Solo Task 1: Transcript cs & h 2 "Field Trip"
First of all I need to say that I was impressed! Wow! :))
I couldn't have even imagined the extent to which we, teachers, need to be sensitive to our students' language levels, especially when we attempt to go beyond our routine classroom language.
This episode vividly reminded me of myself being a schoolgirl and struggling with English and how stressful it can be to not understand the important information that a teacher is saying. I particularly remember one case when our English teacher was dictating a text to us and we couldn't make out the words like "two" or "too" or "to". Naturally, our level of English was not enough to let us understand the meaning of the text and all what we could do was to focus on separate words in attempt to accidentaly get them right.
But back to the transcript:)
The lessons I learnt from the transcript:
1. It's a good idea to use very simple words and sentences when you give students important information. It seems that the teacher tried to do just that but it didn't turn out to be enough as some simple words like "presentation" or "code" were misunderstood or misinterpreted while students had no problem with understanding presumably well-practiced phrases and structures like "we are going to" and "you have to make a good presentation".
2. To avoid such misunderstanding, asking students Concept Checking Questions (CCQs) could be a good way out to see how much students were able to understand. I use these questions from time to time. Certainly, CCQs aren't a panacea and there is always some danger of overdoing with them. To avoid the latter, it could be beneficial to only use CCQs to check undestanding of some potentially challenging words (like "continental" or "dress code") or some instructions and ideas that should be clearly understood by the students (e.g. when they are departing, what they need to do). This might help to avoid confusion like the one that the word "presentation" caused in the dialogue.
3. And certainly, it could be a good idea to encourage students to ask you questions about your message.
First of all I need to say that I was impressed! Wow! :))
I couldn't have even imagined the extent to which we, teachers, need to be sensitive to our students' language levels, especially when we attempt to go beyond our routine classroom language.
This episode vividly reminded me of myself being a schoolgirl and struggling with English and how stressful it can be to not understand the important information that a teacher is saying. I particularly remember one case when our English teacher was dictating a text to us and we couldn't make out the words like "two" or "too" or "to". Naturally, our level of English was not enough to let us understand the meaning of the text and all what we could do was to focus on separate words in attempt to accidentaly get them right.
But back to the transcript:)
The lessons I learnt from the transcript:
1. It's a good idea to use very simple words and sentences when you give students important information. It seems that the teacher tried to do just that but it didn't turn out to be enough as some simple words like "presentation" or "code" were misunderstood or misinterpreted while students had no problem with understanding presumably well-practiced phrases and structures like "we are going to" and "you have to make a good presentation".
2. To avoid such misunderstanding, asking students Concept Checking Questions (CCQs) could be a good way out to see how much students were able to understand. I use these questions from time to time. Certainly, CCQs aren't a panacea and there is always some danger of overdoing with them. To avoid the latter, it could be beneficial to only use CCQs to check undestanding of some potentially challenging words (like "continental" or "dress code") or some instructions and ideas that should be clearly understood by the students (e.g. when they are departing, what they need to do). This might help to avoid confusion like the one that the word "presentation" caused in the dialogue.
3. And certainly, it could be a good idea to encourage students to ask you questions about your message.
I think your first point is really important. And the personal anecdote you shared is really telling. "Naturally, our level of English was not enough to let us understand the meaning of the text and all what we could do was to focus on separate words in attempt to accidentally get them right." <-- This sentence really stood out for me. It seems like in this transcript the teacher is speaking above the level of several students, leaving them to struggle like that. The teacher is probably also unaware of the struggle until they see the transcripts. Asking students to write down the instructions was a great way to find out what they heard and understood. I wonder what changes the teacher will make when they give instructions in the future.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Alexandra! We -teachers often say more than we should and confuse the students. Using short and clear sententenses and instructions is a must!
ReplyDeleteCCQs are news to me so please write a few examples related to one of the transcripts. I discuss different types of questions in Small Changes, my new book, such as fact, inference, experiential, yes/no, either/ and question word. And then I provide many examples using the same reading passage.
ReplyDeleteSo I am very keen on the value of giving labels to questions but we need examples to illustrate what the labels mean. Thanks for introducing me and perhaps others to a new way to group questions.
