實用英語教學法教程（第二版） Chapter 7 Assignment -Teaching journal

'HaveyoueverbeentoMoscow?'

Look!‘Haveyou…Haveyou…’

Andthere’smore!‘HaveyoueverbeentoIstanbul?’Yes,Istanbul!Can’tgetmuchmorepersonalizedthanthat!

AfewyearsagoIattendedaconferenceinandacoursebookauthorwasonstageshowingusanactivityhehadwrittenwhiletryingtomakeaverytenuousconnectiontotheoverallconferencethemeofpersonalizingthelanguagelearningprocess.

Ofcourse,wecangetmuchmorepersonalizedthanthat.Simplyaskingaquestionwithyouinitisnowherenearenough.Sadly,assillyasitsounds,formanylearnersthatisaspersonalizedasitgets.Asteachersfocuson‘coveringtheground’aheadofthenexttest,languagepointsaretaughtastheyappearinthesyllabusandbeyondalittlepersonalinformationfrom‘gettoknowyou’activities,notmuchofthelearnerortheteacherisapparentinthelessons.

Let’sbeginbyconsideringdirectpersonalquestions–What’syourname?Whereareyoufrom?Whatdoyoulikedoingattheweekends?HaveyoueverbeentoIstanbul?Canwereallysaythesehelp‘personalize’alesson?Maybe,ifouraimistofindoutkeyinformationaboutourstudentsandadaptourlessonsaccordingly.However,oftenthesearejustdisplayquestions.Weask.Theyanswer.Studentsaskandanswerinpairs.Activitydone,languagepracticed,contentcovered.

Then,thereistheideaof‘personalizing’output.Attheendofaunitwhenit’stimeforaproductivetask,writtenorspoken,studentsoftenhavethe‘option’ofincludingdetailsabouttheirownlives.Butyetagain,thisisoftenshallowandrestrictedbyaproposedmodelorexamplethattheyareexpectedtomaptheirresponsesonto.Takeforexample,awritingtaskthatcameuponacoursebookpageinoneofmyclassesrecently–describeapersonfromyourfamily.Soundslikeagreatopportunityforpersonalizationbutinstead,therewasthenanexampleandaframeworkimposingfourshortparagraphsof‘generalinformation,’‘personality,’and‘interest.’Takenasgiven,thatwouldleadtosomequitegenerictexts.

Soweneedtogodeeper.Weneedtothinkaboutreallygettingtoknowourstudents.AndIdon’tsimplymeangettingtoknowsomebasicpersonalinformationaboutthemorotherpeopleintheirlives.Imeanwereallyneedtoknowwhattheirinterestsare,whattheirpersonalviewsare,andwhatmakesthemtick.Moreimportantly,weneedtolistentowhattheysay,reacttoit,andrespondtoit.

So,ifastudenttellsmetheyareintoaparticularsport,Iaskthemaboutit.Andnotjustwhenandwheretheydoitbutalsohowthesportisplayedandwhytheyenjoyitsomuch.Iwouldthenfindoutaboutotheractivitiestherestoftheclassareinterestedin.Wewouldthenlookatwhoisintosportandwhoisnotanddiscusswhysomepeopledevotealotoftimetoitandwhyothersdon’t.Thiskindofdiscussionmeanswegetintosomethingmuchmorepersonalthanexpressingapreference–wegetintoattitudesandthereasoningand/orthinkingbehindthem.Forothertopics,Ivaluefindingoutabouttheopinionsandideasoftheclass.Thisknowledgegivesmemuchmorejustificationandscopefor‘personalizing’topicsandtasksthanfindingoutwhetherornotsomeonehasbeentoMoscow.

But,allofthatstillgivestheimpressionof‘personalization’meaningcontent.Again,Isayweneedtogodeeper,oratleastlookfromadifferentangle.Whatabout‘personalized’learning?Everyonelearnsdifferentlyandrespondstoclassroominputdifferentlyandthatissomethingweneedtorecognizeifwearetotruly‘personalize’thelanguagelearningexperience.AsIlearnaboutmystudents’preferences,attitudes,andopinions,IgetasenseofwhotheyareasalearnerandIcanadaptmylessonsaccordingly.

WhenIthinkaboutmydifferentclasses,Iknowwhichoneswillreactwelltorole-playactivitiesandwhichoneswillpreferdiscussions.Iknowwhichonesenjoylisteningstoriesandwhichonesprefertotelltheirown.Iknowwhichclassesliketogoovergrammarindetailandwhichonesprefertoaddressitonlyasandwhenissuescomeup.

Knowingandrespondingtothesefactorshelpspersonalizelessonsagreatdealmorethanmerelylearningafewfactsabouteachstudent.

Andthenthereistheelementofchoice,whichisperhapsthemaingatewaytopersonalizedlearning.Ialwaysavoidrestrictingmystudentstoonetaskoronewayofdoingatask.Ialwaystrytofindwaystoofferthemchoices–choicesoftask,choicesofhowtodoatask,choicesofhowtopresentatask,choicesofcontent,input,andstyle.

