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Dear Colleague, You can visit our blog for comments and for advice from many sources. The site for our blog supports new English Language Curricula and English Interactive Online curricula in 2006-2007. http://new-curricula-in-jordan-support.blogspot.com/ ============================================================== Training Schedule for Action Pack 2, August 2006 ======================================= First Session: 9:00-10:30 1. Ice Breaking 2. Presentation and Discussion. Exploring Course material: Student's Book, Work Book, Teacher's Book, Cassettes, (Where applicable: Flash Cards, Wall Charts) 3. Course Components Worksheet 4. Reflection Questions Worksheet (Theory, principles and special features found on course material + related application practices adopted by the authors) 5. Unit Layout ( Sample navigation of Unit 1, Lesson 1) 6. Selected PowerPoint Presentation (from those on the CD + Discussion). ======================================== Break: 10:30-11:00 ======================================== Second Session: 11:00-01:00 1. Selected PowerPoint Presentation (from those on the CD + Discussion). 2. Demonstration by participants (of selected representative items from the course material) followed by analysis and comments 3. Responding to participants' queries ========================================= Important Notice: 1. In the text version below of the Worksheets and the PowerPoint Presentations the Slides are for the trainees, the Comments are for the trainers) 2. The PowerPoint Presentations here and on the CD cover the following areas: Action Pack 2 Confused and Reluctant Minds: Engaging Learners
The continual search for effective learning has produced some rather curious classroom rituals. As error is often seen as a negative consequence of learning, classroom ceremonies have developed in which avoidance of error is paramount. Subsequently the challenge of learning is also removed. Every teacher knows the difference between explaining something that makes sense, and trying to “teach” apparently pointless information to confused and reluctant students. This session will try to uncover some of the ways of providing students with input which helps them to learn the language and its uses simultaneously.
Slow Learning: Fast Learners Many young learners in primary schools have only a few lessons of English a week. What children, and their teachers, need is engaging material which will captivate the imagination. They also need to be involved in meaningful and enjoyable tasks which create sense as well as plenty of opportunities to encounter the same input in varied and exciting ways. This workshop will show how students can make progress with only a few lessons of English.
Action Pack 2 , Grade 2 It is recommended that you: 1- go through the following work sheets to explore the textbooks first and then 2- go through the text version of the Training Powerpoint Presentations on the Training CD. ======================================= Action Pack 2 , Grade 2 Work Sheets ====================================== Training Worksheets ===================================== Ice breaking ======================================= There are many ice-breaking techniques. They are very important when you wish to create positive readiness for learning in class. Here are few: a. Ask students to write/ say 3 statements about themselves , 2 of them are untrue, only 1 of them is true. b. Ask each student to mention one adjective that best describes him/her . c. Write down 3-4 numbers that have personal significance to you on the board and ask students to guess what they mean. d. Ask students to work in pairs. Each one is to introduce himself to his partner , mentioning important achievements/ events in his life. Then ask each one to introduce his partner. ===================================== Components Fact file ====================================== I. The Pupil's Book - 48 pages
- It has 16 units
- Each unit covers 6 lessons
Each lesson has numbered activities Lesson 1 Consists of a short story, presented around 4 story frames ----------------------------------- The teacher should: Begin with using the Flash Cards, Wall charts and suggested notes in TB. Use the Pictures in the PB for speaking No reading at this stage Pupils listen to cassette Play the cassettes as much as necessary Act out the story Lesson 2 Before using the book, revise language from the previous lesson It is the first page or half page of the corresponding Activity book unit. Lesson 3 There are activities on this page. ( May include a song or a communicative activity) ( make , draw, or create something to be used for language practice, sticking, coloring tasks to develop motor skills) Lesson 4 Either revises the previous lesson or uses the material from that lesson in a communicative activity. Lesson 5 and 6 Covers page 3 of the Pupil's Book In Lesson 6 there is usually the chance to develop Extra Writing Activity Lesson 7 Covers page 2 of the Activity Book Usually covers Extra writing Activities ================================== II.The Activity Book It consists of 16 units For practicing and developing material taken before Provides writing practice =================================== III. The