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withnail
Joined: 13 Oct 2008
Location: Seoul, South Korea.
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 Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 10:29 am Post subject: Newbies: An example of a lesson for a a big group |
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As you no doubt know already, we really ought to divide a group of say, 40 students into groups for example 8 groups of 5.
As much as possible we avoid trying to teach the whole lot from the front for reasons of classroom control.
Ask each group to think of a team name for themselves! Gradually it'll be easier to learn their names within teams. Funny names will help a nice atmosphere.
Begin with a warmer game: See my post on warmers.
Let's start with 1 type of lesson: a vocabulary-based lesson. Say on Food, just as an example.
1.Flash up a picture of a tasty meal for example on the board using powerpoint or an overhead. Ask them questions about it. It's good to start with an arresting image at the beginning of a lesson. For kids without much English, picture prompts get a much better response than text prompts.
2. A couple of basic intro questions to ask around the room. Pick out individuals to answer if no one offers anything.
3. Give out a pre-prepared sheet you made yourself or found with a list of food vocabulary on it. Say each word out loud and get them to repeat as a whole class, in teams and even the odd individual (especially the individuals who don't seem to be paying attention - good way to snap them out of that).
4. On the other side of the same sheet should be some exercises you found or made to practice those very words you just practiced pronunciation for. These exercises can be
a crossword
a word scramble
a sentence gapfill
a matching exercise
a word search
etc etc
The kids have learned to say the words so here they are practicing writing them, seeing them, finding them etc etc. Go round helping, assisting
Make this stage a team v team competition. Have a winner, second place etc...
Finish off with a team discussion or even whole class discussion - another sheet you pre-prepared has some simple questions you've made, maybe 6 questions which have some of the words you taught in the question and must be used in the answer. As you go round helping, make sure they are not skipping the word, especially the answerer.
If a group happily chats away, assist the groups which seem mute.
Finish off with a little game.
This is just 1 example of a vocab-based lesson following the ppp approach or presentation, practice, production methodology. The idea is that you present, then practice in a controlled way, then in an uncontrolled way.
It can be followed for any vocab topic. If you have any questions, just fire them to me. For the vets out there, bear with me as you all know this of course and there can be problems with this kind of lesson which are better dealt with on a Q&A basis. Try not to flame me! Just trying to help out any newbies for a few start-up ideas. Some posters/pms have asked for this.. |
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icnelly
Joined: 25 Jan 2006
Location: Bucheon
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| Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 3:30 pm Post subject: Re: Newbies: An example of a lesson for a a big group |
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| withnail wrote: |
As you no doubt know already, we really ought to divide a group of say, 40 students into groups for example 8 groups of 5.
As much as possible we avoid trying to teach the whole lot from the front for reasons of classroom control.
Ask each group to think of a team name for themselves! Gradually it'll be easier to learn their names within teams. Funny names will help a nice atmosphere.
Begin with a warmer game: See my post on warmers. |
Please learn to link so as to keep things useful: new posts linked with relevant information, or even references.
HTML linking
A great HTML resource page
Enjoy! |
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BrianInSuwon
Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 4:24 pm Post subject: |
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Have you actually tried this in the classroom? What grade levels? How much success did you have with the group discussions?
Can you provide a list of your intro questions for this topic (food) and a list of your simple questions that encourage group discussions? |
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ddeubel
Joined: 20 Jul 2005
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| Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 6:31 pm Post subject: |
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withnail,
Lots of good ideas and suggestions (but the proof is in the delivery though). If you really want to share your ideas, I suggest you get a blog? Or a site where you can keep these and put it in a standard format? This would be most beneficial to teachers. I know of several easy ways if you want to go there...
However, I will say a few words about this...
| Quote: |
4. On the other side of the same sheet should be some exercises you found or made to practice those very words you just practiced pronunciation for. These exercises can be
a crossword
a word scramble
a sentence gapfill
a matching exercise
a word search
etc etc |
I really don't like the idea of promoting "worksheets". IMO they are anthema to good teaching practices and a cruch. They ruin a lot of young teacher's development.