TakethewritingtaskImentionedafewparagraphsearlier.WhenIdidthisinclass,Imadeafewchangestocreatesomechoices.Firstofall,Idroppedthefamilymemberrequirementandmadeitamoreopen‘someoneimportanttoyou’–that,ofcourse,couldbeafriend,relative,colleague,oranadmiredpublicfigure.Isuggestedfocusingmoreonthepersonalitysideandgavetheoptionofincludingafewnegativecharacteristics(ifapplicable!)Igavemoreflexibilityinthecontentsuggestingtheycouldmentionwhatrolethispersonhasintheirlifeandwhatmakesthemimportant.Ialsoofferedthechoiceofpresentation–noneedtoinsistonahand-writtentext.Whynotofferthechancetowriteituponacomputerasenditforcheckingbyemail?Orwhynotwriteitusinganote-takingapponyourphoneortablet?Ormakeanoralpresentation,recordanaudioclip,addsomeimages,orpresentthepersoninanyotherwayyoucanthinkof?

Whenthesekindsofchoicesareoffered,learnerscanreallyfeelthatthetaskandthereforethelearningprocesshasbeenpersonalized.Itopensuptheopportunityforthemtosaywhattheywanttosayandhowtheywanttosayit.Withanacceptingclassroomatmospherewhereopinionsaresoughtandlistenedto,wecanencourageourlearnerstogofurtheranddomorewiththelanguagetheyarelearning.

Truthbetold,thereisnosuchthingasan“averageteacher”either.Ialsobelieveinpersonalizedapproachtoteaching:onefollowstheother.Someofusfinditnaturaltosinganddanceateverylessonsotospeak,whileotherswillsticktothemoresedatemodus.“Hellochildren/colleagues,Iamhappytoseeyou!”Thisphraseismystaple.Iinheriteditfrommyowngrandmother,itcomesnaturaltome.Theresponseisimmediate.ItdoesnotmeanthatIneverhaveanyproblems;itdoesmeanthattherapportisestablishedreallyfast.Theonlysecretis,ifyouuseanysuchgreetingatall,youreallyhavetofeelthatway,forittotranslatetoyouraudienceandtobecomecontagious.

Ifweusean“averagestudent”approachwithverytalentedhighachievers,theywillbebored;consequently,theymaystopdoinganythingatourlessons.Conversely,whenwetrytocramallthetasksintoalessonwithchildrenwhofindthesubjectdifficultandstrugglewitheverytheme,theymaybecomediscouraged…andstoptrying.Naturallyinanyclassfullofgeniusestheremaybeonepupilwhotendstolagbehindforwhateverreasonandinanyslowgrouptheremaybeatleastonepupilwhooutpacesallofhisorherpeers.Thisisnormal.Afterall,eventhoughtherewereplentyofpoetsandplaywrightsintheElizabethanepoch,onlyoneofthemwasWilliamShakespeare!

Ourtasksaremanifold.

?Wehavetosticktothenationalcurriculum,thatistorelayacertainvolumeofknowledgeperannum,toteachacertainlevelofskills,andtoobtainacertainamountofresultsattheendofeveryacademicyear.

?WearerequiredtoteachALLthestudentsaccordingtothenationalcurriculumguidelines.

?ALLourstudentsaresupposedtolearnasetamountofdatawithourhelp.

?Wehavetobeabletodifferentiate,tobeabletoworkwithmixedabilityclasses,tosatisfytheneedsofanychild.

Weaccumulatevariousmaterialsthroughtheyears,savingthosethatworkedwell,anddiscardingthosewhichdidnot.HereareafewtechniqueswhichIfounduseful.

?ALWAYSbereadyfortheunexpected.Ifthewholeclasscannotgraspanythemeyouconsideredsimple,lookatthematerialsagain,andtrytopresenttheminanewway.Ifyourstudentsrushthroughadifficulttopicanddemandmoretasks,offersomemorecomplicatedexercises.

?Keepafewextraexercises,texts,URLshandyforthosewhoareusuallyveryfastsothattheyarenotbored.Ifastudenthasdonealltheworkplannedforthelessonintwentyminutes,suggesttheydosomeverydifficultexercise,listentoadialoguewhicheverybodyelsefoundhardtounderstand,orgivethemanopportunitytoworkataspecialreportorpresentation.

?Thisoneneedscarefulthinking.Ifyouhaveastudentwhoalwayslagsbehindandfindsanythemechallenging,quietlydeterminewhattheycanrealisticallydoduringonelesson,andletthemworkattheirownpace.Whydoweneedtobecareful?Asteachers,Ibelieveweshouldtakecareofallourstudents,andseethatnoneofthemarebulliedbecausetheyaretoosmartortoo“dumb”.Withaslowchild,itisimportanttograduallyincreasetheload,sothattheybecomemoreandmoreconfidentbytheendofatermoraschoolyear.

