IN Magazine September 2013

IATEFL Slovenia Magazine Autumn issue 2013, no. 59

Marie Delaney’s “unteachable” children Stephanie Clarke’s visualization Michael Swan on changes in English Writing process by Petra Cerar Slovene schools as Kimberley Bailey and Kate MacSherry see them Reports by VesnaToGros and Stegić be up-to-date with Dragana what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si

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7 4MPWFOJKJ OBKWFÆKJ PSHBOJ[BUPS QPUPWBOK V Sloveniji najveÄ?ji* organizator potovanj v VB za ĹĄolsko mladino. Ĺ˝e od l. 1995!

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* VÆFODJ EJKBLJ JO VÆJUFMKJ TMPWFOTLJI ™PM uÄ?enci, dijaki in uÄ?itelji 183 slovenskih ĹĄol TP žF QPUPWBMJ [ OBNJ ž 7FMJLP #SJUBOJKP NFE so Ĺže potovali z nami – Veliko Britanijo med ™PMTLJN MFUPN PCJ™ÆFNP TLPSBK WTBL LPOFD ĹĄolskim letom obiĹĄÄ?emo skoraj vsak konec tedna.

UFEOB 0CJTL -0/%0/" KF [B NOPHF Obisk LONDONA je za mnoge nepozabno doĹživetje – z nami je OFQP[BCOP EPžJWFUKF ž [ OBNJ KF potovanje varno, zanesljivo, pouÄ?no in QPUPWBOKF WBSOP [BOFTMKJWP QPVÆOP JO [BCBWOP 1SJESVžJUF TF OBN 4WPKF VÆFODF zabavno!

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TuristiÄ?na agencija TWIN se s kulturno-izobraĹževalnimi potovanji ukvarja Ĺže 18. leto. Ker v Veliko Britanijo potujemo pogosteje kot veÄ?ina ostalih slovenskih organizatorjev potovanj, ponujamo odliÄ?no in preverjeno izvedbo. NaĹĄe cene tudi Ĺže vkljuÄ?ujejo javni prevoz in obvezne vstopnine. Cene so odvisne predvsem od termina odhoda in vaĹĄe fleksibilnosti pri odhodu.

Zakaj s Twin-om v London: 1.

2.

3.

cen dobaviteljev, goriva, manjĹĄega ĹĄtevila prijavljenih ali drugih razlogov v drobnem tisku.

Pogosti in redni, zagotovljeni odhodi v London. Twin organizira ĹĄolska potovanja v London Ĺže 18 let, v povpreÄ?ju imamo na mesec vsaj 3 zagotovljene odhode v London.

OdliÄ?no vodstvo. Pri Twinu se zavedamo, da je odliÄ?no poznavanje obiÄ?ajev in turistiÄ?nih znamenitosti LondonÄ?anov le prvi korak k odliÄ?ni izvedbi. NaĹĄi vodniki imajo dolgoletne izkuĹĄnje pri vodenju ĹĄolske mladine, zato odliÄ?no poznajo vse sestavine programa, saj jih sami pripravljajo. Tudi zato je vodenje/izvedba toliko bolj fleksibilna glede na Ĺželje skupine. Naj ĹĄe omenimo, da boste v Sloveniji teĹžko naĹĄli vodnike, ki v London vodijo tako pogosto kot Twinovi vodniki.

Nastanitev, ki presega obiÄ?ajno turistiÄ?no kategorijo. Pri Twinu se zavedamo, da je dober spanec pomembna sestavina izleta.

Vsi naĹĄi hoteli so hoteli s 3* in pri veÄ?ini udeleĹžencev preseĹžejo njihova priÄ?akovanja. Kot specia­list za London lahko zagotovimo vsaj en bogat angleĹĄki zajtrk (obiÄ?ajnih zajtrki v Londonu so skromni kontinentalni).

4. Nikoli naknadno ne spreminjamo pogojev. Naťa cena je ve­dno

znana Ĺže ob prijavi in se nikoli ne spremeni zaradi spremembe

5. Vedno ponudimo kakĹĄno dodatno storitev – brezplaÄ?no. S pro-

gram zagotavljamo minimalni obseg storitev oz. ogledov, vendar nikoli ne izvedemo samo minimalnega obsega – vedno, pri vsaki skupini dodamo nekaj po­sebnega, kar ni zapisano v programu. Prav tako v naĹĄih programih nikoli ne zapiĹĄemo “Ä?e bo Ä?as dopuĹĄÄ?alâ€?, kajti vse naĹĄe programe vedno v celoti izvedemo.

In ker si London zelo pogosto ogledujemo, poznamo tudi optimalno zaporedje ogledov brez nepotrebnega hitenja.

6.

Vsaj 183 osnovnih in srednjih ĹĄol je Ĺže potovalo z nami. VeÄ? kot 50 ĹĄol potuje vsaj enkrat povpreÄ?no na vsaki 2 leti. ÄŒe Ĺželite neobvezujoÄ?e vzpostaviti stik z organizatorjem na eni od ĹĄol, ki je Ĺže potovala z nami, vam bomo z veseljem posredovali kontakt.

7. Ponujamo 4-dnevni program, kjer je zajamÄ?eno potre­ben le en dan izostanka od pouka.

VeÄ? informacij na www.twintur.com ali na brez­pla­Ä?nem te­le­fonu 080 1025 ali v poslovalnici na Zemljemerski ulici 12 v Ljubjani.

IATEFL Slovenia Magazine Vol. 13, No 59, Autumn issue 2013 Published by: IATEFL Slovenia, p.p. 1677, 1001 Ljubljana Email: info@iatefl.si www.iatefl.si tel: 041 907065 IN editor: Dolores Malić President: Alenka Tratnik Email: alenka.tratnik@iatefl.si Vice president: Anže Perne Language editor: Oliver Sims Printed by: Birografika Bori Graphics: Petra Turk Articles, letters and other contributions should be addressed to IATEFL, p.p. 1677, 1001 Ljubljana Email: info@iatefl.si

Dear readers, The end of August usually brings a few changes for us teachers.

The holidays are over, there are new challenges ahead of us and life just doesn’t seem to be boring at all .

Since our IATEFL has also faced certain changes, in terms of the people behind it (especially board members and competition coordinators), we have decided to introduce ourselves to our members anew in this issue.

We have also decided to change our “newsletter” to a “magazine”.

There are two main reasons for this: first, it is mainly articles that we publish in IN, so not only news. And second, we intend to send our members an electronic version of a newsletter with useful tips, links, etc. We hope you will like it and find something in it for your classrooms as well.

I wish you all a very successful school year!

Dolores Malić

IATEFL Slovenia Board Members: Janja Čolić Dolores Malić Peter Oletič Anže Perne Alenka Tratnik Sandra Vida Front-page photo: Boris Oblak ISSN 1855-6833

Why do some children appear to be ‘unteachable’? by Marie Delaney............................................................... 4 Slovene schools by Kimberley Bailey......................................................................................................... 11 What is happening in English, and what should we do about it? by Michael Swan ............................................. 12 Get on the writing process train! by Petra Cerar ......................................................................................... 15 Ďakujem, Slovakia! (the SO(U)L experience) by Dragana Stegić..................................................................... 16 Viva Vipava! by Kate MacSherry.............................................................................................................. 18 What’s the story? by Vesna Gros .............................................................................................................. 20 Let’s make love in English by Danny Singh ............................................................................................... 22 If you can see it, you can be it. by Stephanie Clarke...................................................................................... 26

To be up-to-date with what is going on, visit our website: www.iatefl.si

Why do some children appear to be ‘unteachable’?

by Marie Delaney ‘A child’s current behaviour often reflects an essentially sane response to an untenable set of life circumstances.”

Bray 1997 There are some children who appear almost ‘unteachable’.

Despite our best efforts, they cannot seem to make use of learning opportunities. Often these children have poor literacy and social skills. As teachers we feel incompetent and deskilled when faced with their inability to behave and learn.

It is important to realize that quite often these children have learned behaviours which keep them safe in their outside environment. They may have learned protective behaviours in response to difficult life circumstances and inconsistent adult relationships.

In this article, I will consider why some children are unable to learn and how they have developed certain ways of behaving which block thinking. I will show how literacy tasks, such as story writing, can help these children to explore some of their anxieties and to re-engage in learning.

What do children and young people need to be able to do in order to learn?

Before looking at blocks to learning, we need to consider what a good classroom learner can do. What are the skills and beliefs they have which help them to learn and progress?

We can say that a good learner has the following characteristics: • Feels safe and is willing to take risks • Has good self-esteem • Can seek help when needed without expecting criticism or ridicule • Is able to concentrate • Is able to manage frustration, anxiety and disappointment • Has the capacity to bear not knowing • Is optimistic and has a positive attitude to a problem • Can wait for attention.

Some children will not have had the chance to learn these skills and to develop these beliefs.

In order to learn a child needs to feel safe enough to accept the powerlessness and frustration of not knowing something. Learning takes place at that point where we struggle to match what we know with what seems to be new and different. For those whose internal and external worlds are dangerous, they may not be able to take this risk. When we consider the young people who are in some of our classes, we can see that they have often not had the opportunity to experience situations in which to learn these skills. In fact, for many, the opposite has taken place. If we feel unsafe, bad about ourselves and have only experienced ridicule and pain when seeking help, we are not going to be able to act in this way in a classroom. If we have had to fight to get any attention with siblings and a parent who cannot give us that attention, it feels unbearable to wait even for a second for the teacher to come over. If we have lived in constant turmoil and fear, we need to be hyper-vigilant. This hyper-vigilance causes us to continually scan our environment on the lookout for potential danger. We cannot focus on a task for fear of not noticing something dangerous in the environment or relationships in the classroom. This may lead us – usually un­co­n­sciously – to want to defend ourselves from hurt and disappointment.

