For teachers

موضوع: For teachers الإثنين سبتمبر 05, 2011 8:49 pm

Back to School

What's more fun than back to school? It's a great time full of excitement, anticipation and, of course, expectations for both teachers and students. For teachers it means a time of preparation.

You not only need to prepare your classroom for returning students; you have to organize your entire year of lesson plans, grading, systems and activities. Children, of course, need to gather their supplies, back to school clothing and organizational materials.

Teachers, like yourself, need to decorate the classroom and create initial activities and programs. Consider using some of the lesson plans, activities, clip art and movies to help you start off the new school year right.

Get Started on the Right Foot with Educational Resources and Teaching Tips

Take advantage of the abundance of educational resources available at TeacherPlanet.com. They include everything from "getting to know your young student" to "how to get free school supplies." Icebreakers, grading plans and parent communication tips can help, too! Engage young minds and have an easier year doing it.

موضوع: رد: For teachers الإثنين سبتمبر 05, 2011 8:59 pm

Top 10 Technology Tips for New Teachers

1. Develop a Personal Learning Network (PLN) on Twitter.

2. Keep students engaged.

3. Take charge of professional development.

4. Involve parents by creating a link between home and school.

5. Keep yourself organized.

6. Find educational blogs to discover new ideas, encouragement, and educational news.

7. Get to know your students.

8. Work smarter not harder.

9. Don’t reinvent the wheel.

10. Always be prepared.

Details here

Good Luck

موضوع: رد: For teachers الإثنين سبتمبر 05, 2011 9:18 pm

What are principles of language learning? How and why should overall "principles" guide our teaching?

Principles of Language Learning

Language learning principles are generally sorted into three sub-groupings: Cognitive Principles, Affective Principals and Linguistic Principles. Principles are seen as theory derived from research, to which teachers need to match classroom practices. Here are some brief summaries of the principles that fall into each grouping:

Cognitive Principles

Automaticity: Subconcious processing of language with peripheral attention to language forms;

Meaningful Learning: This can be contrasted to Rote Learning, and is thought to lead to better long term retention;

Anticipation of Rewards: Learners are driven to act by the anticipation of rewards, tangible or intangible;

Intrinsic Motivation: The most potent learning "rewards" are intrinsically motivated within the learner;

Strategic Investment: The time and learning strategies learners invest into the language learning process.

Affective Principles

Language Ego: Learning a new language involves developing a new mode of thinking - a new language "ego";

Self-Confidence: Success in learning something can be equated to the belief in learners that they can learn it;

Risk-Taking: Taking risks and experimenting "beyond" what is certain creates better long-term retention;

Language-Culture Connection: Learning a language also involves learning about cultural values and thinking.

Linguistic Principles

Native Language Effect: A learner's native language creates both facilitating and interfering effects on learning;

Interlanguage: At least some of the learner's development in a new language can be seen as systematic;

Communicative Competence: Fluency and use are just as important as accuracy and usage - instruction needs to be aimed at organizational, pragmatic and strategic competence as well as psychomotor skills.

This is a very brief overview of various language learning principles, drawn heavily from H. Douglas Brown's explanation (see resources for reference). You may be able to come up with more or different interpretations yourself. However you view language learning principles, these should form the basis or backdrop of the techniques you choose to use and the choices you make in the language learner classroom.

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موضوع: رد: For teachers الإثنين سبتمبر 05, 2011 9:28 pm

Types of Learning Associated with the CLT Approach

Interactive Learning:
This concept goes right to the heart of communication itself, stressing the dual roles of "receiver" and "sender" in any communicative situation. Interaction creates the "negotiation between interlocutors" which in turn produces meaning (semantics). The concept of interactive learning necessarily entails that there will be a lot of pair and group work in the classroom, as well as genuine language input from the "real world" for meaningful communication.

Learner-centered Learning:
This kind of instruction involves the giving over of some "power" in the language learning process to the learners themselves. It also strives to allow for personal creativity and input from the students, as well as taking into account their learning needs and objectives.

Cooperative Learning:
This concept stresses the "team" like nature of the classroom and emphasizes cooperation as opposed to competition. Students share information and help, and achieve their learning goals as a group.

Content-based Learning:
This kind of learning joins language learning to content/subject matter and engages them both concurrently. Language is seen as a tool or medium for aquiring knowledge about other things, instantly proving its usefulness. An important factor in this kind of learning is that the content itself determines what language items need to be mastered, not the other way around. When students study math or science using English as the medium, they are more intrinsically motivated to learn more of the language.

