Be unit 4 by TEFLnow

TEFLnow Course in Teaching Business English

Unit i 4

BE 004

Mat aterials

Unit i 4 Mat aterials

Synopsis In this section we will look at the types of material available, how they can be created or adapted, and how to put them to use. We consider some of the factors important to the design of our own material. The form and structure of a lesson plan is reviewed and we look at some of the ways we can obtain our materials, in both written and electronic form. Finally we present a webliography for sourcing your material.

Page 1

Unit i 4 Mat aterials Authentic and non-authentic materials

In this unit we will look at the types of material that we can use in the classroom, but first let us define what we mean by material. Material is anything we bring with us to the classroom to aid our teaching. Therefore this will include: Q

Q Q Q

Worksheets that we give to the students, for practising language. Communicative activity sheets, for using the language in more realistic situations. Pictures, flashcards, drawings, charts and other visual aids. Tapes, recordings and other audio aids. Company reports, memos, letters and faxes etc. A whole range of other material such as newspapers, magazines, T.V clips, video etc.

Authentic materials

are those materials that have been produced for a purpose other than the classroom. This purpose doesn't have to be business related, for example, a magazine.

Non-Authentic materials

are those materials that have been produced, either by an educational company or individual teachers for the specific purpose of being a teaching aid.

Page 2

Unit i 4 Mat aterials

There are many perceived ed advantages to t using authentic materials in the classroom. These could include: Q Q Q Q Q Q

Worksheets that we give e to o the students, for f practising language. Communicative e activity sheets, ts, for f using the language in more realistic situations. Pictures, flashcards, drawings, wings, charts char and other visual aids. Tapes, recordings and other audio aids. Company reports, memos, letters and faxes etc. A whole range of other material such as newspapers, magazines, T.V clips, video etc.

There are however disadvantages to using authentic materials, Q

It takes longer to source this material because you have to check that all the information within it is: (a) relevant, (b) at the right grammatical or vocabulary level and (c) going to be interesting As it has been designed for a purpose other than the classroom it may not be in a user-friendly format for the students It can contain culturally or socially sensitive material

So when choosing authentic materials you need to take these factors into consideration. The advantages usually outweigh the disadvantages if you take care in your choice.

Page 3

Unit i 4 Mat aterials Designing non-authentic materials

We have already mentioned the advantages of using authentic materials for our students and we should keep these in mind when designing our materials for the classroom. In essence we should try wherever possible to make our materials as authentic as we can, especially in a business situation. This may sound a little strange, but your efforts will be rewarded. You need to have a very clear idea of the following, before designing materials for the classroom: (i) What language are the students trying to test or use? (ii) How are they going to be used in the classroom? (iii) How you are going to show how to use them? (iv) At which level are they to be used? If you consider these questions at the start of the design process you will find that creating the materials is much easier and they will be more effective in use. Let us look at each of these points in turn. (i) Basically this refers to the teaching point. This may be the written or spoken vocabulary, the written or spoken grammar point, a reading activity or a listening activity. Depending upon what stage we are at in our lesson our materials may need different considerations. A study phase activity will tend to focus on an individual teaching point that has been studied that day in a very structured format. An activate phase activity tries to get the students to use their cumulative knowledge having been given a much reduced structure to work from.

Page 4

Unit i 4 Mat aterials

(ii) This refers to the actual mechanics of their use in the classroom. Q Q Q Q Q

How are you going to o organize the students to t complete the activities? Will you use pairwork, small groups or large groups? How will you ensure that everyone is active, both during the activity and during feedback? How will you monitor the activity to ensure the students are doing as expected? What will you do if the activity doesn't work?

All of these points need to be considered before you start to put the materials together, as it's too late once the activity has started. (iii) You cannot just give an activity sheet to students and expect them to complete it. They have to know what to expect and the best way to accomplish this is for the students to have seen a representation of the activity before they start. Wherever possible do not try to explain the activity;Íž instead demonstrate it. For a worksheet type activity this simply means doing an example (of the same type) on the board. Elicit a correct answer from the group to check understanding and do all of this before any material is given out. (iv) Bear in mind that the language of the activity and its instructions must be at or below the level of the group it is designed for. For longer communicative activities, do the activity with a student (who will understand it) to show the group how it works. For example if the activity is a game, then briefly play it while the group observes. Again check understanding before you start by asking students what they are going to do. Questions such as "Do you understand?" should be redundant, as your students will probably say "yes" regardless and the only real way to check this is by asking specific target questions ("concept" questions) which show that they do.

