Filed under: Methodology | Tags: adapted texts, authentic language, controlled language, English With Jennifer, Jennifer Lebedev, JenniferESL, Jeremy Harmer, rough-tuning
Do you believe we should teach using controlled language or authentic language? Should students hear and read language of the so-called real world, or should language be adapted for instructional purposes?
The language in the materials you use.
I’m in favor of using both controlled language and authentic language. Students benefit from exposure to both, in my opinion. If they only hear controlled language in the classroom, they’ll be overwhelmed or frustrated by the contrast when they turn on the TV, listen to the radio, or overhear conversation in public places. Likewise, if they only read adapted texts, they’ll hesitate before reading a newspaper or purchasing a paperback novel. The confidence they feel in the classroom won’t easily transfer to situations outside their language studies. On the other hand, if students are in need of focused study of the language, controlled language allows a teacher to present structures or features of the language in accessible formats and without the distraction of complex language. Particularly in the case of lower level students, it seems unfair to throw so much unfamiliar vocabulary and grammar at them by using a large amount of authentic language.
Does that mean authentic language should be used only in the upper levels? Certainly not. Notice I had said what was unfair was a large amount of authentic language. I think in the proper doses, authentic language is very beneficial at all levels. Consider the approach used in the videos on the site Real English. The creator, Mike Marzio, takes unrehearsed interviews from people on the street, and the final product is one that is comprehensible to ELLs. Editing of the videos controls not the language itself but the amounts of exposure. You may view Lesson1 in his series, for example, in which over a dozen people answer the question what’s your name? The rate of speech is fast and the greetings are varied, but the video is appropriate for beginners.
The language you speak.
When it comes to the teacher’s language, I’m in favor of controlled language. Jeremy Harmer calls it “rough-tuning”[1] and he draws the comparison between teacher talk and parent talk. “Neither group sets out to get the level of language exactly correct for their audience. They rely, instead, on a general perception of what is being understood by the people listening to them. Their empathy allows them to almost feel whether the level of language they are using is appropriate for the audience they are addressing” (Harmer 3). When we are giving instructions or explanations, it’s especially important for students to have full comprehension, so we must simplify our grammar and vocabulary and adjust our rate of speech.
How much authentic language do you bring into the classroom? How conscious are you of rough-tuning your language? Harmer states that the more experience a teacher has, the less conscious the process of rough-tuning is. Do you agree?
[1] Harmer, Jeremy. How to Teach English. Longman, 1998.
Filed under: Methodology | Tags: cultural factors, English With Jennifer, Halloween, Jennifer Lebedev, JenniferESL, teaching holidays
I recently came across a blog post by an upset parent in Australia who didn’t want to celebrate Halloween since it wasn’t a custom she had grown up with. Her children along with some others in the neighborhood wanted to adopt some of the customs they had become acquainted with (through films, the Internet, or some other means not specified). It got me thinking about whether holidays limited to one or a few English-speaking countries should be addressed in all ESL and EFL classrooms.
Even in mainstream American society, Halloween raises some controversy. Sure, millions of dollars are spent every year on Halloween candy, costumes, and festivities, but not all American households celebrate this holiday. Some flat out reject it for religious reasons. Maybe that’s reason enough to exercise caution in addressing Halloween in the classroom.
I’d argue that particularly in those English-speaking countries where Halloween is a recognized and practiced holiday, language learners should be acquainted with some of the customs. This can be done in different ways and to different degrees, being mindful of learners’ ages and respectful of their personal beliefs. A costume party isn’t required to familiarize students with the holiday, its symbols, and its practices. Films, short stories, news articles, and photographs can all be used to create a language lesson. The goal isn’t to force students to embrace the holiday, but rather to understand it and appreciate its place in the host culture. The material shared should perform double duty, facilitating a culture lesson and a language lesson.
There’s also value in addressing Halloween in EFL and ESL classrooms in countries where this holiday isn’t generally practiced. Why? Because we’re teaching English, and English is part of global communication. The fact is that a significant number of English-speakers do celebrate Halloween, so to ignore the holiday in our classrooms would essentially leave students in the dark about a popular cultural practice in the English-speaking world. Language and culture are closely related. Learning about different practices among English-speaking countries gives English language learners a stronger foundation on which to build communication skills. I say Halloween should be allowed into ESL and EFL classrooms if only for the sake of raising awareness of popular customs. There are many Englishes and English-speaking cultures in this world, and greater exposure increases a person’s ability to function in the international community.
