Instructional strategies
In the past I did not pay much attention to instructions I give. Experiences from the study visits, teaching practice and portfolio assignments made me realise that I have to carefully plan instructions I give to my students and pay a lot of attention to the exact words I say and the way I get the message across, because it matters.
Furthermore, I have learned how to use multiple teaching and learning strategies to engage children in active learning opportunities that promote the development of linguistic abilities, critical thinking, problem solving as well as how to support the development of 4 language skills and the teaching of culture.
Furthermore, I have learned how to use multiple teaching and learning strategies to engage children in active learning opportunities that promote the development of linguistic abilities, critical thinking, problem solving as well as how to support the development of 4 language skills and the teaching of culture.
Scaffolding - study visit in Finland
During the study visit in Jyväskylä I had an opportunity to observe the lessons taught in English in two Finnish schools: Viitaniemi lower secondary school and Kortepohja Elementary School. Teachers emphasized that in the context of the schools that we have visited CLIL is treated as a language enrichment. There were regular and so called 'international classes', which were described by the teachers as 'school inside the school' as their programme differs from the other classes. However, they cooperate with other classes, mostly by developing projects together, so they are not isolated. In order to be accepted to join international classes, students' knowledge of English is tested, as the classes are fully in English, only with some elements of Finnish. The regular classes have minimum 1 CLIL lesson a week (the amount of hours depends on the class teacher). The class teacher selects the whole topic or a part of it and adjusts the aims to his or her class If the class teacher does not speak English good enough to teach in English, there are other teachers coming to teach CLIL in their classrooms. In Kortepohja Elementary School CLIL methodology was implemented during the lessons of Biology, Geography, Physics, Chemistry, Math, Art, Handicrafts, P.E. (it is close to the authentic language) and History (starts in the 5th grade).
I observed teachers using verbal scaffolding such as prompting students with the first letter, whispering, writing prompts, effective use of wait time and using synonyms and antonyms. Finnish teachers always tried to activate students' background knowledge and use familiar daily routines and gestures. They were also support learning with the following tools: word walls, using visuals and imagery, using graphic organizers and labeled visuals.
I observed teachers using verbal scaffolding such as prompting students with the first letter, whispering, writing prompts, effective use of wait time and using synonyms and antonyms. Finnish teachers always tried to activate students' background knowledge and use familiar daily routines and gestures. They were also support learning with the following tools: word walls, using visuals and imagery, using graphic organizers and labeled visuals.
Microteaching - planning instructions
The activity that allowed me to have an insight into exact words of teaching instructions was preparing a short activity and planning every single word that I will say during it and timing it.
It was challenging, because usually we do not plan in such details, but my attention was drawn to the importance of careful preparation of instructions and expecting the timing.
It was challenging, because usually we do not plan in such details, but my attention was drawn to the importance of careful preparation of instructions and expecting the timing.
activity_procedure.pdf |
Practicum - observations
During my teaching practice in the primary school I observed two teachers working together and co-teaching a lesson. I paid a lot of attention to the quality of instructions they were giving to their students.
They taught a special lesson - Easter egg hunt. Teachers gave instructions in English, they scaffolded children and asked questions in order to make sure they understood what they are supposed to do. Children were asked to find Easter eggs that the teachers hid in the school during the break before the lesson. Both teachers cooperated ticking students' lists and monitored them. They spoke only English between each other even if children didn't hear them.
They were using gestures, miming in order to help students to understand the instructions. If they notices that students did not understand what they are supposed to do they were prompting them with appropriate questions. They never switched into Polish, but made a lot of effort to get the message across in a target language.
I was truly impressed and realised that it is possible to use only English instructions while teaching.
They taught a special lesson - Easter egg hunt. Teachers gave instructions in English, they scaffolded children and asked questions in order to make sure they understood what they are supposed to do. Children were asked to find Easter eggs that the teachers hid in the school during the break before the lesson. Both teachers cooperated ticking students' lists and monitored them. They spoke only English between each other even if children didn't hear them.
They were using gestures, miming in order to help students to understand the instructions. If they notices that students did not understand what they are supposed to do they were prompting them with appropriate questions. They never switched into Polish, but made a lot of effort to get the message across in a target language.
I was truly impressed and realised that it is possible to use only English instructions while teaching.
Asking questions
'Teaching is about asking good questions, not giving good answers'
I have learned using multiple teaching and learning strategies to engage children in active learning opportunities that promote the development of linguistic abilities, critical thinking, problem solving. I believe it can be achieved by asking right questions. I realised what those good questions are and how to ask them.
