Solo Task 1: Transcript cs & h 1 "Keywords/Brainstorm"
In my comment to this transcript, I can only agree with Anne: Do not assume:)
It's so clearly seen here the huge gap between the language level of students and the level of teacher's speech. It seems the teacher was not aware of these students' level. Perhaps the teacher saw this group for the first time and assumed they would understand his/her natural speech.
This transcript remined me of my case when I had to conduct an introductory lesson to a beginner group. I just walked into the classroom, said hello and addressed the audience with the welcoming speech in English which was interrupted by one of the students who stood up and said in Russian, "It seems I have been placed in the wrong group." I immediately had to switch to Russian to set her and the rest of the group at ease. :) Naturally, when you are teaching a multinational group you can't switch to a mother tongue. So the only way out is to use pictures and very simple words. As for the body language, it's not always safe to use it as it might be interpreted differently by people of different nationalities.
In my comment to this transcript, I can only agree with Anne: Do not assume:)
It's so clearly seen here the huge gap between the language level of students and the level of teacher's speech. It seems the teacher was not aware of these students' level. Perhaps the teacher saw this group for the first time and assumed they would understand his/her natural speech.
This transcript remined me of my case when I had to conduct an introductory lesson to a beginner group. I just walked into the classroom, said hello and addressed the audience with the welcoming speech in English which was interrupted by one of the students who stood up and said in Russian, "It seems I have been placed in the wrong group." I immediately had to switch to Russian to set her and the rest of the group at ease. :) Naturally, when you are teaching a multinational group you can't switch to a mother tongue. So the only way out is to use pictures and very simple words. As for the body language, it's not always safe to use it as it might be interpreted differently by people of different nationalities.
Alexandra, I think that in all the transcripts, there is a huge gap between the language of the teachers and the language of the students. If we were to drop from a parachute into almost any classroom in the world we would find the same gap. The fact that teachers are unaware of this gap is of course a huge problem. The fact that in teacher preparation programs and in methods book this gap is not a central concern is quite distressing.
ReplyDeleteJohn Fanselow It is truly so. It's not easy to adjust your language to the language level of your beginner or elementary students. I think the best way to practice this skill is to try to teach children.
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