and humorous way to describe the use of humour, it is not our role as teachers to be stand-up comedians. Nor will we all use humour in the same way, or use the same humour. With this in mind there are certain points to consider before using humour in your classroom. Proper preparation is key as in all language teaching preparation. In so doing we really will have something for the students to "chew on."
1. Don't try too hard. Let humour arise naturally, encourage it, don't force it. Don't be discouraged if the first time it doesn't meet your expectations. As Provine (2000) states, your reaction to their non-reaction (to a cartoon for example) may be the most amusing part. Like all things, proper preparation is needed for proper delivery.
2. Do what fits your personality. Never force it, it won't work. You might want to venture outside your comfort zone and try a different genre, cartoonist, or style of humour. Remember you class is made up of individuals with different tastes.
3. Don't use private humour or humour that leaves people out. Your goal is not to become a comedian. The humour described here is through cartoons. It doesn't make fun of any particular group, nationality, etc ... Private humour, if you use it, should be for affective reasons as well, used carefully, never demeaning or sarcastic.
4. Make humour an integral part of your class, rather then something special. Humour works best as a natural on-going part of classroom learning. Be careful not to over use it, it could loose its value and effect. With practice you will develop a style and comfort zone with humour.
The use of humour will depend on the content you are teaching and the availability of appropriate humorous material. Have specific goals or objectives in mind. Using humour, like teaching, has to be well prepared. With time you will become more and more at ease, or self assured with its use. Allow yourself time to experiment and see what works well.
"When humour is planned as part of the teaching strategy, a caring environment is established, there is an attitude of flexibility, and communication between student and teacher is that of freedom and openness. The tone is set allowing for human error with freedom to explore alternatives in the learning situation. This reduces the authoritarian position of the teacher, allowing the teacher to be a facilitator of the learning process. Fear and anxiety, only natural in a new and unknown situation, becomes less of a threat, as a partnership between student and instructor develops."[6]5. Humour and cartoons should be related to what your are doing in the classroom. Humour may be used to solicit dialogue, conversations and develop vocabulary. At times you may want to use it as a break before going on to something else. However, the cartoon should always be of an appropriate nature and interest to your students.
It is useful, on occasion, to present a cartoon on an overhead projector as students come into class. The humour can relax and re-energize the students for class. It can also prepare them to converse in their second language. The cartoon can become the signal that they are now in French or ESL class. To help the students shift from their first language to their second language they could enjoy a lighthearted moment of discussion or interpretation of the cartoon. This interaction is authentic and can stimulate real discussion and or debate, so much so that at times you may have to bring the discussion to a close to proceed with the class.
6. The extent to which you use humour will vary on your class. Interpretation, discussion and analysis will vary on the proficiency of your class. The humour must be comprehensible, with themes that your students can relate to.
As with all communicative learning activities, prepare your students. Begin by discussing cartoons; what are their favorites, what are yours. Tell them you are going to use cartoons to illustrate what they are learning and to have fun. The pedagogical reasons for their use can be known by you. What the students will know is that the cartoon will help them better understand and learn the language.
Remember, it is important to keep it simple, with a specific objective. Don't attempt to use, for example, the future, passe compose, verb agreement and the use of idiomatic expressions all at once. You may want to use a specific cartoon again to illustrate another point. Although I recommend that you use a different cartoon and enjoy the humour more.
A Practical ExampleIn the past I have generally used cartoons with multi panels. They provide more material for communicative questioning and discussion. However, the choice of carton that you choose to demonstrate or practice a particular point will naturally depend on the theme, grammatical or cultural component you are teaching or examining. It is important to decide beforehand why you want to use it and how you want to use it. Ask yourself the question, "What knowledge do I want the students to demonstrate by interpreting this cartoon?" As mentioned previously try not to deal with multiple aspects at one time. Perhaps you simply want to illustrate or have the students demonstrate their knowledge of vocabulary or expressions related to emotions. However, nothing is stopping you from returning to the cartoon at a later date to talk about intonation and stress in the language and how it can change the meaning of what is said. As before, don't overuse the cartoon. I suggest you keep it simple and use other examples to illustrate supplementary points.
The absence of a title or any written dialogue allows your students to use their imagination and express themselves orally or in written form (I have primarily used cartoons to stimulate oral expression. I have used writing as a possible extension, a re-investment of the activity). Such an exercise allows students to defend their point of view and also to explore their interpretations of possible dialogue and scenarios.
It is motivating and interesting to have students suggest a before and after sequence to the situation illustrated by the cartoon. Students willingly offer possible "before" and "after" segments and delight in coming up with the most original. This particular aspect of the lesson can take place after each individual panel or once all panels have been shown.
To add variety to the use of such cartoons you may want to present the first several panels together and solicit an ending to the story or an interpretation of the story. Presenting the panels one at a time makes the activity more communicative and intriguing as students confirm or don't confirm their interpretations of what will happen next. More discussion and fun is had as the story unfolds with each segment. Anticipation builds as you approach the final panel. The ending takes on a greater value as everyone waits for the true ending!
Another approach is to ask your students to actually create, or imagine the dialogue for each panel. It could be an opportunity to introduce or review expressions of emotion, in this case, anger and despair. For example one could use a cartoon that depicts, what one would assume, is a mother scolding her child. However, in the final panel we discover that it is the house pet. If the class was an ESL class students could possibly come up with the following examples of ways to expression displeasure and disappointment:
"I'm not very happy with you."
"I'm very upset with your behaviour."
"I'm very saddened, unhappy, disappointed, bitterly disappointed..."
"I'm very annoyed."
"I'm very disillusioned, discontented, heavy-hearted..."
"I'm so ashamed, pained, ..."
"We (speaking for both parents) are so weary, tired, disgusted..."
"We are furious, incensed, infuriated, enraged by this behavior... "
"We feel blighted, dejected by this whole affair."You may want to examine the role of intonation, stress and syllabication related to such a situation, on another occasion or at another point in your lesson.
Vocabulary work begins immediately with the presentation of the first panel, when the class begins to describe the scene and brainstorm what they see and understand to be happening. Examples of open-ended communicative questions that force students to go beyond a simple "yes" or "no" could be:
"Describe what you see in the first panel." "Where does the story take place?"
"To whom is the woman speaking?" "Imagine what she is saying."
"What do you think happened before this story began?"
"How will the story end?"As with the multidimensional approach we seek to have students reinvest what they have learned by completing an extension activity or enrichment activity. A possible example suggested by Lavenne (1988) and enjoyed by students is to write the story as if reporting the news for a newspaper, if the cartoon can be adapted for such a reinvestment. If students aren't aware of the structure of a newspaper article it would be good to review it and provide authentic examples. Students can then model the style correctly in writing his or her own news report. Another option is to have students write out the dialogue. As in the case of this cartoon, researching and writing the dialogue to share with the class could be fun and entertaining. Such an exercise is motivating and enables you to see if students have mastered, in written form, the point of grammar, structure, vocabulary or expressions of emotions you have taught and have examined with them.