During the courses I have learned about Bloom's taxonomy, which changed my perspective on the issue of asking questions. I reflected on the reasons we ask questions in the language classroom and how should we do it in order to stimulate learners to think and guide their understanding. I changed my perspective on what is a good question and discovered that the teacher should plan the questions that will be asked during the lesson carefully. When I planned my CLIL unit I took into consideration Bloom's taxonomy and first decided to use questions which appeal to lower-order thinking skills and then challenged learners thinking behaviours with high-order thinking skills. I observed that Bloom's taxonomy is a useful framework for creating tasks and planning lessons.
During the courses I have learned about Bloom's taxonomy, which changed my perspective on the issue of asking questions. I reflected on the reasons we ask questions in the language classroom and how should we do it in order to stimulate learners to think and guide their understanding. I changed my perspective on what is a good question and discovered that the teacher should plan the questions that will be asked during the lesson carefully. When I planned my CLIL unit I took into consideration Bloom's taxonomy and first decided to use questions which appeal to lower-order thinking skills and then challenged learners thinking behaviours with high-order thinking skills. I observed that Bloom's taxonomy is a useful framework for creating tasks and planning lessons.
Cross-linguistic awareness
Thanks to the cross-linguistic activity that I designed I understood how the first language can support additional language learning. It helps learners to adopt strategies in foreign language learning, to pay attention to cognates and notice language patterns and to make them more aware learners.
crosslinguistic_awareness_activity.pdf |
Developing students' language skills
When I was preparing this task I wanted to use the theoretical knowledge from the classes in practice, because apart from preparing the plan of microteaching I had to teach it to the students from my group. My lesson plan did not aim at young learners, but teenagers (the age group was up to us). I decided that it will be beneficial for learners to get acquainted with authentic materials, as usually learners do not work with authentic materials in the regular classrooms. What is more, I believed it will be motivating for them to work with an authentic text. I evaluated the resources that I had and selected a few city brochures that I collected in London. They referred to various tourist attractions in the city. When I was preparing this assignment I practiced writing a lesson plan (or rather extended activity plan). I considered dividing it into a few stages such as warm-up, pre-reading, reading and post-reading in a form of writing task.
This assignment is a good example of a task on planning a practical classroom activity aimed at developing reading, presenting it in a form of microteaching to the group and receiving a feedback and evaluation from the instructor and other students. It is also a good practice of writing a lesson plan, classroom management and giving instructions.
This task supports the development of four language skills, it focuses on reading, but pre-reading and post-reading tasks focus on other skills as well. It also supports the teaching of culture and knowing its relationship with language as it present some elements of the British culture and everyday life.
This assignment is a good example of a task on planning a practical classroom activity aimed at developing reading, presenting it in a form of microteaching to the group and receiving a feedback and evaluation from the instructor and other students. It is also a good practice of writing a lesson plan, classroom management and giving instructions.
This task supports the development of four language skills, it focuses on reading, but pre-reading and post-reading tasks focus on other skills as well. It also supports the teaching of culture and knowing its relationship with language as it present some elements of the British culture and everyday life.
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Supporting the development of reading skills
During classes I found out that teachers can support young learners to a great extent in the development of their reading skills both in the first and in the second language.
The first thing they can do is to familiarize children with different types of print. They can do it by surrounding them with and exposing to printed language by labeling items in the classroom (e.g. 'door','window', 'cupboard') and creating areas for literacy purposes such as reading corner or classroom library. What teachers have to bear in mind is the fact that students come from different socioeconomic backgrounds and not all of them have full access to print at home, therefore it is good if they can get acquainted with different types of reading texts (children literature, newspapers, magazines, leaflets) at school. Teachers can also encourage young learners to bring their favourite books to the classroom library so that other children could borrow them. As all of them bring their favourite books it can be a great topic to discuss with learners during the lesson.
I believe it is also a great idea to activate parents and invite them to come to the classroom and to read to children during the lessons (e.g. one parent every week or every two weeks). Children would be encouraged to develop their literacy skills if they see that their parents are actively involved and support them in the process.
Teachers should be also very careful with the choice of reading materials as well as with the choice of topics. Materials should be attractive, realistic and should appeal to learners' age, level and interest. Children should be familiar with the topics and identify with them so that they can relate to them. Teachers can talk to the learners about the possible topics and encourage them to come up with the ideas, which would make young children feel listened to, they would also realise that their opinions are important to a teacher and they can have an impact on what they learn and read in the classroom.
We should get children acquainted with different reading strategies to help them become more aware readers. One of the strategies that we should not underestimate as it works perfectly with young learners is predicting (e.g. on the basis of pictures in the book) what the story is going to be about or what would be the ending of it. It is a good idea to encourage students to come up with possible alternative endings to stimulate their imagination. As far as I am concerned, I believe it is important that teachers activate learners' background knowledge by asking questions, scaffolding, eliciting information from students and encouraging them to brainstorm their ideas.
