Ben Goldstein and Ceri Jones on
BRINGING THE WORLD INTO YOUR CLASSROOM page 2–3
SHOULD TEACHERS USE STUDENTS' OWN LANGUAGE IN THE CLASSROOM? By Philip Kerr
page 8
The Press
TEACHER DEVELOPMENT MATTERS Cambridge University Press Teacher development is important to us and at the heart of everything we do. But how do you feel about it? We surveyed teachers, coordinators, teaching assistants and directors of studies around the world to find out. The results told a clear message – no matter your role, everyone felt teacher development is important. But is that reflected within institutions? Over 30% reported that it’s not compulsory and many of those who took part felt unsupported. Teachers are struggling to find resources on everything from language skills to teaching newly-arrived migrants and refugees. Discover more on page 6
“ Every teacher deserves the opportunity to keep on growing.” Laura, Coordinator, Mexico
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CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
THE PRESS
Fran Disken
Editor’s Note As educators, you want to do your best for your students, and we know from our survey that you recognise the role of teacher development in that. It can be a struggle to find the time, but I hope that you can take a few moments out today, or tomorrow (or maybe in a few weeks, when you come across this tucked under a pile of books!) to read some of the great articles in this paper and get some inspiration for your classes. If you find it difficult to prioritise teacher development, take a look at Making time for teacher development on page 11 and find out how EVOLVE, Cambridge’s new English course, integrates teacher development into its Teacher’s Edition. For a new class activity putting theory into practice, read Andy Boon’s excellent summary of Zoltan Dörnyei’s model for motivating students on page 5: Understanding and planning for motivation. Whether you teach online, in a class, or a blend, there’s something for everyone here, even a back to basics teachertraining activity on giving instructions for those teacher-trainers amongst you.
Contents Bringing the world into your classroom — Ben Goldstein and Ceri Jones Page 2-3 Blended Learning myths: busted! — Graham Skerritt Page 4 Understanding and planning for motivation — Andy Boon Page 5
BRINGING THE WORLD INTO YOUR CLASSROOM Ben Goldstein and Ceri Jones
The State of Teacher Development: Survey results Page 6-7 Should teachers use students’ own language in the classroom? — Philip Kerr Page 8-9 Online class management — Lindsay Clandfield and Jill Hadfield Page 8-9 Making time for teacher development — Jess Rundell Page 11
Professional Learning and Development
THE PRESS
Gabrielle Palin hears from Eyes Open, EVOLVE and Uncover authors, Ben and Ceri, on the remarkable effect that global competence can have on language learning. “It’s quite difficult to get students to step outside of their own world and explore others”, says Ceri. Ben agrees, adding that “culture is part and parcel of teaching and learning a language!” So, how can you help your students burst out of their cultural bubble and discover the wider world? Well, Ceri believes it’s all about “exploring ways of building bridges and making connections.” She thinks that, as a teacher, you can help your students “grow their bubbles and motivate them to stop and think about their position in the wider world.” An effective way of doing this is to use images. “They’re a great way of lessening the gap between the student’s world and the wider landscape”, says Ceri, and “it gives them a framework to feel that they can explore a world using English.” So, why are images important in a global context? “Well, in Eyes Open and Uncover, images have a very important role” explains Ben. “In the past, still images had the role of a visual aid, as a way to kind of support the text or the language.” Now, Ben and Ceri want your students to interpret and make connections with the images that are presented in front of them. This is what’s at the heart of visual literacy. “There are lots of ways of defining it”, adds Ben, “but to my mind it’s basically the idea of analysing images. If you’ve got the right kind of visual, and the right kind of question, that’s something that can be done very easily. I think most young people today are very visually literate anyway, because of the way they
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Moving images are a great way to immerse your students in culture communicate through still image and moving image. So, I think they’re prepared to answer those kinds of questions.” As Ben and Ceri pointed out, it’s not all about still images, though. In fact, moving images are also a great way to immerse your students in culture. Ceri concedes, expressing that “video is important everywhere these days. Whether it’s advertising, corporate or private. We share videos with each other and it’s probably the go-to medium for teenagers to share ideas, jokes, whatever, with their friends.” Ben nods in agreement, stating that “video’s integral! When I first started teaching, video was very much an accessory or something supplementary. Now, video is everywhere. It’s in students’ phones, laptops, tablets, and we need to integrate the materials in a seamless way.” So, it would seem that video can’t just be seen as a nicety. According to Ben, “learners expect to receive input through video, in the same way that they expect to do reading and listening. It’s unquestionable that video has a role.” Both Ben and Ceri appreciate that sourcing video is complicated, because there’s so much out there. So, what’s the solution to this? Well, Ben says that “if you have a good rapport with your learners, ask them what they are accessing.” He