Conclusion:
Humour can contribute a great deal to the second language classroom. It enables you not only to create an affective or positive environment, but is a source of enjoyment for you and your students. Language is seen in authentic and real life situations. Humorous situations allow your students to express themselves without fear of ridicule and criticism. Anxiety and stress is reduced and your students are encouraged to take more risks in using their second language.
As with all language activities care must be taken to prepare students before the activity and guide them along the way. Although the teachers may perceive the exercise as a lighthearted moment in the course of their lesson plan, humour should be an integral part of a positive learning classroom environment. Specific goals and objectives must be pre-established and clear in the mind of the teacher. Humour, along with encouragement and praise should be one of the many useful tools used by language teachers to make their classrooms more inviting and conducive to learning.
This article examines how humour can be an effective tool in teaching and in creating the affective second language classroom. It will also examine the reasons why humour is sometimes avoided, and will dispel the myth that one must be a comedian to use humour in a language classroom. The focus is on the use of cartoons with practical examples of how to use and adapt this particular resource. One doesn't have to be a gifted humorist to reap the benefits of using humour in the classroom.
" Classrooms in which laughter is welcome help bring learning to life."
Much has been written in recent years about the importance of the affective environment in the second language classroom. Such classrooms are ones in which learners are not afraid to take risks and use their second language. Students are encouraged and praised for their efforts to always use their second language in class. Students don't face ridicule, nor negative criticism. Error correction is appropriate, timely, constructive and seeks to instill confidence in each student.
However, at times we overlook humour as an important element in teaching, in teacher training and how humour can contribute to a positive environment for learning. Students of education are not always given the opportunity to examine the impact of their own preferences of teaching style or their own willingness to use certain strategies, such as humour in the language teaching. Because of the lack of time to explore such personal views we may be missing an opportunity to enhance learning in our classrooms.
Kristmanson (2000) emphasizes this need to create a welcoming classroom for language learning;
"In order to take risks, you need a learning environment in which you do not feel threatened or intimidated. In order to speak, you need to feel you will be heard and that what you're saying is worth hearing. In order to continue your language learning, you need to feel motivated. In order to succeed, you need an atmosphere in which anxiety levels are low and comfort levels are high. Issues of motivation and language anxiety are key to this topic of affect in the second language classroom."
Why Haven't We Been Using Humour in Our Classrooms?
For many the simple mention of humour condors up notions and protests of, "I'm not funny, I don't use humour." " I can't tell a joke; let alone use one in class." For others it is something to be feared, synonymous with classroom disorder and chaos. "I'm not about to start telling jokes, it will mean complete loss of control."
For some this resistance to using humour may simply be a lack of knowledge as to how one may use it effectively in class. " I enjoy humour, but I don't know how to go about using it, so I don't. I don't want to look foolish." Others associate humour and its use with non-productivity. Students can't be learning if they are laughing. Yet humour is as authentic and as communicative a human reaction and social skill as is greeting and conversing with friends.
Commercial language teaching methodologies have tended in the past to avoid the use of humour. It is one thing to train or explain to teachers how to teach the future or passe compose, however, it is a more evasive concept to train teachers to have a sense of humour or even develop such a human characteristic.
The humour discussed in this article however requires no form of humour training, nor requires that a teacher have the humouristic skills that would match the Robin Williams of the world. It will demonstrate a simple yet very beneficial use of humour, the use of cartoons in the communicative teaching of a second language.
Why Should We Use Humour in Our Classrooms?
Humour and laughter are areas that have not been closely studied. Their role in education and medicine has been briefly examined as far back as Wells (1974) to as recently as Provine (Dec. 2000) in, "The Science of Laughter", Psychology Today .
Loomax and Moosavi (1998) in an article on the use of humour in a university statistics class point out that anecdotal evidence in past studies consistently suggests that humour is an extremely effective tool in education. These same studies suggest that the use of humour in the classroom reduces tension, improves classroom climate, increases enjoyment, increases student-teacher rapport and even facilitates learning.
Regardless of what evidence there may be, we all have personal views on the value of humour, as depicted in the film "Patch Adams" and for years in Reader's Digest, "Laughter is the Best Medicine." Yet, there is little in literature that speaks of its pedagogical value and in particular in second language teaching and in second language teacher training.
According to Provine (2000) laughter is generally subdued during conversation. Speech will dominate and laughter serves as a phrase break creating a punctuation effect in language. Laughter therefore has a specific role in conversations and is not random. Therefore, as in authentic communication, humour in the classroom shouldn't be random. It shouldn't be used without preparation and a clear objective. It may be simple or complex in nature. It is your decision as to how, when and why you will use it.
One reason for using humour is that as a human trait it is a self-effacing behavior (Provine, 2000). It can allow the shy or timid student in your class to participate with the group. If it is used properly humour allows the student to feel a part of the class and possibly contribute without loosing face, feeling exposed or vulnerable. This is of particular importance in a communicative classroom where the accent is on verbal authentic communication, participation and interaction. It's a way of reaching out to those students who are too afraid or nervous to attempt expressing themselves in their second language. Humour is as human and as authentic as the need to communicate. As with other facets of our lives it plays a major role in our every day social interaction. We should therefore not ignore it but instead make it part of our everyday classroom learning.
Laughter helps us forget about ourselves, our problems, our fears and allows us to lose ourselves momentarily. This momentary loss may be interpreted by some teachers as a loss of control, poor classroom management and therefore something to be avoided. However, humour as with all activities in the communicative language classroom, must be well prepared and have a specific objective.
Interestingly enough, Provine (2000) also discovered that even though both sexes laugh a lot, females laugh more. It might explain why the females in our classes seem to enjoy more the humour used in the classroom. Although, as Provine points out, males appear to be the initiators of humour in any culture, beginning in early childhood.
As was stated earlier, Kristmanson (2000) stressed the importance of the affective environment in second language teaching. It can't be emphasized enough that students are more willing to participate and take risks in using their second language in a classroom that allows them to do so without fear of criticism and ridicule. It's important for the teacher to create a "positive atmosphere" for learning. Humour, by decreasing anxiety and stress can, contribute to this positive classroom, to class unity and learning.
"Indeed, the presumed health benefits of laughter may be coincidental consequences of its primary goal: bringing people together.
