HINTSFOR LESSONMANAGEMENT

1. Prepare more than you need: it is advisable to have an easily presented, light ‘reserve’ activity ready in case of extra time.

2. Similarly, note in advance which component(s) of the lesson you will sacrifice if you find yourself with too little time for everything!

3. Keep a watch or clock easily visible; make sure you are aware throughout how time is going relative to your programme. It is difficult to judge intuitively how time is going when you are busy, and the smooth running of your lesson depends to some extent on proper timing.

4. Do not leave the giving of homework to the last minute! At the end of the lesson learners’ attention sat a low ebb, and you may run out of time before you finish explaining. Explain it earlier on, and then give a quick reminder at the end.

5. If you have papers to distribute and a large class, do not try to give every paper yourself to every student! Give a number of papers to people at different points in the class, ask them to take one and pass the rest on.

6. If you are doing group work: give instructions and make sure these are understood before dividing into groups or even, if practicable, handing out materials; if you do it the other way round, students will be looking at each other and at the materials, and they are less likely to attend to what you have to say.

 

1. The audio-lingual style of language teaching: the style that stresses language learning as habits and the importance of spoken language.

Typical teaching techniques: dialogues, structure drills, exploitation activities.

Goals: getting students to ‘behave’ in appropriate situations.

Type of student: non-analytical, non-academic.

Learning assumptions: ‘habit-formation’ behaviorist theory.

Classroom assumptions: teacher-controlled classroom.

Weaknesses from an SLA research perspective:

Ø inadequate form of grammar;

Ø no position on other aspects of language knowledge or use;

Ø Inefficiency of habit formation as a means of teaching use.

Suggestions for teaching:

Ø use for teaching certain aspects of language only;

Ø be aware of the underlying audio-lingual basis of many everyday techniques.

 

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1. Patterns of classroom interaction.

Groupwork. Students work in small groups on tasks that entail interaction: conveying information, for example, or group decision-making. The teacher walks around listening, intervenes little if at all.

Closed-ended teacher questioning. Only one ‘right’ response gets approved. Sometimes cynically called the ‘Guess what the teacher wants you to say’ game.

Individual work. The teacher gives a task or set of tasks, and students work on them independently; the teacher walks around monitoring and assisting where necessary.

Choral responses. The teacher gives a model which is repeated by all the class in chorus; or gives a cue which is responded to in chorus.

Collaboration. Students do the same sort of tasks as in ‘Individual work’, but work together, usually in pairs, to try to achieve the best results they can. The teacher may or may not intervene. (Note that this is different from ‘Group work’, where the task itself necessitates interaction.)

Student initiates, teacher answers. For example, in a guessing game: the students think of questions and the teacher responds; but the teacher decides who asks.

Full-class interaction. The students debate a topic or do a language task as a class; the teacher may intervene occasionally, to stimulate participation or to monitor.

Teacher talk. This may involve some kind of silent student response, such as writing from dictation; but there is no initiative on the part of the student.

Self-access. Students choose their own learning tasks, and work autonomously.

Open-ended teacher questioning. There are a number of possible ‘right’ answers, so that more students answer each cue.

 

1.  Questioning.

REASONS FOR QUESTIONING

– To provide a model for language or thinking.

– To find out something from the learners (facts, ideas, opinions).

– To check or test understanding, knowledge or skill.

– To get learners to be active in their learning.

– To direct attention to the topic being learned.

– To inform the class via the answers of the stronger learners rather than through the teacher’s input.

– To provide weaker learners with an opportunity to participate.

– To stimulate thinking (logical, reflective or imaginative); to probe more deeply into issues.

– To get learners to review and practice previously learnt material.

– To encourage self-expression.

– To communicate to learners that the teacher is genuinely interested in what they think.

CRITERIA FOR EFFECTIVE QUESTIONING

1. Clarity: do the learners immediately grasp not only what the question means, but also what kind of an answer is required?

2. Learning value: does the question stimulate thinking and responses that will contribute to further learning of the target material? Or is it irrelevant, unhelpful or merely time-filling?

3. Interest: do students find the question interesting, challenging, stimulating?

4. Availability: can most of the members of the class try to answer it? Or only the more advanced, confident, knowledgeable? (Note that the mere addition of a few seconds’ wait-time before accepting a response can make the question available to a significantly larger number of learners.)

5. Extension: does the question invite and encourage extended and/or varied answers?1

6. Teacher reaction: are the learners sure that their responses will be related to with respect, that they will not be put down or ridiculed if they say something inappropriate?

1. Group work.

GROUP-WORK ORGANIZATION

1. Presentation.The instructions that are given at the beginning are crucial: if the students do not understand exactly what they have to do there will be time-wasting, confusion, lack of effective practice, possible loss of control. Select tasks that are simple enough to describe easily; and in monolingual classes you may find it cost-effective to explain some or all in the students’ mother tongue. It is advisable to give the instructions before giving out materials or dividing the class into groups; and a preliminary rehearsal or ‘dry run’ of a sample of the activity with the full class can help to clarify things. Note, however, that if your students have already done similar activities you will be able to shorten the process, giving only brief guidelines; it is mainly the first time of doing something with a class that such care needs to be invested in instructing. Try to foresee what language will be needed, and have a preliminary quick review of appropriate grammar or vocabulary. Finally before giving the sign to start tell the class what the arrangements are for stopping: if there is a time limit, or a set signal for stopping, say what it is; if the groups simply stop when they have finished, then tell them what they will have to do next. It is wise to have a ‘reserve’ task planned to occupy members of groups who finish earlier than expected.

