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/ ======================================================== Action Pack 8 Training Schedule for Action Pack 8, 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 8 Culture in Communication Children in primary schools learning foreign languages need insights into the target language culture. By raising children’s awareness of culture pupils will develop a strengthened sense of their own identity as well as an interest in cultural differences. Cultural input naturally leads to activity-based work and cross–curricular learning which in turn will make children better communicators. This workshop aims to explore some effective ways of engaging children in culture lessons. Joining Forces: combining grammar and skills work One of the greatest challenges for language teachers is getting the right balance between grammatical input and practicing language skills. A lack of range and variety in grammatical structures will limit a learner’s ability to operate in the foreign language. Conversely a language learner with a deep awareness of structure is not always able to use the language. This session will try to resolve why one just doesn’t seem to work without the other. ====================== 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. ======================================== 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 Student’s Book a. 88 pages b. It has 6 Modules; covers areas such as: Fitness and achievement, Record breakers, Experiences, communications, Travel, science and Discovery c. Each Module has 2 Units =12 units in the book d. Each unit has 8 lessons + 1 additional lesson (Project) e. Each lesson takes between 40-45 minutes ( within each lesson there is suggested timing for activities ===================================== II. The Workbook a. 79 pages b. There are 12 modules; Purpose: - provide extra practice of Language and skills - extension work to develop topic and language areas c. At the end of each Module: Progress Test d. At the end of each Module: Learning Log e. Self-assessment answer key f. My Vocabulary boxes ====================================== III. The Teacher’s Book a. Introduction b. Module Notes: detailed instructions and suggestions for each lesson c. Writing help d. Tape script e. Extra Listening f. Workbook answer key g. Word List h. Irregular verbs ========================================= IV. 2 Cassettes ========================================= ========================================= Action pack 8 Reflecting on some Action Pack 8 points (to be discussed after participants explore the course components) ====================================== 1. What are some of the uses of the Opener ( title page of each Module)? 2. What are some of the text –types used in: a. Student’s Book b. Activity Book 3. What is the ELT learning approach that best describes The Action pack course? 4. Why are the Outcomes introduced at the beginning of each Module? 5. What is the significance of the a. Over to You exercise b. the Project section 6. How is integration of language skills achieved in various lessons? (vs. separate MoE Outcomes) 7. What thinking skills could be developed using : a. vocabulary exercises b. the project etc. 8. What are the symbols/signs (such as Astrix, t he headphones etc) used for? 9. Why is self-assessment important? How can we use the new evaluation tools such as the Learning Log within the new MoE assessment schemes? 10. Why is timing an activity important? 11. What are the boxes in My Vocabulary section ( in the Activity Book) for? ( Most of the answers are in the Introduction of the Teacher’s Book.) ======================================= ======================================= Action Pack 8 Sample Unit layout of activities Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 1 and 2 ============================================= Stage | Mat- erial | Activity | Role of student | Skill sequence | Opener | SB p.5 | 1. read title look at picture explain vocabulary 2. pair work write a list of sports | Identify types of sports using his previous knowledge Work in pairs to write a list of sports and then report to class Recognize Outcomes (Why) | Visual recog+ speaking (reporting) Compare Predict | L 1 and 2 | SB p.7 | 1. Vocabulary box(sports) | Classifying vocab. Items into groups (individually then in pairs | Classification Comparing | Work Book | WB P4 Exercise 1 | Matching/ Writing sports names | Match descriptions with pictures; write names of sports | Vocabulary Comprehension | SB | SB p.7 Exe.2 | Compreh. 2. Before you read | Identify types of sports on page 6 using pictures; discussion on preferred sport. | Employing previous knowledge & Building positive attitudes | Fact file | = | 3. comprehension of text | Reading of fact file on p.6 ;then cover it. In pairs, they answer questions on section 3. | Self-checking of Comprehension text | Grammar in Context | SB p.7 4 | Listening comprehension | Draw a table, read a webpage while listening to recorded interview; second listening in parts; pair work to compare answers and reporting to class | Extracting specific information fro a recorded interview ( Seen Text) Exposing students to structures as used in real texts | Grammar in Context | SB p.7 4 | Listening comprehension | Draw a table; listen to a second recorded interview in parts Pair work to compare answers | Extracting specific information fro a recorded interview Unseen Text) Exposing students to structures as used in real texts | Grammar in Context Writing | SB p.7 Activity 6 | Writing descriptive statements | Options(individual/ pairs/ group Work ) to write descriptive statements about characters in exercise 4,5 and then reporting | Using implicitly internalized structures (present tense), students write descriptive statements. | Grammar in Context | SB p.7 Activity7 | 7. Talking about Sports | Students talk about sports working in pairs: they use what They know about characters to form questions and answers. | Speaking in pairs ( Controlled ask/answer practice) | Workbook | WB p.4 | Exe.2 Forming sentences from notes | Based on a table with notes about the characters, students form sentences using present / present continuous | Transforming notes into sentences in writing | Over to you | SB p.7 | Exe.8 communicative Activity ; self-introduction | Students read the given sample introduction, then work in pairs practicing talking about themselves | Free practice- speaking Reporting about others | Did you know box | SB p.7 | Elicitation | Elicitation and employment of world-knowledge information | Free practice speaking | Workbook | WB p.4 | Exe.4 written response | Students answer questions about themselves | Controlled practice/ reporting personal habits in writing |