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adds; “length of clip is also very important: 2–3 minutes seems to be the benchmark these days. Often, teachers think they should be sourcing very long videos which take you into another world, but you don’t really have to do that. You can go much closer to home and look for videos that have a kind of amateur quality, that learners can easily make their own versions of.” What kind of mini-project could you set up with your students? Ceri suggests that an “interesting thing is to get students out into the world around them with a camera – maybe the camera on their phone – and take photos of examples of English being used in their home town. They’ll suddenly realise that it’s everywhere, because English is everywhere. It’s a great starting point to raise awareness, and to discuss the role of English in their own context.” She stresses this importance because “this idea that English is somewhere else, is removed, is far away, is one of the problems when motivating teenagers. They need to see that English is very much part of their world.” Ben made another excellent suggestion: create your own videos. It can be really fun, and it doesn’t have to be the complex job that you might imagine. “These days, a lot of students have smartphones, and there are so many video apps. The videos that your students make could be made in the classroom and projected onto the screen. I think sometimes we make a big thing of, you know, creating videos as if every video is a project. In fact, videos these days are a little bit more throw away. They can be something that’s created very quickly, and achieve a purpose very quickly – home creative video is the way to go.” It's clear that the interconnection of global and local issues is something to be seriously considered. Why not try using video to bring 'glocalisation' into your classroom?
Professional Learning and Development
Inspire your professional development with over 50 online courses • Written by experts • Designed to meet your specific development needs
• Course lengths to suit you: 2 or 20 hours long
For more about each course and a full list of courses, visit:
cambridge.org/professionaldevelopment
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GRAHAM SKERRITT
Blended Learning myths: busted!
In this section we dispell myths and share ideas and tips on how to get the most out of blended learning. Myth: The teacher’s role is less central in the blended learning model Is technology taking over the classroom? Are teachers becoming less important? Will teachers eventually be replaced by computers? Many teachers worry about how blended learning will affect their role in the classroom. Blended learning does not mean a silent classroom full of students working independently on individual computers while the teacher just watches and deals with technical problems. It means a combination of online work and classroom work. Blended learning means recognising that there are different benefits of studying online and studying in a classroom. In the words of Sharma and Barrett, it’s about taking advantage of the best of both worlds. Although technology is a key part of blended learning, the teacher still has the central role in running the course and teaching the students. As Gordon Lewis, Vice President, Laureate Languages, observes technology is nothing without a teacher and a plan. Just like in a traditional classroom-based course, the teacher
is the one organising the course, facilitating the activities, motivating and monitoring the students and assessing their work. The difference with a blended learning course is that the teacher can use technology as a tool to help them do these things. For example: • The technology provides access to the online materials, while the teacher chooses which activities to do. • The technology marks closed practice activities, while the teacher facilitates open activities and gives feedback on students’ language use. • The technology records students’ progress and scores, while the teacher recognises their effort and encourages them to keep studying. In other words, the technology is good at certain concrete tasks. These include providing a series of activities in sequence; checking student responses against an answer key; and calculating and displaying scores. However, only the teacher can get to know their students and tailor the class to suit their needs. So, teaching with blended learning does not mean a less central role for teachers, but it does mean learning to use the new tools to run the course. For example, teachers need to be able to assign online work, plan classroom work based
on students’ progress online, and encourage students to communicate online. Learning these skills will give teachers more confidence with blended learning and a greater understanding of their role as a blended learning teacher. In conclusion, teachers are key to the success of any course, so they should not fear that they will be sidelined or replaced by technology. As novelist Arthur C. Clarke wrote, “Any teacher that can be replaced by a machine should be.” In a blended learning course, technology is a tool to support the teacher, and it is the teacher that is right at the heart of the success of the course.