Risk factors Children who may be at risk of losing their capacity to learn can usually be identified by certain factors which may have been present in their early life and present circumstances.

These factors do not necessarily cause a child to have problems in school but they are known to be risk factors.

Examples of these risk factors are: • Parental alcohol and drug-taking • Parental mental health illness • Bereavements • Neglect • Emotional Abuse • Physical Abuse • Sexual Abuse • Domestic Violence • Loss, separations, complex family relationships • Several moves involving changing home and school continually.

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Those children which we consider ‘unteachable’ often have multiple risk factors impacting on them and their ability to perform in school.

What happens when you have lived in a chaotic, fearful situation where ‘good-enough’ care has not been possible?

If babies and young children experience a lack of consistent care and nurturing, they may have abnormally high levels of stress hormones, including cortisol in their bodies. High levels of cortisol are known to significantly impair the growth and development of the baby’s brain and body. High cortisol levels can affect therefore a child’s ability to think, to retrieve information and manage behaviour. Children who experience trauma and loss seem also to have significant parts of their brains not ‘hooked up’. Connections are often not made between neurons in the part of the child’s brain responsible for empathy, logic, cause and effect and reasoning.

Because the brain has had to behave in a certain way as if under constant fear of attack, the ‘flight and fight’, the oldest part of the brain, is over-used. Research shows that the brain develops in a ‘use-dependent’ manner and organizes and reorganizes itself in response to this. (Shore 2002). This means that these children often operate as if they are in a constant state of fear and anxiety. Their brains will respond to any perceived threat by going into a flight, fright or freeze mode.

We can see it is class when they seem to over-react to any perceived criticism, change of plan or challenging new work.

For example, if they are asked to read aloud in class, this may trigger memories of humiliation and rejection. They might react aggressively (fight) or refuse to speak (flight).

The effects of loss, trauma and neglect on children All children will react differently to their life circumstances and there are many factors which help some children to be more resilient than others. There are, however, some common patterns of behaviour which we may notice in the classroom from children who have experienced extreme situations such as trauma, loss, abuse and neglect.

Children affected by domestic violence Children who have witnessed or been subjected to domestic violence will have a maelstrom of emotions and feelings.

They may unconsciously re-create violent interactions with adults in school as on some level this is what their brains have become accustomed to. They may at times be aggressive, seeming to empathise with the aggressor and may despise what they see as weakness in others, causing them

sometimes to bully other weaker or ‘different’ children. This can be very hard for staff in schools to understand as we often have the idea that they would not do to others what they had suffered themselves. Children who have been in these situations may have feelings of anger towards both parents, the victim for allowing it and the aggressor for causing the violence. They will have conflicting emotions which cannot safely be expressed at home. They will not necessarily respond to well-meaning adults in school. Why should they trust praise and gentleness? This is not what their lives have conditioned them to understand.

Children affected by loss Many children in our classrooms have experienced loss and rejection of some kind. For some there might have been multiple examples of this in their lives. This can be loss such as bereavement but also changes brought on by divorce, separation, family upheaval and continual moving of the family home. They may become very controlling, not wanting to admit that they need anyone to help them learn. This can express itself in anger towards those trying to help or seeming indifference. Many of these children find change very hard to cope with it as they associate it with people going away and sudden, unexplained loss. They may expect the worse, be not willing to take risks to learn, refusing to move on to new things. They may have unconscious underlying feelings of anger at a parent or loved one for leaving them as well as sadness at the loss. These conflicting feelings can be particularly confusing if the parent has taken their own life or died through an addiction. The child cannot learn beca­ use their own feelings are so mixed up and potentially dangerous. Some children may become school refusers as their excessive anxiety about a remaining parent/carer leads to a huge separation concern. Others may find it difficult to enjoy success and positivity at school as they are convinced it could be snatched away at any moment.

Children affected by addiction Children who have lived with a parent who is suffering from an addiction, such as drug or alcohol, may not have experienced a consistent response from the adult. They may have experienced times when the adult was very available to them and others when their needs were not being met. These children may not respond to consistency as they do not trust it.

They expect every day to be different and will sometimes unconsciously provoke staff into inconsistencies. They may have highs and lows in their own moods. They will seem hard to teach as we cannot predict their response from one day to the next. For them, inconsistency is the norm.

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Children affected by parental mental illness There will be some children in our classes who do not ‘act out’. They may appear quiet and withdrawn or indeed like the ‘perfect’ student. Children who have dealt with a parental mental illness can exhibit this kind of behaviour. They may consciously or unconsciously believe that they need to make sure they are not a burden, so that their needs will not be too overwhelming for their parent to cope with. They can be controlling, wanting to keep everything in order and unwilling to admit the problems. Underneath their calm, controlled exterior, they may be excessively anxious but will not necessarily appear so. They may appear very calm and then suddenly have eruptions of anger or crying over quite a small incident. In their world they find it hard to distinguish between an ordinary sad feeling and a complete disaster so they damp down those feelings until they ‘leak’ out. This can lead some young people to self-harm. They also have not experienced an adult who can ‘contain’ their feelings and may be therefore unwilling to trust and let the adult teach them.

Other factors which may be unconsciously affecting learning and classroom behaviour Relationships can be dangerous For some children, relationships can be dangerous and many of our strategies for managing behaviour rely on developing good relationships with pupils. If a child has not experienced a caring, consistent relationship with an adult, they will not be able to trust those offered by teachers in school.

Why it can be impossible to focus on a task We can see that for many of these children, there is a need to be hyper-vigilant and check out the relationship with the teacher at all times. Children who have lived in volatile, violent, insecure circumstances where it was vital to gauge the mood of the adults in order to survive may not be able to focus on classroom tasks. Their primary objective is to maintain and check out their relationship with the teacher. They have no space in their mind for the task.

The way targets are set in school Many behaviour targets operate on the conditioned response and reward principle. If I set a seemingly achievable target with a child and monitor when they are doing it – the ‘catch them being good’ principle - they will learn to do more of this. That works with the majority of children who have had some experience of the kind of targets we are setting for them.

For some of these other ‘unteachable’ children, we are setting them targets for which they have no reference experience.

For example, we may give them the target of sitting still and showing they can concentrate on their own work for 10 minutes. How does a child know what it is like to be concentrating, what lets them know that they are doing this thing called ‘focussing’? They may have had very few experiences of this, either from a shared experience with a thinking adult or on their own in a calm environment. Howcan they understand, therefore, what we are asking and how will they know if they are doing it? Knowing about something in theory and experiencing in person are two different things. At some stage in our life, someone needs to put a name to these experiences so that we know what they are. As children we need adults to help us make sense of our experience and name the experiences we are having.

The effect of different curricula We are used to think of adapting the subject-related content of our curriculum for pupils in our class. It is useful also to bear in mind that for some children the underlying concepts of particular subjects can pose a threat to their thinking and create confusion in their minds. Certain subjects may stir up unconscious anxieties and memories. A few examples are listed below.

• History History can be scary for children with disrupted and confusing histories. I have worked with children who cannot keep track of the number of times they have moved or the times and dates of key events in their lives.

They will find it equally hard to bear the thought of thinking back in time. The simple act of drawing up a timeline can seem overwhelming and they can act as if they cannot understand the concept at all. For them, at some level it is safer to stay in the ‘here and now’ than to allow your brain to accept the concept of past time.

• Geography Some of Geography relates to people and places. For children who have no place or do not know where they belong, the study of populations, towns and countries where people have a sense of identity can seem nonsensical. They may consciously reject the subject by saying it is boring and pointless or unconsciously by seeming not to be able to learn. It may stir up unwanted questions about where they come from. It may indeed stir up feelings of loss, of displacement of loved ones.

• Science Some elements of the Science curriculum involve ordering, sorting and classifying items. It can be very hard to understand the concept of logic and order if you have not had any of this in your life’s experience.

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Case Study Jason was a year 8 boy who seemed to enjoy Science experiments and discussing how things worked. He could not however retain any information about categories of elements and food etc. In fact each time it was presented he acted as if it was the first time he had ever heard of it! The teacher and his teaching assistant became very frustrated because no amount of differentiation seemed to help. Jason became frustrated because he liked Science and the teacher and wanted to do well in it.

When I worked with Jason, it became apparent that he could make little sense of his early years, moving continually between his father and mother’s family and each time coming back to a different family configuration. He had been back and forth between certain primary schools and could not recall where he had been at what age. With so little order and logic in his life, it was not surprising he found the concept hard to grasp.

I worked with the Science teacher on worksheets which involved only deciding if the answers were true/false – thus establishing only two categories. Then Jason and his teaching assistant worked at making a timeline of his own life to try to establish some sense of order.

• Maths For some children, Maths can be a strange subject as it involves thinking about whole things, parts of wholes, adding up, taking away and general accepting the idea of splitting being okay. For those who have fragmented, complex, confusing family relationships, there can be an unconscious resistance to the idea of breaking up things, adding and taking away for no reason. For others, the idea of adding and subtracting can be dangerous as there have been so many examples of loss and complexity in their relationships.

This may be worth bearing in mind with a child who seems unable to apply the basic concepts. It can be helpful to simply say something like: ‘I know it can be hard to understand that in Maths you can take away and replace things, whereas in life you cannot.’

On the other hand, Maths for some children can seem safe. Right and wrong is clear. There is a structure and a process which leads to a right or wrong answer. The world seems clear and unambiguous.

• English We often ask children to write about themselves in English. This can be too painful for some children. I have

often dealt with young people who are causing disruption in class and not getting on with their work, only to realize it started with the seemingly simple task of writing an autobiography. For others, it is impossible to write about themselves because they have no sense of self.

On the other hand, English – if it is about other characters - can sometimes provide a vehicle through stories, plays and drama for some of these children to explore their feelings in a safe way. Writing and reading stories can provide safe, contained, boundaries for a child to explore difficult concepts. Word games, such as word association snakes, can also unlock blocks to learning.