======================================== ======================================== ======================================== 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 8 Slides text version Source: Douglas Allan Culture in Communication ======================================= Slide 1 Culture in Communication Sample: Picture of cover of Student's Book
Comments: Culture in Communication Children in schools learning foreign languages need insights into the target language culture. By raising children’s awareness of culture pupils will develop a strengthened sense of their own identity as well as an interest in cultural differences. Cultural input naturally leads to activity-based work and cross–curricular learning which in turn will make children better communicators. This workshop aims to explore some effective ways of engaging children in culture lessons. Examples will be taken from Longman’s primary course Friends. Welcome participants are introduce self. Ask participants what’s the most embarrassing cultural thing that has ever happened to them. If audience is small enough, report back. Tell story of getting into a lift in the UK. The opposite of in Hungary - don’t talk and try to ignore each other. Warm -up : ask participants to reflect on their own experience of culture learning when they studied English at school. What cultural information did they learn? What was the funniest/most unusual piece of cultural information? Report back if possible. Aim of session is to look at how cultural awareness makes students not only more knowledgeable about the target culture but also more effective users of the language. I will be using Action Pack 8 as my source of examples. ======================================== Slide 2
Sample: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE COMMUNICATE?
shared code of communication, something to talk about - topic, negotiation of meaning, non-verbal signals
Comments: Characteristics of Oral Communication · What are the characteristics of communication ( negotiation of meaning, something to communicate/talk about, at least 2 communicators, shared code of communication, non-verbal signals). Put these up on the board/OHP in plenary. These characteristics form the basis of skills work. Skills work implies that language is used for doing things rather than a body of knowledge in itself. It is instrumental to getting things done. The process which this simple activity highlight, are evident when we speak, when we write, read and listen. It is these characteristics which we try to duplicate in our skills development tasks. Also all of these characteristics of communication have cultural aspects. Each language has its own distinct cultural features. Each code is different. Think about animal noises – what sound do dogs make in your language. In English? Or what about mice? Another example may be swear words. Hungarian for example is very agricultural in its swearing. The topic of communication is also cultural. Certain things are taboo and not spoken about., This can be something simple like it is rude to ask a British person how much they earn. The ways in which people negotiate meaning is also cultural. Things about bargaining for something in an Arab-speaking market or persuading someone to do something Body language can also be cultural sending different signals in different languages. For example saying yes and no in Bulgaria. ======================================= Slide 3
Sample: CULTURE IS : 1. A list of facts about a country. 2. Ways of behaving developed by a society. 3. The arts. 4. Common values, and attitudes.
Comments: Pros and Cons of teaching culture. Ask teachers What is culture? On board display these possibilities. CULTURE IS : 1. A list of facts about a country e.g. Britain is an island. 2. Ways of behaving developed by a society. 3. The arts (opera, theatre, ballet, painting, poetry etc.) 4. Common values, attitudes and ways of looking at life
Which ways of looking at culture are most useful for EFL teachers who have to teaching some aspects of culture? Ask pairs of participants to rank these in order of importance. Talk through each group’s work. Conclusion : all aspects are important but which one will actually help students to be more effective of English? ======================================= Slide 4
Sample: SB. Module 1, Page 10 Skills: Focus on Olympics The Olympic Games Comments: Children get lots of international cultural information in Action Pack through text such as The Olympic Games from Action Pack 8 Module 1. This module is all about Fitness and achievemnet and the Olympic text is taknm from a skills focus lesson . It provides children will hisorical information as well as background cultural information about the Olympic flag and the mofdern day Olympic games. ====================================== Slide 5
Sample: Activity Book, Module 1, page 10 Picture of Exe. 1 Match the headlines with the stories
Comments: Or here is another example from the Activity Book in Module 1. We have 4 amusing stories from different parts of the world. The text is set like an internet page and the task is to match the headlines with the correct text. Can you think of some good headlines for the storues? The correct headlinmes are: Man bought 4 litres of milk for 500 pounds Traffic fine for policeman Firefighters tried to use a snake Family photo caught thief These kind of stories are not only amusing but help students develop reading skills. Which sub-skill would we use to do the matching task? Skimming. ======================================= Slide 6
Sample: CULTURAL INFORMATION Provide students with basic background knowledge about different countries and their people. Encourage students to compile information about their own country. Engage students in reading skills tasks.