Graham Skerritt currently teaches with blended learning at two universities in Japan and he has worked with blended learning materials for several years.
Read more on Blended Learning Myths at cambridge.org/wobl
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CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
5
ANDY BOON
Understanding and planning for motivation 1 What is motivation? Motivation is an abstract concept. We cannot see it. We cannot touch it. Yet, we may know instinctively when it is there or not there. Thus, how can we describe it? Motivation generally has three features: (a) the reason somebody decides to start a particular action, (b) the person’s persistence in keeping this action going, and (c) the effort the person puts into accomplishing what it is they wish to achieve. For example, I may have many good reasons to start learning a language (a), but I may give up easily (b), or may put no effort into my studies (c) and thus, am I really motivated?
2 Why are some learners not motivated to study? To understand more about learner motivational problems at my institution, I asked my university students in Japan why some learners are not motivated to study English. They said that students may have low motivation when: (a) They do not know whether they will need English for their future careers. (b) They have few opportunities to use English outside of the classroom. (c) They find English too difficult to learn. (d) They find the lessons or the teachers boring.
(a) Establish a motivational classroom environment: Be enthusiastic, believe in your students, help students to feel safe, to be able to take risks, to feel that their contributions will be valued, encourage students to support one another. (b) Get learners interested, curious, and wanting to learn: Encourage students to take an active role, to experience success in using English, experiment with new activities to avoid predictable classroom routines. (c) Help learners to keep their interest: Keep students on their toes by regularly changing activities, think of ways to make the material exciting, maximize student involvement, reduce student anxiety. (d) Encourage learners to reflect on their classroom experiences: Give students time to think about their learning experiences, to consider how hard they have worked during class, to focus on effort put in rather than ability, to provide each other with feedback that motivates.
4 Planning for motivation It is useful for teachers to keep Dörnyei’s (2001) model in mind when planning classes. As well as considering lesson objectives and how best to achieve them, teachers may think of how they can generate, maintain, and protect student motivation with each activity they introduce in the classroom. For example, in my speaking classes, I often ask students to do a ‘Revolving Sushi Bar’ activity (Boon, 2010). Students are put in pairs. Students stand at the ends of each table in a row:
(e) They feel that English is only a tool to pass a proficiency test or entrance exam.
S4 S3
(f) They feel too shy to participate actively in the class.
S2
(Boon, 2012) Thus, an important step in understanding learner motivation in one’s particular institution is to ask the students what tends to motivate or demotivate them or their friends when studying English.
3 Dörnyei’s model
S8 Table
S1
S7 S6 S5
Each student on the left asks a question to the student on the right (e.g. ‘What do you usually do on the weekend?’). The students on the right listen and answer the question. Students then switch the communication roles. After that, students rotate one space around the tables:
As can be seen in the list of six factors that can demotivate learners, teachers have a great responsibility to motivate their students in the classroom. Dörnyei (2001) suggests a four-phase teaching model that can help us to do this:
Teachers have a great responsibility to motivate their students in the classroom.
S3 S2 S1 S5
S4 Table
S8 S7 S6
Each student has a new partner and they repeat the speaking activity. Students are rotated again until they return to their original partner. As students grow in confidence with the activity, it is possible for the teacher to encourage them to speak more by asking each other follow-up questions. For example: S1 : What do you usually do on the weekend? S7 : I work. I have a part-time job. S1 : What do you do? S7 : I work at a restaurant. S1 : Oh really? Which restaurant? The motivational purpose of the ‘Revolving Sushi Bar’ speaking activity is as follows: (a) It generates interest by breaking the monotony of sitting down and facing forward: Students need to stand up, move around, and interact with one another. (b) It maintains interest as students get new partners: As students rotate around the tables, they interact with whoever is next in the rotation. Each conversation is unique to each particular pair. Each student thus has the opportunity to contribute to the group’s overall learning experience. (c) It protects motivation by maximizing student involvement: Each student is given an active role and has shared responsibility for the success or failure of their conversation. (d) Students can reflect positively on their learning experiences: After the activity has ended, the teacher can ask students to reflect on how they felt they did and how long they were actively speaking in English. Now, it is over to you. Reflect on the activities you use regularly in your classes. Think about how each activity may motivate (or demotivate) your learners. Make any changes you feel are necessary to the activities. Try them out in your next classes. Alternatively, come up with new activities in line with Dörnyei’s (2001) model, try them out in your classes, and see what happens.