The importance of metaphor and stories We have seen that English can be threatening. However, it also has a huge capacity to help these children. Exploring feelings and issues through the metaphor of stories, writing and reading, is much safer than talking directly about these things. Many of these children do not know how to talk about their feelings, they quite literally do not have the words. They might not want to share their experiences directly with adults whom they are not sure they can trust. A story or writing task allows them to describe and work with their internal world in a safe, boundaried way. The following is an example of how work with metaphor and stories helped a child to re-engage with learning.

Mike’s story Mike was in the corridor again, refusing to go into his History class. A member of Senior Leadership Team had been sent for as Mike was becoming increasingly defiant. The teacher looked at me despairingly and said ‘I don’t know what to do. He just refuses to come in or go into another class and he won’t even talk to me.’

This may be a scenario familiar to many of you who work with children experiencing difficulties in school. A child like Mike, who refuses to conform to school rules and is unable to communicate his reasons to staff, can cause a myriad of emotions in the staff who deal with him – ranging from anger to despair and despondency. If a child will not talk to us, what can we do? I worked with Mike in an attempt to unravel the unconscious processes which were driving his behaviour and explain how these insights were able to help him settle into school.

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Background Mike was in the second year of a mainstream secondary school.

He lived with his father and older brother and sister. His mother had left the family home some years before. In his first year he had been a school refuser and there had been heavy involvement of the Education Welfare Service. Mike had begun second year with better attendance, but had recently been truanting lessons, hiding out under the stairs and in the hall.

He came to attention, however, by his very obvious and public refusal to attend History lessons. He was on report for his attendance and, after some initial success, he was now refusing to get this signed and did not appear to be motivated by it.

I offered to work with Mike once a week on a 1-2-1 basis.

I felt that Educational Therapy might help Mike as it is designed to unlock underlying emotional reasons for nonachievement at school.

The Assessment Sessions In my initial assessment sessions with Mike, I concentrated on tasks which did not involve verbalising his feelings or talking about his behaviour. I wanted to see if he could engage with creative tasks and how he responded to my comments about them. I was also looking for opportunities to develop into writing or reading tasks.

I asked him first to draw a self-portrait. He drew a boy with a big head, a small, thin body and a long neck. I commented to him that this boy had a big head and that maybe he had a lot of thoughts going around in it. Mike seemed to agree with this.

I was also interested in the separation of head and body by the long neck. This would suggest that he was keeping thinking (the head) and feeling (the body) very separate. This seemed to reflect his inability to talk about his feelings – he was unable to apply thought processes to those feelings, perhaps because it was too scary to think about them. (Other children often draw a head and a body which have no neck and are not separate. This would suggest there is no separate of thought and feeling – the type of child who acts totally on emotion without reflection). I did not comment at this time to Mike about this separation as I felt it would have been too intrusive and direct. I did comment that this boy seemed to have a mouth and eyes which did not give anything away, he was quite watchful and wary.

I then asked Mike to draw his family doing things they would normally be doing. This type of kinetic family drawing is often a good indicator of relationships within a family and how

the child views their place in that family. Mike drew all the figures very small and separate from each other. Each figure was engaged in a solitary activity such as playing on the computer or watching TV. I commented to him that the people were very separate, quite isolated from each other. He agreed.

(In using this activity it is important to comment on the pictures without interpreting too directly. The child’s response will usually indicate how acceptable the comment is.)

As a final activity for the assessment sessions, I gave Mike an outline of a spaceship and told him that he was going on a long journey into space. Inside the spaceship he had to draw what he would take with him for such a journey. Mike seemed very motivated by this task and drew carefully, with a lot of detail. Most noticeable was the fact that he had control panels for everything. He had tried to anticipate every possible disaster and drawn an instrument to combat it. For example, he had drawn defences against nuclear attack, mind control, lightning attack and fuel explosions. He included ways to escape from the ship in an emergency and extra supplies such as fuel and food. Initially he did not draw any people but, when I commented on this, he chose to draw his mother, sister and brother but not his father. I commented that he had tried to think of everything and that it seemed very important to have controls. He nodded. I said that maybe he liked to think about everything so that he could try to control what happened. I added that sometimes when things happen in our life that make us feel powerless, we need to feel in control of everything. He was listening intently and I felt that his was a key point for him. This story seemed to be a good starting point for some written work.

Development of work From these initial sessions, it was apparent that Mike could engage in creative tasks and accept some gentle reflecting back from me. This reflecting back is a key element to the work. It is important to comment on the child’s work and possible feelings it arouses without making direct assumptions. Above all, it is important to be aware of the feelings the child is arousing in you. A child who does not verbalise their feelings will often project those feelings unconsciously onto the adult working with them. In Mike’s case, my overwhelming feelings were of isolation and a desperate need to feel powerful, to be in control. This was important for me to remember in my work with Mike.

I decided to work with Mike on shared story-writing as stories can act as a container for all sorts of strong feelings and thoughts. They give a child the chance to explore situations and feelings within a safe structure – the story may well reflect their own very real fears and concerns but it is less scary to

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think about these in the metaphor than to discuss them directly. Moreover, Mike seemed to be exhibiting typical behaviour of a child with an avoidant attachment pattern. This is a child who in his early years was, for whatever reasons, unable to form a secure attachment to his mother and perhaps missed out on having his feelings explained and understood. This type of child may then develop an avoidant behaviour pattern – in order not to be rejected by another adult, he will act as if he does not need to form a relationship. For this type of child the task is safer than the relationship. In other words, Mike was able to engage in a writing task rather than risk developing a relationship with me – an adult who might reject him.

In shared story-writing the adult writes the beginning of a story – often in terms of going on a journey – and the child then writes as much as he wants to continue the story. They then take turns to develop the story. The adult needs to try to pick up on any themes or feelings in the story and thus, try to bring out any underlying unconscious fears, worries or concerns. An extract from Mike’s story should help illustrate this: Marie: One day a boy woke up and decided he wanted an adventure. He wondered what to do. He felt a bit frightened at the idea but also excited.

Mike: He got up and had his breakfast and went over to his garage door. His Mum and Dad said that they were going to take him on an adventure but he didn’t know where to go so he went to his globe and span it round, closed his eyes and put his finger on it. When he looked it was the Australian Desert but he was shaking.

Marie: He thought the Australian Desert would be new and exciting but also a bit scary. It was very big and far away. He wondered if he would be lonely because he wasn’t sure his Mum and Dad would want to go with him.

Mike: He asked his Mum and Dad if they wanted to go to the desert and they said OK and then he went to his book and read a book about the desert. When he finished reading it he went and told his Mum and Dad what stuff they would need to survive better out in the desert…

Marie: He wanted to feel prepared so that he would not be taken by surprise. He wanted to control things so that nothing bad could happen to him. …When they got to the airport they found their plane was delayed.

Mike: Then all they heard was gunfire from their plane and they started to run back to the car…’

This extract showed the beginning of recurrent themes. The story was full of unpredictable catastrophic events which prevented the journey from progressing as it should. The boy kept trying to think of every eventuality and to help his parents. The adults were generally helpless and lacking in resourcefulness. The boy at times was very lonely and sca­red.

We continued this story for several weeks – it had several chapters. Through the medium of the story Mike was able to document the struggle of a boy who felt the world was a fearful place. The boy was able to deal with unexpected events and did eventually make the journey. My role was to reflect the underlying feelings and fears. After some time, it did seem appropriate to comment that I felt that Mike was perhaps like this boy sometimes – that his battle with certain teachers was his way of trying to control things when he felt powerless in other ways. He was able to accept and think about this interpretation – but only because he had explored it already in a safer way.

I was also able to offer a link for Mike between his refusal to attend History and his own rather troubled history. I commented that History lessons involve us in looking back at the past and sometimes this is difficult if we do not want to think about the past.

Outcomes After we had worked together for half a term, Mike agreed to my suggestion that he might go back into History lessons.

The teacher had kept in touch with me and had remained open and friendly towards Mike. The decision to go back into the lessons was, however, his own and taken very suddenly. He did not want any support and he did not want his attendance to be monitored by report. He returned to History lessons and attended for the rest of the year. This was, I felt, an example of real behaviour change rather than simply behaviour management.

Why did this intervention work?

Mike could not cope with direct discussion of his feelings.

He did not want to risk developing a trusting relationship with an adult at school. He had no experience of being listened to or nurtured and found this scary and intrusive.

Having a once a week, structured session with clear tasks kept safe boundaries for Mike. The tasks of writing a story and engaging in drawings allowed him to explore his feelings, making unbearable thoughts conscious and allowed me to offer gentle reflections on what might be happening. He could take refuge in the task and was not forced into a rela-

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tionship. Through the tasks he was able to communicate more of his internal world and was able to begin to develop a relationship – at the same time keeping the independence which he felt was vital for his survival.

Implications for English teaching A teacher does not need to be a therapist. However, it can be seen that stories are an important vehicle for exploring a child’s internal world, fears and anxieties. English lessons can give an opportunity for a child to write stories which are meaningful and powerful. The teacher can use the skill of reflecting and commenting on themes to give the child a sense of being understood. The work can still be developed as a writing piece, with suggestions of improvement, but first needs to be acknowledged as an important communication from the child.

Sources for further reading

• Teaching the Unteachable.

Marie Delaney. Worth Publishing. 2008.

• What can I do with the kid who……?

Marie Delaney. Worth Publishing. 2010 • Teenagers and Attachment: Helping Adolescents Engage with Life and Learning Worth Publishing 2009. Ed Andrea Perry • Why can’t I help this child to learn?

Ed. Helen High. Karnac Books. 2012 • The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. Bruno Bettelheim.

2010. Vintage publishing.

• Attachment and Loss. Vols 1,2,3. John Bowlby.

1982/83 Basic Books.