Teacher's Book a. Introduction b. Detailed lesson plans c. provides detailed guidance for teaching all the activities in the Pupil's book and the Activity Book. d. has suggestions for further activities e. Each Lesson in TB begins with outcomes, key language, any new vocabulary and the lesson topic, needed materials and resources( FC, Wall Charts…etc) f. Tape scripts g. Extra Writing Practice h. Alphabet Project i. Game Cards j. Wordlist =============================== IV. The cassette Includes all the recorded material songs, rhymes =============================== =============================== TPR Total Physical Response Complete the following; One of the principles of the TPR is that initially pupils understand and respond to language without ------------------------ There is a silent period in which the pupil ------------------------ -----------------------? The course starts with building up from ------------------------ to verbal instructions… to pupils using the language actively. TPR depends on the use of props such as --------------------------- as well as actions so that context helps to convey-------------------------. Pupils link what they hear to the ---------------------------------------------------. Young learners love to act out ------------------ and imagine that they are ----------------- Pupils are enabled not only to practice and revise language, but to ---------------------- by ---------------------- the situations in an interactive way. (You can use th following wors/phrases. Check the TB introduction) (situations, internalize it, slowly, physical response, the characters of the book, actually saying it, absorb it, meaning, flash cards, wall pictures…, gently asking students to respond physically) ======================================= ======================================= Action Pack Grade 2 Reflection Questions ==================================== Personal Experience Questions 1. Have you ever taught English to young children? 2. When you visit schools, do your teachers accept your instructions because they think you are more experienced? 3. Do you think that adult learning principles apply to children? Elaborate. 4. What is the percentage of your visits to early learning grades? 5. Describe the actual conditions of Learning English in our classrooms. Reflection questions (as teachers) - What is your preferred and proclaimed
theory of Language learning? - What is your practiced theory of language
learning? - Why do you think children of 6-7 year old
learn English? - Is TPR suitable and applicable in our classes?
- What kind of problems do you expect to face in
teaching Arab learners? - What kind of problems do you expect young
children will be facing when they learn a language with characteristics such as found in English? - What kind of problems do you expect young children
are going to face when you teach them English? - Can you use your knowledge of Learning Styles
to improve language learning? How? ========================================================== Points to notice: Please comment on the extracts from the Teacher's Book below. Unit1, Lesson 2, Activity Book, Exercise 1 Teacher says fork, Pupils point to each fork , Teacher repeats with plate and spoon . T. writes the 3 initial letters on he board. T. says the sound of the letters and gets the pupils to repeat. T. says the letters again and asks the pupils to point to the correct pictures Pupils draw lines matching the items and draw lines to the correct letters. Further Practice Ask pupils to tell you other words they know beginning with letters f, s or p. ------------ Pupils draw pictures of the given words Pupils tell T. which letter the words begin with. ============================================ Unit1, Lesson 4, Activity Book, Exercise 2 Teacher says the names of pictures. Pupils repeat. Ask pupils to trace and copy. T. points out that Mum begins with a capital M. T. checks writing. T. asks pupils to pronounce the words. ====================================== Unit1, Lesson 5, Worksheet ( copied from TB page 90) Pupils need a folder to keep these practice pages. T. writes the letter a on the board. T. shows pupils where to start. T. asks them to copy and write the letter a. T. asks pupils to say the name of the letter. Then practice with A in the same way. T. asks pupils for words that begin with the letter a. ======================================== ======================================== Action Pack Grade 2 Sample Unit Layout of Activities Unit1, Lesson1 ====================================== Stage | Mat- erial | Activity | Role of the Student | Skill sequence | Present- ation | No Book | Functional Use of Language | Responding to greeting | Listening+ speaking | | = | Self- introduction | Responding to greeting | Listening+ speaking | | No Book | Game | Responding by correcting a mistaken identification using students themselves | Listening+ speaking (Acting out) | | = | Recognition of characters on Flash Cards | See, recognize and say names | Speaking | | = | Play a game with Flash Cards | Responding (short positive/negatives response to Yes/No questions about characters using FC) | Listening+ Speaking+ acting out | | = | Playing/simulation game (distribution of FC to students) | Listening-Speaking (representing the characters)-introductions | Listening+ Speaking+ acting out | So far Activities are carried out without the Text Book | Pupil's Book | Pupil's Book, Exe. 1 p.4 | Familiarization | Look at picture story | Visual recognition (memory prompt) | | = | Seeking specific info | Recognize characters & actions (reading a picture?), then Speaking- oral short answers to Yes/No questions | Visual recognition picture elements-oral response | | Using FC | Elicitation (employing information from students' experience) | Responding orally to( Speaking) first in Arabic, bilingually, then English0 | Speaking (bilingually) | | Using FC | Vocabulary introduction | Visual –auditory-speaking association ( picture+ sound+ oral repetition, then sound+ picture identification of SB pictures | Visual+ Listening+ Speaking+ identification | | Using FC | TPR Holding (objects)/ pictures of objects Introducing through acting of " Here you are." | Touching the objects/ pictures and acting/ answering identification questions | Touching+ Listening and Speaking | | Cassette Unit 1, exe.1 | Listening to the cassette | Listen+ pointing to selected pictures in the Text Book | Listening (Looking- not reading)+ identification | | Cassette Unit 1, exe. | Listening+ moving | Show understanding/ recognition of recorded names of objects by holding the objects when they distinguish Aurally the names of objects. ( Not using the Text Book) | Listening (identify recorded names+ responding by movement) | Further Practice | No Book | Guessing –identifying objects from incomplete shapes (A game) | Guessing- identifying incomplete objects | Prediction ( Speaking through asking questions) | End the Lesson | No Book | Saying farewell | Respond appropriately | Using relevant words/expressions |
=========================================== =========================================== =========================================== ===================================== The following text version of the Training Powerpoint Presentations includes: 1. the presentation (slides) Prompts for the Trainees and 2. the Comments for the Trainers Important note: The same material is on the Training Powerpoint Presentations on the Training CD. ======================================== ======================================== ======================================== Action Pack 2 Text version of the PowerPoint Presentation Title: Confused and Relunctant Minds: Engaging Young Learners Source: Douglas Allan ================================ Slide 1 Sample: A picture of Sudent's Book cover Confused and Relunctant Minds:Engaging Young
Learners "The art of teaching is the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards". COMMENT Confused and Reluctant Minds : Engaging Students Every teacher knows the difference between explaining something that makes sense, and trying to “teach” apparently pointless information to confused and reluctant students. The continual search for effective learning has produced some rather curious classroom rituals. As error is often seen as a negative consequence of learning, classroom ceremonies have developed in which avoidance of error is paramount. Subsequently the challenge of learning is also removed. This plenary will try to uncover some of the ways of providing students with input which helps them to learn the language and its uses simultaneously. The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards. Anatole France (1844-1924), The Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard, won the Nobel Literature Prize in 1921. Introduce self and give a brief outline of what the session will be about. It will not be a session for those of you who want to marry your students. ============================== Slide 2 Sample: A cartoon of people in the street each thinking of his own concerns. COMMENT As teachers we want to provide our learners with rich, stimulating input. Here is a picture of a devoted teacher who takes the education of her students very seriously. Today is a „special treat” for her learners – a visit to the art gallery. What could be inspiring and educational. Who knows what future Picassos or Munkácsys may be born on this day! What do you think our poor colleague is thinking in the picture? Have participants organised such educational trips for their students? Recall trip to France with students from Scotland. Sadly the input didn’t quite have the desired output. My students didn’t like the food, were bored by „draughty” Versailles and failed to learn a word of French. However they did enjoy being together, staying up all night, listening to the Scottish bus driver swearing at French drivers etc. The input – output equation is a puzzling one. Learning a language can be similar in that a language lesson isn’t like a sausage factory where what goes in inevitable comes out! This workshop will look at some ways in which we can understand the input output equation a little better and be realistic in our expectations of what we can achieve. ==================================== Slide 3 Sample Learn real English. This is a pen. This is not a pencil. What is this? Is it a pen? Yes, it is a pen. Is it a pencil? No, it isn’t a pencil. It’s a pen. COMMENT Here is a good example of kill and drill which