5 References Boon, A. (2010). Utilizing classroom space. Modern English Teacher 19 (3): 22-24. Boon, A. (2012). Here we are, now motivate us. Modern English Teacher 21 (1): 56-61. Dörnyei, Z. (2001). Motivational strategies in the language classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
In our survey we asked thousands of teachers, coordinators, teaching assistants, trainers, trainees and directors of studies to share their views. In the first part of our State of Teacher Development series, we’re looking at how institutions deal with it and where more support is needed. How do your experiences compare?
“ TEACHER DEVELOPMENT IS SO OFTEN MISMANAGED BY INSTITUTIONS, IT BECOMES BURDENSOME RATHER THAN LIBERATING."
STEPHANIE, COORDINATOR, UNITED KINGDOM
34% 97% FELT THEIR INSTITUTIONS OFFERED LITTLE OR NO SUPPORT FOR TEACHERS LOOKING TO FIND TEACHER DEVELOPMENT
FELT TEACHER DEVELOPMENT WAS IMPORTANT BUT IT'S COMPULSORY IN LESS THAN HALF OF INSTITUTIONS
DOES YOUR INSTITUTION GIVE YOU TEACHER DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT? HERE'S WHERE PEOPLE FELT MOST/LEAST SUPPORTED
92%
90%
CYPRUS
USA
50%
EGYPT
50%
ECUADOR
77%
52%
SAUDI ARABIA
COLOMBIA
IS TEACHER DEVELOPMENT COMPULSORY IN YOUR INSTITUTION? HERE'S WHERE TEACHER DEVELOPMENT IS MOST/LEAST COMPULSORY
33% 75%
GREECE
ECUADOR
33% 74%
BANGLADESH
NETHERLANDS
27% 72%
ARGENTINA
RUSSIA
20% 70%
CZECH REPUBLIC
18%
PAKISTAN
67%
UKRAINE
SOUTH KOREA
50% UAE
77%
HONG KONG
78%
PHILIPPINES
WHAT DO YOU WANT SUPPORT WITH?
47%
LESSON AND COURSE PLANNING
70%
38%
TEACHING SPEAKING, LISTENING, READING, WRITING
KNOWLEDGE ABOUT LANGUAGE
49%
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
36%
THEORIES OF LANGUAGE LEARNING
43%
DEVELOPING MY OWN LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY
“ I SHY AWAY FROM IT AS IT INVOLVES INVESTIGATION AND POSSIBLY EXPOSURE OF MY LEVEL OF ABILITIES. IT IS MY PERSONALITY WHICH PREVENTS ME.” AKS, TEACHER, TURKEY
WHY DON'T YOU ENGAGE MORE WITH TEACHER DEVELOPMENT?
47%
USING COURSES AND SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL
56%
TEACHING GRAMMAR, VOCABULARY, PRONUNCIATION OR DISCOURSE
60%
55%
LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGIES
USING DIGITAL RESOURCES
45%
TESTING AND ASSESSMENT
37%
Other support areas: "LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT TRAINING"
I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO FIND IT
"LOOKING AFTER OUR OWN MENTAL AND PHYSICAL NEEDS"
"TEACHING TO NEWLY-ARRIVED MIGRANTS"
"TEACHING STUDENTS WITH DYSLEXIA AND OTHER LEARNING NEEDS"
WHICH TEACHING SEGMENTS ARE MOST LIKELY TO ENGAGE IN TEACHER DEVELOPMENT?