2. Process. Your job during the activity is to go from group to group, monitor, and either contribute or keep out of the way – whichever is likely to be more helpful. If you do decide to intervene, your contribution may take the form of:

– providing general approval and support;

– helping students who are having difficulty;

– keeping the students using the target language (in many cases your mere presence will ensure this!);

– tactfully regulating participation in a discussion where you find some students are over-dominant and others silent.

3. Ending. If you have set a time limit, then this will help you draw the activity to a close at a certain point. In principle, try to finish the activity while the students are still enjoying it and interested, or only just beginning to flag.

4. Feedback A feedback session usually takes place in the context of full-class interaction after the end of the group work. Feedback on the task may take many forms: giving the right solution, if there is one; listening to and evaluating suggestions; pooling ideas on the board; displaying materials the groups have produced; and so on.

 

1. Individualization.

1. Speed: how fast or slowly each individual may work (everyone being engaged in the same basic task);

2. Level: tasks that are basically aimed at the same teaching point may be presented in easier or more difficult versions, so that the learner can choose the one that suits his or her level;

3. Topic: the learner may be able to select tasks that – while all are based on the same language skill or teaching point – are varied in the subject or topic of the text as well as in level;

4. Language skill or teaching point: each learner may choose to work on a quite different aspect of language: listening, for example, or grammar, or reading literature.

 

1. The selection of appropriate activation techniques.

TEACHER OBJECTIVES AND LEARNER ACTIVATION

a) Comprehension check. ‘We’ve just finished reading a story. I want to make sure the class has understood it, using the comprehension questions in the book.’

b) Familiarization with text. ‘We’ve just finished reading a story. I’m fairly sure they’ve understood the basic plot, but I want them to get really familiar with the text through reading, they’re going to have to pass an exam on it.’

c) Oral fluency. ‘I have a small [fifteen] class of business people, who need more practice in talking. I want them to do a discussion task where they have to decide which qualities are most important for a manager.’

d) Grammar check. ‘We’ve been working on the distinction between two similar verb tenses. I want to find out how far they’ve grasped it, using an exercise in the book where they have to allot the right tense to the right context.’

e) Writing. ‘They need to improve their writing. I want to ask them to write for a few minutes in class, but am worried they might just make a lot of mistakes and not learn anything.’

f ) Grammar practice. ‘They need to practise forming and asking questions. I thought of using an interview situation; they might interview me or each other.’

g) New vocabulary. ‘I want to introduce some new vocabulary in preparation for a text we’re going to read.’

 

1. Communicative style of language teaching.

Communicative style: basing teaching on communication, both as the target that the students need to achieve, and as the means of acquiring it in the classroom. In general, the communicative style is appropriate for students and societies that value international goals of a non-specific kind. The teacher using it with a particular class has to remember that it will not appeal to students with other types of goal, say an interest in language structure or a desire for personal liberation.

Typical teaching techniques: information gap, role plays, tasks

Goals: getting students to interact with other people in the second language, in the classroom and outside

Type of student: field-independent students rather than field-dependent students, extroverts rather than introverts, and less academic students.

Learning assumptions: learning by communicating with other students in the classroom: laissez-faire, some use of conscious understanding of grammar

Classroom assumptions: teacher as organizer, not source of language knowledge

Weaknesses from an SLA research perspective: lack of views on discourse processes, communication strategies, etc., black box model of learning, lack of role for the first language

Suggestions for teaching: use with appropriate students in appropriate circumstances; supplement with other components of language; avoid trivialization of content and aims.

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1. Different approaches to the nature and function of feedback

Approaches to the giving of feedback

Audio-lingualism

Negative assessment is to be avoided as far as possible since it functions as ‘punishment’ and may inhibit or discourage learning. Positive assessment provides reinforcement of correct responses, and promotes learning.

Humanistic methodologies

A crucial function of the giving of assessment is to preserve and promote a positive self-image of the learner as a person and language learner. Assessment therefore should be positive or non-judgemental.

Skill theory

For successful acquisition of a skill, the learner needs feedback on how well he or she is doing; hence the importance of the provision of constant and honest assessment (Johnson, 1995).

 

Functions of feedback:

1) Instructional

       - clarifies roles or teachers new behaviors

2) Motivational

       - Serves as a reward or promise of a reward

Can be significantly enhanced by pairing specific, challenging goals with specific feedback about results

 

1. Assessment

Gathering information (1): tests

The most common way of gathering information for assessment is through tests; the usual criterion is an arbitrary level which the learner is expected to have reached; and the result is generally expressed through percentages.

Gathering information (2): other sources

1. Teacher’s assessment. The teacher gives a subjective estimate of the learner’s overall performance.

2. Continuous assessment. The final grade is some kind of combination of the grades the learner received for various assignments during the course.

3. Self-assessment. The learners themselves evaluate their own performance, using clear criteria and weighting systems agreed on beforehand.

4. Portfolio. The learner gathers a collection of assignments and projects done over a long period into a file; and this portfolio provides the basis for evaluation.

Assessment grades

Percentages are probably the most common way of expressing assessment grades, but there are others.

1. Letters, words or phrases & numbers: ‘A’ or ‘B’; ‘Good’, ‘Excellent’, 2, 3, 4, 5

2. Profiles: a totally different kind of expression of assessment, comprising a number of separate grades on different skills or sections of knowledge, so that there is a possibility of describing the performance of an individual student in more detail, showing his or her various strengths and weaknesses.

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