Please check back soon for some suggestions for Halloween activities.
Filed under: Methodology | Tags: English With Jennifer, Jennifer Lebedev, JenniferESL, lesson planning
Beginning and experienced teachers alike can rethink their approaches to lesson planning by reflecting on the following six statements. Read each one and decide if it’s a truth or a myth. (I share my own thoughts, but please feel free to voice a different opinion!)
1. Good lessons follow lesson plans exactly as they were written.
Myth. Of course, if you’re constantly modifying a plan to the point where a completely new lesson evolves as you’re teaching it, then most likely you didn’t accurately identify your objectives or adequately anticipate your students’ needs. Nevertheless, it’s permissible and sometimes necessary to make adjustments. A lesson plan is a guide. It’s more like a map with different routes available to one destination. It’s less like a set of instructions for assembling a piece of furniture where every piece in the kit must be used. Some steps in your plan can be modified or even omitted, and you can still meet your objectives.
2. A good lesson plan can be used repeatedly with different groups of students.
Truth. If the plan allows enough flexibility to tailor the presentation and practice to each group of students, then it can certainly be recycled. The idea is to reuse same materials and activities with different groups while making the effort to personalize the lesson. This will make it more accessible, memorable, and effective. If a plan is recycled, it’s important to anticipate variations in the students’ performance resulting from their level of familiarity with the topic, their learning styles, and their contributions. In the end, no lesson plan can be executed exactly the same way more than once.
3. A good lesson plan can be executed by more than one teacher.
Truth. I know this is similar to #2, but it’s worth discussing. If the methodology is sound and all materials are on hand, the plan can be successfully used by more than one teacher. This can be the case when a substitutes steps in and is handed a prepared lesson to teach. A well-constructed plan can be used effectively by different teachers. Of course, each teacher’s personality and teaching style will put a unique spin on the delivery.
4. Lessons incorporate two components: presentation and practice. Presentation comes first, and practice follows.
Myth. Lessons are built from components, but anything too rigid doesn’t allow a teacher to accommodate a broad range of learning styles and learners’ needs. Many good lessons will follow the traditional sequence of presenting, practicing, and producing the target language, but to stretch ourselves as teachers and challenge our learners, lesson formats need to vary. Good lessons can begin with communicative activities and then be followed by a teacher’s presentation. Such a presentation benefits from the teacher’s observations of the students’ performance. She knows what needs to be highlighted and clarified. The class may end with controlled practice to confirm students’ understanding.
5. On paper, lesson plans should be uniform in format and length.
Myth. Let me explain. Sometimes a school will require a standard format for lesson plans. However, when out from under the eye of a supervisor, teachers will have different approaches to lesson planning. Some still need to write detailed plans with a formal heading and carefully estimated times for each step. Others produce plans that appear very sketchy. The amount of detail will vary. What’s more important is for the teacher to consistently provide enough detail to enable her to execute her plans smoothly and effectively. Of course, making a habit of using a similar format will increase the readability of a plan. Look at a few of your plans and compare them. Is it easy to spot the lesson topics, materials needed, any page numbers, homework assignments, and other reminders?
6. You cannot teach without a lesson plan.
Truth. I’ve actually taught classes without anything written down in advance. This was always out of necessity (e.g., being asked to teach on the spot), but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t have a plan. The plan took shape in my mind piece by piece. Within the first few minutes, the topic was identified, I saw the materials available, and I set basic objectives. I then selected an exercise or activity that afforded me additional planning time. While students were working independently, I was deciding and preparing for the next sequence of steps. Preparing in advance is ideal, but when it’s not possible, you can still stay one or two steps ahead in your mind, remaining focused on your objectives and being in tune with the students’ needs.
If your curriculum allows for flexibility, consider basing some lessons around group activities. The activities should be driven by themes that appeal to your students. A single theme and a set of clear procedures make for an enjoyable, constructive class. The following activities require small groups of students (approx. 4 per group) to use speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills to meet the objectives.