Guidelines for Using Humour:
"The job of the teacher is to get students laughing, and when their mouths are open, to give them something on which to chew. "
Although the above quote is an interesting and humorous way to describe the use of humour, it is not our role as teachers to be stand-up comedians. Nor will we all use humour in the same way, or use the same humour. With this in mind there are certain points to consider before using humour in your classroom. Proper preparation is key as in all language teaching preparation. In so doing we really will have something for the students to "chew on."
1. Don't try too hard. Let humour arise naturally, encourage it, don't force it. Don't be discouraged if the first time it doesn't meet your expectations. As Provine (2000) states, your reaction to their non-reaction (to a cartoon for example) may be the most amusing part. Like all things, proper preparation is needed for proper delivery.
2. Do what fits your personality. Never force it, it won't work. You might want to venture outside your comfort zone and try a different genre, cartoonist, or style of humour. Remember you class is made up of individuals with different tastes.
3. Don't use private humour or humour that leaves people out. Your goal is not to become a comedian. The humour described here is through cartoons. It doesn't make fun of any particular group, nationality, etc ... Private humour, if you use it, should be for affective reasons as well, used carefully, never demeaning or sarcastic.
4. Make humour an integral part of your class, rather then something special. Humour works best as a natural on-going part of classroom learning. Be careful not to over use it, it could loose its value and effect. With practice you will develop a style and comfort zone with humour.
The use of humour will depend on the content you are teaching and the availability of appropriate humorous material. Have specific goals or objectives in mind. Using humour, like teaching, has to be well prepared. With time you will become more and more at ease, or self assured with its use. Allow yourself time to experiment and see what works well.
"When humour is planned as part of the teaching strategy, a caring environment is established, there is an attitude of flexibility, and communication between student and teacher is that of freedom and openness. The tone is set allowing for human error with freedom to explore alternatives in the learning situation. This reduces the authoritarian position of the teacher, allowing the teacher to be a facilitator of the learning process. Fear and anxiety, only natural in a new and unknown situation, becomes less of a threat, as a partnership between student and instructor develops."[6]5. Humour and cartoons should be related to what your are doing in the classroom. Humour may be used to solicit dialogue, conversations and develop vocabulary. At times you may want to use it as a break before going on to something else. However, the cartoon should always be of an appropriate nature and interest to your students.
It is useful, on occasion, to present a cartoon on an overhead projector as students come into class. The humour can relax and re-energize the students for class. It can also prepare them to converse in their second language. The cartoon can become the signal that they are now in French or ESL class. To help the students shift from their first language to their second language they could enjoy a lighthearted moment of discussion or interpretation of the cartoon. This interaction is authentic and can stimulate real discussion and or debate, so much so that at times you may have to bring the discussion to a close to proceed with the class.
6. The extent to which you use humour will vary on your class. Interpretation, discussion and analysis will vary on the proficiency of your class. The humour must be comprehensible, with themes that your students can relate to.
As with all communicative learning activities, prepare your students. Begin by discussing cartoons; what are their favorites, what are yours. Tell them you are going to use cartoons to illustrate what they are learning and to have fun. The pedagogical reasons for their use can be known by you. What the students will know is that the cartoon will help them better understand and learn the language.
Remember, it is important to keep it simple, with a specific objective. Don't attempt to use, for example, the future, passe compose, verb agreement and the use of idiomatic expressions all at once. You may want to use a specific cartoon again to illustrate another point. Although I recommend that you use a different cartoon and enjoy the humour more.
A Practical ExampleIn the past I have generally used cartoons with multi panels. They provide more material for communicative questioning and discussion. However, the choice of carton that you choose to demonstrate or practice a particular point will naturally depend on the theme, grammatical or cultural component you are teaching or examining. It is important to decide beforehand why you want to use it and how you want to use it. Ask yourself the question, "What knowledge do I want the students to demonstrate by interpreting this cartoon?" As mentioned previously try not to deal with multiple aspects at one time. Perhaps you simply want to illustrate or have the students demonstrate their knowledge of vocabulary or expressions related to emotions. However, nothing is stopping you from returning to the cartoon at a later date to talk about intonation and stress in the language and how it can change the meaning of what is said. As before, don't overuse the cartoon. I suggest you keep it simple and use other examples to illustrate supplementary points.
The absence of a title or any written dialogue allows your students to use their imagination and express themselves orally or in written form (I have primarily used cartoons to stimulate oral expression. I have used writing as a possible extension, a re-investment of the activity). Such an exercise allows students to defend their point of view and also to explore their interpretations of possible dialogue and scenarios.
It is motivating and interesting to have students suggest a before and after sequence to the situation illustrated by the cartoon. Students willingly offer possible "before" and "after" segments and delight in coming up with the most original. This particular aspect of the lesson can take place after each individual panel or once all panels have been shown.
To add variety to the use of such cartoons you may want to present the first several panels together and solicit an ending to the story or an interpretation of the story. Presenting the panels one at a time makes the activity more communicative and intriguing as students confirm or don't confirm their interpretations of what will happen next. More discussion and fun is had as the story unfolds with each segment. Anticipation builds as you approach the final panel. The ending takes on a greater value as everyone waits for the true ending!
Another approach is to ask your students to actually create, or imagine the dialogue for each panel. It could be an opportunity to introduce or review expressions of emotion, in this case, anger and despair. For example one could use a cartoon that depicts, what one would assume, is a mother scolding her child. However, in the final panel we discover that it is the house pet. If the class was an ESL class students could possibly come up with the following examples of ways to expression displeasure and disappointment:
"I'm not very happy with you."
"I'm very upset with your behaviour."
"I'm very saddened, unhappy, disappointed, bitterly disappointed..."
"I'm very annoyed."
"I'm very disillusioned, discontented, heavy-hearted..."
"I'm so ashamed, pained, ..."
"We (speaking for both parents) are so weary, tired, disgusted..."
"We are furious, incensed, infuriated, enraged by this behavior... "
"We feel blighted, dejected by this whole affair."You may want to examine the role of intonation, stress and syllabication related to such a situation, on another occasion or at another point in your lesson.
Vocabulary work begins immediately with the presentation of the first panel, when the class begins to describe the scene and brainstorm what they see and understand to be happening. Examples of open-ended communicative questions that force students to go beyond a simple "yes" or "no" could be:
"Describe what you see in the first panel." "Where does the story take place?"
"To whom is the woman speaking?" "Imagine what she is saying."
"What do you think happened before this story began?"
"How will the story end?"As with the multidimensional approach we seek to have students reinvest what they have learned by completing an extension activity or enrichment activity. A possible example suggested by Lavenne (1988) and enjoyed by students is to write the story as if reporting the news for a newspaper, if the cartoon can be adapted for such a reinvestment. If students aren't aware of the structure of a newspaper article it would be good to review it and provide authentic examples. Students can then model the style correctly in writing his or her own news report. Another option is to have students write out the dialogue. As in the case of this cartoon, researching and writing the dialogue to share with the class could be fun and entertaining. Such an exercise is motivating and enables you to see if students have mastered, in written form, the point of grammar, structure, vocabulary or expressions of emotions you have taught and have examined with them.