Comments: However, this is not to say that some cultural background knowledge is not useful. Students will always need some of those facts and figures just to be able to interact in an intelligent way. It would be rather sad if for example a student of English didn’t know a little about the world around him or her. Action Pack 8 provides this background throughout the Students’ and activity Books. The aim of these sections are to provide a basic background about other countries and their people, secondly they encourage students to compare TLC with their own for intercultural perspectives and finally, they are usually based on text and therefore provide students with reading skills practise. ======================================= Slide 7
Sample: A picture of a Webpage An ancient city SB Module 2, page 28
Comments: One technique for giving students cultural information is in the form of text in the Links pags. These are designed like internet pages and often contain cultural information. Here is one example from action Pack 8 Module 2 about he ancient city of Petra. Students are engaged in reading about this wonder and then answering comprehensuion questions about the text. Other cultural information from the students’ own culture include: ThE Phoenicians (p 16), The Dead Sea (p 26), Manal’s Life (p 43), as well as the episodic story The Boy from the Past. ===================================== Slide 8
Sample: STUDENTS’ CULTURAL NEEDS TODAY Knowing versus Doing
Cultural information versus Cultural awareness
Comments: In language teaching more specifically though, perhaps number 2 has also played an important part. Children often have to learn about the special behaviours of the target language communities. For example, I learned a lot about what the French eat for breakfast and when they go on holiday in August. No-one would doubt the need for cultural awareness if students are to be effective users of the English language. Appropriate cultural input will enable students to understand why other users are communicating their messages in certain ways. All too often we have based this culture awareness training on content about the target culture rather than on the values, attitudes and norms that are part of the target culture. What I also need is awareness of the right things to say and do. Saying and doing the right things in the TL involve understanding the norms of cultural language behaviour. If I want to avoid offending the people I interact with then I need to be aware of the register, politeness and body language specific to the TLC. ======================================= Slide 9 Sample: HELPING STUDENTS USE “CULTURALLY” BETTER ENGLISH Sensitising students’ awareness of : how children of their own age behave in the TLC. authentic spoken English. mother tongue language behaviour.
Comments: Whilst new knowledge or information can be learned, awareness can only be acquired. It takes time to sensitise students to the new cultural norms which govern the TL. Students will need time over a period of time to develop this awareness. The process is also much more active than learning facts about the new culture. Students will need to be engaged in real communication in order to develop that feeling for the language. By the end of the language programme they will be used to asking themselves “Who am I speaking/writing to, what situation are we in and why are we communicating,”. ======================================= Slide 10
Sample: A picture of Module 1, SB, page 3 scope and sequence of Elements Units 1 and 2, Grammar, Function, vocabulary, Reading , Listening, speaking, Writing, Focus on (theme)
Comments: As you can see from the contents pages of Action Pack many of the course objectives are fiunctional objectives. Therefore grammar and vocabulary are taught in order to increase the functional power of children’s English whether it be talking about sports or agreeing and disagreeing. All functions in language are cultural. The grammar and vocab we use to effective complete a function in different languages is culturally determined. ===================================== Slide 11
Sample: WAYS OF INTERACTING IN DIFFERENT CULTURES
Speaking brusquely (‘rudely’) Class consciousness/ roles Appearing more insistent Demanding/impatient ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you’ ‘Politeness’- use varies in different cultures Gender issues Traditional expectations vary Saying ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ Some more direct Body language Varies
Comments: What things can go wrong? Well our students may should culturally imappropriate for a number of reasons. Discuss. ====================================== Slide 12
Sample: A page extract of Over To You activity SB, Module 5, page 73 Speaking Ideas relating to helping the environment
Comments: Students are given lots of opportunity to use their English and develop this sensitivity to interaction with each other a nd their teacher. Here is a speaking task which would provide plenty of practice in interacting with an audience in Enmglish. Major issues here would be structuring the interaction, choice of grammar and pvocabulary, involving the listening and making eye contact. ===================================== Slide 13