PRIMARY
LOWER SECONDARY
UPPER SECONDARY
PRE-PRIMARY
Most
WOMEN ENGAGE IN TEACHER DEVELOPMENT MORE REGULARLY THAN MEN
ADULT
Least
"INTERCULTURAL CHALLENGES AT WORK"
56%
OF THE ADULT SEGMENT WANT SUPPORT WITH USING DIGITAL RESOURCES
33%
I CAN’T FIND THE RIGHT TYPE
31%
I DON'T HAVE FUNDING
27%
I DON’T HAVE TIME
23%
MY INSTITUTION DOESN'T PROVIDE ANY
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STRAIGHT FROM THE WORLD OF BETTER LEARNING
Should teachers use students’ own language in the classroom? PHILIP KERR
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It’s beyond the ability of anyone to banish totally the learners’ own language from a foreign language learning experience. Learning is, by definition, built upon previous learning and the most significant resource that learners can bring to the language learning task is their existing linguistic knowledge. A substantial portion of which consists of knowledge about their own language. Learning is scaffolded and in the early stages of learning another language, it will be scaffolded, in part, on the languages they already know.
Should teachers limit own-language in the classroom? Whilst teachers can, perhaps, control the language their students speak, they cannot force them to think in the target language. Furthermore, the use of translation techniques is a preferred learning strategy of most learners in most places. Like it or not, translating won’t go away. It makes more sense for a teacher to use translation in a principled, overt way than to pretend that the students are not using it covertly. On top of this, evidence from various cognitive linguistics and neuroscience studies point strongly towards a role for the students’ own language in the language classroom. In fact, Henry Widdowson and others have argued that the neglect of translation has little to do with pedagogical principles or scientific research. New knowledge is constructed on a base of old knowledge. As long ago as 1934, Lev Vygotsky wrote that learning a new language necessarily involves the use of one’s own language ‘as a mediator between the world of objects and the new language’. Neuroscience confirms that the initial acquisition of new words in a foreign
Online class management LINDSAY CLANDFIELD AND JILL HADFIELD More and more teachers are faced with online teaching. Sometimes this space just seems to naturally get off to a good start, with students and teachers happily communicating with each other online. More often, unfortunately, discussion forums are deserted wastelands, dotted with sporadic communication. So, which teacher interventions will help foster interaction?
1 Setting rules for engagement It’s a good idea to establish basic rules of behaviour. These rules are known as ‘netiquette’, and any search online will reveal lots of sample guides. Below are a few guidelines that we think are appropriate for a language learning environment: 1. Respect the opinions and views of other people in the forum. 2. Use names when you quote someone, e.g. ‘Francis said …’ not ‘Someone said …’. 3. Do not insult anyone in the forum or use rude language, even as a joke.
4. If you don’t think you understand something, ask the person to explain it a different way. You can also send a message to the teacher if you aren’t sure. 5. Avoid SHOUTING (typing in capital letters) or flaming (getting angry and writing abuse online) in our discussions. 6. If you have a problem with someone in the forum, let the teacher know in a private message. You can establish these rules in different ways. You could simply post a list of rules for your learners to read and give a task relating to them (e.g. look at examples of bad behaviour in discussions and match each to the rule it is breaking). Alternatively, you could negotiate the rules with the learners themselves in one of your early discussions.
2 Use names This is an obvious piece of advice, but one that is easy to overlook. Naming participants in your interactions helps make them feel included.
Knowing that your name may be mentioned in a group forum is more likely to make you want to come back and check (is anyone talking about me?), and combining a name with judicious praise for a task well done is great for a participant’s motivation and self-esteem. It will also help you remember the participants on the course, who can all too easily become ‘invisible’.
3 Lead by example and give praise At the beginning of a course, most participants will be looking to the teacher for an indication of how, what and when to write. We recommend that you participate more frequently at the beginning of the course, and in a style that you want to be emulated. You can always reduce your participation later once the group is interacting. Give generous praise and encouragement early on. It is important to make them feel comfortable and confident in the course as quickly as possible, and praise can help achieve that. Here are some useful phrases for giving online praise in forums: • Thanks (name) for your contribution here. It was very useful.
