Sunday, January 13, 2013
Step 2.2 - Lesson Planning
What do you think are
the difficulties of preparing lesson plans?
In sum, lack of planning can lead to the following consequences:
Lesson planning produces many valuable benefits:
Here are some problems (and potential problems) that
we noticed:
• Aimless
wandering
• Failure to
achieve objectives
• Needed teaching
materials or equipment not available, and
• Poor connection
with preceding or subsequent lessons
If you don't plan your lesson properly you may fall
into several traps:
Your teaching may wander aimlessly
without ever achieving its objective, and you and your students may never
achieve the objectives of the course. Or you may show up to teach and find that
you didn't bring the necessary materials or equipment. What you teach may not
relate to what you taught earlier and it may not lead to what you will teach
later. In sum, lack of planning can lead to the following consequences:
- Poor or reduced learning,
- Frustration (for both the teacher and the students), and
- A waste of time, effort and money
The “Used to” Lesson Plan
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Main aim
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Subsidiary aims
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Personal aims
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Materials
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Anticipated
problems and solutions
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Timing
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Aims
|
Activity
|
Focus
|
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8 mins
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Lead in
to set the context for the lesson and
generate interest |
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S-S-S
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7 mins
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Lexis
to introduce vocabulary for listening stage |
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S-S
S-ST-Ss |
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10 mins
|
Listening
to
practice listening for gist |
|
S
Ss-T |
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12 mins
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Presentation
|
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Ss-T
|
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10 mins
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Less restricted
practice
to give students restricted practise in
using target language |
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T-Ss
S-S-SSs-T |
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3 mins
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Less restricted
written practice
to provide a written record of the target
language |
Sts write 2 sentences about
themselves and two about other sts using target language
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S
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10 mins
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Authentic practice
to give students authentic practice in
using target language |
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S-S-S
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Module 13 Step 2.1 - Individual work
What do you think are
the benefits of preparing lesson plans?
Lesson planning produces many valuable benefits:
-
evoke some sort of pupil reaction,then teachers decide whether to continue with the plan or to
modify it as they go along;
-
helps the teacher work with confidence;
-
keeps the teachers and the pupils on track;
-
enable an observer evaluating the teaching to make
that assessment against criteria that teachers have decided themselves;
-
helps the teacher meet the objectives;
-
anticipate potential problems;
-
enhances pupils’ achievement;
-
provide the road map and visuals in a logical
sequence;
-
helps the teachers avoid unpleasant surprises;
-
encourages reflection and improvement;
-
provides guidance for a substitute teacher helps the
teacher teach with confidence;
-
enables teachers to think logically through the
content of the lesson before the lesson itself and prepare material and aids;
-
help teachers clarify the end point they intend to
reach and also
set them free to go towards that point in the most appropriate
ways in class.
Useful Links for Modern Techniques and Tools
Audacity
Survey Monkey
Skype
Google Talk
ElluminatevRoom
FlashMeeting
Task 1.1 - The Internet as a Classroom Resource
Let’s consider the usefulness of the
Internet as a classroom resource. Firstly, think about:
·
What is motivation?
·
What motivates you?
·
What motivates your students?
Schools and classrooms are
dynamic, interactive, social places, where teachers and students communicate,
share information, and challenge each other' s ideas. Teachers guide student
learning by posing problems, encouraging student questions, and offering
opportunities for students to find solutions.
The resources and
interactions in a classroom depend on the curriculum the class is working on
and the beliefs of the teacher and school. There will be times when technology and the Internet make a lot of
sense, and there will be times when technical resources are not needed.
Teachers, as always, should select the
resources they think best suit their objectives.
The Internet basically expands the resources available and decreases the
time and location dependencies that can be limiting factors in schools.
It offers powerful and varied ways for
students and teachers to interact, manipulate data, and conduct research. Consider some of the non-Internet resources
that are traditionally available in schools: libraries, video, film strips, and
CDs, to name a few.
Because of budgetary and physical
restrictions, schools can only have so many of these. There are documents,
artifacts, and books that students in a typical school will never be able to
access. In addition, many schools are working with outdated textbooks and
materials. But the Net provides access to
an amazing number of constantly updated and expanding resources and an
incredible wealth of information.
Teachers and students have that same
opportunity on the Net today. Students can research information on the Web,
discuss what they find with classmates or, if they're using e-mail, with
students in another class or an expert in the field they are studying, and when
they conclude their research they can publish their work on the Web. (However,
effective use of this interaction and research opportunity depends on expert
teaching. The range of resources and options students have access to on the Net
is staggering. Specific focus and guidance from the teacher is critical.)