A worksheet and playing around with words in the form of exercises - IS NOT LEARNING LANGUAGE but completing a task. Of course there is always incidental learning, whatever you do . The question is the effective use of class time. I see even experienced teachers, printing out reems of handouts...ugh...a true sign of someone who hasn't thought through teaching as something truly human and communicative. I can see Korean teachers of lower fluency using it or using it as a supplement/homework but not as a communicative task in the classroom.
My two cents.
| Quote: |
Have you actually tried this in the classroom? What grade levels? How much success did you have with the group discussions?
Can you provide a list of your intro questions for this topic (food) and a list of your simple questions that encourage group discussions? |
See what I mean? The wolves are howling for substance and tangible stuff....
DD
http://eflclassroom.ning.com |
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Fishead soup
Joined: 24 Jun 2007
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 7:59 pm Post subject: |
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I disagree duebels. I've had some of my best classes with worksheets. However it is important to personalize them. The best worksheets take the form of a class survey. If you can get the students walking around asking questions thats great. I've even done that in 40 student classes+.
If you can take advatage of team teaching thats not impossible.
I also like the information gaps on bogglesworld. Worksheets can be really bad if it's just parroting. |
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ddeubel
Joined: 20 Jul 2005
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| Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 8:53 pm Post subject: |
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| I disagree duebels. I've had some of my best classes with worksheets. However it is important to personalize them. The best worksheets take the form of a class survey. If you can get the students walking around asking questions thats great. I've even done that in 40 student classes+. |
I know it is a broad category but I don't consider a piece of paper you use to interview, survey or aid in communication, a worksheet. Nor anything you use when standing or in a group form. My bad not explaining that.
You are right about personalizing - so crucial and when you relate A to your B, your brain is sparking in the right places and learning (however elusive that term is), is happening. Learning is so glued to the ego and emotions. If anyone wants to learn more about "connectivism" as this new theory of learn is terms (as opposed to Behavioralism, Constructivism...two of the more dominant), should visit a great Canadian's George Siemen's site http://www.connectivism.ca/
DD
http://eflclassroom.ning.com |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 9:25 pm Post subject: |
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| ddeubel wrote: |
withnail,
Lots of good ideas and suggestions (but the proof is in the delivery though). If you really want to share your ideas, I suggest you get a blog? Or a site where you can keep these and put it in a standard format? This would be most beneficial to teachers. I know of several easy ways if you want to go there...
However, I will say a few words about this...
| Quote: |
4. On the other side of the same sheet should be some exercises you found or made to practice those very words you just practiced pronunciation for. These exercises can be
a crossword
a word scramble
a sentence gapfill
a matching exercise
a word search
etc etc |
I really don't like the idea of promoting "worksheets". IMO they are anthema to good teaching practices and a cruch. They ruin a lot of young teacher's development.
A worksheet and playing around with words in the form of exercises - IS NOT LEARNING LANGUAGE but completing a task. Of course there is always incidental learning, whatever you do . The question is the effective use of class time. I see even experienced teachers, printing out reems of handouts...ugh...a true sign of someone who hasn't thought through teaching as something truly human and communicative. I can see Korean teachers of lower fluency using it or using it as a supplement/homework but not as a communicative task in the classroom.
My two cents.
| Quote: |
Have you actually tried this in the classroom? What grade levels? How much success did you have with the group discussions?
Can you provide a list of your intro questions for this topic (food) and a list of your simple questions that encourage group discussions? |
See what I mean? The wolves are howling for substance and tangible stuff....
DD
http://eflclassroom.ning.com |
Korean public school students really need scaffolding to get started, and get almost no opportunity actually to practice English apart from the odd outstanding KET's class or having a NET perhaps once a week. While I'll be the first to admit it's less than ideal, working off paper also makes them feel much more comfortable and reduces the filter that comes with the threat of the unknown. 45-50 minutes is also a LONG time to try to function in a second language and a short puzzle or video to help break things up really helps keeps their concentration for those times when they have to try really hard to function in L2. I also find that jumping from paper-based questions to open ones helps to remove the bewilderment that usually comes with asking such simple questions as 'how's it going' or 'what do you think of...'.