Sample: INTERCULTURAL LEARNING
Intercultural awareness results in : tolerance of others openness to new ideas deepened understanding of one’s own culture ability to see one’s own culture as different
Comments: Perhaps the newest area of culture teaching has been connected to intercultural awareness. It's been suggested that intercultural awareness is what makes us tolerant and able to understand things from another person’s point of view. ===================================== Slide 14
Sample: INTERCULTURAL – PROJECTS
è My favourite sport è World records quiz è The International Space Station è Processes è Tropical forests
Comments:
Just look at some of the topics above from Action Pack . One certainly gets a different view of life from some of these materials. Of course intercultural awareness also has its own special section in. These are usually found in the projects. Kids are asked to reflect on their own culture not just learn about a new one. ==================================== Slide 15
Sample: A picture of page 88, SB, Module 6, Project A famous scientist or inventor Alhazen-pioneer of vision and light
Comments: Action Pack 8 is a rich course both culturally and linguistically. Not only will your students gain a useful cultural background about the English-speaking worlds, they will also develop strategies to use English appropriately from a cultural point of view. Moreover your students will be engaged by topics which are of relevance to their lives and at the same time will be more informed from the rich educational content of Action Pack. Here is an example of one of the projects about inventors from Module 6 Science and Discovery. Students learn about Thomas edison, Nikota Tesla (electricity), Röntgen (x-rays) and Fleming (penecillin). ======================================= Slide 16
Sample: IMAGES OF BRITAIN Pictures of identifiable monument and feature specific to Britain
Comments: Ask participants to consider their images of Britian. When they hear the word what immediately comes to mind? Using the handout write down 5 things which come to mind when thinking about Britain. Then compare with a partner. Reveal some images on the PP one by one commenting on each. Stonehedge – history 1000 years of uninterrupted history (last invasion 1066). Double decker buses/ Red telephone boxes – well-known symbols recognised around the world. BBC – sense of fairness and honesty, reliability Tower bridge – London, great world capital School kids in uniform – good education, respected institutions, discipiline Houses of Parliament – home of democracy, well-respected political establishment Horse Guards/monarchy – stablity, pomp and ceremony, tourism, identity Bobby/police – friendly, honest, reliable, eccentric uniform, sense of justice But how true are these ideas today in the UK? How much of what we see is reliable? ==================================== Slide 17
Sample: MODERN BRITAIN IN NUMBERS
There are o children under the age of 16 in the UK. Children aged 7 to 15 spend an average of £o per week. Only o% of children aged 11 to 16 walk to school. o% of British homes have a TV and o % a computer.
Comments: Ask participants to do some ‘guesstimating’ about today’s UK. In pairs try to guess the numbers from these statistics about teenagers in the UK today. There were 12.1 million children aged under 16 in the UK in 2000: 6.2 million boys and 5.9 million girls. The number of children is lower than in 1971 when there were 14.3 million children. In 2000/01 children aged 7 to 15 in the UK spent an average of £12.30 per week. Girls spent more than boys, £13.20 per week compared with £11.20. Girls were more likely than boys to spend their money on clothing and footwear, and personal goods. Boys were more likely to spend their money on food and non-alcoholic drink, and leisure goods. In Britain, walking was the main form of travel to school for children in 1998-2000, although the proportion of children doing so has fallen over the last 15 years. In 1998-2000, 56 per cent of children aged 5 to 10 and 43 per cent of 11 to 16 year olds walked to school. Access to a television has always been highly prevalent (93% of households in 1972, rising to 99% in 2002). Over the last five years the percentage of households with home computers has increased further, to 54% of all households in 2002. Access to the Internet at home has also increased in recent years, from 33% of households in 2000 to 44% in 2002. The proportion of households owning mobile telephones increased from nearly three fifths (58%) in 2000 to three quarters (75%) of households in 2002. ==================================== Slide 18
Sample: MODERN BRITAIN IN NUMBERS
There are 12.1 million children under the age of 16 in the UK. Children aged 7 to 15 spend an average of £12.30 per week. Only 43% of children aged 11 to 16 walk to school. 99% of British homes have a TV and 54% a computer. ================================== Slide 19
Sample: Driving on the other side of the road! That’s nothing! =================================== |