The Internet eliminates the need to be in
the same place at the same time as the person or resource you are interacting
with. There are technical requirements such as a computer with an Internet
connection, but other than that, the world is at your door. The potential to have
all the educational resources you need at home, at school, or anywhere you have
a computer is now there.
This is not to say that the interaction and
dynamic of a classroom are going away; rather, they are growing. Away from
school students can ask questions that come to mind by sending e-mail to
friends, teachers, or content experts. They can research materials at various
Web sites and they can submit their work for review from anywhere at any time.
The potential to expand students' learning time is tremendous.
Learn How to Create Your Own Podcast in 4 Easy Steps
Step 1: Create Your
Content
Your recording setup can be quite
elaborate, even approaching that of a small radio station, or it can be as
simple as an inexpensive headset or microphone bought at your local Radio
Shack. Your investment will vary depending on what type of podcast you plan to
create, and how professional you want it to sound. For most classroom
applications of podcasting, you probably already have all you need to create a decent
podcast.
There are three types of podcasts:
•
Audio Only
Most of the podcasts listed on iTunes
are audio only. They are easy to record
and edit and require a very simple setup in terms of hardware and other
equipment. Audio processing requires
much less power from a computer than video editing does. In terms of recording equipment, all you need
is a desktop microphone or a headset with a built in microphone. You may even get decent results from the
microphone built into your computer if you're using a laptop, but this option
should only be used in a pinch because the built-in microphone will pick up a
lot of ambient sounds including those coming from your computer such as the
hard drive, etc. You can even set up a podcast where you conduct an interview
with someone over the Internet using one of the many instant messaging programs
that support voice chat. A popular
choice for podcasters is Skype, an application that allows you to make computer
to computer phone calls over the Internet (using a protocol called Voice Over
IP).
• Enhanced (with photos and chapter markers)
•
Video
These podcasts are a little more expensive
and difficult to create. Not only do you need a decent video camera to capture
the video, but your computer also needs to be more powerful than with audio
only podcasts. Video files are very large even after they are compressed, so
you will probably have to invest on an external hard drive to store your files
while you work on a video podcast. Video also takes longer to edit than sound. For
editing your video content, you have a few choices. On the PC side, you can use
Windows Movie Maker. This program is included with Windows XP, or you can
download the latest version for free from the Microsoft website. The latest
version of the iPod supports video. iPod
compatible videos can be created using the latest versions of Apple's video
editing applications (including QuickTime Pro on Windows).
Step 2: Put the Content
Online
As a USF student, you have space set
aside on a web server that you can use to host files, including audio and video
files. You can also use a site such as Our Media to host your file. While Our
Media allows you to use a form on a web page to upload your files, the USF blog
requires you to install an SSH program before you can connect. You can download
an SSH program for Windows from the Academic Computing site, which also has
some instructional videos describing the procedure for using SSH to log into
the USF web space. On the Mac, you can use a program called Fugu to connect to
the USF web servers. Fugu works a lot like SSH, providing a drag and drop
interface that shows your hard drive on one side of the screen and your folder
on the server on the other side. You simply drag files from one side to the
other to upload them to the server.
All videos are
saved as .mov and require the QuickTime Player to view):
•
Locate file on hard drive
•
Upload file to server
Step 3: Create a Blog that
Supports Podcasting
Create a blog that supports podcasting. You
only need to do this if you are not creating your own RSS file. The blog can
create it for you. All faculty and students have free blog accounts already,
courtesy of the fine folks at Academic Computing. You can set yours up by
logging in to blog.usf.edu. Something to keep in mind is that the USF blog is a
public blog. Every time you post something to your USF blog, it is also posted
to Planet USF, a page that has the latest postings to all USF blogs. The USF
blog also only supports .mp3 attachments for podcasts. While this is not a
problem if you are doing an audio only podcast, it means you cannot do an
enhanced podcast, which must be saved. There are many other free blog sites
available on the Internet. A popular one is Blogger, which is owned by the
search company Google. Whatever blog you use, make sure that it supports audio
attachments.
Step 2: Attach Your
Content to a Blog Post
Attach the audio or video content to a
blog posting. You'll create a new post and add a link to your audio or video
file in the body. The link is a standard HTML link. If you are using the USF
blog, you must include an absolute address.
The USF blog automatically generates a feed for you. The
feed address is in the format http://NetID.blog.usf.edu/wp-rss2.php, where
NetID is the user name you use to log into Blackboard and other USF sites.