This summer I had the opportunity to teach an adults class open to members of the community. It was all adults except for two grade six elementary students who[se parents] really wanted [them] to be in the class. While I was hesitant about having them there at first it taught me so much about the differences between how adults and children learn a language. The most salient difference was that when I asked questions, especially ones that drew on individuals to answer, the adults almost always looked at their books when they weren't sure and the children almost always stared off into thin air when they couldn't think of or remember what to say. It does seem as though the older learners get, the more comfortable they are working with paper, which is something to consider when deciding what materials would help boost their confidence the best. Furthermore, if you can get them into the habit of keeping portfolios of their handouts, they have a great ready, self-produced reference resource. |
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icnelly
Joined: 25 Jan 2006
Location: Bucheon
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| Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 10:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Yu_Bum_suk wrote: |
| ddeubel wrote: |
withnail,
I really don't like the idea of promoting "worksheets". IMO they are anthema to good teaching practices and a cruch. They ruin a lot of young teacher's development.
A worksheet and playing around with words in the form of exercises - IS NOT LEARNING LANGUAGE but completing a task. Of course there is always incidental learning, whatever you do . The question is the effective use of class time. I see even experienced teachers, printing out reems of handouts...ugh...a true sign of someone who hasn't thought through teaching as something truly human and communicative. I can see Korean teachers of lower fluency using it or using it as a supplement/homework but not as a communicative task in the classroom.
DD
http://eflclassroom.ning.com |
Korean public school students really need scaffolding to get started, and get almost no opportunity actually to practice English apart from the odd outstanding KET's class or having a NET perhaps once a week. |
Right, but does scaffolding lend itself to being paper based? Wouldn't it be much better if you could incorporate those preperatory steps to be diversified across spectrums of intelligence types, learning styles, diversified content, and even negotiation types? The disservice in using worksheets is the level of contrivance and the availability for that specific type of support in other situations. I think if you can find multiple ways to scaffold then you will be aiding their learning/coping strategies: a well wortwhile goal, and also a way to combat not being able to shift into other modes of language practice with comfort. |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2008 11:42 pm Post subject: |
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| icnelly wrote: |
| Yu_Bum_suk wrote: |
| ddeubel wrote: |
withnail,
I really don't like the idea of promoting "worksheets". IMO they are anthema to good teaching practices and a cruch. They ruin a lot of young teacher's development.
A worksheet and playing around with words in the form of exercises - IS NOT LEARNING LANGUAGE but completing a task. Of course there is always incidental learning, whatever you do . The question is the effective use of class time. I see even experienced teachers, printing out reems of handouts...ugh...a true sign of someone who hasn't thought through teaching as something truly human and communicative. I can see Korean teachers of lower fluency using it or using it as a supplement/homework but not as a communicative task in the classroom.
DD
http://eflclassroom.ning.com |
Korean public school students really need scaffolding to get started, and get almost no opportunity actually to practice English apart from the odd outstanding KET's class or having a NET perhaps once a week. |
Right, but does scaffolding lend itself to being paper based? Wouldn't it be much better if you could incorporate those preperatory steps to be diversified across spectrums of intelligence types, learning styles, diversified content, and even negotiation types? The disservice in using worksheets is the level of contrivance and the availability for that specific type of support in other situations. I think if you can find multiple ways to scaffold then you will be aiding their learning/coping strategies: a well wortwhile goal, and also a way to combat not being able to shift into other modes of language practice with comfort. |
Scaffolding lends itself to paper-based forms especially well for students who are not used to oral / aural practice. Of course A/V aids also work very well. One also has to take class size and ability into consideration. If one type of activity can keep 90% of a class' attention for 10 minutes I'd choose it over one that keeps less than half a class' attention after a minute or forces me to get angry at students to keep them paying attention. |
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ddeubel
Joined: 20 Jul 2005
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| Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 12:01 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
DD wrote
withnail,
I really don't like the idea of promoting "worksheets". IMO they are anthema to good teaching practices and a cruch. They ruin a lot of young teacher's development.
