PAGODA Uber Teacher
Module 3: Concept Checking
Concept Checking When teaching new language it is crucial that you plan how to really see if students know: What it means What the function is How to use it. If students leave the classroom not really understanding the key language, then they haven't really benefited from the lesson. Do you understand? Usted Entiendes? Comprendez vous? 您是否瞭解? Read through the following typical exchanges seen in EFL classrooms.
Number One: Vocabulary from a lesson on the environment. Miss Buxom: So Ian, do you understand what pollution is? Ian: Yes. Miss Buxom: So tell me what pollution is. Ian: Erm....not sure, it's not good. Miss Buxom: Yes it's not good, are you following me Ian? Pollution is when the environment is not clean. Does that make sense Ian?
Number Two : Use of Grammar Miss Buxom: So Ian, please read the sentence. Ian: If I had not come to school, I wouldn't have learned some grammar. Miss Buxom: Very good, so what is this? Ian: Huh? Miss Buxom: What is this on the board? Ian: It's a sentence... Miss Buxom: Yes, what else? Ian: It's an English sentence. Miss Buxom: It's the third conditional Ian, why are we using it?
PAGODA Uber Teacher
Module 3: Concept Checking
Ian: Erm..........don't know
Number Three: Lexical – idiomatic expressions Miss Buxom: Hello Ian, tell me what stresses you out? Ian: What stress me? Miss Buxom: Yes, what drives you up the wall? Ian: Eh? I don't have a car... Miss Buxom: No, what puts you at the end of your tether? Ian: Do you need a doctor miss?
In Practice The above examples are common mistakes / issues that occur in the classroom when teachers want to discover if their students are following along and understanding the concepts being introduced. However in all three cases the student is confused so let's look at the reasons why. Number one: Miss Buxom has introduced new vocabulary based on the topic “The Environment” and then proceeds to directly question the student on the meaning with the question “ What does …...mean?”. The student may have only just learned the new term and has only had one definition from the teacher. He is unsure of the meaning or could, at best, only repeat the teacher's definition back to her, if he understood it at all. It would be much better to ask the student to give an example of what pollution is. Unfortunately the teacher continues asking redundant questions like “ Are you following me?, “Does that make sense?” which do nothing to aid understanding. Number Two: Miss Buxom has introduced a new concept with a good example on the board with the purpose of showing the students the third conditional. She then has the student read it aloud, perhaps being over-confident that the student's ability to correctly pronounce it indicates his understanding of the sentence. She then asks a terribly confusing, vague and entirely redundant question “ What is this?” that the student cannot answer in any meaningful way. Once the concept is established after she says it, she then asks another difficult question “ why are we using it?” to which most students would answer “You are the teacher, you tell us!”. The teacher should have guided the students to first understand what the sentence means, is it past or present, or both? Before concluding when we use this type of grammar. Number Three: Idioms are an extremely common feature of languages, English included, they are structures that native speakers have developed to be very specific or lyrical about emotions, situations and desires. However, unless a student has lived for some time in a native speaking country idioms are very difficult to understand as they mostly do not mean what they say and students cannot possibly be expected to know what they mean without first being taught the meaning. They need to be taught through topic, context and with the simplest definition possible followed by a comprehensive practice activity or they will simply be forgotten or remembered as “blah, blah, blah something
PAGODA Uber Teacher
Module 3: Concept Checking
red”. Ways to Concept Check
Wh – questions - questions that require students to think about details, very useful for concept checking news, articles and stories. Where was Jane walking? How was she feeling? Why was she feeling this way? Etc 2. Yes / no – followed by wh questions – Good for eliciting an opinion or understanding of a concept. Would you like to have a life like Lady Gaga's? No. Why not? Explain 3. Charts / graphs / Scales / Time lines - very useful for grammatical concepts where students must rank information. For example the order of frequency adverbs from NEVER to ALWAYS, a graph depicting adverbs of degree from a bit to extremely or a common but often overlooked method for verb tenses, the time line. I went shopping X PAST X >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> PRESENT 1.