- GROUP TRIP
Objective: To plan a group trip for a budgeted amount of money.
Have students sit in groups at computer stations. Tell them they have 15 minutes to plan a group trip. They have a budget of $2,000. Together they must choose a destination, a means of travel, and lodging. They should also list options for food and entertainment. Groups will present their trip plans to the class. Notes should be taken by all members of the group for this purpose, and each member must present a portion of the group’s plans. After the presentations, students go back into their groups and compose a paragraph based on their notes. This trip summary will be submitted to the teacher for correction.
Possible language focus: Future tenses (especially be going to and will).
- GROUP FUNDRAISER
Objective: To plan a fundraiser as a small group.
Present the students with a dilemma. For example, tell them that some classmates are facing eviction from their apartment. They need rent money fast (say, $1,500). Have students sit in groups at computer stations. Tell them they have 15 minutes to plan a group fundraiser. They may get ideas from websites such as Do-It-Yourself Fundraising Ideas or Fundraising Tips.Com. Together they must choose a fundraiser, a date, and a time. If a location is needed, they should specify the site. Each member should have an assigned role in the execution of the fundraiser. Groups will present their fundraising plans to the class. Notes should be taken by all members of the group for this purpose, and each member must present a portion of the group’s plans. After the final presentation, students go back into their groups and compose a paragraph based on their notes. This summary will be submitted to the teacher for correction.
Possible language focus: Modals for necessity, obligation, and/ or possibility.
- GROUP DONATION
Objective: To decide where to make a group donation.
This activity could be the logical follow-up to the group fundraiser. Tell students they must decide the best way to donate $2,000. They may research local charities online or look at recent news headlines to identify local residents in need of financial aid. Have students sit in groups at computer stations. Tell them they have 15 minutes to make their decision. Sites such as Charity Navigator may be used. Background information on the recipient(s) is needed to justify their donation and will be part of their presentation to the class. Notes should be taken by all members of the group, and each member must present a portion of the group’s plans. After the final presentation, students go back into their groups and compose a paragraph based on their notes. This summary will be submitted to the teacher for correction.
Possible language focus: Active and passive voice (e.g., donate/ be donated).
NOTE: Alternatives to online information include hard copies of web pages and brochures.
OTHER THEMES: Group Party, Group Business, Group Dinner
Filed under: Classroom Tips, Methodology | Tags: English With Jennifer, JenniferESL, Jennifer Lebedev, engaging students, reengaging students
This is the final addition to my topic of engaging and reengaging students. In the two previous entries, I offered suggestions for capturing and holding your students’ interest. Some of those techniques will also serve to reengage them if you sense that you already lost them. For example, a lively anecdote would be a good break from working with the textbook and could regain students’ interest in the lesson. Also, a frustrated student might have given up during a task which the class performed at a brisk pace. You could then change the pace, making it less intense and invite that student to lead off the next exercise. You could also offer words of support and assist the student as she tackles the first item. Let’s consider three other ways to reengage students:
- Have the students move. Can you change the seating arrangement? Can you do an activity that puts students on their feet? New partners and/ or some physical movement can easily refresh a lesson.
- Offer them a choice of some kind. Don’t make all the choices yourself. Have students take some responsibility for the direction or format of the lesson. This puts pressure on them to focus so that the lesson can move forward. They’ll also feel more invested in the lesson, having had a say in its planning. Maybe you want them to practice using new vocabulary, for example. Why not assign two different tasks and let them choose which one they want to do? The other could always be done for homework.
- Vary your speaking style. This is a classic technique for classroom management, and classics never go out of style. Suddenly adopting a low conspiratorial tone can be more effective than raising the roof with a boisterous voice.
- Use information that you know about the students to illustrate your points. You already covered the use of the future progressive in statements. Now you need to present and practice forming questions. On the board, write examples that are based on the students who need a reminder to be on task. What will you be doing tonight at 8:00? Will Paula be cooking dinner for her children? Will Lee be playing video games with his roommate? Etc. Hearing their names and seeing model statements about themselves should catch and hold their attention.
