TEACHING
TEENS
BEN GOLDSTEIN “Creative Thinking lies in applying or adapting prior knowledge to a new context”
FREE MATERIALS To future-proof teenage learners
HERBERT PUCHTA “The teenage brain has an amazing capacity for change”
THE DIGITAL AGE Preparing teens for the unknown
CAMBRIDGE CROSSWORD INSIDE! Test your knowledge on Life Competencies
LIFE COMPETENCIES From Collaboration to Critical Thinking
cambridge.org/secondary
Letter from the Editor Teaching teenagers is always more than just teaching the language. They’re thinking about how they fit into the world around them – what kind of person do they want to be, what do they want to do after school, how do others see them? And you’re often their guide with these difficult questions. In this issue, we’ve got lots of ideas for helping teenagers think about their futures. Nick Robinson looks at how changing technology could impact on their career choices. Ben Goldstein shares his ideas on developing creative thinking that will help them in the workplace as well as at school. This issue is full of ideas for developing the skills your students need if they’re going to succeed in what they want to do. Working in teams, creative thinking, lifelong learning, fluent communication, critical thinking – these
are the skills employers look for and which your students need help with. Do you need ideas for helping teenagers with self-image and emotional awareness? Have a look at the articles by Niall Curry and Olha Madylus. So, sit back and let us inspire you with ways of helping your teenagers achieve their best in the world! I hope you really enjoy this issue of the Teaching Teens magazine.
Ben Knight Director of the Language Research Team, Cambridge University Press
CATCH UP ON THE LATEST AT CAMBRIDGE SECONDARY! Cambridge Life Competencies Podcast
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Cambridge Life Competencies for Teens podcast series is available now from your podcast provider!
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CONTENTS
Author, teacher and teacher trainer Samantha Lewis explores how to encourage learner autonomy in her latest webinar.
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Course developer and author Dan Vincent explains how to help your teenage learners collaborate in his blog series.
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Exam preparation expert and author Greg Archer discusses how to start preparing your teens for exams.
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It’s a teen’s world
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How to future-proof your career in the digital age
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Creative Thinking and the workplace
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Learning to Learn for life
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Differentiation via open tasks
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Helping teens become their own life coaches
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Pull-out project
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What is fluency, and can it be taught?
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Learning English and future selves
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The Cambridge crossword
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Should we teach Critical Thinking?
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Critical Thinking practice with any text
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Wanted: Team player
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Developing a teenager’s emotional awareness
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Mindfulness of breathing for teens
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Keeping the screenagers happy
It’s a teen’s world By Will Rixon from Cambridge University Press
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hat does a modern day teen look like? What do they feel? What do they like? What are their dreams? The teens we teach will shape the future so we need to prepare them for taking on that responsibility. But….what does that future look like? With a world changing so quickly in terms of technology, climate and career opportunities, we can’t predict exactly what knowledge teens will need in the decades to come. But we can provide them with the skills to help them traverse this evolving landscape.
50% of the work that people are paid to do globally could theoretically be automated using technologies that already exist.1
Teenagers will need more than intellectual subject knowledge. So how can we, as educators, support our learners to develop skills which help them to not only academically excel but thrive in a world of their own making? Life competencies are now an integral part of teenage education: helping teens to develop emotional reasoning and critical thinking, and teaching them to continue to value learning as they move forward into an unknown, but exciting future.
Human skills such as creativity, originality and initiative, critical thinking, persuasion, and negotiation will retain or increase their value.
THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM’S REPORT, THE FUTURE OF JOBS
HOW TO FUTURE-PROOF YOUR CAREER IN THE DIGITAL AGE By Nick Robinson
One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world.
MALALA YOUSAFZAI Nick Robinson has worked in ELT publishing since 2004, as an author, marketer, trainer and conference speaker. His particular area of content expertise is ESP. In 2012, he founded the world’s first ELT author representation agency. He is the Co-founder of the IATEFL Materials Writing Special Interest Group (MaWSIG).
E Between 400 million and 800 million individuals could be displaced by automation and will need to find new jobs by 2030.
THE MCKINSEY GLOBAL INSTITUTE REPORT
All industries expect at least 50% of their workforce will require reskilling in some way.2
Work is very different from school. Teachers spend a lot of time talking about bullying, which is important, but they need to also spend time teaching us how to handle pressure. They don’t tell you about the stresses involved in working.
GEORGIE WALTERS, 16
75 million roles could be displaced by the automationfueled disruption. But 133 million new jobs will emerge as well.3
The teenage brain has an amazing capacity for change.
HERBERT PUCHTA
1 https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/jobs-lost-jobs-gained-what-the-future-of-work-will-mean-for-jobs-skills-and-wages 2 http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2018.pdf 3 https://www.hugo.team/blog/the-future-of-work-is-almost-here-4-facts-from-the-future-of-jobs-report
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ducation is intended to prepare students for the world of work, but as we enter the fourth industrial revolution, the world is changing so rapidly that many of today’s teenagers will end up doing jobs that don’t yet exist.1 In the face of such uncertainty, how can we equip students with the tools they’ll need for their futures? Could focusing on life competencies, as opposed to academic success, be the answer?
collar or clerical jobs. The McKinsey Global Institute Report predicts that between 400 million and 800 million individuals could be displaced by automation and will need to find new jobs by 2030. Anything that’s algorithmic at its core, which involves calculations or building statistical models, is at risk. When it comes to jobs in accounting or financial services, a computer will always be faster and more accurate than humans.
THE FUTURE JOB MARKET
AI OR IA: FLEXIBILITY AND ADAPTABILITY
There’s no way of knowing what the job market will look like in a decade, especially taking into account the fact that a staggering 50% of the work that people are paid to do globally could theoretically be automated using technologies that already exist. Very few jobs or areas in life are unaffected by technology. An example is the hiring process for short-term construction workers. Just a few years ago, people would stand around on street corners waiting to be picked up by a construction crew – and there’s now an app that connects construction workers to construction projects that need help.
However, that’s not something to fear. People think of artificial intelligence as a threat, but a lot of technology can be categorised not as AI but as IA – intelligence augmentation. The goal of this technology is not to replace humans, but to enhance our capabilities. For example, with interactive whiteboards in the classroom, the goal is not to have the whiteboard teaching the class, but to augment the capabilities of the teacher by allowing her to bring in different resources, to play videos and interactive games. When you frame technological advances in this way, it doesn’t sound as scary. But what is crucial in this scenario is that the teacher is able to learn to use the whiteboard and adapt her lessons and her teaching techniques to make full use of this new tool.
There are some things that we can predict, based on current trends. Manual industries were the first to be automated. Car factories, for example, are staffed by robots with human overseers. And more recently there’s been a clear shift towards automation of white-
1 https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/jobs-lost-jobs-gained-what-the-future-of-work-will-mean-for-jobs-skills-and-wages
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According to a World Economic Forum report, all industries expect at least 50% of their workforce will require reskilling in some way1, so flexibility and adaptability are important attributes to cultivate in our students in order to use new technology to its fullest potential. English language learners are at an advantage, as the linguistic flexibility of bilingual students helps their brains to adapt easily to change, meaning that new challenges aren’t as daunting as they otherwise might be.