• Attachment in the Classroom; The Links Between Children’s Early Experience, Emotional Well-Being and Performance in School Heather Geddes. 2005. Worth Publishing • Reaching and Teaching through Educational Psychotherapy; A Case Study Approach Jenny Dover and Gill Salmon. 2007. Wiley Publishers.

Summary Children who have experienced loss and trauma may not have developed the skills of a good learner. In particular they may not

• be willing to take risks • have good self-esteem • be able to ask for help without fear of humiliation or ridicule • be able to manage the frustration of not knowing something • be able to wait for attention and trust the adult will remember them • They may have learned to be hyper-vigilant, to be on constant lookout for potential dangers or changes in the attitudes of the adults around them, making it impossible to focus on the task of learning • Their early childhood experiences may have affected significant parts of their brains, in particular the connections responsible for empathy, logic and cause/ effect.

• High levels of stress hormones, notably cortisol, impair the growth and development of the brain.

• Their brain patterns and responses will not automatically change with new, positive experiences.

The paths will have been laid down.

• There are certain patterns of behaviour which we may notice from children who have suffered loss, domestic violence, parental addiction or mental illness. These unconscious learned responses will be played out in school in relationship to teachers.

• The actual curriculum can seem scary and challenge these children on an unconscious level as it can stir up memories of their traumatic early experiences. Their seemingly inexplicable reactions may be linked to these unconscious processes. ©Marie Delaney, Crosshaven, Ireland. 2013

Websites

• www.thelearningharbour.ie • www.caspari.org.uk

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Slovene schools

by Kimberley Bailey

Slovene schools remained a mystery until I entered the corridors in Koseze.

I walked into the classroom with no expectations or assumptions but a pack of teaching essentials; lesson plans, workbooks and flashcards.

I immediately noticed a good grasp of the language from the students, demonstrated in their ability to comprehend instructions, their ability to express themselves in English and their vocabulary. I was surprised at their level of knowledge considering their age, and moreover was very impressed with their competency - a direct product of the country’s emphasis on the importance of the English language, and the success of its tutoring and promotion.

Mobile phones appear to be a gadget that needs to be prised from a lot of the boys’ hands and a constant threat of distraction. To be expected for their age; 12 to 14, but any teacher will tell you that any distraction is a nemesis.

The students in both of the levels I taught were spirited and at times very boisterous; requiring reigning in as opposed to drawing out. Often a blessing, sometimes a curse.

The school as a building was less modern than I’d experienced in England; chalkboards were a new practice for me, as was not having computers available. But it wasn’t evident that this was detrimental to their learning or classroom experience.

Having been educated entirely in England I am only well versed in their school system and Slovenia’s differs greatly. The days are far shorter - English schools won’t finish until sometime after 3pm. The earlier finishing hours were a godsend for me, as a teacher, so I could prepare for the next day, have an opportunity to socialise in the afternoon or enjoy wandering the streets of Ljubljana’s city centre. However, I wondered

whether the students were being too intensely flooded with a lot of information in a short space of time with not a lot of breaks in between to re-energise, absorb and release.

After talking to a fellow teacher and native Slovenian I was left confused about what was compulsory education and what wasn’t as it seemed there are few similarities to the British structure.

The greatest difference I learnt of was within University education. Most courses in England are three or four years, whereas Slovenian graduates could study for a number of years with the option of pausing and resuming their course.

I’m unsure as to whether this is conducive to obtaining your degree, but having a free University education is an excellently non-elitist opportunity and defines tertiary schooling as an entitlement as opposed to a privilege.

Another contrast I discovered was the difference in where the pressure is placed. In my experience of England it’s the parents that come under harsher scrutiny of their child’s achievements and behaviour and they’re the ones who await a teacher’s verdict and report. In Slovenia the weight is shifted to the teachers; parents are more demanding of them and place a heavier responsibility on their role.

This is reflected in the amount of meetings conducted between teacher and parent per academic term and the earnest, during these meetings, on how the teachers are delivering.

I was saddened to hear that teachers were one of the first groups to be made redundant as a result of the recession. I thought, in Slovenia as a whole, that the job of a teacher would be more highly regarded and protected. I wonder how much this will affect the teacher to student ratio in the classroom and, in turn, over time how this will affect the pupil’s level of education.

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What is happening in English, and what should we do about it?

The article was published in Newsletters of Polish and Hungarian IATEFL.

by Michael Swan

Michael Swan is a well-kno­wn author of English language teaching and reference materials. His works in­clude various fields of En­glish language, such as descriptive and theoretical grammar, mother-tongue in­fluence in second language acquisition, and the relationship between applied linguistic theory and language-teaching practice.

His most famous publications are: Practical English Usage, OUP 1980, 1995, 2005.

Basic English Usage, OUP 1984.

How English Works (intermediate grammar practice, with Catherine Walter), OUP 1997 (ESU prize).

The Oxford English Grammar Course (Basic, Intermediate* and Advanced Levels, with Catherine Walter), OUP 2011. (British Council / Society of Authors award for ELT books 2012.) *The Intermediate level is a revised and greatly improved version of How English Works.

Thinking about Language Teaching: Selected Articles 1982–2011, OUP 2012.

What is happening?

All languages change. The English of 500 years ago is hard for us to read, and if we could hear it spoken we would probably understand very little. 500 years earlier than that, English was a foreign language: Anglo-Saxon. Even over a much smaller time-scale – ten or twenty years – enough changes take place to make older people complain that the language is going to the dogs, and to force teachers and grammarians to update their descriptions.

Phonetic erosion is a powerful factor in language change. Speech production is a complex physical and mental operation, and speakers naturally seek to economise effort. So less important syllables easily lose stress and are reduced, to the point where they may merge or disappear altogether in speech: You wanna come with us? D’you see Mary yesterday?

I better go home now. We got a new dog. Waddaya want?

Such changes, initially regarded as examples of careless speech, can become so widespread that ultimately the whole grammatical system of a language is affected. This is part of the reason why present-day English is so different from Anglo-Saxon, which had nearly as many word-endings as modern Slovenian.

Simplification operates at a structural, as well as a phonetic level. Languages make many small distin­ctions which contribute little to communication, and speakers can easily feel unconsciously that it is too much trouble to maintain them. First-person shall is on the way out, as is whom.

We will let you know in the near future.

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Who did you vote for?

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Three-form irregular verbs are quite often simplified in speech, though these uses are not considered correct (yet!). *She sung really well in the concert.

*The ship sunk without trace.

Reorganisation is common with complex language systems. Modal verbs, for example, express numerous subtle shades of meaning which can easily become blurred, so that the verbs gradually shift their uses. A recent change involves may have + past participle. People are now starting to use this structure, instead of might have …, to refer to an unrealised possibility: You were stupid to go skiing there – you may have broken your leg.

Progressive forms, which have been spreading through English for several hundred years, are perhaps becoming more frequent with the verbs that have tra­ditionally avoided them.

He’s understanding maths much better now.

I’m liking her more these days.

Innovation is another mechanism of change. Old forms of expression get tired and worn out, and people – especially younger speakers – like to brighten things up. The formula I was like meaning ‘I said’ was novel and catchy enough to spread through the language very quickly twenty or so years ago.

I was like ‘You can’t do that’.

She was like ‘Well, I’m gonna’.

In another interesting change, we seem to be rein­troducing the second person singular-plural di­stinction which standard English lost two or three hundred years ago (though distinct plural pronouns survive in dialects: for example Irish/Scottish yez, Southern US y’all).

‘Is that all right with you, Mark?’

‘OK with me. What about you guys?’

Influence from other languages or dialects can ha­ve important effects. Currently, British English is chang­ing in various small ways under the influence of its powerful American cousin.

railway station > train station Have you got …? (for current possession) > Do you have …?

She looked as if she had seen a ghost. > She looked like …

The influence is not entirely one way. An article in the Los Angeles Times a few years ago deplored such fashionable instances of ‘Britspeak’ as send up for ‘parody’, spot on for ‘dead on’, sacked for ‘fired’, go missing for ‘disappear’ or at the end of the day for ‘in the end’.

Mistakes spread through the language. Currently, British people are becoming increasingly confused about apostrophes. *Seasons Greeting’s

*Women’s’ Services

Fresh tomato’s.

Pairs of less common words are often mixed up. Refute is now often used to mean ‘deny’; prevaricate to mean ‘procrastinate’; flout to mean ‘flaunt’; testa­ment to mean ‘testimony’. In the end, some mistakes are so widespread that they become normal and cor­rect. (Much of today’s grammar is yesterday’s mistakes.)

He made a concerted effort.

referendums

This is very reliable data.

Some ‘mistakes’ aren’t: it’s just that the simple rules we give are not true all of the time.

(The language hasn’t read our students’ grammars.)

Lloyds Bank has opened a Home Loan Account for you on 19th May. I’m loving it.

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Spoken language is no longer regarded as inferior to formal written language, as today’s oral media become increasingly important. Some ‘mistakes’ are in fact perfectly correct in the right place: spoken grammar is not written grammar.

John and me saw a great film yesterday.

If you’d’ve asked me I’d’ve told you.

Many of the old prescriptive rules, promulgated by 18th and 19th-century grammarians in an attempt to ‘tidy up’ the language, are losing their grip, as people realise that the condemned forms have always had a place in the standard language.

If anybody phones, tell them I’m out.

A preposition is a perfectly good word to end a sentence with.

I’ve got less problems than I used to have.

What should teachers do about it?

Stay calm. These changes are ripples on a vast ocean of language, and most of English vocabulary and grammar will stay the same for some time to come. But it’s important to keep an eye on what is happening, so as to be able to answer students’ questions about new usage, and to be able to modify traditional explanations as this becomes necessary. Where should teachers go for information?

• To recent editions of grammars, dictionaries and usage guides. These do need to be up to date: I wouldn't want to find my way around London with a 1980 A–Z Guide, and thirty-year-old language reference books are equally unsatisfactory.

• To their students. Many students spend a lot of time on the internet interacting with young English speakers.