Task-based Learning:
This concept equates the idea of a "learning task" to a language learning technique in itself. This could be a problem solving activity or a project, but the task has a clear objective, appropriate content, a working/application procedure, and a set range of outcomes.

موضوع: رد: For teachers الإثنين سبتمبر 05, 2011 9:33 pm

The PPP Approach to Communicative Language Teaching

"PPP" (or the "3Ps") stands for Presentation, Practice and Production - a common approach to communicative language teaching that works through the progression of three sequential stages.

Presentation represents the introduction to a lesson, and necessarily requires the creation of a realistic (or realistic-feeling) "situation" requiring the target language to be learned. This can be achieved through using pictures, dialogs, imagination or actual "classroom situations". The teacher checks to see that the students understand the nature of the situation, then builds the "concept" underlying the language to be learned using small chunks of language that the students already know. Having understood the concept, students are then given the language "model" and angage in choral drills to learn statement, answer and question forms for the target language. This is a very teacher-orientated stage where error correction is important.

Practice usually begins with what is termed "mechanical practice" - open and closed pairwork. Students gradually move into more "communicative practice" involving procedures like information gap activities, dialog creation and controlled roleplays. Practice is seen as the frequency device to create familiarity and confidence with the new language, and a measuring stick for accuracy. The teacher still directs and corrects at this stage, but the classroom is beginning to become more learner-centered.

Production is seen as the culmination of the language learning process, whereby the learners have started to become independent users of the language rather than students of the language. The teacher's role here is to somehow facilitate a realistic situation or activity where the students instinctively feel the need to actively apply the language they have been practicing. The teacher does not correct or become involved unless students directly appeal to him/her to do so.

The PPP approach is relatively straight forward, and structured enough to be easily understood by both students and new or emerging teachers. It is a good place to start in terms of applying good communicative language teaching in the classroom. It has also been criticized considerably for the very characteristic that makes it the easiest method for 'beginner' teachers, that is, that it is far too teacher-orientated and over controlled. A nice alternative to 'PPP' is Harmer's 'ESA' (Engage/Study/Activate) - .

موضوع: رد: For teachers الإثنين سبتمبر 05, 2011 9:36 pm

Methodology and Age Groups

"Age" can be seen as a learner variable, a contextual consideration that can be rated alongside knowing "who" exactly your students are, and "where" and "why" they are learning English as a Second or Foreign Language. While it would perhaps be rash to say that this or that specific method matches this or that specific age group of learners, there are definitely general considerations for various age groups that ought to encourage teachers to be mindful/selective of the kinds of teaching techniques they use according to the age of their students.

Young Learners
It is very well known that children (from ages 5-12) are very much orientated in their minds around the "here and now" and directly visible/perceivable. Grammatical rules/explanations are usually lost on them, as are somewhat "adult" notions of what is correct and what isn't. They develop well when given plenty of examples and patterns to follow. They tend to have a much shorter attention span and need activities that capture their immediate interest. They also need much in the way of "sensory input" - that is, they need to have many or all of their five senses stimulated at once. While generally less inhibited than adults in terms of experimenting with new language, they tend to have more fragile egos and can be very sensitive to their peers.

Teenagers
The ages 12-18 coincide with a time of rapid transition and change, both mentally and physically. As teenagers begin to develop more cognitive ability, they can be exposed to language learning techniques that require more logical and/or abstract thinking. Attention span begins to lengthen, but there are also more distractions of an emotional nature. Probably the most important considerations for these learners are "affective" ones. Issues to do with ego and self-esteem are at their height, and teenagers can be incredibly sensitive to the ways others see their physical, mental and emotional development. Real or percieved errors can shatter confidence and detract from risk-taking. Teachers of teenagers need to be able to find ways to draw on and develop congnitive, analytical and logic skills, whilst being constantly mindful of feedback techniques and confidence building strategies.

Adults
Teachers of adults need to bear in mind that these learners have longer attention spans and can handle learning that requires more cognition and abstract thinking. They tend to respond well to the teaching of grammatical rules. They may not be as willing to be "risk-takers", and generally need to feel respected and that they have a "choice-making" role in the classroom.