THRIVING IN A CHANGING WORLD
TO DO GLOBALLY COULD THEORETICALLY BE AUTOMATED USING TECHNOLOGIES THAT ALREADY EXIST
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“FOCUS ON WHAT STUDENTS ARE GOOD AT, WHAT THEY WANT TO LEARN”
“ 50% OF THE WORK THAT PEOPLE ARE PAID
success. As well as focusing on the things they need to pass their next exam, focus also on what students are good at, what they want to learn, and what they think will actually be helpful in their later lives. If we can instil a learning mindset in our students, and a desire to upskill and experience new things, it will encourage them to view the future as an exciting challenge rather than something scary, and they’ll be more prepared to meet it. Humans are hardwired to fear change, but if you can help them overcome that, they’ll find a way to thrive in our rapidly evolving world.
Having a good command of English will obviously help when your students are looking for work in a globalised world. However, as an educator, you should be going beyond simply teaching them grammar and vocabulary. The skills that will stand today’s teenagers in good stead are human in nature, like creativity and curiosity: skills that robots can’t replicate. The World Economic Forum’s report, The Future of Jobs, found “human skills such as creativity, originality and initiative, critical thinking, persuasion, and negotiation will retain or increase their value” in the workplace of the future, so those are the most important to try and implement into your classes. One way you can start doing this is by offering learners more agency and autonomy. Let them have a say in the direction their learning takes. Give them choices, get them working together to achieve a common goal and follow up with time spent reflecting on their 1 http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2018.pdf
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By Ben Goldstein
Ben Goldstein is a teacher, teacher trainer, materials writer and international conference speaker. He has co-authored the secondary coursebook series Eyes Open and the adult series English Unlimited and Evolve.
“ CREATIVITY DOESN’T NECESSARILY
REQUIRE AN AMAZING IMAGINATION
The fact that Greta Thunberg has had such a prominent role in environmental activism in the world should, of course, act as an inspiration for teenage students in the classroom. Indeed, a nice angle for the topic is to focus on this new breed of teenage activists who come from different parts of the world but share Greta’s concerns. However, the important thing here is to engage the learners not just with the content but with the skill of employing their own ideas to solve problems rather than just repeating ones that have been previously suggested. Students could start off by brainstorming their own ecofriendly suggestions and applying them to their school environment.
… to the real world of work It is not difficult then for these practical suggestions to be transposed to a work setting. Indeed, for examples such as these, we could choose virtually any professional context. The skill on the part of the students lies in applying what they know to that particular situation.
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he idea behind the Cambridge Life Competencies is that they prepare learners with skills which will not only be useful in the English language classroom but also in their future work environment. This article looks at how the creative thinking competency can be first incorporated in classroom activities for teens and then how this practice could then directly impact on a given work situation.
Thinking outside the box One of the essential concepts behind Creative Thinking is the ability to “think outside the box”, to solve problems by coming up with new and original solutions or by taking a different angle on things. This requires us to be openminded, organized, communicative
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(being a good listener is essential) and curious (feeling the need to enquire and ask questions about a topic). However, it doesn’t necessarily require an amazing imagination; this is a common misconception with regard to Creative Thinking. In fact, it is all to do with honing the skills, resources and prior knowledge that particular students may have at their disposal.
From classroom tasks… To show the connection between the classroom world and that of the work environment, consider the current topic of the climate crisis and climate strikes and what we can do in our daily lives to help save the planet.
“THE CREATIVE THINKING LIES IN APPLYING OR ADAPTING THIS PRIOR WORLD KNOWLEDGE TO A NEW WORK CONTEXT” For example, we could ask students to imagine they worked for the marketing department of a world trade fair or conference. How could they employ their knowledge of eco-friendly products to make their marketing plans more respectful of the environment? In order to ask this question, students need to think of different angles on the topic and respond imaginatively. For example, they could think of the freebies that marketing departments give to customers – say at a trade fair – and how the materials could be greener. For instance, rather than gifts such as plastic USB sticks these could be made of bamboo and bags made
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Creative Thinking and the workplace
from a potato-based product. In order to do this, students need only look around them at other examples from their worlds (e.g. potato-based bags are now available in most supermarkets) and apply them to their new context. Other freebie products could be stainless-steel water bottles and reusable or “keep” cups. Students could then think of other people who are involved in organizing the trade fair or conference and suggest action points for them too. By doing this, we are making the employment of their own ideas to solve problems relevant to the real world and to their future.
Conclusions: Adaptation and Collaboration As mentioned earlier, the important thing about an approach like this is that it doesn’t require learners to be great innovators or inventors, the “thinking outside the box” is done within the restrictions of students’ prior knowledge and world experience.
“THE SKILL ON THE PART OF THE STUDENTS LIES IN APPLYING WHAT THEY KNOW TO THAT PARTICULAR SITUATION” Indeed, bringing in ideas and solutions from other life domains (e.g. family or social life, hobbies and interests) as potential templates for understanding or solving work challenges is one of the most important “can do” statements for the Creative Thinking competency. Another key skills descriptor for this competency is the important link made with Collaboration. It is not just a case of having the idea but being able to convince colleagues of the need to take a certain action or go in a certain direction. Again this is another skill which can easily be practised in class whenever students need to work in groups to solve a problem – and once again it stands the students in good stead for their future work experience.
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Learning to Learn for life
“STUDENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION ARE EXPECTED TO BE MORE INDEPENDENT“ content or explain how to answer certain questions to their peers will better able to review information effectively.
By Samantha Lewis
Samantha has worked in ELT since 1994 and is a teacher, teacher trainer and materials writer who is based in Spain and specialises in ELT in secondary schools. Her most recent course, Own it!, focuses on Life Competencies in language learning.
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When developing learning to learn competencies in the secondary classroom we are equipping our learners with the practical skills to participate in, take control of, reflect on and evaluate their own learning in higher education and in the workplace.
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“REGULAR SESSIONS OVER
A LONG PERIOD OF TIME WILL UNDOUBTEDLY HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THEIR LEARNING
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eachers today are encouraged to help their learners develop life competencies during each life stage of education from pre-primary to secondary. Twentyfirst century course materials integrate opportunities to work on competencies such as communication, collaboration, creative thinking, critical thinking, social responsibilities and learning to learn. They offer the teacher a range of activities and ideas to encourage and motivate their learners to develop these competencies. Among the six main competencies Cambridge has identified in the Cambridge Life Competencies Framework is Learning to Learn. So, why is it important for our learners to develop learning to learn skills at school and how will such skills equip them for life beyond secondary school education?