They may well come across new words and usages long before their teachers.

And of course, teachers must make sure that the teaching materials they are using – course books, grammar practice books etc – reflect the current state of the language.

Be realistic. We can only teach a small part of a language anyway. Prioritisation is essential: concentrate on what matters most. The things that are changing are mostly not very important.

Remember that native-speaker competence is not a realistic aim. Native-speaker usage is a valuable model, but not a target. Perfectionism and constant correction can in fact discourage students to the point of being disastrous.

Good enough is good enough. Correctness is important, but we must always ask: • How much do we need?

• How much can we achieve?

• How much can we afford?

Be honest with the learners. Help them to understand that neither teachers nor students can expect perfection, and that the ‘rules’ teachers give are useful approximations, not the whole truth. © Michael Swan 2013

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Get on the writing process train!

by Petra Cerar

Close your eyes and think back to your school years. Put on your thinking cap and savour what amazed you or freely pull a wry face if there was something you just could not stand.

Mathematical equations? Physics “brain teasers”? Chemistry experiments? Problems of the day?

Believe it or not, in my case it was in-class essay writing.

Maybe I was suffering from writer’s block on a specific day, maybe it was due to the uninspiring environment, or maybe my teenage brain just needed to find some unnecessary distractions... In short, there was always a reason not to deliver effectively. It took me several years and quite a lot of teaching experience to realise that it was (and still is) virtually impossible to brainstorm, organise ideas and present them in neat, grammatically correct sentences and paragraphs in only 45 minutes, even if the language we are using is a person’s mother tongue.

Do you want your students to also achieve the best they can?

Let them impress you with their ideas, let them inspire you and show you how rewarding your teaching profession can get, while you introduce them to the writing process. All you need to do is guide them through the five steps they will gradually acquire and start using organically: prewriting, drafting, revising, proofreading and publishing.

In the prewriting stage, the key word is “think”. First, you the teacher decide on a topic to write about. Interestingly enough, you do not need to give a precise title: effective guiding questions and careful instructions will suffice, since creating a catchy title for their work can be another challenging extension or follow-up task for your students. In this step, students should consider who will read or listen to their written work: brainstorm ideas about the subject (individually, in pairs or in larger groups) and do research. It is this gathering of ideas and necessary vocabulary that builds students’ confidence and triggers their inquiry, which leads to generating novel and original solutions.

The second step is all about drafting and the key word is “write”. Your students should put the information they’ve researched into their own words and write sentences and paragraphs even if these are not perfect. Here it is the thought process and the mind flow that counts. Afterwards, they can get some feedback from the teacher or from their peers or reflect on their drafts on their own –the main point being that somebody reads what they have written and judges it in terms of how much sense it makes. Students should not hesitate to ask for suggestions, tips and advice. Moreover, they should not worry about grammar and spelling until step four.

Step three involves revising and “making the writing better”.

Students read what they have written again and take what others have said about it into consideration. Usually, they will rearrange words or sentences, take out or add parts, and replace overused or unclear words. What is more, reading their writing out loud will give your students a pretty clear idea whether or not it flows smoothly. This is a very simple and obvious, yet very useful and effective tool.

While your students are getting closer and closer to their final products, you should give them your full language support.

Create a proofreading checklist with the help of which your students can correct their spelling, capitalisation and punctuation. At the same time, they should make sure that all sentences are complete and change words that are not used correctly. At the end, they recopy their work correctly and neatly.

The writing process finishes with publishing (and possibly assessment). Students “share” the finished products – they either read their writing aloud to a group, create a portfolio of their work, send a copy somewhere or put their writing on display. If time allows, they can even illustrate, perform orcreate music connected with their written products. They might also reflect on the process and do some self- or peer assessment, which helps them become more critical and aware of their strengths and weaknesses.

It might seem that the described writing process is rather long and time-consuming. Well, it does not have to be. It can be done at home as well as in-class, or half/half, and it also depends on the word limit and your expectations. At first you might find yourself taking a hop-on and hop-off tour in the (wonder)land of process writing, rather than taking an all-inclusive ride in the five-compartment train – but once you and your students get the hang of it, it all becomes very easy and a helpful approach to the skill.

SOURCES: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/1/1/ http://txcdk1.unt.edu/TCRR/bitstream/handle/2188/1399/ writing_process.html?sequence=1 http://www.time4writing.com/writing-resources/writing-process/ http://lewis.cpsb.org/faculty_pages/stacey.blanchard/THE%20FIVE %20STEPS%20OF%20THE%20WRITING%20PROCESS.htm http://www.angelfire.com/wi/writingprocess/ http://blog.writeathome.com/index.php/2011/06/5-steps-togetting-it-done-the-writing-process/ http://www.readwritethink.org/professional-development/strategyguides/implementing-writing-process-30386.html http://www.thewritesource.com/

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Ďakujem, Slovakia! (the SO(U)L experience)

by Dragana Stegić

The poster read: “Refresh your Mind, Body and Soul in Slovakia.” I looked at it a few times, looked at the programme and said to my family: “I’m going!”

The mailing list I saw showed that the participants who had applied were from Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. I must admit I was a bit sceptical about how it would all function with an English-speaking course in a non-English-speaking environment, but I decided to wait and see and then come to a conclusion.

Planning the journey was easy, because I had Lea, the travelling mastermind, to arrange all the details. God knows how I’d manage on my own! Anyway, she got us train tickets, booked us a hostel and we were ready to go. I must say I never imagined that trains could be so comfy. Apart from my noisy, sweaty and crowded Stockholm train adventure, I had nothing else to compare them to until now. The landscape of Slovenia, Austria and Slovakia was wonderful, the noise in the train down to a minimum (well, except for some loud Scots, who spoke in such a bizarre accent we’d almost mistaken them for Dutch). The company was great, there were snacks and drinks (soft drinks, mind you) aplenty, and eight hours later we were in Bratislava.

As usual, I’d managed to pack everything but the kitchen sink, and I pretty much died dragging my bag everywhere.

We were staying for ten days, but I’d packed for a hundred

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and ten! Yes, my bag had wheels, but – guess what? – wheels only work in commercials where a supermodel pushes her bag around the airport using just her index finger. In real life there’s road-works, Roman tiles, endless stairs and no elevators. I kept looking at Lea and Gregor, who had backpacks, and thought about throwing away half of my clothes. Who needs clothes anyway – it’s summer!

After settling in at the hostel in the city centre, we went sightseeing. And there it was – Bratislava, embraced by the Danube, sunbathing in all its glory. And upon seeing the ridiculously low prices of beer, we unanimously decided – this could be heaven (for everyone).

And the city really is beautiful, with plenty of things to see.

My friends had brought a Lonely Planet extract about Bratislava and that helped us to stay on track and not miss a thing.

There are plenty of churches, parks and monuments and an enormous castle on the hill overlooking the old city. All of the buildings had recently been renovated or re-painted, giving Bratislava a fresh, almost airbrushed look. A lot of people spoke English and that made our stay even more enjoyable (not that you could have problems communicating, because Slovakian and Slovene are amazingly similar). We only got to spend one night there, but it was worth it, every minute of it.

The next day my friends, me and my bag, which had somehow got heavier overnight, went to meet the SOL coordinator at the train station. Lovely Eduina was there to meet us

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and upon forming the group and greeting the others who arrived shortly, we headed towards Čadca. If you look it up online, you will see that the town of Čadca lies on the northern part of Slovakia’s border, with Czech Republic and Poland just around the corner. The student residence we were staying in was at the top of the hill, just a short ride from the main station, in a quiet area surrounded by pine forest overlooking the town and offering an inspiring panorama of the region in the morning.

Our workshops were held at the bilingual “Jozef Miloslav Hurban” gymnasium just a couple of metres away from the dorm, and our meals were served in the school canteen. It was fun to get a glimpse of students’ school life, their projects and their classroom. Judging by all the pictures and posters, they have a lot going on.

The workshops were led by four wonderful people that I grew so fond of that I hope they won’t mind if I just use their first names (yes, I know their last names too, of course!): Kathy, Simon, Frank and Vicky. Also, there was the spirit of Mark Andrews present in everything we did – he wasn’t able to make it but made sure he was on track with everything that was going on. How he managed to juggle everything, I still don’t know, but his advice and guidance were invaluable.

The workshops were a lot of fun, from technology in the classroom presented by Lea, through course book improvement, teaching through arts and critical thinking, to mindfulness and of course fieldwork.

Our programme was very interesting and versatile, focusing on current problems/challenges in the classroom. We discussed the use of L1 vs. L2 in the classroom and how to encourage students to use English more. We came to a few conclusions: keep encouraging students, offer some sort of reward, pre-teach important vocabulary, take time for preparation, etc. When we discussed the use of the course book, we faced a challenge – we had to try Marmite (for me, this was the second time – and yes, I still don’t like it!). Kathy King used this “lovely” treat to compare it to a course book.

Basically, people either love or hate Marmite, and the same goes for the course book – you either love it or completely forget about it. We were divided into groups and chose a topic from the book that we thought we would use differently. An interesting approach, really. Imagine asking your students what they think of their course book? Some answers would probably be shocking, others silly, but I’m sure they would all have something to say about it.

As I already mentioned, we also talked about the use of critical thinking in class, and this workshop was one of my favourites. Of course, there’s safety in relying on course book topics, but have you ever tried addressing a burning issue in the classroom (drugs, alcohol, hooligans, ethnicity or poverty, say)? I was surprised to see how some teachers hesitated to try this out even among colleagues. Well if you don’t open the students’ eyes to the scary, but very real, world outside the classroom, who will? We agreed to address the issue of the inclusion of children with special needs and presented our personal opinions on the matter, whether we were for or against it. The answers varied from being all for it to wondering what such children were doing in “normal” classes.