موضوع: رد: For teachers الإثنين سبتمبر 05, 2011 9:38 pm

Experimenting with Methodology

People who are new to the language teaching profession often overlook one of its essential characteristics. Language itself is dynamic, infinite and ever-changing. The best language teachers are generally dynamic themselves, in terms of the way they develop, add-to and experiment with their teaching methodology. Methodology should not be seen as an indoctrinated set of "standardized" and/or "acceptable" techniques - a sort of "teaching bible" if you will. Still, I constantly meet new teachers who become frustrated when they realize that I am not about to hand over to them a neat, step-by-step, packaged approach to what is involved in running and managing a language learning classroom. Others seem perfectly willing to slip into a "groove" based on what they see colleagues doing and what they perceive their employing institution sees as acceptable. Sadly, teaching methodology to many is a simple matter of following various steps (like putting together a lego model), and this ignores fundamental characteristics of what language is and does, and often the language learners themselves.

You should see teaching methodology as your own personal domain, certainly open to outside influences and examples, but yours to experiment with and develop. Decide what your language learning principles are and select techniques from various "methods" that appear to match them. Try adapting/experimenting with those techniques before you prematurely discard them after one attempt. Try using various techniques in a variety of combinations. Observe your learners closely, and invite them into the process by eliciting their feedback on the range of techniques you use. Try not to misinterpret what the role of a language teacher is - you are not some "authority" given a mandate to tell learners how they should think. You are a facilitator and a guide, and an ongoing "learner" yourself.

In terms of experimenting with language teaching methodology, some of the general considerations most experts emphasize about our learners are also directly applicable to us as language teachers:

-> Be a risk-taker and see errors as an essential, positive part of the learning process;

-> See peers (ie, your fellow teachers) as sources of learning, who may or may not be "right";

-> See learning as a cooperative and collaberative exercise, not a competitive one;

-> Try to take responsibility for your own learning, set your own goals and develop strategies to achieve them.

It is a good idea to keep your own teaching "journal", listing the techniques you try and how effective they were in application to various learners and language items. This in fact equates to classroom Action Research.

موضوع: رد: For teachers الإثنين سبتمبر 05, 2011 9:46 pm

The Grammar Translation Method

Latin and Ancient Greek are known as "dead" languages, based on the fact that people no longer speak them for the purpose of interactive communication. Yet they are still acknowledged as important languages to learn (especially Latin) for the purpose of gaining access to classical literature, and up until fairly recently, for the kinds of grammar training that led to the mental dexterity considered so important in any higher education study stream.

Latin has been studied for centuries, with the prime objectives of learning how to read classical Latin texts, understanding the fundamentals of grammar and translation, and gaining insights into some important foreign influences Latin has had on the development of other European languages. The method used to teach it overwhelmingly bore those objectives in mind, and came to be known (appropriately!) as the Classical Method. It is now more commonly known in Foreign Language Teaching circles as the Grammar Translation Method.

It is hard to decide which is more surprising - the fact that this method has survived right up until today (alongside a host of more modern and more "enlightened" methods), or the fact that what was essentially a method developed for the study of "dead" languages involving little or no spoken communication or listening comprehension is still used for the study of languages that are very much alive and require competence not only in terms of reading, writing and structure, but also speaking, listening and interactive communication. How has such an archaic method, "remembered with distaste by thousands of school learners" (Richards and Rodgers, 1986:4) perservered?

It is worth looking at the objectives, features and typical techniques commonly associated with the Grammar Translation Method, in order to both understand how it works and why it has shown such tenacity as an acceptable (even recommended or respected) language teaching philosophy in many countries and institutions around the world.
Objectives

Most teachers who employ the Grammar Translation Method to teach English would probably tell you that (for their students at least) the most fundamental reason for learning the language is give learners access to English literature, develop their minds "mentally" through foreign language learning, and to build in them the kinds of grammar, reading, vocabulary and translation skills necessary to pass any one of a variety of mandatory written tests required at High School or Tertiary level.

Some teachers who use the method might also tell you that it is the most effective way to prepare students for "global communication" by beginning with the key skills of reading and grammar. Others may even say it is the "least stressful" for students because almost all the teaching occurs in L1 and students are rarely called upon to speak the language in any communicative fashion.

More conservative teachers from more conservative countries are even likely to be put out by anyone merely questioning the method, and a typical response could be "because that's the way it's always been done - it's the way I learned and look, now I'm a professor". The point being, the method is institutionalized and considered fundamental. Such teachers are probably even unware that the method has a name and can be compared alongside other methods.