A worksheet and playing around with words in the form of exercises - IS NOT LEARNING LANGUAGE but completing a task. Of course there is always incidental learning, whatever you do . The question is the effective use of class time. I see even experienced teachers, printing out reems of handouts...ugh...a true sign of someone who hasn't thought through teaching as something truly human and communicative. I can see Korean teachers of lower fluency using it or using it as a supplement/homework but not as a communicative task in the classroom.
DD
http://eflclassroom.ning.com
YBS wrote
Korean public school students really need scaffolding to get started, and get almost no opportunity actually to practice English apart from the odd outstanding KET's class or having a NET perhaps once a week.
icnelly wrote,
Right, but does scaffolding lend itself to being paper based? Wouldn't it be much better if you could incorporate those preperatory steps to be diversified across spectrums of intelligence types, learning styles, diversified content, and even negotiation types? The disservice in using worksheets is the level of contrivance and the availability for that specific type of support in other situations. I think if you can find multiple ways to scaffold then you will be aiding their learning/coping strategies: a well wortwhile goal, and also a way to combat not being able to shift into other modes of language practice with comfort.
YBS, wrote
Scaffolding lends itself to paper-based forms especially well for students who are not used to oral / aural practice. Of course A/V aids also work very well. One also has to take class size and ability into consideration. If one type of activity can keep 90% of a class' attention for 10 minutes I'd choose it over one that keeps less than half a class' attention after a minute or forces me to get angry at students to keep them paying attention. |
Attention is not the only factor of learning. It is but one piece. And that's the rub, teachers think there is learning because the students are heads down, doing a worksheet etc... This is a major myth and only plays to the insecure teacher's need to "believe" there is learning going on and the classroom is behaving as they themselves think a classroom should. It is destructive. And it is really hard to change this. Most bad teaching continues because 99% of teachers end up teaching like they were taught.....(seeing we've spent 1,000s of hours in classrooms studying teachers).
A good scaffolding mechanism is using pictures as modifications and support. Flashcards are easily made from any ppt and can be used in small groups in many ways.....just one example.
DD
http://eflclassroom.ning.com |
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withnail
Joined: 13 Oct 2008
Location: Seoul, South Korea.
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| Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 12:56 am Post subject: |
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Perhaps there is a misunderstanding over the meaning of the word worksheet. However using these kind of exercises in the controlled practice stage is classic EFL orthodoxy in PPP.
There are of course other ways to do it but it's very unwise to suggest that exercises of this nature should be excluded from a large, homogeneous class of low level children being taught by a new teacher if only for reasons of classroom control.
Remember of course that this is only one type of lesson among many. You may prefer the task-based approach and that's fine. You may dislike using sheets of paper for various reasons.
Still if you are a beginner teacher you have to start somewhere and PPP is a good place to start to get you thinking about the structure of a lesson and how and why new language can be activated. No more than that.
Sadly though, Korean kids are mostly only extrinsically motivated to learn English (to pass tests) and therefore I think you'll want to move away from PPP gradually when/if you don't get that language being activated in the final stage. We can talk about TBA on another thread.
DDeubel: We need to get teachers talking about teaching methods on this forum rather than directing people away to external websites for reasons I can go into if you wish. |
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Easter Clark
Joined: 18 Nov 2007
Location: Hiding from Yie Eun-woong
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| Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 1:27 am Post subject: |
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Re: the OP--
Good stuff, but I think teaching vocabulary without attaching a grammatical or functional point is only getting the job half-done. Also, your plan is too vague to glean anything useful from. What are we teaching here re: food?? Taste adjectives? Likes and dislikes? Restaurant role-plays? Cooking (sequencing)? Food throughout the world and how it depicts the history of a particular culture?
| Quote: |
| 3. Give out a pre-prepared sheet you made yourself or found with a list of food vocabulary on it. Say each word out loud and get them to repeat as a whole class, in teams and even the odd individual (especially the individuals who don't seem to be paying attention - good way to snap them out of that). |
Instead of just drilling vocab to work on pronunciation, integrate it into some sort of structure:
T: What would you like to order?
OHP (PPt): photo of chicken
Students: I'll have the chicken.
etc...
That would set them up for a role play later in the lesson, perhaps after making a menu.