Once you've done all of that, you are
podcasting. Anyone can subscribe to your podcast by opening up iTunes and selecting
Advanced, Subscribe to Podcast and entering the address of your feed.
Module 12 - Evaluation Task
Grammar Translation and Silent Way vs. CLT
The teaching-learning scenario of English in
Bangladesh has assumed a new beginning. Grammar-translation method had been
practiced for a long time in the English Language Teaching context. Since 1998
in the secondary and higher secondary levels grammar-translation method has
been replaced by Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). The Grammar-Translation
method and the Audio-Lingual approach were the methodologies that were in vogue
before CLT. These methods involved repetition and memorization of forms. Mere
memorizing of grammar rules and studying literary texts are considered somewhat
irrelevant. Nowadays ability to use the language to meet practical ends has
become the major goal of learning English.
In other words we can say that to be successful in learning English
means ability to get the meaning across while communicating.
With the appearance of CLT second language teaching
faced a dramatic change in the method of teaching the language. The main reason
behind this change is that the educators began to realize the goal of foreign
language teaching is the communicative ability achieved by the learner. In the 1970s in Europe there was an influx of
immigrant population who had to learn English quickly to find employment. The
drills of the Grammar-Translation method and the Audio-Lingual approach did not
help the workers to communicate with their employers. ‘British applied
linguists began to call into question the theoretical assumption underlying the
Situational Language Teaching (Jack C. Richards 153). Since the mid-1970s the
scope of CLT has expanded. Both American and British proponents now see it as
an approach and not a method that aims to make communicative competence.
In this era of global communication, the purpose of
learning English should be stretched from the grammatically accurate written
productions of compositions and translations to the multidimensional oral
communication in multi-faced situations. Grammar Translation method demands
the utmost grammatical accuracy which involves time, carefulness and is a slow
process. To satisfy the immediate needs CLT is practiced by the learners. Communicative competence in CLT is a
linguistic term which refers to a learner’s ability to form correct utterances
in the second language and know how to use these utterances appropriately.
The teacher’s role had been outright authoritative in
the Grammar Translation Method. Such a teacher-orientated authority used to
make the students completely dependent on the teachers and devoid of the
practice of speaking skills making the students to be tongue-tied during the
spoken communicative production. The student’s role in the overall Grammar
Translation Method in the English Language
Teaching situation of Bangladesh had
been by no means passive and a kind of
inactive. They were supposed to remain silent during the instruction of the
lessons and were to be active in a limited way only during the written
production of grammatical problem solving tasks and translations when they were
used to be instructed to do so. Such inactivity during the maximum time of the
lesson was used to make the students incompetent in communication in English.
The CLT now reverses the ideas. Now classes are dominated by students.
Students’ talking time is greater than that of Teacher Talking Time. Equal
importance is given to speaking skill which remained totally neglected in GTM.
The teachers used to present the lessons in
lecture-based ways. As it is already mentioned, the participation of the
students was very limited during the lessons. They used to get an opportunity
of participation by directly asking the teachers only when they used to fail to
understand certain things. The more the class had been found silent the more
the teacher used to be satisfied of having been conducted a successful class.
Peer discussions as well as other kind of activities of peer co-operation had
been far beyond the expectations. Thus a gap between the students and the teachers
and also gaps at the levels of competence and proficiency among the peers were
used to be created of which the teachers and the students used to remain
oblivious during the conduct of the lessons. But in CLT teachers work as
facilitators and behave friendly with the learners narrowing the gap between
them. Hence, teaching learning takes place in a non-threatening environment.
In Grammar-Translation method grammar had been taught
deductively emphasizing on the meticulous rules and the grammatical output of
the students were used to be considered based on the problem –solving tasks of
the isolated sentences. In CLT only the essential grammatical elements are
taught through the context-based inductive tasks and activities emphasizing not
on the meticulous accuracy but on the overall linguistic negotiation of
meaning.
GTM is lecture-oriented; in the CLT the lessons are
action-oriented. Thus in GTM there had been only isolated written grammatical
and problem-solving tasks and activities of translations to be individually
done by the students. In CLT, activities
like pair works, group works as well as collective works besides individually
done by the students and in CLT activities as collective works besides
individual performances are to be conducted in almost every lesson ensuring the
integration of four major language skills.
Guidelines for Designing Learning Spaces
Note the fixed features and plan accordingly.
EXAMPLES
1. Remember that the audiovisual center and computers need an electrical outlet.
2. Keep art supplies near the sink, small-group work by a blackboard or whiteboard.
Create easy access to materials and a well-organized places to store them.