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language depends on the association of these items with corresponding own-language items in the learner’s memory.
What about ‘negative transfer’ and ‘false friends’? It is commonly believed that the use of translation activities in the classroom can lead to ‘negative transfer’; the learner falsely assumes an equivalence between corresponding forms in two languages (e.g. false friends). In the case of English and any other language, there are likely to be many more true ‘friends’ than false ones. In the case of all languages, it is probably the case that the best and most efficient way to deal with ‘negative transfer’ is to compare the two languages directly. A direct contrast between English and the learner’s own language may also pay dividends in the study of grammar. Some aspects of the grammar of one’s own language (e.g. word order) can be very hard to shake off when learning another language. Conscious awareness of what these are can help learners make progress in these areas. Translation is likely to be the most unambiguous and efficient way of achieving this awareness.
STRAIGHT FROM THE WORLD OF BETTER LEARNING
Cut out and keep … Photocopiable handy punctuation guide.
Punctuation mark Apostrophe ’
• to show possession
It’s late.
• to begin a sentence
He wrote to me.
• names, pronoun, I, countries, nationalities, cities, days of the week, months, titles
Bob and I, Brazil/Brazilian, London, Friday, May, The Times
• to introduce a list
There are three reasons: first, ...
• before an explanation/extra information/example/ quotation
She was worried: it was getting dark
• for items in a list
I brought apples, pears(,) and bananas.
• to divide groups of words
He got up, had a shower(,) and left
• around non-defining relative clauses and other inserted phrases
My father, who lives in Wales, is 83.
• before question tags
It’s late, isn’t it?
• after if/time clauses and other introductory phrases
If I were you, I’d resign.
• in direct speech
“It’s late”, he said. He said, “It’s late”.
Dash –
• to separate extra information (informal)
The second man – Tom – was also late.
Exclamation mark !
• for emotional emphasis
What a lovely day!
Full stop .
• to show the end of a sentence
I’m very tired.
• abbreviations, decimals, prices, time
e.g. 3.50% £2.99 4.30 am
Question mark ?
• after a direct question
Are you happy?
Semi-colon ;
• to separate two main clauses with a link in meaning
It was dark; it was getting late.
Speech marks “ ‘ ’ ”
• to show exact words
“I’ll help you,” he said.
Capital letter G
Colon :
Comma ,
Lindsay Clandfield and Jill Hadfield are the authors of Interaction Online (Cambridge University Press, 2017)
She is, however, very intelligent.
When it rains, I take an umbrella. Besides, he’s not a very nice person.
‘I’ll help you,’ he said. Punctuation guide adapted from Gower, R. Grammar in Practice 6 (2006) © Cambridge University Press
However, we advise against posting too many replies at the beginning of a course. This can have the unfortunate effect of you having a series of one-to-one public conversations with learners who are not interacting with each other.
Tom’s job
• for contractions
• Well done (name), you’re the first to post. Thanks for getting us started!
In many ways, these three tips are very similar to what good teachers do to manage the face-to-face classroom. It is our belief and experience that following the same practices online can equally lead to a positive and productive learning environment.
Example
the men’s names (irregular plural)
cambridge.org/wobl
• Thank you (name), for your answers. I recommend everyone look at what (name) wrote, it’s very good.
Use
a boys’ school (regular plural)
Philip Kerr is the author of Translation and Own-language Activities (Cambridge University Press, 2014). Read more about using translation from Philip at
• Great! You have found the forum and made your first post!
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Thousands of experiences, insights, ideas and resources for language teachers. Be part of it cambridge.org/wobl
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Cut out and keep … Teacher-training activity 1. Giving instructions
Put trainees in groups to do this task
A These examples (1-8) of teacher instructions are problematic in some way for pre-intermediate learners. Match the examples to the descriptions of problems (a–h).
2. Order instructions
Cut up enough copies of the task for your trainees to
work in pairs. Ask them to order the teacher instructions.
STEP ONE: Teacher holds up worksheet.