Students in higher education are expected to be more independent and less reliant on their tutors and play an active role in directing their own learning. Being equipped with a variety of study skills and knowing how to use them effectively is crucial. Examples include the ability to create an effective learning environment without distractions, or being able to manage time effectively in order to stay focused and meet deadlines. In higher education students are fully responsible for organising the time they spend outside class to work on projects and assignments or to prepare for exams. We know from our understanding of how memory works that the human brain is able to retain and retrieve information more effectively when we review it systematically. So, for example, a university student who paces their learning, uses mind maps or graphic organisers to make clear, structured notes from their lecture notes or own reading and reviews them periodically during peak concentration levels will improve their learning outcomes far more effectively than a student who
opts to spend hours cramming for an exam the night before. This “distributed practice” or spacing out study times into short, regular sessions over a long period of time will undoubtedly have a positive impact on their learning. In addition to distributed practice, learners should aim to make the retrieval of information as useful as possible by not only recalling the information, but applying it to answer a specific exam question, solve a certain problem or complete a particular task as part of a piece of coursework. Learners need to be able to identify and select relevant information by making connections. Those students who have been shown how to use graphic organisers and make connections in order to organise information will be better equipped to identify which information is necessary to complete a task or answer a question and identify which further relevant information they need to source. So, it is not simply a case of regurgitating information but retrieving it in a useful way. Students who were encouraged at school to regularly create and carry out low stakes quizzes to review course
Higher education students today are expected to know how to reflect on and evaluate their learning in order to achieve desired learning outcomes. At college or university, they will need to plan schemes of work and keep a record of the progress made. They will also be expected to carry out longer written assignments and projects and may need to work collaboratively with others in order to produce them. Students who have had the opportunity to use formative assessment at school will have had invaluable experience at reflecting on their learning and becoming more involved in the learning process. They will be used to reflect on the success of their learning and identify where their learning needs to go next. This training will help them stay focused during projects and assignments at university as they systematically reflect on their progress at various stages of the process, identify what the next steps are and have a clear idea of how to go about achieving them. One of the most useful skills they will have developed is how to identify what information is needed and how to source it. Identifying which member of a team is best prepared to contribute certain skills or knowledge or develop certain parts of the project will also improve its overall execution. As autonomous learners, they will also be better equipped to manage the resources available, source reliable information either online or from the library or selfstudy centre and use this information appropriately while avoiding plagiarism and respecting copyright. All of these competencies that our students further develop during their time in higher education will also be relevant and necessary in the future workplace. It is clear that building up a wide range of learning to learn skills during our formative years will stand us in very good stead for the years ahead.
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“OPEN TASKS ALLOW THEM TO GAIN TARGET LANGUAGE COMPETENCES AS WELL AS LIFE SKILLS”
DIFFERENTIATION VIA OPEN TASKS By Dr Julia Reckermann
Dr Julia Reckermann is a junior professor for TEFL at the University of Paderborn, Germany. She has been working in the TEFL context at different universities and schools in Germany since 2009.
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een EFL classes are heterogeneous in their composition and it is the teacher’s task to cater to the learners’ different needs through individualisation and differentiation. Ideally, all learners further their FL competences while working on the same topic, but at their individual levels of ability and interest. One idea of how this challenging demand can be put into practice is the use of open tasks, or target tasks as suggested by task-based language teaching (see, e.g., Nunan 2004). Such tasks are used at the end of a teaching unit, so that the learners can apply and individually expand their knowledge about a certain topic. The goal of these tasks is clear, but the process of how to reach this goal as well as the eventual outcome is open. This serves for a high level of
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CORE CHARACTERISTICS OF OPEN TASKS 3 the content/topic is relevant for the learners and links to their previous knowledge.
EXAMPLES OF SUCH TASKS FOR THE TEENAGE EFL CLASSROOM INCLUDE:
3 they are real-life tasks. 3 they challenge ALL learners and allow them a feeling of success. 3 they can be worked on and solved at different levels of proficiency. 3 there is a clear goal, but content foci, learning process and eventual outcome allow for individuality. 3 the learners work on them mostly autonomously. 3 they are supplemented by different means of support. 3 fluency goes before accuracy. (see Reckermann, 2017, p. 209. Based on Ellis, 2013; Leisen, 2010; Müller-Hartmann et al., 2013)
Present your favourite hobby / YouTube-star / city / film / book / comic
Prepare your standpoint for a discussion on climate change / social media (over) use / school uniforms
Write a letter / postcard / e-mail / text message to a music band / influencer / politician / film producer
inner differentiation and allows the learners choice and autonomy in various respects. Firstly, there is a core topic (e.g. hobbies), but the actual sub-topic (e.g. basketball) is chosen by the learners based on their interests. Secondly, the outcome is, at least to a certain extent, open and up to the learners’ preferences and competences. For example, the presentation of one’s favourite hobby can be done via a poster, an oral presentation, a PowerPoint, a video or a picture. Lastly, the working process that leads to the final product is open, in that the learners can work independently or in small groups, can use different sources of information (books, internet, etc.), can work at their individual competence levels (e.g. using simple vs complex sentences) and seek support whenever needed. Bearing in mind that teenage learners sometimes struggle with their emotions, decentral working phases allow them a certain space to ‘draw out’, while at the same time they are allowed to organise their own learning. Also knowing that teenagers do not necessarily favour speaking in front of the class, possible presentations can take place in smaller groups, in writing or in the form of a prepared video or podcast.
To ensure that all learners are rightly challenged and work at their own levels, the teacher carefully guides and scaffolds them and prepares support. Supportive devices can include: tip cards with crucial vocabulary, chunks, sentences; books, magazines or the internet for collecting information; materials on the core topic, e.g. pictures, informative texts; a self-assessment grid; a planner that helps the learners to organize their working phase; etc. Of course, such an open task is set into a meaningful cycle of pre-, target- and post-task activities. Pre-activities raise the teens’ interest in the topic and introduce them to crucial language competences and topic knowledge. Post-activities include the presentation of results and a reflection of the learners’ individual learning process and progress. Particularly reflection and self-assessment are core elements of the work on open tasks. On a regular basis, the learners should, in cooperation with the teacher, reflect on their stage in the working process, on difficulties and successes, on a possible gain in competence as well as on possible prospects for future projects. This can be done orally, either in small groups
or with the whole class, or more individually, e.g. in a project log. For selfand teacher-assessment, learners need clear and transparent criteria so that they know what is expected from them. This is not necessarily easy, since as soon as teachers leave a lot of aspects up the learners’ choice and ability, outcomes will vary greatly.
“PRE-ACTIVITIES RAISE THE TEENS’ INTEREST IN THE TOPIC” Overall, the use of open tasks can be one idea to meet teen EFL learners’ individual preferences, interests and abilities and allow them to gain target language competences as well as life skills (autonomy, self-assessment, social skills) at their individual levels and based on their interests.
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“ THE PLASTICITY OF THE TEENAGE BRAIN IS EXTRAORDINARY
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Helping teens become their own life coaches By Herbert Puchta
collaborative competencies and social responsibilities.