I must also mention that one big idea behind the SOL summer course was to focus on a healthy lifestyle, something that we teachers often rather neglect. This was one of the reasons why all our meals were vegetarian. It was a challenge for some of us devoted carnivores, but trust me, we all gave in and I have to admit that it influenced some of my eating habits when I got home (I said some, not all!).

Apart from the food, special attention was paid to physical condition as well. There was an hour of yoga every morning and the swimming pool in the town was available to those who craved to dive in. And being so close to the forest, some could not resist the temptation to pluck berries and pick mushrooms.

As for the practical part of the course, Simon took us on a fieldwork trip to Český Těšín/Cieszyn, a town which lies in

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two countries, not that you can really tell the difference.

Having struggled with borders, visas, rules and regulations all my life, it was so refreshing to take a walk through a town that has nothing but small notice boards to remind you that you are now in Poland, the next moment back in Czech Republic. Here it was a bit trickier to find people who spoke English, but we still managed to get some information. We learned that the town functions without a problem and that while the languages are different, somehow they manage to communicate using a blended mixture of both. Both “sides” cross the bridges in both directions, whether for work, nightlife or just visiting friends. It was nice to witness this, because it makes you realise that that the only borders that we really have are the ones inside our head. I know taking your students on an excursion costs both time and money, but why not take them out for ice cream in your home town for starters? Divide them into groups, give them tasks and watch the magic happen.

The next fieldwork destination took us to Strečno Castle, a beautiful medieval construction on the left bank of the River Váh, and then to the town of Žilina. Here, some of us mischievous carnivores gave in to pressure and had meat for lunch. But believe it or not, it wasn’t as satisfying as I thought it would be, so I was happy to go back to my veggie meal the next day.

What more can I tell you about Slovakia and the SOL experience? The weather was just perfect, the location ideal (only two hours away from Bratislava), the teacher trainers fantastic – Simon, who made us all sing our hearts out; Kathy, who made us feel as if we’d all known her for ages; Frank, who taught us that it’s okay to be an adult with a childlike heart; and Vicky, who reminded us that in the crazy, warped world we live in, sometimes we need to just stop, sit, relax and hear the grass grow.

The workshops were all well prepared, with topics that all of us could relate to, and there was a plenty of material for us to collect and use once we are back in our classrooms. The organisers paid special attention to each one of us individually to make sure that we were comfortable and satisfied, and I really appreciate that.

And here is the conclusion I came to in the end: this journey was beyond my expectations. The Slovakian ladies we met welcomed us with open hearts and such sincerity that I have not felt in a long time. I did not just meet people – I met friends. And I know I will gladly go back to meet up with them as soon as possible.

The SOL team stayed true to what they promote – it was, indeed, a summer school with a difference.

Viva Vipava!

by Kate MacSherry

Some people will do anything to get on television; for others, TV is thrust upon them. Vipava: a small Slovenian town, two hours through the mountains by bus from Ljubljana.

At 5.30 on Saturday evening, ten and a half hours after leaving the Admiral in Vienna, the bus stopped in a town square.

I vaguely wondered how a place could be so completely deserted at that time on a Saturday: not a solitary soul in sight, not a car moving. Then I noticed a sign to Vipava vineyard: the driver had forgotten to tell me that this was indeed where I was meant to get off. He stopped just outside the town, and I walked back towards the empty square. Outside the shopper-less Mercator a woman was cleaning the window, and she directed me to the apartment.

David Koren, the owner, spoke perfect English and showed me to my room, which was pleasant, comfortable-looking and barely warmer than the inside of a cold store. The three storey building had been unoccupied since last summer, and he had just switched the radiator off, thinking I must have missed the bus and would be arriving the following day.

I unpacked and kept my coat on, then called him to ask if he could get the internet connection to work: there would be no going out on that cold, windy night. We spent a jolly hour in the sub-zero temperature of the flat below, where the router was situated, and I managed to email my co-teacher using the LAN connection. He promised to sort it all out the following day.

The bed was comfortable with winceyette sheets and thick blankets under the duvet, but I wore socks and a cardi, as the

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valiant heater was taking time to penetrate the chill in the room. Outside there was profound silence and the scent of wood-smoke, and sleep was deep and easy. On Sunday morning I found a thermometer in the hall, and the temperature in my room registered 10°C. I took my bowl of muesli and cup of tea back to bed. A hot shower and a walk were called for.

Outside it was cold and raw. The mountains were virtually obscured by mist, but the town revealed itself to be a fascinating jumble of ancient and modern buildings. Little alleyways meander around the houses; streams criss-cross the town, fed by the seven springs which form the source of the River Vipava, their clear water bubbling from the base of the mountain into pools where trout jump.

By the time Yvette arrived the rooms were relatively warm, David’s mother having brought us some electric heaters to supplement the radiators. The contact teachers met us at the apartment at six, and we walked to school along a narrow, dimly lit, mist-shrouded street, the tall old buildings and the pine-smoke aroma giving a gothic feel to the expedition. Arrival at the school dispelled any such thoughts: spacious, bright, modern and clean, it promised a great week.

And so it turned out. The older students had an unexpectedly high level of English, and all were bright, confident and happy to be spending half term in school with us. The CT had huge expectations of the course. She explained that the local authority had criticised English teaching at the school, partly, as I understood it, because they used TEFL methods (which patently worked for their students!) She was determined to prove them wrong, and thus invited TV and radio journalists into school to interview both the students and us teachers.

On Wednesday we were on the national news at 5pm. On Thursday we were on the radio. The CT was thrilled, as were the students - and the kitchen staff, who were already treating us like royalty and giving us such enormous, tasty lunches every day that we had no need for an evening meal.

Tuesday was Shrove Tuesday, dressing up day for the students.

As well as the religious element, it is the day when Winter is driven out and Spring invited in. And sure enough, Wednesday morning dawned with blue skies and sunshine all day.

The cafes put their chairs out, everyone sat outside enjoying the warm afternoon sun, and we walked to the castle at the top of the mountain. The rest of the week just got better and better, and we saw glider planes and hang-gliders drifting in the warm currents over the top of the mountains.

We were treated to a private viewing of the personal museum of Josef, an elderly resident, and given a history lesson which told of the castle being built 1,500 years ago to foil the Turks, Mussolini walking the very footpath we took to the top of the mountain, and then the Communists taking over people’s houses. Now a small but proud member of the EU, the Slovenians are at last their own masters and have a strong sense of community and national pride.

Friday evening saw a good turnout of proud parents, and great performances by their children. Afterwards we sat outside the bar in the balmy evening air, David bought us several glasses of the local (delicious) wine, and the week was over. TV stardom, history lessons, mountain walking, spring sunshine, fabulous wine (oh, and lovely students, of course!): if you’re offered a contract to work in Vipava, jump at it!

And by the way, David and his brother are master accordion makers and skilled musicians, and we were treated to our very own private recital!

Please go to our Slovene micro-site for more info about English in Action - native-speaker led intensive communication courses in your school. www.englishinaction.si. Or contact Stephanie Clarke to arrange a visit and a free demonstration sclarke@englishinaction.com

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19

What’s the story?

by Vesna Gros

‘Yaaaaay!’ was all I could utter when I enthusiastically ran onto the stage to claim the prize my raffle ticket at this year’s IATEFL conference in Topolšica brought me: an English course at AtlasLanguageSchool in Dublin. I had never been to Ireland before, so I was over the moon – if the guest speakers from Ireland had still been there, they would probably have told me to relax my kacks1!

After being told to pack my warmer clothes for the notorious Irish summer, you can imagine how flabbergasted I was to find myself in the middle of a heat wave with the highest temperatures since 1887. Not even a drop of rain and over 30˚C – not the best weather to attend lectures, unless you are being tutored by Atlas teachers. Our international group of participants mused on Moore’s Utopia and created our own where we put a few white-collar criminals in handcuffs or had them do menial jobs while the law-abiding citizens lived life in peace and harmony. This is also a good exercise to do with your students: present a simplified summary of Utopia, then let their imaginations run wild to create utopias of their own, be it countries with computer games and junk food galore or something on a more serious note.

• First round: back to the board (one member of a team sits facing the class, a word is given on the board, the team has to explain it in English but must not use the word – they can either provide a dictionary-like explanation or use opposites, synonyms, rhymes, etc.).

• Round two: 30 seconds (one member of a team picks a word, explains it to the team and after they have guessed it tries to do the same with as many words as possible in 30 seconds; then it’s the next team’s turn).

• Round three: one word only (a variation of 30 seconds, but now the word has to be explained with one word only – this is quite challenging and if the presenter cannot come up with just one word, he or she can pick up another one within the time limit of 30 seconds).

• Final round: write down a sentence (a word is presented on the board and students have to provide a grammatically correct sentence using the word – make sure you set clear rules considering the length, language level, preferred or banned sentence patterns, etc.)

Vocabulary revision in four rounds Have the pre-taught vocabulary ready on slips of paper. Divide the class into two teams.

Drawing exercises for order of adjectives and compound nouns Hand out slips of paper with simple multiple-adjective phrases or compound nouns. Students work in pairs so that each individual is drawing a different phrase at the same time. Afterwards the drawings are exchanged and students try to guess their meaning. You can also collect the drawings and use them to create a worksheet and provide copies for the whole class.

It‘s a great deal of fun, plus your students create their own material, which is motivating. See some examples below:

Dún Laoghaire

Bray–Greystones cliff walk

Apart from boosting our vocabulary, especially with Irish words and expressions (some of them are used and explained in this article as well), we also kept the adjectives in order, dealt with cri­ me and justice, prefixes and compound nouns, and got immersed in Irish culture. Some exercises I found particularly useful:

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we really got to enjoy the city of Dublin, where old meets new.

We explored the backstreets off the beaten track, ate the best burrito in the world, and had the craic8 at the Street Performance World Championship in Merrion Square. If you go to Ireland in the summer, try to enjoy as many free outdoor leisure activities as you can, since they charge an arm and a leg for the cinema, bowling or a few pints in a pub.