Howdostudentsreactwhenalessonispersonalized?That’sanicequestion.Myexperienceshowsthatifwedon’ttellthem,theyhavenoidea!Alessonisalesson,andateacherisateacher.Throughoutmycareer,pupilsfromotherclasseswouldcomplaintotheirteachers,parentsandschooladministrationbecausetheirELteacherwouldnotdowhatIdid,namelypersonalizetheirlessons,offerextratasks,usetheinternetandICTonaregularbasis.Theusualanswerstillis,everyteacherhasadifferentapproachtoeducation.IseemystudentsasindividualsandusethenationalcurriculumorateacherrefreshercourseasaTOOLtosuittheirneeds.

OnetechniqueIuseoftenworkswellwithanyageandlevel.IbringintheTeacher’sBookandsharethelessonplanswithmyaudience.“Letussee,myTeacher’sBooksaysthatyou,students,canperformtenvarioustasksduringonelesson.Taskone,warm-up,3minutes.Canwedothat?”Andsoon.Thisisanoveltyandachallengewhicheverybodyloves.Wetimeeveryitemandaddupthescoreattheend.Ifanythingisleftover,weknowthatweneedtoworkharder.Ifweareeventwominutesahead,itiscauseforjubilation.Surprisingly,studentswouldremindmeattimes:“Whatdoesyourbooksay?Howmanyexercisesdowehavetoperformtoday?”Icanwritedownafewitemsontheboardbeforehand,inshort:Warm-up,3mins;Reading,5mins;Retelling,5mins.Andsoon.

Weworkwithhumanbeings,folks.Evenyourhooligan,yourgossipgirl,yourEinstein,yourHermione,yourHarry,DracoandRon,eventheMoaningMyrtleareallhuman.Well,almost.Withourhelp,theywillgrowintosensiblemembersofsociety.

Inthelastteachingtipwelookedathowtoadaptmaterialsformixedabilitygroups.Thisisthemostcommontypeofadaptationthatteachershavetodo.However,therearetimeswhenyoumayhavetoadaptmaterialsbecauseoftheageofyourstudents.InordertolookatthistopicIwilldivideitintothetwopossiblescenarios:

Usingmaterialsaimedatolderstudentswithyoungerstudents

Intheworldofyounglearnersweoftenfindthatstudents’linguisticabilityiswaybeyondthetypicalcoursebookthatisdesignedfortheirage.Thereforesomeadaptationisoftennecessary.Togiveanexample,Iamcurrentlyteachingagroupof11-15yearoldsonaFirstCertificate(upper-intermediate)levelcourse.Weareusingacoursebookdesignedforolderteenagersandadultssoadaptationisanimportantpartoflessonplanning.Themainthingtobearinmindwhenadaptingtasksistothinkabouthowyoucanmakethetaskmorerealforthestudent.Lastweekwewerewritingformalletters,somethingwhichnoneofthestudentshadeverdoneintheirlifetimeandthereforetheyneededalotofsupport.Afterlookingatseveralmodelsofformallettersweturnedtothetaskinthebookwhichwasalettertocomplainabouttheservicereceivedfromatouroperatoronarecentholiday.Thiswasobviouslysomethingtheywouldbeveryunlikelytodoevenintheirownlanguage.However,Iknewthatsomeofthestudentshadrecentlygonetoaconcertandhadbeendisappointedbytheperformance.So,usingthosestudents,weadaptedthetasktogether.Iaskedthestudentswhathadbeendisappointingabouttheshowandwemadealist.Thesepointsbecamethecontentofthetask.Thefunctionallanguageofcomplainingwasthesamebutthetaskbecamemorealiveasitwasmorepersonalandclosertothestudents’ownexperiences.

Speakingactivitiesmayoftenneedadaptingtoo.Thejobinterviewcouldbecometheinterviewtogetontoasummercourseortohelpoutatascoutcamp.

Questionstoconsiderwhenpreparingyourlessons:

? Willthestudentsknowanythingaboutthetopic?

? Ifnot,howcanIintroducethetopic?

? Willthestudentsbeinterestedinthetopic?

? Ifnot,howcanImakeitmoreinterestingandbringittolife?

? Whatsupportwillthestudentsneedtotacklethetask?

Usingmaterialsaimedatyoungerstudentswitholderstudents

Ifyoufindyourselfusingmaterialthatisaimedatyoungerstudentswitholderstudentsyouhavetobecareful.Teenagersespeciallycanfinditinsultingtobepresentedwithchildishmaterialwhentheybelievetheyarereadyforsomethingmoregrownup.Ifyoucan’tfindmoreappropriatematerialthenusewhatyouhaveasastartingpoint.

Gamesandfunactivitiesthatwork