1.
If you can imagine for a moment that you are a police officer …
There’s one extra definition that doesn’t have a word.
2.
Jot down some ideas, then have a bit of a chat with your partner.
Teacher hands out the worksheet. Learners start the task.
3.
Could you possibly talk to the person sitting on your right.
Now I want you to match these eight words …
4.
First talk to your partner on your left, then check with your other partner on your right, then get up and share your ideas with other learners and find out who has the most similar ideas and talk to that person about why.
And finally, are you going to do this together? (Learners: No)
5.
Having made your notes, you will then be able to check your ideas together.
6.
All learners – talking to partner – make conversation.
7.
Now match these beautifully illustrated pictures to the randomly chopped up paragraphs from this fascinating text.
8.
Now try to determine which of these discourse features can be found in these utterances.
The teacher language … A. is overly polite. B. is overly descriptive. C. Contains difficult colloquial language. D. contains too much complex jargon.
Teacher points to phrases. And how many definitions are there? (Learners: Nine). Good. Teacher points to the left-hand side of the worksheet. OK then, how many words are there? (Learners: Eight) … to the definitions on the right. I want you to do this alone and check in pairs after. Extract from Teacher Training Essentials by Craig Thaine © Cambridge University Press, 2010
E. is too hypothetical. F. contains too much information all at once. G. is overly simplified and unnatural. H. contains complex grammar structures.
B Rewrite the examples to make them clearer for pre-intermediate learners.
Answer keys 1a. 1b.
1e, 2c, 3a, 4f, 5h, 6g, 7b, 8d (1) You are a policeman. (2) Write down your ideas, then talk to your partner. (3) Talk to the person (sitting) on your right. (4) These instructions need to be spaced out over two different stages of the activity. Initially, only the first instruction needs to be given (talk to your partner on your left, then check your ideas with your partner on your right). Once learners have done this, the teacher can give the next half of the instructions. (5) First make notes, then check your ideas together. (6) Everyone talk to your partner and have a conversation. (7) Match the pictures to the paragraphs in the text. (8) Now look for language examples like this in the sentences.
2.
STEP ONE: Teacher holds up a worksheet. STEP TWO: Now I want you to match these eight words … STEP THREE: Teacher points to the left-hand side of the worksheet. STEP FOUR: … to the definitions on the right. STEP FIVE: Teacher points to the phrases. STEP SIX: There’s one extra definition that doesn’t have a word. STEP SEVEN: I want you to do this alone and check in pairs after. STEP EIGHT: OK then, how many words are there? (Learners: Eight) STEP NINE: And how many definitions are there? (Learners: Nine). Good. STEP TEN: And finally, are you going to do this together? (Learners: No) STEP ELEVEN: Teacher hands out the worksheet. Learners start the task.
G N I K A E P THE S CORNER ELT Scan the QR code to find out about our Speaking Corner podcast series.
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11
MAKING TIME FOR TEACHER DEVELOPMENT Jess Rundell, Editor at Cambridge University Press, describes how EVOLVE, Cambridge's new English course for adults and young adults, helps make time for effective teacher development. It is widely agreed that the main goal of teacher development is to effect positive change in teaching practice and, as a result, to enhance students’ learning. Cambridge University Press has analyzed research on teacher development worldwide in order to determine the key factors that make a teacher development program successful. We have identified seven principles that lie at the heart of effective teacher development programs. The Cambridge Teacher Development approach states that successful development programs should be:
IN-PRACTICE Teacher development programs are more successful when they focus on practice rather than on theory alone.
REFLECTIVE For teachers to make positive changes in teaching practice, it is essential for them to reflect on their current practices and any new strategies they learn.
EVALUATED
also offer extra support to those wishing to gain Cambridge qualifications, such as TKT or ICELT. You can choose to focus on one, two, or all three strategies in each level, depending on your needs and interests. Our program has a strong focus on practice. Each unit offers two practice opportunities to develop an aspect of your teaching skills. Our sustained approach means that you will build on your skills throughout the course. Finally, reflection questions at the end of each unit help you track and evaluate your progress.