Page 5

Unit i 4 Mat aterials

Lesson planning The following discussion of lesson planning will assume that the ESA methodology is being used. However the points raised are common to other methodologies. We will start by outlining a number of questions. 1. Why have lesson plans? 2. What should be on it? 3. How do I use it? 1. A lesson plan is a working document. Think of it like this: If just before you walked into the classroom you felt violently ill and couldn't teach, you will need someone else to take your lesson. You should be able to hand your plan (and materials) to them and they could effectively carry out your lesson. Thinking of lesson plans in this way helps to consider the level of detail we need on any such plan. A lesson plan tells us what should happen throughout the lesson in a series of stages. It is also a record of what you have covered with a class, therefore acting as a historical document and point of reference to your syllabus. 2. From the above we can think about the actual components needed on the plan. For example it will be useful to know the following: The date and time of lesson, level, room, expected number of students, context of the lesson (vocabulary/grammar point), learner objectives (what the students should be able do after the lesson) and then a series of boxes outlining the procedure of the lesson, giving additional information such as timings. See the example lesson plan form on the next couple of pages, followed by a blank lesson plan you can copy and use later. 3. You should always keep in mind that a lesson plan is just that â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a plan. You cannot work through your plan regardless of what is happening in the lesson. Student understanding determines what happens in the lesson and not the plan. It is useful to have a copy of your plan in the lesson so that you can refer to it at intervals, to make sure you have covered all the points you were expecting to.

Page 6

Unit i 4 Mat aterials

Lesson Plan Teacher: Peter Smith

Time: 1 hour

Date: 15/02/02

Class level: Pre-Intermediate

Room: R oom: 8

Expected number of students: 12

Context: Transitive and Intransitive verbs Teaching aids: White board, worksheets, Activate activity Learner objectives: At the end of the lesson students should be able to;; Identify transitive/intransitive verb forms and Use them in a presentation format

Personal aims: Improve board work presentation

Anticipated problems for students: Recognition of transitive/intransitive forms Solutions: Repetition practice

Anticipated problems for teacher: Explaining the concept Solutions: Use lots of examples

Procedure Make as many words as they can in two minutes from the words Alphabet soup.

Phase

Timing

Interaction

Engage

2mins

S-S

3mins

S-T

3mins

S-T

3mins

S-T

3mins

S-T

5mins

T-S

5mins

S-T

4mins

S-S

Take a few words from each group and board them, ask them to identify The verbs and rub off all non verbs. Ask them to put each verb into a complete sentence (This will give us subject/object/verb examples for the next stage)

Study

Use three or four of the sentences from above and elicit from the students The parts of speech for each sentence. Put the words rise, raise and arise on the board and ask the students for Their definitions Ask the students for a sentence using each verb to show they understand The meanings of each Ask the students to identify the subject/object and verb in each sentence Elicit the difference between transitive (a verb followed directly by an object) and intransitive verbs (a verb that can't be followed directly by an object) Using each of the verbs get students to give you sentences in each of the present tenses Now elicit/pre-teach the following vocabulary Flow chart, figures, growth, revenue, target, turnover, forecast, Restructuring, bankrupt, peak, boom, demand Study activity 1. Matching words to definitions Demonstrate using a visual. Elicit a correct answer. Give out

Page 7

Unit i 4 Mat aterials

Procedure (continued)

Phase

Timing

Interaction

Study activity 2. Choose the present tense to make the sentence correct Demonstrate using a visual. Elicit a correct answer. Give out activity to pairs Monitor, feedback and correct.

Study

5mins

S-S

Give some background to the activate exercise

Activate

3mins

T-S

Elicit/ pre-teach the following vocabulary Vitamins, alertness, target group, accommodate the growth of, Supplier

3mins

S-T

Get the students in turn to read through the brief and check they understand all the words.

2mins

S-T

Group the students ( 2 groups) and ask them to create a flowchart to show how they would restructure the company to increase profitability

10mins

S-S

Each group presents their work

5-10mins

S-T

Page 8

Unit i 4 Mat aterials

Lesson Plan Teacher:

Time:

Date:

Class level:

Room:

Expected number of students:

Context: Teaching aids: Learner objectives: For the students to be able to

Personal aims:

Anticipated problems for students:

Anticipated problems for teacher:

Solutions:

Procedure

Phase

Timing

Interaction

Page 9

Unit i 4 Mat aterials

Procedure (continued)