Dr Herbert Puchta is a writer of course books and other ELT materials and a professional teacher trainer. For almost three decades, he has researched the practical application of cognitive psychology in EFL-teaching. Herbert has co-authored numerous textbooks and resource books including THiNK, English in Mind and MORE!
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eaching English successfully to secondary school students is a rewarding activity. It develops their ability to communicate well in the world’s most widely spoken language, and provides them with key communicative competencies that they will be able to draw on at various stages, and in various situations, throughout their lives. However, if we want our students to flourish in a challenging and fast-changing world we need to help them develop competencies beyond language, as shown in the Cambridge Life Competencies Framework. We need to help our students to foster their critical and creative thinking potentials, utilize their full potential through learning how to learn, and develop their
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Teens can be a challenge to teach at times, and insights into the adolescent brain help us understand why this is the case. But these insights, coming from the ‘new science of adolescence’ (Steinberg 2015), also make it clear that the teenage brain has an amazing capacity for change. That offers us teachers some unique opportunities to assist our students in their personal development, and suggests an approach to teaching that goes beyond language and language skills into topics that challenge our students into thinking about issues that affect them.
“THE TEENAGE BRAIN HAS AN AMAZING CAPACITY FOR CHANGE” The process of becoming a responsible adult is dramatically influenced by the development of two structures in the teenage brain: the limbic system and the prefrontal cortex. The limbic system is all about emotions and the drive to have fun – without pausing to think what the possible consequences might be. The prefrontal cortex, in contrast, is about higher-order brain functions; it is connected to mature adult thinking (which pausing and thinking are part of!), and developing a sense of responsibility. What brain science shows us is that the plasticity of the teenage brain is extraordinary, which means that as teachers we are in a very good position to challenge our teens cognitively. But this is not a call for stricter tests or bigger workloads. Rather, it’s an appeal to present your students with thought-provoking
content that they will perceive as highly relevant to their lives, present and future. And it’s a plea to support the development of their brains by helping them learn how to pause for breath and start thinking, rather than reacting emotionally. It’s a plea for you to involve your students in thinking tasks that they will find challenging, and also for you to set up constructive interactions enabling them to express their (thought-out!) opinions, and develop their own thinking further by exploring their classmates’ similarly thought-out opinions. The ability to differentiate between subjective opinions and facts, instead of acting and reacting impulsively and emotionally, is one of the criteria that lie at the heart of maturity. But a teen’s inner world, with its strong emotional dynamics, may cause them to express opinions in a spontaneous rather than well-thought-out manner (Nobody likes me! My parents are never happy with what I do! Adults just don’t understand teens! etc.). As a consequence, young people frequently show a strong tendency to overgeneralize, which can lead to prejudices and discrimination against others. For us to support our teen students in gradually becoming responsible citizens of this world requires us to help them recognize their instinctive limitations, so that they can look at issues from a wider perspective and avoid jumping to hasty conclusions. Only then will they gradually develop into their own life coaches with a range of intelligent and constructive ways of thinking and acting available to them. Of course, the emotions will still arise, but the mature brain will then modify its owner’s behaviour to take into account the needs and sensibilities of other people.
DEALING WITH GENERALIZATIONS hasty e. what (i. them sions are ups u ro l c g n co arge out l sed on b a s ba w ion opin e formed only a fe r h a t i t . w a ) p th es grou rienc expe ers of the b mem
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ncrete find co ach them to xamples for e e r(e.g. counte lusions ty conc who s a le h p e o of th n: Pe io s ng lu c a n c o less ri Hasty c ities are in the c ig b live in o live le: ople wh examp than pe e. – Counterow sid and I kn .) country g big city n a ri a in c e I liv are very o h w people
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A LITTLE TIP!
When students get challenged to talk about real world issues and notice that what they are saying is taken seriously by their teacher, they perceive the learning process itself as more relevant to them, and will also in consequence develop important life competencies.
Steinberg, L. (2015) Age of Opportunity. Lessons from the New Science of Adolescence. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company: New York
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THE SCIENCE PROJEC T An infographic on animal senses
1 Work in pairs. Can you answer the questions? 1 Which continents do elephants live in?
Elephants and their amazing senses
2 How do they know where they are going? 3 How strong is their trunk (their long nose)? 4 What do they use their ears for?
2 Read the infographic and check your answers to Exercise 1.
How to research
3 Which of these things should you do when you research? Tick the correct answers. 1 Decide the main information you want before doing research. 2 Use questions in search engines, e.g. How well can elephants see? 3 Read articles from start to finish. 4 Read the contents list of articles or the titles of sections and then decide what you need to read.
Elephants’ eyes are on the side of their head and have three eyelids, one above the eye, one below, like humans, and an almost transparent one they use to keep dust, dirt and water out. However, their eyes aren’t very strong. They normally use their trunks to know where they are going. In fact, the leader of a group of elephants is sometimes blind.
• Two species: African and Asian • Males: 2,700 to 6,300 kg • Females: 1,800 to 3,600 kg • Lifespan: approx. 65 years • 100,000 muscles in the trunk
4 Work in groups. Choose an
animal you want to research. Decide who is going to research which sense. Remember to: • have a title for your infographic • use photos • make the headings and the contents easy to read
✓ Elephants can hear extremely well because they have big ears. They can hear faint sounds, including the calls of elephants up to 1.5 km away. Their ears are about 1/6 of the size of their bodies. They also use them to keep cool.
5 Make sure the information is fact and not opinion. 6 Only check information on one site. 7 Take notes as you read.
PL AN
Elephants have to move their trunk around and smell the air all the time in order to find water, so they have an excellent sense of smell. They can detect water up to 12 km away.
Elephants use their rough trunks to explore the environment and care for their young. They also use it to fight. The trunk can lift objects that weigh up to 250 kg. They can also sense tiny vibrations in the ground with their feet. Scientists think this must be the reason why many survived the Asian Tsunami of 2004. They felt the vibrations of the earthquake and moved to higher ground.
• use numbers (21, 2/3 etc.) instead of words (twentyone, two-thirds).
PRESENT
5 Present your infographic to
your class. Remember to include interesting facts, visuals and headings, modal verbs and vocabulary from this unit.
CHECK
6 Look at the other groups’
infographics. Tell the group members which information you find most interesting.
“WE SEE ‘FLUENCY’ ALMOST AS A QUALITY OF THE SPEAKER RATHER THAN A SKILL THAT CAN BE LEARNED”
Ceri is a freelance teacher, trainer and materials writer. She’s particularly interested in student-centred materials and activities. She writes about her experiences and her experiments on her blog, Close Up (www.cerij.wordpress.com).
What is fluency, and can it be taught? By Ceri Jones
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WHAT IS FLUENCY?
CAN FLUENCY BE TAUGHT?