Key: a bald Japanese businessman, a long fur coat, football, eyelid, waterfall.

Not to mislead you into thinking all I did in Ireland was study – the weather was simply too grand2 for that. Therefore, I grasped the opportunity to visit several coastal towns and beaches and even went for a plunge in the cool Atlantic. One of my favourite places was the bustling port town of Dún Laoghaire. I did the coastal walk from there to Sandycove for seal-spotting (unsuccessful) and visited the sturdy Martello Tower, where James Joyce wrote and set the opening episode of Ulysses, the best known though sadly under-read piece of Irish literature.

Since I was staying with a host family, they also took me on se­ veral other trips such as hiking in the WicklowMountains and strolling around the Bohernabreena Reservoirs. We also went on the stunning Cliff Walk between Bray and Greystones, whe­ re I enjoyed the magnificent views and unspoilt nature while – I, the intrepid hiker! – walking around 20 km. I was abso­lutely knackered3 afterwards, so instead of cheering ‘Sláinte!’ 4 in a pub that evening, I sat down for some cups of tea with my host mum. The Irish still drink their tea like it’s going out of style5.

While doing so they don’t mince their words about the gobshites6 and eejits7 sitting in their government and banks – the same ones who took them from boom to bust.

Otherwise, the Irish seem like a happy nation, very hospitable and somewhat traditional. I was happy to meet Greg, a local who showed me and a few other course-mates around, so that

Looking down Anne Street South off Grafton Street

During my last weekend I decided I must not miss the Cliffs of Moher, located on the southwest coast. An organised trip first took us to Galway, where we marvelled at the quaint cobbled streets, farmers haggling over the prices of home-grown vegetables at the farmers’ market, and street musicians playing the harp and the didgeridoo. Then we visited the DunguaireCastle, where we were told that if we walked counter-clockwise around it our secret wish would come true. We will see about that… We made a few more stops along the way, including a short hike, before reaching the cliffs. Those powerful rocks rising up to 210 metres above the sea turned out to be the highlight of my whole trip to Ireland and really left me in awe. So when my friends asked me ‘What’s the story?’9 when we met later that evening, I just went on and on about how deadly10 the trip was. And if you ask me how I feel about Ireland, I’ll probably do just the same again!

Samuel Beckett Bridge over the River Liffeya

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calmdown; kacks = underpants OK, fine extremelytired Cheers! do something to excess as ifthiswereyour last opportunity

Galway

loud-mouthedstupidperson idiots hadfun What’s up? How are things? excellent

Cliffs of Moher

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21

Let’s make love in English

by Danny Singh

Danny Singh, born and raised in London, but now based in Rome, gives creative English language lessons and teacher training courses all over Italy and abroad. He also offers stimulating monthly presentations on language related issues at Rome’s biggest international bookshop and is visible on web TV www.inmagicartwebtv.eu with a series of interactive English video lessons. He regularly attends Pilgrims TT summer courses as a Guest Speaker.

Website: www.laughnlearn.net e-mail: singh_danny@hotmail.com

Menu Let’s make love in English Another language, another character Cock a doodle doo Suffering pain in English Laughing in English Watching football in English Activities Conclusion

Let’s make love in English I looked at her longingly and said, Let’s make love in English! If I had simply said, Let’s make love, or even asked in a more polite form, Shall we make love?, the responses could have been quite varied. Yes of course!

Why has it taken you so long to ask? What? How dare you! In your dreams, young man! OK, your place or mine? Can I bring a friend? I’m a married woman!

Well actually, why not? What, here? Only if you let me touch your red nose. What, again?

As you can observe, I have had a lot of experience in making this suggestion. However, in this case, only one answer was possible and I knew it, even before I’d popped the question. That’s assuming you can call it a question, as it is really an imperative, although the recipient does have the right to say no, without being considered strange.

Her response was predictable. In English? Yes, I reiterated, in English! Is there really a difference between making love in English and making love in Italian, Spanish or any other language, she asked? Of course, I replied! Let me show you! And I did!

Another language, another character I’m sure you all know people who say they speak French, Russian or Japanese, a language that you don’t know,

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but then when you hear them speak it, it seems as if you understand every word. In fact, it doesn’t appear to be Japanese at all, but their own mother tongue. They speak with the same mannerisms as when they speak their own language, their pronounced accent interfering with what should be the correct phonetics and it all sounds horribly wrong! Why is it, that you can understand what they are saying, when you know little or nothing of this language? Worse, why do they seem to be the same person as the one who confidently speaks his/her own language?

The reason as many of you already know, is that they are not really speaking the foreign language very well.

When a person speaks another language, he/she changes character. A different part of that person is coming out and being revealed to the listener. If you speak another language well, you must sound like a different person. Your facial gestures and movements of lips, tongue, cheeks, jaw, eyes, teeth and even nose will be noticeably different.

My two main languages are English (of course) and Italian. There are several expressions that I use in Italian, which I deem to be untranslatable. Yes, someone including Google, will try to translate it, but it just doesn’t have the same effect. I know when to use these strange expressions, just by habit and experience. I don’t think about it. I just do it and I usually get it right.

In many cases, even with a translation, we wouldn’t say that in English. It just doesn’t have any sense. This is true when using some English expressions too. There is just no comparable Italian expression in that situation.

This argument is also valid when comparing other languages. This is the reason why in some conversations, someone will suddenly come up with an expression from another language, not necessarily to show off, but

because it sums up what he/she really wants to say, better than any phrase in his/her own language would.

Cock a doodle doo Primary school teachers all over the world know that each animal makes a different sound, depending on its nationality and where it lives. I am fairly certain that Italian dogs do not say, Woof Woof, while Norwegian sheep do not say, Baa, Baa. French hens definitely do not say, Cock a doodle doo. If you want a full list of animal sounds from all around the world, ask a primary school teacher. The point is, why do animals make different sounds, simply based on where they are located? Does it really matter anyway? I would say it doesn’t, but it may help to explain why in every country, the sounds we make, never mind the languages we speak, vary so much.

Suffering pain in English Pain is subjective. What is painful to one person, may not necessarily be so to another. There are varying degrees of pain too. Some people show it all the time, by the grimace on their face, the limp as they walk, or a deep sigh as they move any part of their anatomy. Others go through life, seemingly unaffected by how much pain they might have to suffer through physical illness, heartache, or watching their favourite team lose a match.

What is interesting however, are the sounds made as we suffer our pain. Take a small English child who suffers some physical pain. I’m not suggesting that you set this up as an experiment using kids as guinea pigs, otherwise, we’ll all get into trouble! If a small English child, or even a big English child suffers a moment of pain, the

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sound he/she makes will be, Ow or Ouch! This sound rhymes with cow, wow and how, or even ciao and miao, if you’re Italian. Compare this with an Italian child, who will make a completely different sound. Aia (pronounced AyeA). This rhymes with fire, hire and wire.

Why is it that what should be a relatively similar form of pain elicits such different sounds?

Laughing in English It is said that we all laugh in the same language. That may be true up to a point, in that it is one of the most powerful methods of communication and goes beyond language, religious and cultural barriers. However, as with pain, there are some noticeable differences.

Those of you who attended my laughter yoga workshop at the IATEFL Slovenia in 2013, may remember the mantra, ho ho ha ha ha. Sounds simple enough.

However, in an Italian LY session, you will be more likely to hear, oh oh ah ah ah, as the “h” in Italian is silent and not pronounced, except in Tuscany, where it is used to replace a “c”.

This extends to the written form. While chatting on a social network, I may write hahahahaha to indicate that what I have written is not intended to be taken too seriously. The reply from an Italian is usually, ahahahahahah.

The difference in the pronunciation of vowels is noticed when we do our vowel laughs. The Italian “o” will be pronounced like hot or pot, while the English one is more like hope or Pope.

Watching football in English A while ago, during one of my popular English in the City courses, my students and I stumbled upon some amazing observations. We were doing our lesson in a pub, nothing strange there, when all of a sudden, the volumes on all seven or eight TVs in the pub were turned up so loud, that it was almost impossible to hear yourself speak. The Champions League matches had kicked off. There were about fifteen minutes of the lesson left. As usual, I didn’t panic. This group of students had quite a low level of spoken English, but were always willing to follow what I asked them to do. I told them to go around the pub in small groups and observe the behaviour of the people, then come back to me, which they did. I could never have imagined what they had noticed. In fact, I was so shocked, that I asked them to repeat it, outside the pub.

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What they had noticed was the difference between English and Italian men, as they watched their respective matches. As the English team approached the goal and looked likely to score, but then narrowly missed, the sound uttered by all the Englishmen was the same, Ohhhhhhhh! Compare this to the Italian men in the same situation. Ahhhhhhhhh! What does this tell us?

Nothing immediate perhaps, but bear in mind that for most men, watching their favourite football team score a goal is more satisfying than spending time with their favourite woman!

Activities How many different ways can you think of to respond to the proposition, Let’s make love! (in your language)?

Find someone who speaks two or more languages fluently. Watch them as they speak in those languages.

What differences do you notice in their facial gestures and movements? How different does the person seem?

Can you think of any expressions in one language which cannot be translated to give the same meaning in another language?

What sounds do the animals in your country normally make?

What sounds do people in your country make when they suffer pain?

Are there any sounds in your language, which make laughter slightly different from others?

What sounds do men in your country make, when their favourite team comes close to scoring?

Conclusion We have seen that the sounds that an animal makes will vary according to the country it finds itself in.

Your way of expressing pain varies, depending on your nationality. Your facial gestures and movements will differ according to the language you are speaking. Even your laugh may vary, according to where you come from. The sound you make as your football team comes so close and yet, so far, differs again according to nationality. So, the next time that someone asks you to make love in English or in any other language, don’t simply disregard it as a stupid question. Try it and see what differences you notice!