you may recognise. Reveal a couple of lines of the text. I found this text on the first page of a coursebook for learning English. Can you see how the refrain goes? It is quite obvious, isn’t it? It is clear what the textbook writer was trying to do – make a selection of language which will assist learners in learning the language. This kind of stuff is supposed to make it easy! Of course what we really see here is misunderstanding of language is really used, how children learning and what the role of the teacher is. We can imagine the kind of exercises that would follow. Poor children would be forced to manipulate these meaningless pieces of language which won’t actually help them to use the language at all. However, they probably will become expert at solving kill and drill type exercises. =================================== Slide 4 Sample: Children 7+ 1. ask questions all the time 2. have definite views of the world 3. can tell the difference between fact and fiction 4. have developed a sense of fairness 5. can absorb language through other activities 6. can co-operate COMMENT Children who are older than 7 can do all the things the five year old can do and much more. Children benefit from knowing the rules and routines. They know what fairness is all about. Therefore the structure of our materials needs to emphasise familiarity and system. That way children will be secure and happy. This age group has an amazing capacity to absorb language as they do other things. We can see this particularly in project work. As kids work together on a project they use English and this gives them a great language experience which they will remember. ================================ Slide 5 Sample: Engagement process Give input which is meaningful to children Respond to how young children learn naturally Avoid "drill and kill" Provide challenge COMMENT In our eternal search for effective learning language classrooms have become funny places where strange rituals are carried out. Teachers are often at the mercy of the mountain of paperwork produced by official to make learning (and I suppose teaching) better. There is an avalanche of curricula, syllabi, attainment targets, learning objectives, examination requirements. I do no doubt the value of these documents but I do question their influence of the way that teachers teach and learners learn. The danger of describing what a typical 7-year old should be able to do in English is that there age no typical 7-year olds. Some children may be able to achieve more and some children less. In other words a document should not be as important as the child’s development and helping individual children to do what they are capable of doing. My other problem with bureaucratic interventions in classrooms is that they often atomise learning. Language and skills are dissected into bite-sized chunks which learners can digest. These chunks in themselves are meaningless. The philosophy is that from the many small parts, the whole will come. This is not how humans learn however. In language teaching this means that master of the small parts is supposed to lead to overall mastery. Avoidance of error becomes paramount and thus exercises are usually so meaningless and easy that children can always succeed. This lack of challenge is the kiss of death to engagement of students. Many classroom activities are based on ‘drill and kill’ or more usually ‘kill and drill’ by which students are pacified into an almost coma-like state before they begin pointless repetitive exercises. ===================================== Slide 6 Sample: Motivation Motivation effort willingness need COMMENT What Is Student Motivation? Student motivation naturally has to do with students' desire to participate in the learning process. But it also concerns the reasons or goals that underlie their involvement or non-involvement in academic activities. Although students may be equally motivated to perform a task, the sources of their motivation may differ. A student who is INTRINSICALLY motivated undertakes an activity "for its own sake, for the enjoyment it provides, the learning it permits, or the feelings of accomplishment it evokes" (Mark Lepper 1988). An EXTRINSICALLY motivated student performs "IN ORDER TO obtain some reward or avoid some punishment external to the activity itself," such as grades, stickers, or teacher approval (Lepper). The term MOTIVATION TO LEARN has a slightly different meaning. It is defined by one author as "the meaningfulness, value, and benefits of academic tasks to the learner--regardless of whether or not they are intrinsically interesting" (Hermine Marshall 1987). Another notes that motivation to learn is characterized by long-term, quality involvement in learning and commitment to the process of learning (Carole Ames 1990). ================================== Slide 7 Sample: Motivation ”Motivation is the willingness of a person to exert high levels of effort to satisfy some individual need.” (Robbins & Coulter, 1996). COMMENT The effort is a measure of intensity. Need is an internal state that makes certain outcomes appear attractive. Does it really matter whether students are primarily intrinsically or extrinsically oriented toward learning? A growing body of evidence suggests that it