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So, to the second question: can it be taught? And I think the easy answer is yes, or at least, that, as teachers, we can create the conditions that allow our students to develop fluency. And how do we do that? Well, it’s a process and there’s no magic wand. It takes time and patience, like all learning. There are some basic steps we can follow:
e often use the word “fluency” quite loosely without thinking about exactly what it means. In dayto-day speech we equate it with being able to communicate comfortably and easily in another language. We may ask someone living in another country if they are “fluent in the language yet?”, meaning not only do they speak, but also do they understand the language when they hear it spoken. We picture them coping confidently in a range of situations, taking part naturally in conversations, functioning effectively in the language. Adverbs like “naturally”, “comfortably”, “easily” describe the psychological state of the language user as much as their ability or competence. It is an idea that is bound up in emotions and perceptions as much as, if not more than, with the actual use of the language. We see “fluency” almost as a quality of the speaker rather than a skill that can be learned. When talking about teaching and learning languages, this can cause problems. Let’s take a closer look at what fluency is from a more objective point of view. When researchers study fluency, they use two fairly simple measurements; one is the rate of speech, how many syllables you produce over a given time, and the second is the length of utterances, how many words you can produce in a continued string of speech without hesitation or pauses. This gives us a clear idea of what fluency in speech sounds like. But it’s not enough to measure speed and length, we also need to measure coherence and effectiveness. One thing is being able to produce a string of words, another is that the string of words is actually comprehensible to someone who’s listening. So fluency is flow, but it is flow with meaning. This also introduces another factor, the listener. In order to be effective in our communication, we also need to take into account who we are talking to, so that our speed of delivery and our length of utterance is appropriate for our listeners. When we include this social aspect too, it becomes clear that fluency is a complex and complicated concept!
WHY IS FLUENCY IMPORTANT?
of Allow for plenty ss cla in e ac sp d time an empt for students to att freely i.e. to communicate tivities ac include spoken decide s nt de stu e where th y and sa to what they want ing go ’re ey th how to say it.
1
Design ta sks that cr eate a need and /or an inte rest in communic ating – an d that means bo th speakin g and listening – it is as im portant that the sp eaker has somethin g they wa nt to say as it is tha t the liste ner has a reaso n to listen to them.
r preparation Allow time fo g of the and scaffoldin e task – this th re language befo ents to feel allows the stud when they nt more confide e task, and th rm rfo pe come to rect effect di a s confidence ha immediately on fluency. It ation and sit reduces he facilitates flow.
3
Fluency doesn’t happen overnight. Neither is it a fixed quality. It varies according to the task and the audience. We can be much more fluent talking to a group of friends about a familiar topic than we would talking to a stranger about a subject we’re not sure about. And so, we need to train for fluency in incremental steps, planning for success in familiar situations, building on that success to push our students further, always making sure we give them the language tools they need to succeed.
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Allow tim e for fee dback on perce ived diffi cu of the ta sk, and e lty ase of commun ication. D iscuss an obstacle y s and pe rception Did the s. student’ s feel mo re/ less fluen t? Why?
We still need to address another important question. Why is fluency important? And why is it important to our students? Fluency is the bedrock of how we are perceived as communicators. And the bottom line for all our students is communication. They are studying a language in order to be able to use it – and to use it effectively. This is what our teenage students want from their English lessons, from their English teachers: to be able to function competently in English, not only in the classroom, but ultimately out in the big wide world. They want to be able to take an active part in the global online communities that are such an important part of their teenage world, be that social media, gaming or peer learning through open access forums. Our students are keenly aware – possibly more than we are – of the importance of communication, in their mother tongue, and also in English. Excellent communication skills is the number one skill they need to take with them into the world if they are going to succeed, whatever their field. And communicative competency in English, let’s call it “fluency”, is the key to being able to study and work in an international context, whether at home or abroad. This is what our students are aiming for. This is their number one priority in the English classroom. And it is our number one priority as teachers to help our students become successful, competent, fluent communicators.
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LEARNING ENGLISH AND FUTURE SELVES By Niall Curry
Niall Curry is a lecturer at Coventry University specialising in applied linguistics, corpus linguistics, and language pedagogy. He lectures in academic language, language analysis, and language pedagogy.
TASK 1: LEARNING NEW LANGUAGE (AND WHERE TO USE IT!) The first task aims to raise learners’ awareness of language and the contexts in which different words are used. Drawing on corpus research at Cambridge University Press, there are a number of changes that could form the basis of this task. For example, adverbs like “well”, “so”, “like”, and “literally” in British English have changed considerably over the last two decades. 20 years ago for example, ‘literally’ was mostly used in a literal sense, but now primarily refers to unreal events with examples like ‘I literally haven’t moved all day’. After teaching these new uses of words, the task is as follows:
L
anguage is alive and changes with the times. As language professionals, we have the difficult task of ensuring that we teach up-todate language to our students. In the context of English language teaching, the difficulty arises from the fact that English language pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary, for example, are constantly evolving and changing. Often, such change occurs in order to remove redundant and less useful language, or by borrowing directly from other languages. Other factors like culture, migration, and globalisation can also impact languages and cause them to change and adapt to new contexts and uses. Whatever the reason, keeping up with language change is important for teenage language learners because mastery of English will be integral to their success in future study and work internationally. As educationalists and teachers, it is our responsibility to equip our learners with knowledge of contemporary English. To this end, this article presents two research-informed tasks that can help raise learners’ awareness of language change.
TASK 2: SPEAKING FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
KEEPING UP TO DATE WITH LANGUAGE CHANGE IS KEY FOR TEENAGE LEARNERS
“IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO EQUIP OUR LEARNERS WITH KNOWLEDGE OF CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH”
In teams, students take turns rephrasing old language uses into their more contemporary uses. For example: Team A: Send me a message Team B: Message me
Group Conversations Once the students are comfortable with the words that have changed over time, they have 2-minute conversations in groups of three. Two of the students have a conversation while the third takes notes.
Rotation The goal is for students to try to use as many of these new words and new word meanings as possible which the listener captures. Every 2 minutes the groups rotate until everyone has been the listener.
1 Students pay attention to the use of words like ‘literally’ in everyday life, games they play, and media they consume.
2 Students note how often they hear these new words or uses over the course of one week.
3 Using a checklist, like the example
given here, students must capture extra information surrounding the new words and new word uses, e.g. who says them, to whom, and in what contexts?
At this point, it is a good idea to have a classroom follow-up and get students to present their findings to one another. Taking a learner-centred approach, this will be an opportunity to help students unpack their own language and discuss the importance of not only keeping language up to date, but also of thinking about where to use it. It is also worth considering the formality of the language, which may not be clear to your students. Being aware of formality in English is particularly important for teenagers because they will need to know how to speak to employers and university professors in English if they are considering studying and working in English-speaking countries in the future.