Filed under: Classroom Tips, Methodology | Tags: classroom management, engaging students, English With Jennifer, Jennifer Lebedev, JenniferESL
As follow-up to my previous posting, I’d like to share ways to keep the students on task. I’ve come up with four. Can you add one or two more?
- Vary the pace. Think of a lesson as a good workout on the exercise bike or treadmill. You need to establish a moderate pace that everyone is comfortable with, but you also need moments of acceleration that really test their limits. Staying at one pace for a long duration risks losing students who are either overwhelmed or not challenged. Keep them on their toes by varying the pace of your lesson, but do so while being in tune with their needs.
- Move. Be expressive and use facial and hand gestures during your explanations. During exercises, don’t be a flower sitting in a pot or a tree with roots firmly in the ground. Use your movement around the classroom to monitor their work and keep them on task.
- Make sure all tasks are meaningful. Choose and design exercises that have a meaningful context. A good textbook should do this for you, but some books don’t fully rise to the challenge because the context chosen is either dry or hard for the given group of students to relate to. Then it’s up to you to generate interest in the theme of the exercise or modify the exercise to make it more meaningful.
- Offer support and praise. This is such simple advice, but it’s worth mentioning so that it’s not forgotten. When a task is difficult, provide aids and guidance as needed. When tasks are completed, give brief but genuine compliments on a job well done.
Filed under: Classroom Tips, Methodology | Tags: classroom management, engaging students, English With Jennifer, Jennifer Lebedev, JenniferESL, reengaging students, warm-up activities
The class is nearing its end. You begin to assign homework. A student blinks in surprise and says, “Wow! It’s time to go already?” You smile.
Have you experienced this scene yourself? I hope so. A teacher must treasure a student’s comment on how quickly a lesson passed. (Assuming the student wasn’t sleeping and just woke up!) Such a comment reflects your success at stimulating interest in the subject, setting a good pace, and seamlessly moving from one step in your lesson plan to the next. Even for classes of a relatively short duration, it’s essential that you capture and hold your students’ attention. It’s not about them focusing on you but rather the subject. It’s about getting them interested in the lesson and keeping them on task. How do you like to engage your students at the start of a lesson? How do you maintain their interest and focus? How do you reengage students when you sense that their attention is already directed elsewhere? Let’s answer the first question today. We can answer the other two questions in the following entries.
7 WAYS TO ENGAGE STUDENTS:
- Tell a short but memorable anecdote that serves to introduce the topic. Is there a funny story that explains the coffee stain on your shirt? Share it. It could provide a series of events that allows you to contextualize use of the simple past and past progressive tenses, which happen to be the lesson topic.
- Show a powerful photo that serves to introduce the topic. The main shot on the front page of a newspaper could be the springboard for your conversation class on personal finance, technology, or health and fitness. The same could be done with a photo of a historic event: the first moon landing, the invention of the washing machine, the New York City fire department in the early 1900s…
- Take a fun survey that contextualizes the language feature to be targeted in the lesson. Are you going to teach them some common prefixes or suffixes? Perhaps you might ask them about how they react to happy news, if they overreact to bad news, and if they interact with their neighbors. Let them complete the survey, discuss it as a class, and then lead into your main presentation.
- Jump straight into an exercise that is either an identifying task or a problem-solving task. This allows you to see who much the students already know about the topic, and demands their active participation.
- Elicit interesting information from the students that can be used to create model statements for the class to study. You may be teaching a grammar lesson on quantifiers such as a couple of, a few, few, a good number of, etc. Have students state how many people they trust their secrets with, how many people they send birthday cards to, how many people they call on the phone each day, etc. Select some of their statements as models to be studied: Julia trusts only a couple of friends with her secrets. Lucas sends birthday cards to many friends. Ann calls few people on the phone.
- Engage students in dialogue so that you can model the target language feature(s) of the lesson. Let’s say you’re teaching a conversation class. Have them take turns completing the statement: I think people would be surprised to know that I… As you hear each statement, react with a different expression of surprise: Really! You don’t say! My goodness! Is that a fact? Etc. Then ask the students if they noted your responses. Point out the different ways to express surprise. Tell them in this lesson they’ll learn how to express different degrees of surprise and doubt in conversation.