EXAMPLES
1. Make sure materials are easy to reach and visible to students.
2. Have enough shelves so that materials do not have to be stacked.
Provide students with clean, convenient surfaces for studying.
1. Make sure materials are easy to reach and visible to students.
2. Have enough shelves so that materials do not have to be stacked.
Provide students with clean, convenient surfaces for studying.
EXAMPLES
1. Put bookshelves next to the reading area, games by the game table.
2. Prevent fights by avoiding crowded work spaces.
Avoid dead spaces and "racetracks".
EXAMPLES1. Put bookshelves next to the reading area, games by the game table.
2. Prevent fights by avoiding crowded work spaces.
Avoid dead spaces and "racetracks".
1. Do not have all of the interest areas around the the outside of the room, leaving a large dead space in the middle.
2. Avoid placing a few items of furniture right in the middle of this large space, creating a racetrack around the furniture.
Module 9 - Teaching Writing Summary
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10
11
|
Takes place in context, which often
makes references clear (e.g. 'that thing over there')
Speaker and listener(s) in con-tact.
Interact and exchange roles
Usually person addressed is specific
Immediate feedback given and expected:
a. verbal: questions, comments,
grunts, murmurs
b. non-verbal: facial expressions
Speech is transitory. Intended to be
understood immediately. If not, listener expected to interact
Sentences often incomplete and
sometimes ungrammatical.
Hesitations and pauses common and
usually some redundancy and repetition
Range of devices (stress, intonation,
pitch, speed) to help convey meaning. Facial expressions, body movements and
gestures also used for this purpose.
Universal, every-one can speak
Spontaneous and unplanned
Dialect variations commonly used
Informal
|
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10
11
|
Creates
its own context and therefore has to be fully explicit
Reader
not present and no inter-action possible
Reader
not necessarily known to writer
No
immediate feedback possible. Writer may try to anticipate reader's reactions
and incorporate them into text
Writing
is permanent. Can be reread as often as necessary and at own speed
Sentences
expected to be carefully constructed, and linked and organized to form a text
Devices
to help convey meaning are punctuation, capitals and underlining (for
emphasis). Sentence boundaries clearly indicated
Not
every-one can write
Planned
and takes time
Demands
standard forms of grammar, syntax, and vocabulary
Formal
|
Module 7 - Types of Learning Activities
Bodily/Kinesthetic
online quiz with instant feedback
interactive multimedia tutorial
laboratory exercise
hands-on task
simulation
interactive graph
interactive game (e.g., video game)
website construction
Web quest
apprenticeship/internship
Naturalist
field trip
scavenger hunt
tour
database creation or search
Interpersonal
reflection (via journal or blog)
observation
survey
puzzle
self-assessment
digital portfolio
independent research
mind-mapping
graphic design
composing music
photography
video-editing
role-playing
Existential
virtual community
service-learning
news reporting
Interpersonal
class discussion
formal debate
small group discussion
team project
team competition
problem-based learning groups
case study groups
peer review
email
instant messaging
online chat
telephone conversation
peer-to-peer instruction
teaching a lesson
clinical rotation
Differences between British and American English
BRITISH
ENGLISH
|
AMERICAN
ENGLISH
|
ROMANIAN
|
flat
|
apartment
|
apartament
|
lorry
|
track
|
camion
|
wardrobe
|
closet
|
sifonier
|
oven
|
stove
|
cuptor
|
petrol
|
gas
|
benzina
|
lift
|
elevator
|
lift
|
underground
|
subway
|
metrou
|
time table
|
schedule
|
orar
|
cinema
|
movies
|
cinema
|
taxi
|
cab
|
taxi
|
luggage
|
baggage
|
bagaj
|
film
|
movie
|
film
|
garden
|
yard
|
curte
|
fridge
|
refrigerator
|
frigider
|
crisps
|
chips
|
cartofi
prajiti
|
biscuit
|
cookie
|
fursec
|
sweets
|
candies
|
dulciuri
|
airplane
|
airplane
|
avion
|
pavement
|
sidewalk
|
trotuar
|
autumn
|
fall
|
toamna
|
trousers
|
pants
|
pantaloni
|
insect
|
bug
|
insecta
|
ground
floor
|
first
floor
|
parter
|
holiday
|
vacation
|
vacanta
|
company
|
corporation
|
companie
|
prison
|
jail
|
inchisoare
|
postman
|
mailman
|
postas
|
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