:
Student Name Class:
) ere to use it!
uage (and wh
g New Lang
Task: Learnin
al ‘literally’ Word: non-re 6
No. of uses: 3
ends, family Who sa id it: fri : end, teacher) it sa id (e.g. fri To whom was uber uT Yo ly, mi friends, fa
u hear it: Where did yo e funny video school, onlin at , me ho at Word: No. of uses: Who sa id it: To whom was Where was it
end, teacher, it sa id (e.g fri
YouTuber):
sa id:
Word: No. of uses: Who sa id it: To whom was Where was it
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For the second task, the goal is to support the development of spoken language as well as the acquisition of new language. First, students should be pre-taught a number of changes in language use. This pre-teaching should highlight both the new uses and what it was like before. This could refer to changes of word-class like ‘message’ which, 20 years ago, was usually a noun, whereas today, it most often is a verb. Other examples are words like ‘google’ becoming a verb, where initially we would have ‘searched for something on Google’. Once you decide which language to teach, this task has three steps: rephrasing, group conversations, and rotation.
Rephrasing
end, teacher, it sa id (e.g. fri sa id:
YouTuber):
This activity helps develop students’ awareness of language change as well as their language use. Initially, rephrasing develops paraphrasing skills, which are important for university study. The conversations require deep cognitive engagement and language processing, which facilitates language acquisition. While cognitively demanding, this can be supported by choosing conversation topics based on previously studied themes. This is an opportunity to consolidate knowledge and minimise students’ cognitive load. This task also develops fluency, active listening, and note taking skills, which are important for future study and work. To offer a brief conclusion, in order to participate with confidence in the English-speaking world, keeping up to date with language change is key for teenage learners. The tasks here aim to support this by using activities that reflect the ways in which teenagers learn, e.g. through socialisation and learner-centred content. Overall, by incorporating more tasks that address language change in this way, we can prepare our learners for a successful future as English language users.
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CAMBRIDGE CROSSWORD
Shou
FIND THE ANSWERS THROUGHOUT THE MAGAZINE!
? g n i k n i h T l a c i t i r C h c a e ld w e t !
By Dr Li Li
2
Or is it just
k up? … ic p le p eo p t a h t g somethin
No it’s not
9 5
11
5
7 10
4
8 6
6 1 3
1 7
Dr Li Li is an Associate Professor in Language Education and Director of MEd in TESOL in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Exeter. Educated in China and the UK as an applied linguist, she has been involved in English language teaching and research for nearly 20 years.
I
n my recent talk at a second language education conference, I asked roughly 100 attendees in the room, whether they have received training in critical thinking. Surprisingly, only a handful of people raised their hands. One might find this disappointing, given that the concept of critical thinking is so important in academic study. On the one hand, it might be true that very little systematic training is provided to second
2
4
3
Across 1.
Which Life Competency? Analysis, reasoning, evaluation of materials and judgements, challenging assumptions and perspectives, proposing new ideas and solutions (8,8) (See page 23)
2.
Complete this quote “between 400 million and 800 million individuals could be displaced by ______________ by 2030” (10) (See page 5)
3.
Complete this quote “students today are expected to know how to reflect on and evaluate their ____________” (8) (See page 11)
Down
1. 2.
Environmental activist, born in 2003 (5,8) (See page 8)
3. 4.
A type of reading text (7) (See page 25)
5.
“Dropouts don’t leave school because we don’t give them enough facts, but because they don’t find any meaning in them” is a quote by whom? (9) (See page 28)
Which Life Competency? The ability to solve problems with new and original solutions (8,8) (See page 8) In which country have there been mandatory classes in empathy since 1993 (7) (See page 28)
6.
Author of “How to future-proof your career in the digital age” (8) (See page 5)
A type of vlog (3-2,5) (See page 31)
7.
A skill needed to be demonstrated in an economic undergraduate course (10) (See page 23)
An adverb which now refers to unreal events (9) (See page 20)
8.
A word which has changed to be used more as a verb than a noun (7) (See page 21)
4.
A device to access, produce and share digital media (10) (See page 30)
5. 6. 7.
Author of “Helping teens become their own life coaches” (6) (See page 14)
9.
An example of collaborating to achieve incredible things (4,7) (See page 26)
10. Comfortable and clear communication (7) (See page 19)
11. 22
Across 1.criticalthinking 2.automation 3.learning 4.smartphone 5. howtovideo 6.evaluation 7.puchta Down 1.gretathunberg 2.creativethinking 3.fiction 4.denmark 5.moscowitz 6.robinson 7.literally 8.message 9.moonlanding 10.fluency 11.hobbies
Answers
“Basketball” is a sub-topic of what? (7) (see page 13)
Skills Explanation
Comprehension
Application
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation
language teachers and learners. On the other, few teachers and learners consciously make the pedagogical link between language learning activities and critical thinking. Rather, they pay more attention to language form and function, such as grammar rules, lexical collocation, successful communication and even pragmatism. Also, many of these attendees might have perceived the concept more closely related to STEM subjects, rather than a language subject. In fact, my research finding suggests the majority of the second language teachers do not believe critical thinking is associated with language learning. Teachers’ beliefs about integrating critical thinking in second language learning are one of the most influential factors towards the
lack of in-depth exploration of the topic in the field.
So here comes the question: Why should teachers integrate critical thinking in language teaching? Let’s see an example: In an economic undergraduate course, Year 1 students are required to discuss in a group whether the provision of grammar (academically exclusive state-funded) schools should be expanded from an economic perspective. In this discussion, students need to demonstrate the following skills:
Focus
Example
Illustration of knowledge; Recognition and recall of facts
Illustration of knowledge; Recognition and recall of facts
Demonstration of understanding of the topic; Summarising information provided by individuals
Students need to collect all the relevant information. They need to understand how this information is useful
Application of knowledge in a situation different from the original learning context
Students need to apply economic theory to an educational matter
Analysis of the information to determine the significance of it in their argument; Establish a link between information
Students provide analysis of the possible reasons for and against the expansion of grammar school, using evidence to support their analysis
Synthesis of different arguments and reasons, with evidence to support the claims; Combination of various elements
Students consider different ideas and categorise them
Provision of judgements and decisions based on criteria and rationale
Students present their arguments collectively
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In this task, it is evident that students need to demonstrate a good depth and breadth of understanding of the topic, conduct sound and consistent critical analysis, and present clear development of relevant argument using a good range of sources. It looks like these skills are not closely related to language learning. However, few would disagree that we use language to express ourselves, to collaborate, to take a stance and solve a problem. There is an interrelated relationship between language and the thinking process. If we consider EFL or ESL learners in particular, we will see the significance of offering critical thinking skills in language learning because of the close connection between language development (e.g. the depth and breadth of vocabulary use) and thinking.
WHERE TO START Thinking skills involve some micro-skills, such as analysis, reasoning, evaluation of materials and judgements, challenging assumptions and perspectives, proposing new ideas and solutions. To enhance these skills, teachers can focus on the following: • Deliberate practice of analysis: the usage of words, grammar structure, coherence of a paragraph, supporting evidence in the essay • Evaluation of the stance-taking: find out the writer’s perspective, evidence and biases • Synthesis: compare and contrast several materials, arguments, and points of view These are achievable through task-based or problem-based learning by creating more opportunities for collaboration. When students talk, they share and evaluate information. When the tasks are problem-oriented, students are more motivated to find a solution
collaboratively, using the language as a tool to communicate, negotiate and present. Besides, this offers students a ‘thinking space’ to practise what they would like to say collectively. A second thing that teachers can do is to improve classroom language use. My research suggests that students can develop thinking skills through teacher talk, especially when teachers ask meaningful referential questions, and a chain of questions before they provide feedback (Sprial IRF). So perhaps one of the things teachers can do is to adopt a meaningful Spiral IRF sequence, to not just focus on what, but how and why.