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Alenka Tratnik Univerza v Mariboru, Fakulteta za organizacijske vede President

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Dvojezična srednja šola Lendava Teacher Training Section Coordinator

OŠ Marjana Nemca Radeče IN Editor

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25

If you can see it, you can be it.

by Stephanie Clarke

There is a power in the universe. It flows through you and you can use it to make a difference in your life and the lives of your students.

change, what inner quality would you try to develop in order to deal with the circumstances? Compassion, acceptance, patience, forgiveness?”

As the new school year begins, are you entering the classroom with the fears of the gruelling months ahead or with the hope that you will be inspired and inspiring, fully living into the dream of your childhood: “One day, when I grow up, I want to be a teacher” and revelling in the awareness that right now you are fulfilling your purpose on earth and making your unique contribution to your students and to future generations?

I am suggesting a two-pronged approach. We can develop the inner spiritual muscle to deal with the current reality in a more serene way instead of the old familiar knee-jerk reactions which keep us stuck in the world of complaint and “not enough”. But at the same time we can use our mental powers to cultivate the vision of a new reality – which is the focus of this article.

In my opinion, teachers and parents are heroes. Raising and teaching kids is the most demanding work ever for which there is no adequate training. As parents, all we have are the role models our own parents provided, which we can accept or reject, but the conditioning went in deep and is not easy to shift. Teachers’ training college with the extra obligatory seminars after graduating cannot prepare us totally to bring forth the essence of every child in all of its power and glory.

Yet you and I have been called to this work of teaching, right? And when the light of comprehension breaks through as a smile on a child’s face or when a student produces an essay of unprecedented genius, we know we had a part in that and can share that moment of expansion. I want more of those moments and less of the grunt work, don’t you? I can’t blame the kids for being unmotivated, rude or hormonal, much as I want to, because I am the adult in the classroom and I set the tone for what happens there.

So where is my power to change the way I am being and call forth more moments of those “teaching highs” into my experience? If I don’t discover and activate this power, I fear that my alternative is to try to make it through till retirement and survive in a hostile field of students/enemies who are hell-bent on rebelling against the authority I represent.

I remember my spiritual teacher, Rev. Dr. Michael Beckwith, saying to us in a ministerial class once: “ If you knew nothing on the outside was ever going to

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So how can you and I change our reality? The first technique I want to introduce is visualization by which we can consciously create a new experience by focusing the energy of our thought and imagination.

Visualization I started learning this technique of visualization when I lived in Amsterdam from 1981 to 1985. There I was introduced to book called “Creative Visualization” by an American spiritual teacher, Shakti Gawain. Ms Gawain became my guru and her book became my Bible.

(In fact, there is a chapter about my learning process in my own book: “The Miss-Adventures of an Irreverent Reverend.” ) In 1985, I went to South Africa for the first time to visit my mother and, in Johannesburg, I was led to the Science of Mind spiritual teaching. I decided to stay in South Africa so that I could study more and change my life. I began visualizing and affirming “I am now being wined and dined by wealthy, intelligent, interesting men” (as opposed to loaning money to the poor artists and political rebels who were my boyfriends in Amsterdam!) My visualization started manifesting within a fortnight and I was out on dates a few nights every week with wealthy, interesting, intelligent men. However, I soon realised that I had to fine-tune my affirmation to include “single” and “good looking”! Be careful what you ask for because you are likely to get it!

Visualisation exercise Go somewhere undisturbed where you can be quiet and safe and go inward. Shut your eyes and start to imagine the reality you would like to have in your classroom or

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your life in general. E.g. you ask your students to do something one time only and magically and obediently, they do it! See yourself being a techno-wizz with the new classroom software for taking attendance. See the list of your students’ names with high marks or “pass” written against them. Now sense and feel the atmosphere in your classroom .... creative learning, students teaching each other, students helping each other and producing awesome results inside a tightly-bonded learning community. Hear the sounds of joyful absorption, curious questions, the quiet hum of focused activity. Finish your visualization with the words: “All this or something better is manifesting for me now according to the highest law of the universe. And so it is!”

The more sensory awareness you can bring into your visualization, the more powerful it will be. Try to activate your sense of hearing, feeling, taste and smell as well as your visual capacity. Infuse your visualization with gratitude – as though it were already the truth of your experience and it will manifest so much more quickly. Most of us have spent our emotional energy, our faith, imagining the outcomes we don’t want or are afraid of and Lo...! We have created exactly that.

If you want to add even more power to your visualization you can also use words in the form of affirmations. For example “Here I am loving my lessons and feeling happy and fulfilled” “Here I am zipping through my marking with joy and ease!” “Ideas for brilliant lesson plans come to me easily!”

Visioning Visioning is the name Rev. Michael Beckwith gave to this process of opening up to a new reality. (You might have heard of Rev. Michael Beckwith if you have read “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne or seen the DVD.) Starting in late 1985, Rev. Michael gathered a group of his friends in his living room once per week for a year and together they visioned for the spiritual community which Rev. Michael had been guided to start in Santa Monica on the west coast of California, close to Los Angeles. After a year, the group was guided to rent the Santa Monica Bay Womens’ Club for the first Sunday morning service. Over 100 people showed up, even though it had not been widely advertised, and there was not enough room in the parking lot! That was in 1986. The Agape International Center of Truth, as it is now known, is thousands strong and there is not enough space in the sanctuary (a huge converted warehouse) to accommodate the congregants at each of the three Sunday morning services so the late comers have to watch the screens that have been erected in the parking lot. Rev. Michael continues to vision with a

select group of colleagues so that the ministry can continue to expand and do more good in the world.

Visioning exercise Once again, find a quiet place. Take a notebook and pen with you. Decide on what you want to vision on.

It can be general like your life purpose, or it can be more specific like a book you want to write or a new subject/lesson you are going to teach for which you are seeking fresh creative ideas or a deeper understanding of the subject matter. If you struggle with the word God, don’t worry. (I do too!) Just substitute it with “spiritual”, “holy”, “divine” or “universal”. Start by taking some deep breaths and getting still. Then silently ask yourself the following questions and give yourself a minute or two of space in between each one so that you can listen for the answers. Answers may come as language, colours, smells, memories, images, sounds or any other form unique to you. You may choose to write down your answers immediately or wait until the entire visioning session is over.

1. What is God’s highest vision for my life / this project _______ ?

2. What does the vision look like, sound like, feel like, smell like and taste like in the physical realm?

3. What is my role in the fulfilment of this vision?

4. Where do I need to grow to embody more of this vision?

5. What do I need to release to become a clear instrument for this vision?

6. What else do I need to know now?

At the end of the process, express your gratitude that the vision is already manifesting and then be keenly aware for the signs in your world that the vision is moving forth into solid physical reality. Let me know how you get on. In fact, I challenge you to bring more of heaven to earth in your daily classroom, both inside and outside school!  Rev. Stephanie Clarke is the author of two books “Down Dirty and Divine: a spiritual ride through London’s underground” and “The Miss-Adventures of an Irreverent Reverend” She can be contacted privately through her website www.ministryoflight.org where you can pick up a free recording of her prayer CD, “Uncommon Prayer”.

If you are interested in having native speakers at your school for a one-week intensive communication programme with your students, please contact Stephanie at English in Action for more information or a free demonstration in the classroom sclarke@englishinaction.com. The website is now available in Slovene www.englishinaction.si

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Activity 1 Before you read, match the words from the text to their definitions.

1. civil rights

a. act in an improper way

2. discipline

b. following rules and maintaining good behaviour

3. legal action

c. not acceptable or appropriate

4. step out of line 5. swear

d. powers every individual has which are protected by law, e.g free speech, owning property, the vote

6. unsuitable

e. use of courts and lawyers to solve something f. use offensive or rude words

School discipline

By Sally Trowbridge

Does your school have any problems with discipline?

What happens when students step out of line? Here are some examples of bad behaviour: Playing truant (missing school without permission from parents).

Stealing, smoking, hitting, swearing, running, kissing.

Cheating in exams.

Calling a teacher or another pupil bad names.

Not doing homework. © iStockphoto

Not listening or not paying attention in lessons.

Wearing unsuitable clothes.

Exclusion: a pupil is asked to leave the school and not come back. The pupil has to find a new school or a different method of education.

Freya says that repeated detentions disrupted her right to an education under Scottish law and made it difficult for her to learn.

She refused to return until the school respected her civil rights.

She wants the headmaster and her teachers to sign a letter to promise this. Hundreds of schools in Scotland were told not to use detention as a punishment because of her legal action.

Suspension: a pupil cannot enter the building or attend lessons until the school has a meeting about their situation. Suspension can last from one to 45 days. The pupil is usually given work to do at home with a special teacher.

Many UK schools now give parents a home/school contract, explaining their discipline and rules. Parents must sign this document to agree that they accept the school’s rules and discipline and that they are responsible for their child’s behaviour.

Detention: a pupil is asked to stay after school and work for 30–60 minutes before they can leave.

Lines: a pupil has to write a sentence many times (e.g.100 or more) on a sheet of paper, e.g. ‘I must not shout in class’.

Freya MacDonald, a 15-year-old pupil from Scotland, made the news when she refused to accept her school’s punishment. Her family says that she was given 11 detentions for trivial things such as having fizzy drinks in class and coming into school through a fire door.

Activity 2 Decide if the following statements about the text are true or false.

1. Playing truant means using bad language.

2. You can wear anything you like to school in the UK. 3. If a child is suspended, they miss out on school work.

4. Freya MacDonald said ‘no’ to detention at her school.

5. All schools in Britain now give parents a home/school contract to sign.

Activity 1 1. d; 2. b; 3. e; 4. a; 5. f; 6. c

Here are some of the ways that UK school children can be punished.

Activity 2 1. False (F); 2. F; 3. F; 4. True (T); 5. F;

Answers

For more fun activities to help you learn English visit http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org

© British Council 2012 / C300