Anne Hendler I liked the idea of asking students to write down what they've understood, however, it might look rather unnatural and far-fetched, especially when the students are on the immersion course in the country of the target language. I can even imagine a teacher or a group leader keep asking students to do something to check their understanding when all communication is done in the target language and the chief purpose of the immersion course is to let the students get the experience of what it feels like to be in the natural language environment.
ReplyDeleteRenata Todorovska And it requires a lot of skill and practice! :))
ReplyDeleteAlexandra Chistyakova I agree! 😊
ReplyDeleteJohn Fanselow I was first introduced to CCQs by my English teacher at a college in London. I was in the group of English language learners (not teachers of English), but our teacher taught us, the learners, the technique that teachers are usually taught. And I should say it was very useful. Later on, when I was doing my CELTA course I realised where my teacher had taken this technique from.
ReplyDeleteConcept Checking Questions are an umbrella term, I think, to all the different types of questions you have mentioned. The target of the questions is just that: to check understanding of concepts and ideas being discussed. That is why these questions should be yes or no questions, thus clearly indicating what students really understood and what they didn't. Usually you need to ask no more than 2 or 3 questions for you to see if you were successful in putting your message across.
The example:
You may be speaking about wildlife and say something like this:
"Not all predators are animals."
You assume that your learners may not know the word "predator". You can elicit the meaning of it from the students or give quick explanation like 'A predator is an animal who eats other animals" and then you can ask a couple of CCQs:
- Is an crocodile a predator?
- Is a chicken a predator?
- Is a lion a predator?
If you got all correct answers you can be sure your students now understand what a predator is and you can continue with your story. Naturally, CCQs must be relevant to the students' language level.
Alexandra Chistyakova I think the language classroom is THE PLACE for unnatural use of language. The playground and practice field of language users. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Alexandra Chistyakova and everyone else. I've been reading and re-reading the posts on here for this weeks's solo task. I was also introduced to CCQs when I did the CELTA.
ReplyDeleteThey can be useful at times, but in the past I've had the feeling that many students were able to respond to a CCQ in the way I might be hoping for, but they still didn't really understand the concept, and that has led to problems later on in the lesson. Like you say, they're not a panacea and need to be appropriate to the group. They're also potentially subjective and might generate a few of those 'rabbit holes' we teachers tend to find ourselves in (if you're a worm, a chicken is a predator, as I can imagine so many smart Alec / Alexis nine year olds saying :) ).
CCQs, like all jargon, have to be explored. When people claim that when teachers use CCQs it will assure understanding or learning or whatever, we are deluded to think that A causes B.
ReplyDeleteNow in some aliments in medicine some As causes Bs. If you have a headache and take an aspirin the headache might go away. But most aliments are not so easily dealt with just as learning is not going to take place if we just say, Do X." We need to do x, y, and z at the minimum.
As Alexandra says CCQs can be useful at times but we have to look at the interaction in the recordings and our transcripts.
So many thoughtful comments. Thank you for sharing and teaching me and others.
Martin Cooke Your last example of how smart and inventive kids (and young adults) can be made me laugh as I recalled so many truly ingenious answers I received from my learners to seemingly straighforward ans simple questions! :))) And this alone makes teaching younger learners so much fun! :)))
ReplyDeleteAnne Hendler So true. But isn't it our goal to bring the classroom conversation closer to the real world as we and our students go up the language levels?
ReplyDeleteAlexandra Chistyakova I don't know... I think it's outside of my experience as a teacher! :) As a language learner, I am quite comfortable with classroom language being patterns and drills and questions and answers and writing down instructions and all the classroom stuff that doesn't mirror the life outside my door /because/ I know that if I learn all that stuff, I'll be better able to understand what is going on outside, and better able to hear how people use that language in daily life.
ReplyDeleteAnne Hendler As a language learner I'm comfortable with that myself too. I kind of differentiate between the classroom and the real world. But we are teachers of languages and seasoned language learners, we can see the constraints, challenges and purposes of the two worlds. However, not every lanuguage learner understands the difference and when they find themselves in the real world situations they complain that the teacher hasn't taught them anything. :(
ReplyDeleteAlexandra Chistyakova You're right. :( What a conundrum.
ReplyDelete