Conclusion:
Humour can contribute a great deal to the second language classroom. It enables you not only to create an affective or positive environment, but is a source of enjoyment for you and your students. Language is seen in authentic and real life situations. Humorous situations allow your students to express themselves without fear of ridicule and criticism. Anxiety and stress is reduced and your students are encouraged to take more risks in using their second language.
As with all language activities care must be taken to prepare students before the activity and guide them along the way. Although the teachers may perceive the exercise as a lighthearted moment in the course of their lesson plan, humour should be an integral part of a positive learning classroom environment. Specific goals and objectives must be pre-established and clear in the mind of the teacher. Humour, along with encouragement and praise should be one of the many useful tools used by language teachers to make their classrooms more inviting and conducive to learning.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Teaching the simple present tense meaningfully
Hello everyone,
I’d like to share two activities I have just experienced with my students after they have been introduced to the simple present tense. These activities offered a good opportunity for students to use this tense meaningfully and do enjoyable tasks that focus their attention on its forms. They have also been incredibly productive in terms of the amount of language use. The following is the plan of the lesson in which I used the 2 activities. I hope to get feedback from you soon !
Lesson topic: teaching the simple present tense using communicative activities.
Level: beginning
Skills emphasised: integrated skills.
Target language: verbs related to daily routines and professions and WH questions.
Objectives: by the end of the lesson students should be able to:
- Acquire and use new vocabulary items related to daily routines and professions.
- Practice the forms of the simple present tense meaningfully.
- Share information about their daily routine.
Materials:
A handout questionnaire to fill in with daily routine activities.
Individual sentences on slips of papers about professions.
References:
- Penny Ur, 2006. Grammar practice activities.
- Jeremy Harmer. The practice of English language teaching.
Activity I: daily routine
- Teacher presents Fatima’s daily routine on the board. Actually it’s a two-column chart labelled: “time” and “activities”.
- Teacher writes down time and activities. For example: 7am : I get up. Teacher uses gestures and mimes to present the new vocabulary.
- When the chart has been completed, the teacher asks students comprehension questions about Fatima’s routine. The aim being to show students that verb forms change when the subject is in the third person. These are examples of the questions I used: When does Mary get up?, What does she eat for breakfast?,How does she go to school? ...etc.
- Students are asked to work in pairs and get to know about each other’s daily routine.
- Each Student is given a questionnaire which he should fill in by asking the other person in his pair.
- When students have completed the task, the teacher asks them to write a paragraph in which they describe the different activities their classmate does as part of his or her daily routine. The questionnaire answers serves as a source of ideas.
- Teacher gets a student up to the front of the class to read out his paragraph.
- Teacher collects students ' writings for evaluation and feedback.
Activity II: professions
- On the board, teacher draws a chart with many columns each labelled with a different job.
- Students are put into groups.
- Each group is given individual sentences on slips of papers. Actually each sentence describes an activity a person would do in the course of one of the jobs indicated on the chart.
- Teacher makes sure that groups understand the meaning of the sentencesa and provides help.
- Students read the sentences and match them with the jobs.
- A representative of each group is asked to write on the board sentences underneath the appropriate job.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
The English alphabet
I noticed that some of my students do have some difficulty in pronouncing some words because they don't know even most of the alphabet.In fact, they would like to learn ,but they find this hinderance.Therefore, Idecided to start my lesson with the English alphabet.I asked some of my students about the English alphabet.I asked students to listen carefully .I played the tape recorder.I distributed sheets where there are some blanks to fill in.I asked the students to listen and to write the missing words. I asked some students to read what they have written.I asked pairs students to compare their answers.Then ,we had a correction on the blackboard.I had also a lesson about days of the week and I used jazz chant following the same previuos steps.I was very glad because when I meet some of my students ,I hear them singing the songs they have learnt in class though nobody of their parnts know any word of English.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Using games in teaching grammar
Dear colleagues,
I’d like to share an interesting and meaningful grammar activity I have just practiced this morning. It’s actually the famous game "don’t say yes or no" adapted from “Grammar practice activities” by Penny Ur. I used this game as a supplementary follow up activity to consolidate students’ knowledge and use of short answers to yes no questions. The procedure of the game is the following:
1- On the board I wrote down names of different people and their professions. I used some pictures to present professions .
2- I explained the rules of the game as follows:
- A student is asked to stand in front of the class and answer his classmates’ questions.
- Other students in turn ask him/her about any person they choose from the list concerning his/her job. They have to use yes no questions. For example: is Leila a teacher?
- The answer must be in the form of a short answer without saying “yes” or “no”.
- The winner is the one who answers correctly the maximum of questions.
This activity was a good opportunity to present new vocabulary items and manipulate yes no questions as well as short answers forms in an interesting, funny and contextualized way.Give it a trail, I’m sure your students will like it!.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Report about the P4T Summer Institute 2007
The Partnership for Teaching (P4T) Summer Institute sponsored by the American Department of State and hosted by the University of Delaware started on July 7, 2007 and ended on Aug 18, 2007. The program was organized for the Moroccan and Egyptian teachers of English as an initiative to help the ministries of education in both countries to improver the teaching of English in public schools. The participants had the opportunity to improve their teaching skills, update their academic knowledge, and discover the American culture through two main ways, the academic activities and cultural trips and meetings.
The Academic Activities
These activities consisted mainly of workshops and tutorials that aimed at raising the participants’ awareness to a number of issues related to ESL/EFL such as using drama in teaching, strategic interaction, Story telling, teaching listening, etc. such activities aim also at correcting some misunderstandings that the participants might have about ESL/EFL teaching practice. Most of the workshops were in the form of interactive presentations that gives a theoretical background and practical tasks.
The merit of these activities resides in the fact that they combine theory with practice in dealing with any issue in ESL/EFL. This gave the participant a clear picture about the issues discussed. Another merit is the fact these activities was the fact that most of the presenters used cooperative approach to learning. In other words, the participants contributed their ideas to the workshop and helped to make it a success.
The academic activities were concluded with a final mini-conference that was entirely prepared by the participants. The conference topics featured what the participants learned from the whole training either in terms of form or content. In terms of form, most of the workshops presented at the conference reflected the techniques of presentation stressed during the training. In terms of content, most of the conference topics reflected either the issues dealt with during the training or the participants’ cultural experience during the training. Even if there was not enough time to prepare for the mini-conference, the participants managed to demonstrate their understanding of the different workshops and cultural activities. The mini-conference was also a form of preparation for the participants for the follow-on conference in the home country either in terms of organization or delivery.