does. When intrinsically motivated, students tend to employ strategies that demand more effort and that enable them to process information more deeply (Lepper). J. Condry and J. Chambers (1978) found that when students were confronted with complex intellectual tasks, those with an intrinsic orientation used more logical information-gathering and decision-making strategies than did students who were extrinsically oriented. Students with an intrinsic orientation also tend to prefer tasks that are moderately challenging, whereas extrinsically oriented students gravitate toward tasks that are low in degree of difficulty. Extrinsically oriented students are inclined to put forth the minimal amount of effort necessary to get the maximal reward (Lepper). Although every educational activity cannot, and perhaps should not, be intrinsically motivating, these findings suggest that when teachers can capitalize on existing intrinsic motivation, there are several potential benefits. ====================================== Slide 8 Sample: Features of Input for Young Learners Short, meaningful activities Good variety of activities Movement Emphasis on listening and speaking Challenge Attractive topics Opportunities for ‘unconscious’ learning Language experiences with attitudinal goals COMMENT 5 mins to discuss the task, then feedback on each feature : Short, meaningful activities Good variety of activities Movement Emphasis on listening and speaking Challenge Attractive topics Opportunities for ‘unconscious’ learning Language experiences which have attitudinal goals ===== Slide 9 Sample: A cartoon picture of bored pupils in a class Learners are engaged if they: are interested in the topic of the content want to understand and do more feel they can understand and do more COMMENT We all know that students will not learn unless they are interested and ENGAGED. They will be engaged in a topic if they: are interested in the topic of the content – there is a world of different saying to a teenager ‘Today we are going to learn about the uses present perfect continuous’ or ‘Today we are going to discuss what advantages mobile phones bring to our lives’. already know a little – no learner is an empty vessel. Just think about all the things a child learns to do without a teacher. Kids can be engaged if the lesson contains something they already know a bit about. This can be used as a springboard to further learning. want to know more – learners have to feel there is some value in learning more. Take the example of many intermediate-level learners in schools. They can get by and can operate to some extent in English. May of them however never seem to get through the ‘intermediate-barrier’. Why? Well obviously one reason is that they don’t want to know/do more. They may feel there is nothing i it for them. feel they can understand more – perhaps not wanting to know/do more is connected to that learners feel they can’t. Perhaps it s a question of confidence or knowing how to tackle new situations in the language. We will cover this when we look at strategy later. ================================== Slide 10 Sample: A picture of SB, Unit 9, page 26 Topics that capture attention COMMENT Excellent also has super topics. Children are exposed to real language in real situations. Functional language is practised through clear pair-work activities. Each unit consists of four lessons, each intended to last approximately 50 minutes. The number of lessons, however, is flexible. There are optional extra activities in the Teacher’s Guide as well as a page of extra games and activities after every second unit. These allow the teacher to extend units to five lessons if desired. Action Pack 2 addresses the child’s cognitive, psychological and social development, bearing in mind the characteristic learning styles of each age group, and a wide variety of activity types caters for different learning styles. =================================== Slide 11 Sample: A picture of the Austrian psychologist George Mandler and A picture of Samira from SB , Unit 5, page16 Memory test COMMENT At this point we need to consider how to overcome the ritualised learning process that are going on in lots of classrooms. These exercises do not engage students – they turn them off learning. One alternative to the atomised kind of learning that has been creeping into classrooms in the last 20 years is task-based learning. Start off with a memory test. In pairs look at the words for one minute. Then write down all the words you can remember in groups. There will be a very serious test at the end of the plenary to see how many words you can remember. Is memory the only skill of learning words in a foreign language? In what ways can we help our students? George Mandler, the Austrian-born psychologist, did similar experiments in the 1970s. He gave 3 groups of people 52 words cards. He told the first group to sort the cards into groups. He told the second group to sort the cards into groups and that there would be a test to see how many words they could remember. The third group were given the cards and told about the test. They were not given a task i.e. To sort the cards. Conclusions : Mandler found that Group 3 did the worst (no task) but that there was no significant