- Get the students to relate to a problem and present the topic as a solution. Students need to know the value of the information and skills you wish to pass on to them. Let’s say, for example, that your name is Leah /ˈli ə/. Complain how people sometimes call you Leah /ˈleɪ ə/. Ask them if any of them have experienced something similar. Do they have difficult name to pronounce? Do they have a neighbor, landlord, or acquaintance with a difficult name to pronounce? Now get back to the problem people have with the name Leah. It’s a matter of saying the correct vowel sound. To assure accuracy in their own communication, today’s lesson will focus on contrasting vowel sounds…
Filed under: Grammar, Methodology | Tags: descriptive grammar, Engilsh with Jennifer, grammar mistakes, Jennifer Lebedev, JenniferESL, language appropriacy, level of formality, prescriptive grammar
Have you ever caught a phrase in your own speaking or writing that went against what you’ve taught your students? Did you split an infinitive? Did you use good in place of well to describe the manner in which an action was done? Just how serious are these violations of prescriptive grammar?
I think no English language teacher would argue against the necessity of teaching descriptive grammar. For example, students must know proper word order to be understood. I am learning English is clear. English learning I am is not. The need to adhere to prescriptive grammar, in contrast, is subject to debate. Consider these two statements: (a) I don’t understand anything you said. (b) I don’t understand nothing you said. Both are comprehensible. Would you tell your students that (b) is incorrect? What if they tell you they’ve heard the use of double negatives by native speakers? What would your response be?
Some so-called grammar mistakes have already evolved into acceptable language patterns for everyday communication. Everyone must do their share of the work is a good example. You might not even notice that a student used their rather than the prescribed his or her to refer back to everyone. Other mistakes are more serious because they tend to invite judgment about a speaker’s education, intelligence, and/ or social standing. Use of double negatives and ain’t are two examples.
I’d argue that prescriptive grammar is important to teach so that English language learners can make the effort to use standard English when other variations are not suitable. Often what is required to be a good communicator is knowledge of the language that is appropriate for the occasion. Using contractions and starting sentences with conjunctions are acceptable practices in e-mail to our family and friends, but they should be avoided in college term papers and cover letters. That is because communication in academic and professional contexts often demands a higher level of formality; those situations warrant more conscious attention to language. English language learners should understand this. Our job as teachers is not just to teach correct English but also appropriate English.
Can you give examples of questionable mistakes in English grammar? What goes against prescriptive grammar but nevertheless finds its way into your own writing and speaking, especially in informal situations?
Here are eight practices that I admit to doing on occasion:
- Starting sentences with the conjunction but;
- Using was instead of the subjunctive were in present unreal conditional statements and statements expressing a present wish;
- Using slow as an adverb;
- Using good as an adverb;
- Not shifting tenses back in reported statements;
- Using a plural pronoun or possessive adjective to refer back to everyone, somebody, etc.;
- Using each other to refer to a group of three or more people;
- Using there’s before a plural subject.
Sources
http://www.ling.udel.edu/eastwick/ling101_f99/de_vs_pre.html
http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~beatrice/syntax-textbook/ch1.html
http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/humnet/linguistics/people/schuh/lx001/Discussion/d10.html
Filed under: Classroom Tips, Methodology | Tags: classroom ideas, English With Jennifer, Jennifer Lebedev, JenniferESL, learner centered instruction, learner centered teaching
I wonder how common it is for a teacher to see a classroom as his or her own rather than a classroom that belongs to the students as much as it belongs to the teacher. Does the cushy seat on wheels, coat hook, coffee mug, and set of whiteboard markers create a warm welcome when you step through the door? What do your students feel when they enter the same room? What a classroom looks like and the kind of learning that takes place in it create either a communal environment or the sense that one has just entered the teacher’s domain. What can teachers do to make students view the room as “our” room? Here are just a few ideas. Feel free to add to the list.
1. Create a wall display of class photos and/ or student work.
Did you go on a field trip together? Post some snapshots. While there are a growing number of options to share photos and students compositions with your students online (e.g. class blog), it’s still nice to have hard copies in the classroom to promote a sense of group.