The Cultural activities
On the cultural level, the P4T summer institute was an opportunity for the participants to discover the American culture, since it was the first time for all the participant in the USA. This objective was achieved through a number of cultural trips to monuments and places that constitute landmarks of the American Culture such as Dover, Philadelphia, New York, Lancaster, and Washington D.C. In addition to that, the cultural aspect of the training was fostered through a number of meeting and social gatherings with people from different walks of life and professions. Examples of these meetings are The People-to-People dinner, the Dover teacher meeting, and The ELI teachers’ lunch. These gatherings provided opportunities for the participants not only to improve their linguistic abilities but to foster their cultural awareness and understanding as well.
Mohamed ELFATIHI
Saturday, October 13, 2007
The training program
Dear colleagues!Infact all what we have learnt in Delaware is so beneficial to me,all what I would like to say thank you for all people who endeavered to make of this program a success both the Moroccans and the Americans .Now in all my classes I am trying to use all the techniques and the skills we have learnt in Delaware:songs,chants,games,drama,puzzles,crosswords....etc.For the activities I am trying to use different forms:multiple choice,word and sentence order,gap filling,sentence completion,wh-questions.....etc.What surprised my colleagues is the life the Amish people are leading,It was the first time they have heard about them.In short everything we learnt in the USA was wonderful from society to pedagogy.Thank you and I really miss you:all the people whom I met there .I hope to see you here in Morocco so that you can discover the beauty of Morocco.You are welcome..........
Friday, October 12, 2007
It has been a long time since I wrote in the Blog. We began our school year about four weeks ago.I have put a plan since I ARRIVED IN EGYPT.I made some copies for all my colleagues about what we have done in the USA AND EVERYDAY WE HAD DISCUSSIONS about how to adapt these new techniques in our school and according to the commercial curriculum.
At first I put the idea of my PORTFOLIO into use for integrating writing daily and it was really a success. It was at first difficult to have positive results but through trials my students liked the idea very much.
Second, I made use of our workshops about how to teach VOCABULARY in an easy and expressive way.
Now I am thinking of how to solve my students' problem in speaking as some of them are shy to speak in front of others and this could be solved through group work , but others get afraid of making mistakes , it is my duty to help them speak freely.
If I have any new idea or technique , I would keep in touch.
LAMIA
At first I put the idea of my PORTFOLIO into use for integrating writing daily and it was really a success. It was at first difficult to have positive results but through trials my students liked the idea very much.
Second, I made use of our workshops about how to teach VOCABULARY in an easy and expressive way.
Now I am thinking of how to solve my students' problem in speaking as some of them are shy to speak in front of others and this could be solved through group work , but others get afraid of making mistakes , it is my duty to help them speak freely.
If I have any new idea or technique , I would keep in touch.
LAMIA
Using jazz chants in listening activities
Dear colleagues,
I'd like to share with you a lesson that both my students and I liked so much. Students learnt many things and had a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to your comments. Thanks!
I'd like to share with you a lesson that both my students and I liked so much. Students learnt many things and had a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to your comments. Thanks!
Lesson plan
Lesson topic : listening using jazz chants
Students Level : beginning 1
Time : 45 minutes
Skills emphasized : Listening and developing oral intelligibility through appreciation of the rhythm and intonation patterns of spoken American English.
Target functions and structures :
- asking for names and their spelling,
- greeting others and asking about mutual friends,
- introducing friends in a casual and frequentely used form,
- using short forms of the verb Be.
Objectives : By the end of the lesson students should be able to :
- review the functions and vocabulary previousely taught: asking for names and their spelling , age, using short forms of the verb Be,
- get used to the sounds and features of American English,
- be aware of the striking difference between written words and their spoken forms.
Materials:
- Small talk Book and cassette by Carolyn Graham
- tape recorder
- Task sheet with written conversations .
Activity I : warm-up
T briefly reviews the previous lesson by asking students about their names, how they are spelt, their age, their home towns......
Activity II : Listening
- Students listen to chant n°1 on the cassette
- Students listen once again and try in pairs to fill in blanks with words from the chant. They are already given a task sheet.
- Class correction of the exercice with answers on BB.
- students repeat sounds they find difficult.
- teacher along with students establish the rhythm by snapping fingers, then students repeat each line of the chant after the teacher
- Students listen again to the chant on the cassette
- Class is devided into 2 groups ( 2 rows for each group). Each group is given a role and repeats his lines after the teacher.
- The 2 groups perform the chant without the teacher modeling.
- the groups exchange roles while keeping the rhythm with their fingers snapping.
Activity III : practice
- Students in pairs write a dialogue in which they use all what they have just learnt using their names ..etc.
- Students act out their dialogues to the whole class.
- Teacher helps them retain the rhythm and intonation paterns.
* The same activities were repeated with all the other chants in units 1 and 2 in the jazz chants book .
References :
- Small Talk book and cassette by Carolyn Graham. Oxford University press.
- Workshop on Rhythm, Stress and intonation with jazz chants. Marybeth Worillow. P4T Udel 2007.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
New eJournal about the English language
Below you'll find the link to a new online journal on a topic we all know and love: the English language.
Check out the new eJournal, Dynamic English online: http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itsv/0807/ijse/ijse0807.htm Or as a pdf file: <>
Enjoy the journal.
Kamal Hadder
Check out the new eJournal, Dynamic English online: http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itsv/0807/ijse/ijse0807.htm Or as a pdf file: <
Enjoy the journal.
Kamal Hadder
Monday, September 03, 2007
remember the blog
hi everybody
it seems that you forgot the blog. Please remember to post your ideas and feeling on it. I will busy for another week as I will be the vice president of a voting office. that's so much work.
buy now
it seems that you forgot the blog. Please remember to post your ideas and feeling on it. I will busy for another week as I will be the vice president of a voting office. that's so much work.
buy now
Sunday, August 12, 2007
hello everybody
hi everybody.Now ,it's time for hard work. I wish you good luck and see you all in the day of the conference .I hope that we will share different ideas and experiences.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Good Luck Guys
hey up there, you must be having hard times preparing for the conference. Don't worry, everything will be alright inchallah. I know you are able to do it. please, prepare for that with a good intention and leave the rest for God.
Best of luck
Best of luck
Using music to teach the four skills.
Using music to each the four skills
This workshop, presented by Janet Louise, is about teaching the four skills using music. The majority of teachers believe that the use of music in their classrooms is only to teach listening comprehension. Throughout all the school year, students are exposed to a variety of selected songs by their own teachers. The aim of which is to improve students’ listening to English language. On the contrary, music can be used to teach all the four skills: listening comprehension ,reading comprehension, writing and reading. What a teacher has to bear in mind, though, is that not every song is ideal to use in the classroom. This means that teachers have to go through the following steps to select a specific song to teach:
- Intelligibility: may the students understand the language of the song? Keep in mind that with a certain amount of written explanation and vocabulary presentation on the blackboard can help the students understand more than expected.