Phase

Timing

Interaction

Page 10

Unit i 4 Mat aterials

Book resources Until recently, there hasn't been a great deal written specifically for Business English teachers. However this particular area of TEFL has seen rapid growth in the last few years, which has forced the larger publishers to address the need. You will find a whole range of books that cater to the teaching of Business English and, as with all things, their usefulness varies. There are two main types of book resource: In the first type, language is the primary focus and in this respect, tenses, vocabulary and assorted grammar are presented in lessons that do not particularly relate to any specific business English usage. Having covered this material the lessons are extended into using this language in particular business applications, such as meetings, negotiating etc. In the second type the business situations are presented first and these are the primary focus. Having set up this situation the lessons look at typical language used in them. These two approaches are quite different. It is not really possible to say that one is better than the other, as it depends upon too many variables. It would be best to use them both in a range of different situations, measure their relative success in each case and make future decisions based upon your evidence. Whichever resources you use you will need to adapt the suggested activities and worksheets to suit your particular situation in terms of culture, grouping, etc. You may find yourself in a situation where there simply aren't any books available. This is a good reason for having some of your own and hoping that the school/town has a photocopier. (We will look in the next section at resources on the internet.) You may be in the position of having to create everything you use, so you should be prepared for this eventuality.

Page 11

Unit i 4 Mat aterials

Using the internet There is now a wealth of material available on the Internet for teachers of Business English. You do need to be careful when choosing material from this resource. There are many sites that suggest downloading their supposedly "free" resources, which turn out to be anything but free. Look for sites that are designated 'freeware', which typically do not require you to log in or register your name. Most sites tend to differentiate between areas meant for teacher resources and those for students. Be careful if you are using information from websites that students will use for project/assignment work. Can your students easily gain access to the site and thereby get all the answers? It is useful to look outside the areas of TEFL and Business English when searching the net for resources. Most large corporations have a lot of material on their sites, such as mini company reports, statistics, graphs, which all can be valuable as authentic material in your lessons. In the next section, the webliography gives many of the major useful sites you will ever need plus a short description of the type of material available on the site. We recommend this site to check out copyright issues, using the UK as an example: http://www.cla.co.uk/copyright_information_aboutcopyright .php . Bear in mind that copyright laws will vary from country to country.

Happy surfing!

Page 12

Unit i 4 Mat aterials

Materials webliography

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business

Articles and publications

http://www.businessenglishonline.net

Free resources

http://www.english-to-go.com

Free resources

http://www.developingteachers.com

Activities

http://www.eltweb.com

Directory of resources

http://www.englishjet.com

Free resources

http://www.onestopenglish.com

Free resources

http://www.oup.com/elt/teachersclub/business_english/?cc=gb Practical BE activities http://www.rong-chang.com/business.htm

Business articles

As websites come and go daily, the above list should be regarded as fluid.

Page 13

Unit i 4 Mat aterials

Task sheet Unit 4 Check your knowledge before attempting the unit test.

Note: not all the information needed for the answers can be found in the unit, so you may need to research from other sources. 1. Complete the table below with examples: Authentic materials

Non-Authentic materials

2. Give 3 advantages to the teacher of using authentic materials (I) ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………… (ii) ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………… (iii) ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………

Page 14

Unit i 4 Mat aterials

3. You are teaching a group of 10 students on a Business English course who are at Intermediate level. You will design a lesson based around the general vocabulary of jobs and include the following vocabulary: full

time part time

permanent

temporary

in charge of

responsible for

manage

design

Add six more words to this list (I) ………………………..………………… (ii) ……………………………..…………… (iii) ………………………..………………… (iv) ……………………………..…………… (v) ………………………..………………… (vi) ……………………………..……………

4. Using the blank lesson plan below, complete a plan for this lesson using the ESA methodology, including all aspects shown in the example on pages 7 and 8 of the unit.

Page 15

Unit i 4 Mat aterials

Lesson Plan Teacher:

Time:

Date:

Class level:

Room:

Expected number of students:

Context: Teaching aids: Learner objectives: For the students to be able to

Personal aims:

Anticipated problems for students:

Anticipated problems for teacher:

Solutions:

Procedure

Phase

Timing

Interaction

Page 16

Unit i 4 Mat aterials

Procedure (continued)

Phase

Timing

Interaction

Page 17

Unit i 4 Mat aterials

5. Make f ive suitable questions for the study phase of the lesson that will check the students’ understanding of the topic in your lesson plan above. (i) ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………….………………… (ii) …………………………………………………………………………………………………………...………….………………… (iii) ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….………………… (iv) ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….………………… (v) ……………………………………………………………………………………………..……………………….…………………

Page 18