In order for teachers to make a real impact, it is essential for them to track and measure progress in their own and their students’ performance.
Example from EVOLVE Level 2 Teacher's Edition LET’S MOVE
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IMPACTFUL To be impactful, a program needs to help teachers set objectives in effecting this change and track their progress against those objectives.
In order for a program to be effective, it needs to be continuous. In the same way that students need time and frequent practice to use new language confidently, teachers need time to apply new strategies confidently in the classroom.
PEER-COLLABORATIVE Peer collaboration is one of the greatest motivating factors for teachers in their development. Teachers are more likely to succeed in their development when they share their ideas and experiences with their peers.
START SPEAKING
Strategy 3: Developing speaking skills – Rehearsing Speaking activities need to be set up carefully. We should make sure students have the language they need for the activity and that our instructions are clear. However, sometimes it doesn’t matter how well we do this; students still seem reluctant to speak. Giving learners some time to plan and then practice the speaking activity quietly to themselves can help them prepare for speaking tasks. Pre-speaking activities of this kind are often known as rehearsing. It can help make learners’ speaking more successful and give students a sense of achievement. This, in turn, helps build their confidence and motivation to speak.
An effective program should address the daily challenges faced by teachers and learners.
SUSTAINED
UNIT OBJECTIVES Read the unit objectives aloud. Tell Ss to listen and read along. Go over any vocabulary that might be unfamiliar to Ss, for example: fitness program (an exercise plan or routine).
TEACHER DEVELOPMENT INTRODUCTION
NEEDS-BASED
Say it to yourself (Activity 1): Ss practice answering questions quietly to themselves before speaking to a partner. You can try this in Lesson 3.1. Think it through (Activity 2): Ss are given time to plan a conversation. You can try this in Lesson 3.3. To find out more, read pages 6 and 7 of Philip Kerr’s How much time should we give to speaking practice? Please go to http://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/ wp-content/uploads/2017/12/CambridgePapersinELT_ TimeForSpeaking_2017_ONLINE1.pdf to access this material.
Because we know teachers are keen to develop professionally but are short of time, we have integrated teacher development into the Teacher's Edition of our new English course for Adults and Young Adults, EVOLVE. Here's how EVOLVE Teacher Development meets INSPIRE principles. It is impactful. It sets out clear objectives for every unit, as well as for the level as a whole. The program takes a needs-based approach by integrating activities within the teacher’s notes, fitting development strategies into everyday teaching. Elements of the program
T-21
INTRODUCE THE THEME OF THE UNIT On the board, write Let’s move. Ask Ss to say what they think of when they see this expression. Write their answers on the board. Ask Do you move a lot? How do you move? Do you play sports? Ride a bike to work or school? Go to a gym?
A In pairs, Ss discuss the questions. Ss share their answers with the class. The picture is a detail from the Beijing Olympic Games Opening Ceremony in 2008.
EXTRA ACTIVITY Before doing Exercise B, ask Ss to write down a guess of which big sports event is the most popular with the whole class. After doing Exercise B, do a quick class survey. Ask each student to say which event they like to watch, and tally their answers on the board. Ask Ss to say if they guessed correctly. B Write this sentence frame on the board for Ss to use: I like to watch ___ because ___. • In small groups, Ss discuss the questions. • Ask several groups to share their answers with the class. C In pairs, Ss discuss the questions. • OPTIONAL ACTIVITY Ss use their phones to access the video and then discuss if sports in their country is the same as in Irene’s country. REAL STUDENT
Hi, I’m Irene, and I’m from Mexico. In my country, the sports are very important. The people go to the gym a lot. On the weekends, the people usually play soccer.
The introduction appears at the beginning of every unit. Here you can read a brief description of the Teacher Development focus and learn about the two Teacher Development activities in the unit.
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CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
THE PRESS
EVOLVE is a general English course that gets students speaking with confidence. This student-centered course covers all skills and focuses on the most effective and efficient ways to progress in English. cambridge.org/evolve
STUDENT EBOOKS FOR ALL LEVELS, NOW AVAILABLE.