- Appropriateness: many songs are morally inappropriate to young children. Thus, students and the community must be respected. In addition, teachers have to choose songs that actually have positive moral and ethical message or which challenge the students to think at a more mature level.
-Appeal: the song must be appealing and engaging to the students. If it is just because the teacher likes it, there is no reason then to use it.
- Language objectives: the songs must emphasize particular linguistic, curricular or thematic objectives.
- Length: the song must fit available class time.
By doing so, the selected song attracts students’ attention and teaches some natural and interesting language without offending anyone.
Summarised by:
Jamal LATRACHE
This workshop, presented by Janet Louise, is about teaching the four skills using music. The majority of teachers believe that the use of music in their classrooms is only to teach listening comprehension. Throughout all the school year, students are exposed to a variety of selected songs by their own teachers. The aim of which is to improve students’ listening to English language. On the contrary, music can be used to teach all the four skills: listening comprehension ,reading comprehension, writing and reading. What a teacher has to bear in mind, though, is that not every song is ideal to use in the classroom. This means that teachers have to go through the following steps to select a specific song to teach:
- Intelligibility: may the students understand the language of the song? Keep in mind that with a certain amount of written explanation and vocabulary presentation on the blackboard can help the students understand more than expected.
- Appropriateness: many songs are morally inappropriate to young children. Thus, students and the community must be respected. In addition, teachers have to choose songs that actually have positive moral and ethical message or which challenge the students to think at a more mature level.
-Appeal: the song must be appealing and engaging to the students. If it is just because the teacher likes it, there is no reason then to use it.
- Language objectives: the songs must emphasize particular linguistic, curricular or thematic objectives.
- Length: the song must fit available class time.
By doing so, the selected song attracts students’ attention and teaches some natural and interesting language without offending anyone.
Summarised by:
Jamal LATRACHE
Monday, August 06, 2007
Summary of the workshop on:
Summary of the workshop on:
Communicative language teaching using Drama by Dr. Scott Stevens
Naima Leghtas and Halima Elhanani
Drama is used to develop communicative competence in language classes.
I- why do we use drama ?
We use it for the following reasons:
1- motivation: it inspires students to learn a foreign language in a funny way.
2- self esteem : it makes shy students more confident in using a second language and in developing their characters and personalities.
3- creativity: students become more creative and show their talents.
4- cultural proximity : students learn about the target culture through slang, idioms, non verbal communication ....... etc.
II- How to use drama in a classroom:
1- Group development: drama develops group unity through trust.
2- voice or stage speech: students improve their oral intelligibility because the voice used in drama is one of power, volume and enthusiasm.
3- observation : drama reflects life . So students get more aware of the world around them and so more able to improvise.
4- Energy : it refers to the inner power in voice and movement which is necessary to keep the audience attention all along the show.
5- Movement : it means body language which is associated to culture and language.
6- concentration : students learn how to bring an intensity of effort to their own performance.
7- Spontaneity : students don’t need to memorize their scripts.
8- Creativity : students should be given the chance to write and act out their own ideas.
9- Mechanics: such as transitions between scenes, acts entrances, exits, pausing dialogue, sensitivity to pops, signals for beginning songs ...... etc.
III - Steps of using drama:
1- Physical warm up activities : games like great shake, eye got you, mirror movement.
2- voice warm up activities : such as voice mirror, projection scales, projection variation, partner fluency fighting......
3- Rehearsal performance : statue making, mime practice, moral fables .........
4- cool down activities : in this stage students are asked to perform . Tasks are better assigned one day before the class meets so students can have time to get well prepared.
Communicative language teaching using Drama by Dr. Scott Stevens
Naima Leghtas and Halima Elhanani
Drama is used to develop communicative competence in language classes.
I- why do we use drama ?
We use it for the following reasons:
1- motivation: it inspires students to learn a foreign language in a funny way.
2- self esteem : it makes shy students more confident in using a second language and in developing their characters and personalities.
3- creativity: students become more creative and show their talents.
4- cultural proximity : students learn about the target culture through slang, idioms, non verbal communication ....... etc.
II- How to use drama in a classroom:
1- Group development: drama develops group unity through trust.
2- voice or stage speech: students improve their oral intelligibility because the voice used in drama is one of power, volume and enthusiasm.
3- observation : drama reflects life . So students get more aware of the world around them and so more able to improvise.
4- Energy : it refers to the inner power in voice and movement which is necessary to keep the audience attention all along the show.
5- Movement : it means body language which is associated to culture and language.
6- concentration : students learn how to bring an intensity of effort to their own performance.
7- Spontaneity : students don’t need to memorize their scripts.
8- Creativity : students should be given the chance to write and act out their own ideas.
9- Mechanics: such as transitions between scenes, acts entrances, exits, pausing dialogue, sensitivity to pops, signals for beginning songs ...... etc.
III - Steps of using drama:
1- Physical warm up activities : games like great shake, eye got you, mirror movement.
2- voice warm up activities : such as voice mirror, projection scales, projection variation, partner fluency fighting......
3- Rehearsal performance : statue making, mime practice, moral fables .........
4- cool down activities : in this stage students are asked to perform . Tasks are better assigned one day before the class meets so students can have time to get well prepared.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Teaching Listening
Listening and speaking are the language Skills that are used most frequently. It has been estimated that students spend almost half their communication time listening. In our classroom, students listen more than they read or write. But in real life, listening is used 40 %, speaking only 30%. (slide N 3)
why do we listen to others?. there are many purposes for listening, some of which are: listening for sounds, for meaning, for comprehension, for a specific idea, and for pleasure.
Listening involves a sender, a message, and a receiver (the listener). It also involves a canal and a code. When someone says something, it goes first to the ear, then to the brain to analyze it. then the brain sends another message to the mouth to answer. Listening to someone else and trying to make out what s/he says becomes difficult when s/he speaks a second or foreign language.
Listening strategies refer to the way the listener tries to understand the message. there are actually two strategies: Top-down strategies and Bottom-up strategies. Top-down strategies start from the generral to the specific. The listener taps into background knowledge of the topic, the situation or context, the type of text, and the language. This background knowledge activates a set of expectations that help the listener to interpret what is heard and anticipate what will come next. Top-down strategies include
* listening for the main idea
* predicting
* drawing inferences
* summarizing
Bottom-up strategies are text based; the listener relies on the language in the message, that is, the combination of sounds, words, and grammar that creates meaning. Bottom-up strategies include:
* listening for specific details
* recognizing cognates
* recognizing word-order patterns
Some exercises for top-down processing are the following: use key words to construct background ideas; understand roles in a situation; isolate details from important ideas and understand intention in conversation. For bottom-up processing, we can use the following exercises. recognize word boudries (where a word ends and the other begins); distinguish key words; recognize word order in a sentence and interpret stress and intonation.