difference between Groups 1 and 2. In other words the task was the most motivating thing because it was meaningful. The threat of the test had little effect on learning outcomes. =================================== Slide 12 Sample: Unconscious learning Picture of animals from SB, Unit 7, page 23 COMMENT This simple game from Action Pack 2 unit 7 lets pupils play a guess game involving animal names and basic descriptions using simple adjectives. As children as engaged by the game they don’t even realise they are learning ==================================== Slide 13 Sample: Critical learner questions Can I do it? Do I want to do it? What do I need to do to succeed? COMMENT Can I do it? Match tasks to student ability level Move in small steps Clear, specific, attainable learning goals Stress self-comparison Communicate that academic ability can be improved Do I want to do it? Value to student – fun/utility/unconcious learning Explain connections Provide incentives and rewards if needed Authentic tasks: Ill-structured Real world problems What do I need to suceed doing it? Frequent opportunities to respond Have students create finished products Avoid heavy emphasis on grades and competition Reduce task risk without oversimplifying the task Model motivation to learn == Slide 14 Sample: Extract from Teacher's Book, Unit13, Lesson 6, (Make alphabet cards for your class with both small and capital letters. Pupils play the game etc.) Grouping: togetherness COMMENT Grouping: Broaden the scope of social interaction. Enhance social skills through language learning. Teamwork. Humans are gregarious and like being around each other. Young people and adults usually like working as a team. Yet often the learning activities we assign call for individual effort. Young people especially complain that they don't like doing homework alone, yet we often insist that it be done that way. By designing more team assignments, we can exploit the benefits of teamwork, where the weaker students will learn by having others help. And, of course, since teaching someone something is the best way to learn, the students who teach each other will learn better than if they were learning alone. Why not let or even encourage your students to do their homework as a group? You will still have measures of individual learning when exam time comes. Songs can bea great way to create a good social atmosphere in the classroom. Play an extract from one of the songs from Action Pack 2. === Slide 15 Sample: Four Myths About Motivation 1 teachers motivate students 2 learning is more important than motivation 3 threats increase motivation 4 learning increases with an increase in motivation COMMENT To Motivate Students… - Set reasonably high expectations - Help to create intrinsic motivation - Recognize accomplishments - Allow an appropriate level of autonomy - Chart progress to promote an incremental view of ability - Place an emphasis on learning rather than grades Resources Ames, Carole A. "Motivation: What Teachers Need to Know." TEACHERS COLLEGE RECORD 91, 3 (Spring 1990): 409-21. Brophy, Jere. ON MOTIVATING STUDENTS. Occasional Paper No. 101. East Lansing, Michigan: Institute for Research on Teaching, Michigan State University, October 1986. 73 pages. ED 276 724. ....... "Synthesis of Research on Strategies for Motivating Students To Learn." EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP (October 1987): 40-48. EJ 362 226. Condry, J., and J. Chambers. "Intrinsic Motivation and the Process of Learning. In THE HIDDEN COSTS OF REWARD, edited by M.R. Lepper and D. Greene. 61-84. Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., 1978. Lepper, Mark R. "Motivational Considerations in the Study of Instruction." COGNITION AND INSTRUCTION 5, 4 (1988): 289-309. Maehr, Martin L., and Carol Midgley. "Enhancing Student Motivation: A Schoolwide Approach." EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGIST 26, 3 & 4 (1991): 399-427. Raffini, James. WINNERS WITHOUT LOSERS: STRUCTURES AND STRATEGIES FOR INCREASING STUDENT MOTIVATION TO LEARN. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1993. 286 pages. Stipek, Deborah. MOTIVATION TO LEARN: FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1988. 178 pages. === Slide 16 Sample: The teacher’s role in
engagement Teacher’s responsibility to be ‘comprehensible’ not the learner to comprehend Maximise opportunities for unconcious learning Learning does not require reward or punishment COMMENT Of course this has consequencies for the teacher. The teacher’s responsibility to be ‘comprehensible’ not the learner to comprehend. No more blinding with science in order to explain something difficult. Why is it that some of us consider ourselves to be good spellers or not? By working on learning as understanding comprehensible material the teacher is initiating leraners into a leraning club. The teacher’s role is to strengthen and exapand the learner’s identity of him/herself as an effective learner. Since most learning goes on incidentally learning does not require reward or punishment.I’m not saying that motivation is only relevant when meaningless exercises are done, but that engageing learners in tasks makes learning happen. It doesn’t need stick or carrot. ===================================== |