Finally We know critical thinking is vital, and when we think critically about a matter, we don’t consciously think we are going to analyse or evaluate. So once these subskills become part of language learning, students can use the language to communicate and collaborate more critically and effectively.
Critical Thinking practice with any text By Will Rixon from Cambridge University Press You may well have some techniques that work with multiple texts already, but here are some ways of expanding on various texts, depending on its type, in a nice, neat little cheat sheet:
Post-Reading
Pre-Reading
SUBJECTIVE/OPINION
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What’s the writer’s opinion, based on the title alone/ at a glance? What is your evidence for that?
OBJECTIVE/FACTUAL
FICTIONAL
PERSONAL
What do you know about the topic already?
Using the title, share ideas about what the story might be about.
What type of communication is it? How do you know?
Write a story of your own based on the final paragraph/title/middle paragraph.
What might it be about, only looking at the punctuation? Layout? Sender/receiver’s name?
Add another chapter to the beginning, middle or end of the story.
Respond as if the writer is your mother/teacher/best friend.
Write an alternative ending.
Analyse the structure of the letter/email/ message and discuss why they used that structure, or how it might be improved.
Research the topic online in advance (for homework).
What is your opinion on the subject?
Write an opposing/ supporting response to the article. Identify X number of arguments and their examples.
Check the facts online. Design your own quiz based on the information in the text. Expand on the text with more information.
Write a review.
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Wanted:
Team player By Daniel Vincent
“Humans have always worked together to achieve incredible things”
A
t some point during their working lives, most of the teenagers we teach today will find themselves working with others towards a common goal. While collaboration itself is nothing new – from the construction of ancient monuments to the moon landings, humans have always worked together to achieve incredible things – its importance in our globalised society is only set to grow. In business, successful projects increasingly require dynamic teamwork not only between individuals with very specialised skills sets but also between people from different cultural backgrounds. In science, progress depends as much on the work of teams of researchers scattered around the world as it does on the global exchange of knowledge. Likewise, in the creative industries everything from TV series to rock concerts are brought to fruition only through the collaborative efforts of teams of individuals, often numbering in the hundreds and thousands, who each bring different strengths and experience to the table. Where then, as ELT teachers, do we come into this?
PRACTICE MAKES PURPOSE Firstly, successful collaboration calls on a wide range of component skills, including mind-mapping, negotiation, collective decision-making, group planning and giving feedback, which in turn all depend on effective communication. For this reason, the ELT classroom lends itself extremely well to developing our students’ ability to collaborate. After all, we already want them to be talking to one another to improve their language skills. By marrying language practice to collaborative class activities and group project work, we give that practice genuine meaning and purpose. At the same time, when the English being practised is also the language through which students collaborate, listening and speaking become something more than simply two of the four language skills. Students need to listen actively not only to understand the words that are said but also to take on board the other person’s contributions. Speaking involves not simply expressing one’s own ideas but also responding respectfully and constructively to the ideas of others. In this context, turn-taking itself becomes a key collaborative skill. Collaboration requires dialogue in its truest sense, not merely the sense in which we usually understand it as a type of language practice.
IN IT TOGETHER As well as requiring effective communication, collaboration also harnesses the skills, experience and knowledge of everyone involved, not only in order to come up with better results but also to allow for more creative problem-solving. Think of the thousands of people it takes to design, build and test an aeroplane, from the scientists, engineers and technicians to the project managers and pilots. Every individual has a role to play in ensuring the plane is completed on time and is airworthy. In a similar way, we can encourage our students to pool their skills and take responsibility for their own contributions during collaborative projects by ensuring a mix of strengths when establishing groups, by drawing attention to the fact that students can learn from one another as well as from the teacher, and by giving them the opportunity to assign their own roles. This could entail anything from dividing up the research that goes into preparing a poster or presentation to deciding who will take charge of which scenes in a play they are writing.
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“ Collaboration calls on a wide range of component skills” COLLABORATION AS THE WAY FORWARD Collaboration is not just a buzzword. As well as its expanding role in the world of work, it is becoming increasingly necessary on a much broader scale. Many of the most serious challenges facing the world today, from how to tackle the climate crisis to how to handle the impending disruption from AI, are far too complex to be dealt with by any single group of people. If these problems are to be overcome, their solutions will need to involve the combined ideas, shared knowledge and collective efforts of individuals, businesses, universities, governments and other institutions around the globe. And at a time when public discourse is often highly polarised, the ability to listen to one another and share ideas in a spirit of mutual respect and open-mindedness is essential if we are to coexist peacefully and work together to build a better future for everyone. We can help ensure our students do not get left behind in such a world – indeed, that they even thrive within it – not only by building collaboration into our lessons whenever possible but also by approaching it in the same way we would linguistic competence, as something that can be developed step by step over time. This requires us to think of the teacher’s role more holistically, as not just an imparter of subject knowledge but also as a fosterer of key life competencies. This in itself is a challenge, but one it behoves us all to rise to.
Daniel Vincent has taught English for over 15 years in the UK, Japan and Spain, and has experience in materials and course development. He has recently authored a new teens course for Cambridge University Press.
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MINDFULNESS OF BREATHING FOR TEENS
Developing a teenager’s emotional awareness By Olha Madylus
SCHOOLS IN ENGLAND ARE PUTTING MINDFULNESS AND MEDITATION ON THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM
DID YOU KNOW THAT SINCE 1993 CHILDREN AGED 6-16 YEARS OLD IN DENMARK HAVE HAD MANDATORY CLASSES IN EMPATHY? AND STATISTICS TELL US THAT THE DANES ARE A VERY HAPPY PEOPLE. DO YOU THINK SUCH BASIC HUMAN COMPETENCES NEED TO BE TAUGHT? DON’T WE HAVE SUCH EMOTIONAL SKILLS ALREADY?
developing (often not until we are in our early twenties). This part not only helps us keep our attention focussed and to plan future tasks, it also helps us control inappropriate behaviour. So, as this is beyond the control of the students, does this mean there is nothing that can be done to help the situation? To some extent maybe not, but I do believe there are strategies that particularly in the English language classroom can be adopted that may help.
It’s not just the Danes who are addressing emotions in schools. In March 2019 it was announced that 370 schools in England were putting mindfulness and meditation on the school curriculum. Research indicated that children as young as 6 suffer from stress and that many behaviour issues can be ameliorated by meditation. There is much in the media about the success of this innovation.