The class was not only theory, Mrs Detzel Deborah introduced us to some exercises especiallythe ones on Indonesian vocabulary and the story. we aslo raised the question about whether teachers test the listening ability or the students memory.
Friday, August 03, 2007
people to people dinner
People to people
Very interesting people.
Today is the first of August .we consider ourselves very lucky to attend the people to people dinner meeting at delcastle country club
We arrived their at about 6:15 pm .there we had the pleasure to meet great people who are from different nationalities, colours, cultures. All mingle together with great variety of clothes from different countries; Egypt, Pakistan, Morocco, Lebanon, Palestine, Argentina and of course the United States of America.
All those wonderful people met us with warm feelings and hospitality. We talked about many topics and discussed many issues from food to policy, we found out that we may have different prospective for things but we still share one belief that where ever you seek peace you can find .peoples are the same everywhere, they want to have life ,freedom and love.
The people to people organization are really caring people who are eager to break the misunderstanding and diversity among people as much as they can .they work for the sake of humanity .we also realized that this organization through their
cooperative attitudes they want to clarify that they have big heart that can welcome anybody ready to plant tree of love and peace.
Very interesting people.
Today is the first of August .we consider ourselves very lucky to attend the people to people dinner meeting at delcastle country club
We arrived their at about 6:15 pm .there we had the pleasure to meet great people who are from different nationalities, colours, cultures. All mingle together with great variety of clothes from different countries; Egypt, Pakistan, Morocco, Lebanon, Palestine, Argentina and of course the United States of America.
All those wonderful people met us with warm feelings and hospitality. We talked about many topics and discussed many issues from food to policy, we found out that we may have different prospective for things but we still share one belief that where ever you seek peace you can find .peoples are the same everywhere, they want to have life ,freedom and love.
The people to people organization are really caring people who are eager to break the misunderstanding and diversity among people as much as they can .they work for the sake of humanity .we also realized that this organization through their
cooperative attitudes they want to clarify that they have big heart that can welcome anybody ready to plant tree of love and peace.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
The Assessment of ELL writing skills
All languages have consonants and vowelswhich can be at the beginning ,in the middle or even in word final position.Many Hispanic and Afro-American students do not pronounce consonants which are in word final position when there is a consonant cluster.for example,i missed(st) the bus,she walks(ks) to school,hold(ld) my hand,friend(nd),first(st),It`s the man`s(ns) book ,I see three girls(lz),etc.Therefore ,these students do not write the consonants they do not pronounce.Hence, Hispanic and Afro-american students may not use the simle past tense(e.g.burned),third person presnt singular(sings),possessive(the teacher`s book),plurals (cars),etc.In this case , how can the teacher score his students?
THE ASSESSMENT OF ELL WRITING SKILLS:
First,there are different types of writing.For example,descriptive,narrative,expository and technical.Moreover,different techniques are used while writing.For instance,definition,comparison \contrast,analysis,cause\effect,enumerate and examples.
Second,teachers may use two ways of scoring ELL writing skills: analytic or holistic.
O n the one hand,for the analytic scoring , the teacher takes into consideration the relevance of content, the adequacyof vocabulary for purpose and grammar(including spelling and punctuation).Concerning the advantages of this type of scoring, it can be used with proficiency and achievement tests, it can also be used for diagnostic purposes and the bases of norm referenced permits the comparison of students on an ability continum.However,students anxieties are much higher and it is difficult to match results with instructional objectives.
O n the other hand,the holistic scoring gives much importance to the evaluation of larger components(e.g.ddressing the topic ,the development of the topic with appropriate examples,cohesion,etc.)For the advantages of the holistic scoring,the criteria referenced students are not evaluated by comparison with other students, tests accurately reflect teaching objectives(e.g. comparison writing,etc.) and the students` anxieties are much lower. Nevertheless, students are unable to compare their performance with other students, objectives are often too limited and students are not encouraged to reach higher standards of excellence.
a summary presented by LOUBNA ZOUHRI
THE ASSESSMENT OF ELL WRITING SKILLS:
First,there are different types of writing.For example,descriptive,narrative,expository and technical.Moreover,different techniques are used while writing.For instance,definition,comparison \contrast,analysis,cause\effect,enumerate and examples.
Second,teachers may use two ways of scoring ELL writing skills: analytic or holistic.
O n the one hand,for the analytic scoring , the teacher takes into consideration the relevance of content, the adequacyof vocabulary for purpose and grammar(including spelling and punctuation).Concerning the advantages of this type of scoring, it can be used with proficiency and achievement tests, it can also be used for diagnostic purposes and the bases of norm referenced permits the comparison of students on an ability continum.However,students anxieties are much higher and it is difficult to match results with instructional objectives.
O n the other hand,the holistic scoring gives much importance to the evaluation of larger components(e.g.ddressing the topic ,the development of the topic with appropriate examples,cohesion,etc.)For the advantages of the holistic scoring,the criteria referenced students are not evaluated by comparison with other students, tests accurately reflect teaching objectives(e.g. comparison writing,etc.) and the students` anxieties are much lower. Nevertheless, students are unable to compare their performance with other students, objectives are often too limited and students are not encouraged to reach higher standards of excellence.
