For the pair work task this week, I wrote a response to the Ci 1 Transcript (Dos and Don’t in Laos image).
For the pair work task this week, I wrote a response to the Ci 1 Transcript (Dos and Don’t in Laos image). My suggestions for alternative ways to teach this are below.
Eik Ter was kind enough to look at the transcript I sent him for a section of one of my own lessons. It was refreshing to be able to get another person’s view on the interactions taking place.
As one great example: in the transcript, one of my learners describes how she felt a sense of achievement when she participated in a singing competition last year, but responds ‘no’ when asked if she would consider participating in another one, after which everyone laughs.
Eik Ter was able to interpret that she was probably recalling the long hours of hard work and practice before the competition and the pressure and nervousness that were involved. - I’ve known a lot of teachers who would not have perceived this; they would not have ‘seen’ what the laughter was indicating, and might have pushed the student to explain more.
Alternatives for Ci 1
From the description and transcript, I’m not really sure why the teacher has used this context or what their aims are. But so what - let’s go with it, and imagine we are still going to use the drawing of the stoned tourists for English learning purposes.
Option One
Get the learners to imagine that the picture is the third of five images that form a story. They are given four blank sheets of paper, and imagine that the image happens in the 'middle'. They then draw what led up to it, and what happens next.
They can then explain, telling their 'story' to the rest of the class, with the teacher making notes for feedback and/or recording for later transcription and analysis with the learners of the language used.
Option Two
Turn it into a role play, with students playing the roles of the tourists and villagers. If there are other students in the group, extra ‘characters’ could be added.
Less confident students might want to take some time to write a script and practice before performing it. Obviously, the teacher can help with this process when the students need it.
Very confident students might be asked to arrange themselves to match what they see in the image, and then, “go” – they perform an impromptu role play, making up the dialogue as they go along.
The beliefs that I base these alternatives on are:
• Just about anything could be used as an aid for language learning purposes, although the teacher needs to think about what they are aiming for. At the same time, the teacher may want to adapt things as the lesson proceeds. The teacher will also need to consider their learners, asking questions like, ‘what mood will they be in when the class begins?’, ‘how will they interpret the materials I introduce and the tasks I want them to do?’, and ‘is this culturally appropriate?’ (so obviously, the teacher needs to know their learners well).
• The teacher should, as much as possible, use activities and tasks that encourage the learner’s creativity and sense of imagination, rather than ‘harnessing’ them or restricting them. I admit that many of us do have to work within externally set parameters (tests, syllabuses, textbooks and so on) – I certainly do – so perhaps the mark of a good teacher in today’s age is to find ways of teaching and learning that satisfy “The Man”, as people in western cultures might call it, while also allowing our learners to develop in ways that can’t be assessed by someone with a clipboard and a checklist.
Eik Ter was kind enough to look at the transcript I sent him for a section of one of my own lessons. It was refreshing to be able to get another person’s view on the interactions taking place.
As one great example: in the transcript, one of my learners describes how she felt a sense of achievement when she participated in a singing competition last year, but responds ‘no’ when asked if she would consider participating in another one, after which everyone laughs.
Eik Ter was able to interpret that she was probably recalling the long hours of hard work and practice before the competition and the pressure and nervousness that were involved. - I’ve known a lot of teachers who would not have perceived this; they would not have ‘seen’ what the laughter was indicating, and might have pushed the student to explain more.
Alternatives for Ci 1
From the description and transcript, I’m not really sure why the teacher has used this context or what their aims are. But so what - let’s go with it, and imagine we are still going to use the drawing of the stoned tourists for English learning purposes.
Option One
Get the learners to imagine that the picture is the third of five images that form a story. They are given four blank sheets of paper, and imagine that the image happens in the 'middle'. They then draw what led up to it, and what happens next.
They can then explain, telling their 'story' to the rest of the class, with the teacher making notes for feedback and/or recording for later transcription and analysis with the learners of the language used.
Option Two
Turn it into a role play, with students playing the roles of the tourists and villagers. If there are other students in the group, extra ‘characters’ could be added.
Less confident students might want to take some time to write a script and practice before performing it. Obviously, the teacher can help with this process when the students need it.
Very confident students might be asked to arrange themselves to match what they see in the image, and then, “go” – they perform an impromptu role play, making up the dialogue as they go along.
The beliefs that I base these alternatives on are:
• Just about anything could be used as an aid for language learning purposes, although the teacher needs to think about what they are aiming for. At the same time, the teacher may want to adapt things as the lesson proceeds. The teacher will also need to consider their learners, asking questions like, ‘what mood will they be in when the class begins?’, ‘how will they interpret the materials I introduce and the tasks I want them to do?’, and ‘is this culturally appropriate?’ (so obviously, the teacher needs to know their learners well).
• The teacher should, as much as possible, use activities and tasks that encourage the learner’s creativity and sense of imagination, rather than ‘harnessing’ them or restricting them. I admit that many of us do have to work within externally set parameters (tests, syllabuses, textbooks and so on) – I certainly do – so perhaps the mark of a good teacher in today’s age is to find ways of teaching and learning that satisfy “The Man”, as people in western cultures might call it, while also allowing our learners to develop in ways that can’t be assessed by someone with a clipboard and a checklist.
Re how students feel and Eik Ter's alternative interpretation, we have to realize that in most cases what we think our students are feeling or thinking and what they are thinking and feeling are not the same. It is very, very difficult if not impossible to know what others feel and thinking. So Eik Ter's alternative interpretation is perceptive, as is your initial interpretation is but both might well be wrong.
ReplyDeleteRe the alternatives, the use of sketches allows students to move from meaning to images rather than meaning to language which if their language is limited, which it is of course, means they are limited.
Re the role play, tough to play different roles even in our first language.
Your point about using students' sense of imagination and creativity is crucial. But your option of having them sketch rather than use language is more likely to enable them to use their imagination and creativity since images came before written language.
Cheers.
Martin, I thought I'd read your whole post last week, but coming back to read it again this week made me realize I missed some key points. I love the sentence preceding your option one, and your related point about all the things a teacher needs to consider when selecting materials.
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