In 1978, Gertrude Moskowitz, a leading proponent of Humanistic Education said: ‘Dropouts don’t leave school because we don’t give them enough facts, but because they don’t find any meaning in them.’ And teenagers often don’t pay attention to the content of lessons as it doesn’t have any relevance to them. More and more coursebooks today have thought-provoking, interesting texts on topics like happiness, being an organised student, emotional intelligence and the dangers of the internet: subjects that allow students to consider positive behaviours and sensible ways of dealing with problems they may have in their lives.
Emotional skills are abilities such as managing our emotions, which mindfulness addresses, but it’s also identifying and understanding our emotions as well as recognising other people’s emotions and realising how we can affect those. These skills are inborn to some extent, but we all need to be aware of them and consciously develop them. The modern world is putting new pressures on us all and I for one think it’s a great idea to address this at school, and help students of all ages find ways of coping and improving their mental health. When it comes to teenagers it’s not just the modern world that causes emotional strain, the natural development of the human brain ensures that teenagers in particular have always had emotional issues to contend with. The frontal cortex of the brain is the last part to finish
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“ 370
“TAKING ON A ‘PRETEND’ CHARACTER, ALLOWS STUDENTS TO HIDE BEHIND THE FAÇADE OF ANOTHER PERSON” Discussions in class about such issues are not always successful as teenagers, like many adults, don’t want to reveal too much about their innermost feelings in front of the entire class or even a small group, so I usually ask students to do role plays instead. Taking on a ‘pretend’ character, allows students to hide behind the façade of another person and voice different opinions and ideas without feeling exposed.
By Megan Cherry from Cambridge University Press
“
Olha Madylus has been involved in English Language Teaching for over 30 years. She is now a freelance materials writer, consultant and teacher trainer.
What about trying these with your teens: At the start of the lesson, when there is often a sense of discord and inattention as students come into class noisily and are distracted by conversation and mobile phones. Start with a simple breathing exercise. Ask your students to stand up straight, close their eyes and breathe in slowly through the nose, hold the breath for a few seconds, exhale slowly through the mouth. Do this for a few minutes. It has a calming effect as well as helping mental focus. It’s great to discuss this technique with the students: talking about why it’s useful and what other ways they can relax and become lesson-ready. (Be prepared for them to think you are a little odd to ask them to do this initially.) A nice task for practising modals as well as considering the affect of our words and actions, is giving students a questionnaire with questions like: • What would you do if you thought your best friend was depressed?
PRACTICE MAKES PURPOSE
YOU CAN GUIDE YOUR TEENAGE LEARNERS WITH A GENTLE MINDFULNESS OF BREATHING PRACTICE, AS BELOW: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Find a comfortable position, sitting with your feet flat on the floor, or on a cushion with your legs crossed, your back upright and eyes closed. And now begin to bring focus to your breathing. Notice the rise and fall of your stomach as you breath and the feeling of air passing in and out of your nose. Be aware of these sensations of breathing for a few moments. Feeling an in-breath – air travelling in through your nose, into your lungs, expanding your chest and then your stomach. Feeling an out-breath – your stomach and chest deflate as the air leaves your lungs and travels back out of your nose. And now just begin to bring more awareness to the room we are in, the noises and sounds around us. Start to bring some movement back into your body – wiggling your fingers and toes – and then when you are ready, open your eyes.
• What would you do if someone offered you drugs at a party? Whatever we do, it’s important that we consider that our students are contending with emotional issues and we are in a position to help them in small ways to learn to deal with them.
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1
Keeping the screenagers happy By Ben Goldstein
M
aking video is a part of everyday life for today’s teens and increasingly a part of the modern classroom experience, thus increasing learner engagement. These developments have, of course, been enhanced by the digital medium, with video becoming easier to access, produce and share – particularly via our smartphones.
Ben Goldstein is a teacher, teacher trainer, materials writer and international conference speaker. He has co-authored the secondary coursebook series Eyes Open and the adult series English Unlimited and Evolve.
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If students are given the chance to contribute their own video, then they will clearly be more engaged in the learning process. This article outlines some simple ideas that you can use with your students to help them create their own videos. This practical advice will hopefully harness students’ enthusiasm for creating video and provide them with key guidelines both before and after filming. There are three key stages for creating video with your learners:
2
3
Analysing model video clips
Preparing to film
Reporting back after filming
Generally speaking, it is a good idea to choose genres which students can replicate themselves easily. For example, vlogs of all kinds are a good choice because they usually just consist of face-to-camera footage. Within the vlog category, it’s a good idea to think of other genres which teen students like to make such as “how-to” videos, react videos, tours, video game walkthroughs, music videos and so on. Within each genre, it’s also sensible to choose a range of different subject matter. For example, in the case of “how-to” clips – you could show recipes, make-up tips or how-to videos on any other topics that you think students will be interested in.
If students are going to make a video together they need to establish certain things before filming. They need to know: the type of video (e.g. “howto”), the topic (e.g. a recipe), features to include (e.g. music, captions, etc.) and things to mention in the clip (if the recipe is easy or difficult, the time it takes, extra tips, etc.)
In order for the video clip to be generative language-wise in class, a number of feedback style tasks can be designed after the video has been made. The video can be shown in class and the students discuss its content (for example, in the case of the how-to clip, would all students include the same information?). Alternatively, students can be asked to summarise the video or present it in class. In the presentation, they can explain their choices regarding the topic or the style of the video.
When you show model clips it’s a good idea to focus on the structure of the video and not just the language or content. For example, students can tick whether the following elements appear in the model video or not: narration (you can’t see the person speaking), face-to-camera shots, captions (words on the screen), stills (photos), musical soundtrack, titles and credits (names of the people who made the video). Another more sophisticated approach is to get students to think of generic features of certain videos. In other words, which elements do “howto” videos include? For example, instructions are often numbered and given using imperatives, the finished product is shown at the end, etc.
Then they need to work out the kinds of roles each person in their group is going to have in the making of the video. There are up to six possible roles: scriptwriter, director, actor and/ or narrator, camera person, video editor and researcher. Understanding the strengths of each group member here is an important concern in the collaborative process. Then students need to discuss the technical process, which apps or software will be used for filming and editing, where will the video be stored, what extra material is needed and where can it be obtained (e.g. props)?
“STUDENTS NEED TO DISCUSS THE TECHNICAL PROCESS” Finally, before filming, students need to be familiar with storyboarding. They need to establish the topic or what happens in each scene and roughly how long this scene takes, a thumbnail sketch can help a lot in visualizing the scene.
Students could also evaluate their own videos and those of others. To do this, they could answer some of the following questions: What was your role in the filming? Did you enjoy it? Why/Why not? Which part was the most fun? What was the easiest and most difficult thing about making the video – e.g. the English, a technical or logistical aspect? What did you like most about the final product? What, if anything, would you do differently next time? The two initial stages – analyzing model videos and preparing to film – should make the film making process a lot easier for students, especially if this is done in groups. The final reporting back/feedback stage then means that you can make the most of it in class from the language point of view.
“MAKING VIDEO IS A PART OF EVERYDAY LIFE FOR TODAY’S TEENS” 31
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