a summary presented by LOUBNA ZOUHRI
Sunday, July 29, 2007
culture in the language classroom
Culture in the language classroom
JoAnn(Crandall):
Dear colleagues:
We have been in the u.s.A for three weeks.wouldyou mind if we share opinions in this cross culture initiative from the university of Delaware and cooperative Extension department ,university of Dlaware.AS we learnt,culture is not just a simple word,contains letters C.U.L.T.U.R.E each letter represent an aspect, we can say:
C----communication
U--- understanding
L--- love
T---transformation
U--- unique
R----- relevant
E--- education
No body can communicate with others without understanding the different levels of their culture aspects within their community and this may reflect a unique or relevant orientation of each one’s culture it may be my culture or yours,but you couldn’t transfer your culture without putting it through “a content” “meaningfull,relevant input”. Also exchanging opinions on different issues that relate to their own culture way of believe, thinking,refusal”for/against “or other views may form as outlines for different cultures. This could lead you to demolish the bridges that others made.If you let all restrictions, made by man and try to form your own true believe that we are all the same, we are all humans, we share many many wonderful and great things,yes,all of us are the creation of our creator. keep fear away, start to shape your way with an open eye,ear and also your heart to communicate with each other,arabs.americans,Africans,Asians,from every part of the world. When love lives in our heart and reject all wicked effects influence your life ,the whole world will turn to be the most beautiful place to live in. I found myself eager to write these words to all of you:
Here we are, hand in hand
Cross the bridge to the
Fancy land,
Where God celebrates our
Devotion to him
Is there anybody to understand
Just keep ahead in serving your God
Giving a hand for anybody to ask
Sent by: Manal Eweis
Dear colleagues:
We have been in the u.s.A for three weeks.wouldyou mind if we share opinions in this cross culture initiative from the university of Delaware and cooperative Extension department ,university of Dlaware.AS we learnt,culture is not just a simple word,contains letters C.U.L.T.U.R.E each letter represent an aspect, we can say:
C----communication
U--- understanding
L--- love
T---transformation
U--- unique
R----- relevant
E--- education
No body can communicate with others without understanding the different levels of their culture aspects within their community and this may reflect a unique or relevant orientation of each one’s culture it may be my culture or yours,but you couldn’t transfer your culture without putting it through “a content” “meaningfull,relevant input”. Also exchanging opinions on different issues that relate to their own culture way of believe, thinking,refusal”for/against “or other views may form as outlines for different cultures. This could lead you to demolish the bridges that others made.If you let all restrictions, made by man and try to form your own true believe that we are all the same, we are all humans, we share many many wonderful and great things,yes,all of us are the creation of our creator. keep fear away, start to shape your way with an open eye,ear and also your heart to communicate with each other,arabs.americans,Africans,Asians,from every part of the world. When love lives in our heart and reject all wicked effects influence your life ,the whole world will turn to be the most beautiful place to live in. I found myself eager to write these words to all of you:
Here we are, hand in hand
Cross the bridge to the
Fancy land,
Where God celebrates our
Devotion to him
Is there anybody to understand
Just keep ahead in serving your God
Giving a hand for anybody to ask
Sent by: Manal Eweis
Culture Assessment Session
It was difficult for me to sum up Dr. louis's biography to give the readers of my summary a brief excerpt of his career. At first I would like to point out some of this great modest man's experiences and posts. From Georgetown University, he got his PhD in linguistics and Japanese language, from Villanova University, he got his MA in philosophy and from Georgetown University, he got MS in psycholinguistics and his BA in Japanese language.This great man has held alot of posts in different universities.
Experiences
University of Delaware/ professor (1967 -1985)
UD writing center / director (1967-1985)
UD ELI / Director / founder (1972-1985)
University of Hawaii / professor (1966-1968)
Sophia university(Tokyo) / professor (1964-present)
Summers and Sabbatical Leaves
Georgetown University / professor (1963-1964)
University of Rome -La Sapienza-Italy / professor ( 2002-present)
Related Experience
Consultant, Delaware Department of Education for testing 2nd languages
Chairman, TOEFL Committee of Examiners
Consultant , E.I. Dupont de Nemours & co., Inc (Legal Department)
President, Board of Directors , Mary Campbell Center
( Residence for persons with severe and multiple disabilities)
On our arrival , we were welcomed warmly by this great and his attendants. There was a group of American teachers who deal with different subjects that are taught in English.
We got mixed in order to get the chance of cross culture. From Dr. louis's point of view , English is an incredible language and the schools' role is to motivate learners to learn.To teach English as a second language requires giving an overall idea about culture. As we know, culture is cosidered a vessel of different ideas like values, morals, belief, knowledge, family, race...........etc.It is the glue that combines the whole society and it can also covers different concepts . If we want to give a meaning to " family", some will define it as father, mother, sister, brother, the dog and may be the fish whereas the others will say that "family" is the whole society.
One of the greatest features of this lecture was putting a criteria for culture as follows;
Cultures of Doing Cultures of Being
(1)-Time/ Task Oriented Person oriented
(2)-Earned status Ascribed/ Inherited Status
(3)-Flexible roles Fixed roles
(4)-Nuclear family Extended family
(5)-Change, Movement, Progress Stability, Harmony and Tradition
(6)-Monochronic Orientation Polychronic Orientation
If we looked at time/ task oriented and person oriented, we would find out that in some cultures people focus on what the person does, whereas others would focus on what the person is. In some cultures , they don't pay attention to the past , they are just present/ future oriented while in other cultures they should look to the past to learn from their mistakes ,so the past is meant to be directive to their present.
It is clear that culture can either be of "Doing" or "Being", so our task is toknow which one we are from.
Presented by ,
Dr. Louis A. Arena PhD
Linguistics Department
University of Delaware
Summarized by/ lamiaa kamal
Experiences
University of Delaware/ professor (1967 -1985)
UD writing center / director (1967-1985)
UD ELI / Director / founder (1972-1985)
University of Hawaii / professor (1966-1968)
Sophia university(Tokyo) / professor (1964-present)
Summers and Sabbatical Leaves
Georgetown University / professor (1963-1964)
University of Rome -La Sapienza-Italy / professor ( 2002-present)
Related Experience
Consultant, Delaware Department of Education for testing 2nd languages
Chairman, TOEFL Committee of Examiners
Consultant , E.I. Dupont de Nemours & co., Inc (Legal Department)
President, Board of Directors , Mary Campbell Center
( Residence for persons with severe and multiple disabilities)
On our arrival , we were welcomed warmly by this great and his attendants. There was a group of American teachers who deal with different subjects that are taught in English.
We got mixed in order to get the chance of cross culture. From Dr. louis's point of view , English is an incredible language and the schools' role is to motivate learners to learn.To teach English as a second language requires giving an overall idea about culture. As we know, culture is cosidered a vessel of different ideas like values, morals, belief, knowledge, family, race...........etc.It is the glue that combines the whole society and it can also covers different concepts . If we want to give a meaning to " family", some will define it as father, mother, sister, brother, the dog and may be the fish whereas the others will say that "family" is the whole society.
One of the greatest features of this lecture was putting a criteria for culture as follows;
Cultures of Doing Cultures of Being
(1)-Time/ Task Oriented Person oriented
(2)-Earned status Ascribed/ Inherited Status
(3)-Flexible roles Fixed roles
(4)-Nuclear family Extended family
(5)-Change, Movement, Progress Stability, Harmony and Tradition
(6)-Monochronic Orientation Polychronic Orientation
If we looked at time/ task oriented and person oriented, we would find out that in some cultures people focus on what the person does, whereas others would focus on what the person is. In some cultures , they don't pay attention to the past , they are just present/ future oriented while in other cultures they should look to the past to learn from their mistakes ,so the past is meant to be directive to their present.
It is clear that culture can either be of "Doing" or "Being", so our task is toknow which one we are from.
Presented by ,
Dr. Louis A. Arena PhD
Linguistics Department
University of Delaware
Summarized by/ lamiaa kamal
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