2. Establish a common library of resources.
You can still have your personal library of reference books on your desk or in a closed bookshelf behind your desk, but in one corner of the room you can make a collection of books available to the students for in-house use only. You can also bring in magazines from home once you are done reading them and allow students to take them home overnight. They should feel that there are both people and materials in the room that can help them learn the language.
3. Post goals.
I’ve talked about setting goals more than once. I can’t stress enough the value of doing this. One additional thought I’d like to share is the idea of identifying common goals among students and posting them somewhere in the room. Two students may have the goal of passing the written driver’s exam. If the students are aware of their common goals, they can support each other. Also, one’s student’s goal may inspire another to achieve the same thing. If such goals are posted, you can more easily bear them in mind as the teacher.
4. Set up a comments/suggestion box.
The students themselves may have ideas about how to improve the classroom and your lessons. Provide at least one way for them to voice comments and suggestions. Can they send you e-mail? Do you have office hours? Even a physical comments/ suggestion box can be an option. Some may like the anonymity of using it.
5. Allow students to choose lesson themes.
Without starting a discussion on the principles of learner-centered teaching, allow me to suggest the idea that students can have a say in choosing lesson themes. The curriculum may confine you to a certain list of language topics, but perhaps there is some freedom in choosing the context(s) in which you can present and practice those topics. Sure, the textbook teaches the simple past using the biographies of Jane Austen and other English writers, but if you know that your students are music lovers, you can give further practice using biographies of their favorite artists. Find out some of their interests within the first week of your course and consider how to tailor some of the lessons to suit their interests throughout the school year.
Filed under: Classroom Tips, Methodology | Tags: CALL, English With Jennifer, Jennifer Lebedev, JenniferESL, pitfalls of using technology in language instruction, technology in language instruction, technology in the classroom
As follow-up to my discussion on the need for technology in the classroom, I’d like to consider some common dangers or misuses of technology by teachers. I don’t mean to point any fingers. In fact, I’ve failed to avoid at least one of these pitfalls myself in the past. Perhaps you can add other dangers to the list along with your own advice.
1. You forget to test the technology before the start of your lesson.
Oops! The DVD player isn’t hooked up to the TV! Rule number one: You must be certain the technology works. Go ahead and fancy yourself a rock star for just a moment. Would you go on stage without an equipment check and dress rehearsal? The lesson is your performance. Make sure everything is operational before the spotlight turns on you.
2. You fail to have a back-up plan when the technology fails you.
Oh no! I had my PowerPoint file open at the start of the lesson, but now my screen froze! Rule number two: Learn some basic troubleshooting for the technology you are using. Often a problem can be solved in a matter of seconds if you know exactly what’s wrong. Unfortunately, certain errors require more time than you’re able to give at the moment. You need plan B. If you planned to use a PowerPoint presentation and cannot access it, are you able to present a modified version at the board? Don’t let a frozen screen freeze you.
3. You rely on the technology to do the teaching.
Didn’t they learn this already from the online tutorial? Let’s clarify the role of technology in classroom teaching. Teachers can use technology to facilitate their teaching, but the technology isn’t meant to replace teacher instruction. The students need you to help them understand examples, form conclusions, and practice the language. Rule number three: Technology should be an aid in language instruction, not a substitute for it.
4. You limit the technology to a role outside the classroom.
I incorporate technology in my lessons. Many homework assignments involve lab work. Great, but that’s not enough. Students should be aware of resources outside the classroom, but why have you limited the use of technology to self-study at home or in the lab? Uses of audio CDs or websites shouldn’t always be optional. Multimedia can be the ingredients of a main dish, not the sprig of parsley you throw on top of the food to add color to the plate. Rule number four: Use technology with a purpose. Bring technology into your lessons and be able to justify its use to yourself and to the students.
5. You limit yourself to the technology that is most familiar.
All the CD players are being used by other teachers, but I really wanted to use one, too. Rule number five: Expand your knowledge about technology. It took me a while to figure out that a DVD player can play an audio CD. If only I had known sooner! I only learned about this option after talking to another staff member. There’s always someone who knows more than you about a certain topic. Our colleagues are a good resource. Talk to others and see what they can teach you about technology.