According to Prator and Celce-Murcia (1979:3), the key features of the Grammar Translation Method are as follows:

(1) Classes are taught in the mother tongue, with little active use of the target language.

(2) Much vocabulary is taught in the form of lists of isolated words.

(3) Long elaborate explanations of the intricacies of grammar are given.

(4) Grammar provides the rules for putting words together, and instruction often focuses on the form

and inflection of words.

(5) Reading of difficult classical texts is begun early.

(6) Little attention is paid to the content of texts, which are treated as exercises in in grammatical

analysis.

(7) Often the only drills are exercises in translating disconnected sentences from the target language

into the mother tongue.

( Cool

Little or no attention is given to pronunciation.

Diane Larsen-Freeman, in her book Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching (1986:13) provides expanded descriptions of some common/typical techniques closely associated with the Grammar Translation Method. The listing here is in summary form only.

(1) Translation of a Literary Passage

(Translating target language to native language)

(2) Reading Comprehension Questions

(Finding information in a passage, making inferences and relating to personal experience)

(3) Antonyms/Synonyms

(Finding antonyms and synonyms for words or sets of words).

(4) Cognates

(Learning spelling/sound patterns that correspond between L1 and the target language)

(5) Deductive Application of Rule

(Understanding grammar rules and their exceptions, then applying them to new examples)

(6) Fill-in-the-blanks

(Filling in gaps in sentences with new words or items of a particular grammar type).

(7) Memorization

(Memorizing vocabulary lists, grammatical rules and grammatical paradigms)

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Use Words in Sentences

(Students create sentences to illustrate they know the meaning and use of new words)

Many people who have undertaken foreign language learning at high schools or universities even in the past 10 years or so may remember many of the teaching techniques listed above for the Grammar Translation Method. They may also recall that the language learning experience was uninspiring, rather boring, or even left them with a sense of frustration when they traveled to countries where the language was used only to find they couldn't understand what people were saying and struggled mightily to express themselves at the most basic level.

Very few modern language teaching experts would be quick to say that this is an effective language teaching method, and fewer would dare to try and assert that it results in any kind of communicative competence. As Richards and Rodgers (1986:5) state, "It is a method for which there is no theory. There is no literature that offers a rationale or justification for it that attempts to relate it to issues in linguistics, psychology, or educational theory."

And yet the Grammar Translation Method is still common in many countries - even popular. Brown attempts to explain why the method is still employed by pointing out

"It requires few specialized skills on the part of teachers. Tests of grammar rules and of translations are easy to construct and can be objectively scored. Many standardized tests of foreign languages still do not attempt to tap into communicative abilities, so students have little motivation to go beyond grammar analogies, translations, and rote exercises." (1994:53)

Digression:

I myself studied Swedish as a foreign language at university level in Australia, and I was taught according to a rather conservative approach that involved both the Grammar Translation Method and the Audiolingual Method. At the end of three years study I could read and write Swedish rather well, had studied several novels and poems by famous Swedish literary figures, and could pass a grammar test with scarcely a problem. Ironically, when I went to study in Sweden at the end of that period, I was endlessly frustrated with my strage accent and lack of colloquial vocabulary, the constant stumbling through menial utterances - and yet always impressed Swedes with my correct application of grammar/sentence structure and my familiarity with their literature and the cultural aspects that accompanied it. In hindsight, I would have to say that I found that the language learning process highly stressful and frustrating, but in the end it paid off. The end justifies the means? Personally I wish the "means" could have been more effective and enjoyable from the outset.

I also studied Old Norse and Old English at university level - of course using the Grammar Translation Method. I found these languages much more interesting and far less stressful, because my goal from the outset was to learn how to read and access the literatures in their original forms. I was learning Swedish primarily in order to learn how to communicate with Swedes and function happily in Sweden.

My personal conclusion is simple: the Grammar Translation Method was developed for the study of "dead" languages and to facilitate access to those languages' classical literature. That's the way it should stay. English is certainly not a dead or dying language (understatement of the century!), so any teacher that takes "an approach for dead language study" into an English language classroom should perhaps think about taking up Math or Science instead. Rules, universals and memorized priciples apply to those disciplines - pedagogy and communicative principles do not.

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موضوع: رد: For teachers الخميس سبتمبر 08, 2011 10:17 am

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