The OP's plan also seems a little "paper-heavy." I'm a firm believer in having the students write in their notebooks as opposed to my making copies, where possible. Have the students make 6 questions using the vocab they learned and give those to their classmates as a test.
I've found that word searches are a brilliant way to kill an hour if your students just finished taking exams or if you're in the middle of a dead week. However, as a lesson goal I wouldn't recommend them. |
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Yu_Bum_suk
Joined: 25 Dec 2004
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| Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 2:38 am Post subject: |
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| ddeubel wrote: |
| Quote: |
DD wrote
withnail,
I really don't like the idea of promoting "worksheets". IMO they are anthema to good teaching practices and a cruch. They ruin a lot of young teacher's development.
A worksheet and playing around with words in the form of exercises - IS NOT LEARNING LANGUAGE but completing a task. Of course there is always incidental learning, whatever you do . The question is the effective use of class time. I see even experienced teachers, printing out reems of handouts...ugh...a true sign of someone who hasn't thought through teaching as something truly human and communicative. I can see Korean teachers of lower fluency using it or using it as a supplement/homework but not as a communicative task in the classroom.
DD
http://eflclassroom.ning.com
YBS wrote
Korean public school students really need scaffolding to get started, and get almost no opportunity actually to practice English apart from the odd outstanding KET's class or having a NET perhaps once a week.
icnelly wrote,
Right, but does scaffolding lend itself to being paper based? Wouldn't it be much better if you could incorporate those preperatory steps to be diversified across spectrums of intelligence types, learning styles, diversified content, and even negotiation types? The disservice in using worksheets is the level of contrivance and the availability for that specific type of support in other situations. I think if you can find multiple ways to scaffold then you will be aiding their learning/coping strategies: a well wortwhile goal, and also a way to combat not being able to shift into other modes of language practice with comfort.
YBS, wrote
Scaffolding lends itself to paper-based forms especially well for students who are not used to oral / aural practice. Of course A/V aids also work very well. One also has to take class size and ability into consideration. If one type of activity can keep 90% of a class' attention for 10 minutes I'd choose it over one that keeps less than half a class' attention after a minute or forces me to get angry at students to keep them paying attention. |
Attention is not the only factor of learning. It is but one piece. And that's the rub, teachers think there is learning because the students are heads down, doing a worksheet etc... This is a major myth and only plays to the insecure teacher's need to "believe" there is learning going on and the classroom is behaving as they themselves think a classroom should. It is destructive. And it is really hard to change this. Most bad teaching continues because 99% of teachers end up teaching like they were taught.....(seeing we've spent 1,000s of hours in classrooms studying teachers).
A good scaffolding mechanism is using pictures as modifications and support. Flashcards are easily made from any ppt and can be used in small groups in many ways.....just one example.
DD
http://eflclassroom.ning.com |
If heads are down in a worksheet or up on me or the board it's hard to know just what percentage are learning a great deal. If heads are down on their arms or in a non-English book or in a mirror it's not. Yes, ppts and flash cards are one of many useful tools - like worksheets. |
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BrianInSuwon
Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 2:50 am Post subject: |
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One more time:
Did you use this lesson?
What grade level?
What questions did you use for group discussion?
How was the group discussion?
I taught high school for a year. Teaching the SAME lesson to 15 different classes each week. By the 2nd class, I've either thrown the lesson away or gone with it and slightly added to it. By the 15th time, its a solid lesson. Experience speaks volumes. |
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poet13
Joined: 22 Jan 2006
Location: Just over there....throwing lemons.
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| Posted: Wed Nov 05, 2008 3:15 am Post subject: |
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4. On the other side of the same sheet should be some exercises you found or made to practice those very words you just practiced pronunciation for. These exercises can be
a crossword
a word scramble
a sentence gapfill
a matching exercise
a word search
etc etc
I don't like using paper based activities like this for the simple reason that I'm not here to teach reading.
I'm here to help the students speak better English.
For me that means reducing teacher talk time (TTT) to as little as possiblem and increasing student talk time (STT) as much as possible. Whether it's structured in role play, Q & A, or wide open in Brainstorm format.
Sometimes a piece a paper will supplement an oral lesson, but I try very hard not to have activities that are solely written or read. |
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