I have gone shopping 4. Pictures / Illustrations – Students describe a picture using the vocabulary or grammar The girl is blowing out the candles, her friend is laughing because she's happy..etc 5. Situation / Context – Students complete a sentence / story where the word/ concept must be used or they create a piece using the words. Janice was sad, she had lost her job, her home and her boyfriend and her dog was very sick she was full of __sorrow_____. When her mother called to say she was coming to visit she ___lost her mind____ 6.Antonyms / Synonyms / Comparisons - Excellent for vocabulary and expressions and to really see how developed a student's language is. While Michelle is really uptight, her brother is so different, he's really __laidback__. Stephen is so relaxed, he's extremely ___easygoing____. Ian is so cruel to people he's ____as cold as ice_______. 7. Personalization - Students should relate new concepts to their own experiences and lives and not just those of the teacher or a third person. Have them use new language with personal references to see how well they use them. When I was a child, I used to play with barbie dolls and would do my sister's hair. I don't really like using gadgets, because people become addicted easily. I have been to South America, I went to Chile in 2005 with my friend.
And there are many more methods you should look for, develop and try to use!
PAGODA Uber Teacher
Module 3: Concept Checking
Common Mistakes and How to avoid them. 1. Do you understand? Like razor sharp manicured claws on the blackboard of my soul. A question that invites no other answer but yes / no and it certainly no way to test comprehension. Use it at your peril or any of its cleverly disguised cousins; Does that make sense? Are you following me? Is that clear? Do you know what I mean? Etc and so forth and so on concept check. 2. Comprehension Questions Many of the reading and listening activities come with a set of comprehension questions, how many of you have read through them before hand to see if they are the most effective? The worst kind of comprehension questions only asks students to find and copy information but doesn't always show meaning, re-write the questions and put them on the board so instead of “ Where was the man?” Hospital, “why was the man in the hospital?” He is visiting his sick friend. 3. So what is this about? Can anyone tell me? Most students, if they have been taught properly will try to use the new word / concept but they are usually reluctant to speak out in front of the class in case they are wrong. Activities such as summarizing or using the concept in examples are very good but they should be done in pairs / small groups first. Otherwise if no one answers you could make the mistake of thinking they don't understand simply because they are unable to come up with an instant example. Que es la significa de botellon? 4. Over-teaching While being talkative can sometimes be a virtue in a student, in a teacher it's often merely confusing. Teachers should aim to teach the essential language as soon as possible and move quickly onto a concept checking activity to see if your teaching was successful. If you spend 25 minutes giving 3 or 4 explanations for everything and then discover almost none of the students understand, will you spend another 25 minutes re-explaining only for the class to be over? If you find it hard to teach simply break up your presentations and practices it is better to ensure the students have learned something in the lesson. 5. Write a sentence / create a sentence / plan a novel about anything! It's a great idea to have the students show meaning by putting it into context but it does require that the students have a context to write about, give them a solid topic otherwise it's just too difficult. “Write a sentence about funny!” Funny ha ha or funny peculiar? 6. What is a relative pronoun? What is this on the board? Can you give me an example of a subjunctive sentence? Don't turn the language into a series of grammatical concepts it does not test understanding of anything, especially in a culture where students have often spent years memorizing structure with almost no understanding of when to use it. Always begin with the example “ If I had a million euros, I would buy a yacht!, Do I have a million Euros class?” NO teacher. “ How do you know that class?” You're a teacher!
PAGODA Uber Teacher
Module 3: Concept Checking
TIPS FOR GOOD CONCEPT CHECKING
Vocabulary a) Ok we have 7 words on the board that describe happy feelings, with your partner I want you to find the opposite meaning. b) So we have 15 famous dishes from a western restaurant, I want you to put them into categories of starter, main and dessert. c) We have looked at 5 phrasal verbs to do with stress, with your partner imagine a family dinner and create a short dialogue using all of them. d) Ok, so on the board we have 4 action verbs, 4 nouns and 4 adjectives, I want you with your partner to create a short story using all of them, the title is “ My first day”. Grammar a) Ok class on the board we have two sentences, the first “I had a lot of money”, the second “ I wish I had a lot of money”. I want you to discuss the differences between them and then we will discuss together. b) Alright class on the board I have written “If I hadn't come to Pagoda....” I want you with your partner to write 4 different endings to this sentence. c) So let's look at these two sentences “ I have been to Japan in 2006 / I went to Japan in 2006, one is correct and one is incorrect, with your partner decide which is which and why. d) So we have three prepositions on the board IN / ON / AT together put the preposition with the correct nouns, when you have done that decide what the name of the category is.
Do you feel well-taught Punk? Well do you???
Probably the most important part of your job as a teacher is to make sure the students understand the material being taught, concept check, any teacher caught asking “ Do you understand?” will be shot on sight. Take care.
PAGODA Uber Teacher
Module 3: Concept Checking