We should imbue learners with enthusiasm and passion and show them that reading is an enjoyable experience and an intelectual adventure. What we should remember is that teachers do not only teach reading skills, but they also teach the attitude towards reading, which can be a crucial element in learners' lives in the future.
During classes I found out that teachers can support young learners to a great extent in the development of their reading skills both in the first and in the second language.
The first thing they can do is to familiarize children with different types of print. They can do it by surrounding them with and exposing to printed language by labeling items in the classroom (e.g. 'door','window', 'cupboard') and creating areas for literacy purposes such as reading corner or classroom library. What teachers have to bear in mind is the fact that students come from different socioeconomic backgrounds and not all of them have full access to print at home, therefore it is good if they can get acquainted with different types of reading texts (children literature, newspapers, magazines, leaflets) at school. Teachers can also encourage young learners to bring their favourite books to the classroom library so that other children could borrow them. As all of them bring their favourite books it can be a great topic to discuss with learners during the lesson.
I believe it is also a great idea to activate parents and invite them to come to the classroom and to read to children during the lessons (e.g. one parent every week or every two weeks). Children would be encouraged to develop their literacy skills if they see that their parents are actively involved and support them in the process.
Teachers should be also very careful with the choice of reading materials as well as with the choice of topics. Materials should be attractive, realistic and should appeal to learners' age, level and interest. Children should be familiar with the topics and identify with them so that they can relate to them. Teachers can talk to the learners about the possible topics and encourage them to come up with the ideas, which would make young children feel listened to, they would also realise that their opinions are important to a teacher and they can have an impact on what they learn and read in the classroom.
We should get children acquainted with different reading strategies to help them become more aware readers. One of the strategies that we should not underestimate as it works perfectly with young learners is predicting (e.g. on the basis of pictures in the book) what the story is going to be about or what would be the ending of it. It is a good idea to encourage students to come up with possible alternative endings to stimulate their imagination. As far as I am concerned, I believe it is important that teachers activate learners' background knowledge by asking questions, scaffolding, eliciting information from students and encouraging them to brainstorm their ideas.
We should imbue learners with enthusiasm and passion and show them that reading is an enjoyable experience and an intelectual adventure. What we should remember is that teachers do not only teach reading skills, but they also teach the attitude towards reading, which can be a crucial element in learners' lives in the future.
An eclectic approach and post-method era
While I reflected on en eclectic approach and post-method era I realised that a teacher needs to demonstrate flexibility in the teaching process and try different methods and techniques to engage learners in active learning opportunities.
The eclectic approach is the use of different techniques depending on the aims of the lesson from a range of ELT approaches and methodologies. It was created after century-old obsession with a perfect method of teaching the language and failing in finding it. After learning about wide spectrum of ELT methods during my teaching studies I learnt to be selective towards them and I am able to choose a method that would be appropriate for the taught group.
In my work as a teacher I would like to implement various elements of some of them. I believe that in almost every method there is something that can inspire teachers and help them to become better at the job they are doing.
What a teacher can do is to be aware of the existence of different methods, know their backgrounds and theories as well as how to use them in practice, but select the activities carefully depending on learners' needs and individual differences.
Nowadays we live in the post-method era, which gives teachers the opportunity to develop their own approach to teaching on the basis of the conditions they are in, rather than fitting the existing approaches and methods to their classrooms.
Unlike methods, which have specific rules and techniques to be applied in class, the post-method era does not constrain the teacher and the learner with some specific rules. It provides the flexibility to change according to conditions of the class and learners. It tries to create autonomous teachers and learners. The post method era changes the traditional teacher concept and promotes their role as active practitioners who reflect on and shape their own teaching, evaluate it and make changes in the classroom if necessary.
The eclectic approach is the use of different techniques depending on the aims of the lesson from a range of ELT approaches and methodologies. It was created after century-old obsession with a perfect method of teaching the language and failing in finding it. After learning about wide spectrum of ELT methods during my teaching studies I learnt to be selective towards them and I am able to choose a method that would be appropriate for the taught group.
In my work as a teacher I would like to implement various elements of some of them. I believe that in almost every method there is something that can inspire teachers and help them to become better at the job they are doing.
What a teacher can do is to be aware of the existence of different methods, know their backgrounds and theories as well as how to use them in practice, but select the activities carefully depending on learners' needs and individual differences.
Nowadays we live in the post-method era, which gives teachers the opportunity to develop their own approach to teaching on the basis of the conditions they are in, rather than fitting the existing approaches and methods to their classrooms.
Unlike methods, which have specific rules and techniques to be applied in class, the post-method era does not constrain the teacher and the learner with some specific rules. It provides the flexibility to change according to conditions of the class and learners. It tries to create autonomous teachers and learners. The post method era changes the traditional teacher concept and promotes their role as active practitioners who reflect on and shape their own teaching, evaluate it and make changes in the classroom if necessary.
eclectic_approach.pdf |