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Unit I Why Studying English Language? What does suppose an effective teacher of EFL? Content: -The main aim of studying a FL -General purposes of studying a FL -Teaching English as FL -Qualities of an effective teacher of EFL Key words: purpose, process, communicative competence, effective qualities, linguistic, sociolinguistic, personality, flexibility, achievement. The main task of everybody is to establish why is going to study a foreign language. If somebody becomes aware of the goal of learning and knows how to answer at the question “Why do need to learn?” the methodological task is half solved. The identification of learning goal by subjects involved in the process of teaching-learning a foreign language is a very important methodological aspect. Which are the social requirements related to foreign languages studying? Having no possibility to mention entire spectrum of foreign language possible application nowadays, we`ll give only some examples: -EGP (English for General Purposes); -ESP (English for Specific Purposes); -EAP (English for Academic Purposes); English for General Purposes (EGP) covers the teaching of the fundamentals of grammar, of expression as well as of phonetics and provides a stronger or weaker basis for possible later
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Page 1: Metodica Predarii Buna l Eng

Unit I

Why Studying English Language? What does suppose an effective teacher of EFL?

Content:

-The main aim of studying a FL -General purposes of studying a FL -Teaching English as FL

-Qualities of an effective teacher of EFL

Key words: purpose, process, communicative competence, effective qualities, linguistic, sociolinguistic, personality, flexibility, achievement.

The main task of everybody is to establish why is going to study a foreign language. If somebody becomes aware of the goal of learning and knows how to answer at the question “Why do need to learn?” the methodological task is half solved. The identification of learning goal by subjects involved in the process of teaching-learning a foreign language is a very important methodological aspect. Which are the social requirements related to foreign languages studying? Having no possibility to mention entire spectrum of foreign language possible application nowadays, we`ll give only some examples:

-EGP (English for General Purposes);

-ESP (English for Specific Purposes);

-EAP (English for Academic Purposes);

English for General Purposes (EGP) covers the teaching of the fundamentals of grammar, of expression as well as of phonetics and provides a stronger or weaker basis for possible later language studies. The subjects of teaching ensure that learners are able to communicate with ease on a variety of topics; from getting directions to buying clothes and even ordering food in a restaurant. Learning activities are all contextual and during them students practice different verbal scenarios.

Model: I am looking for a pairs of trousers, sport shoes, a DVD… Do you have any? Do you have these in a size smaller/bigger? Could you tell me where…is/are? Where can I find…?

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) refers to teaching language for specific purposes that are determined by different – professional/occupational, social and other needs of the learner. English for specific purposes includes specialized programmes which are designed to develop the communicative use of English in a specialized field of science, work or technology. To be able to speak on a professional subject is not enough to know general vocabulary.

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However, a great part of professional vocabulary consists of general words, which either have a shift of meaning or make a new unit.

Model: The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel (normally a fossil fuel) occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combustion engine (ICE) the expansion of the high-temperature and high-pressure gases produced by combustion apply direct force to some component of the engine.

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) covers the teaching of language used by the educated and needed to succeed financially in society. Learners, usually in a higher education setting, are trained to use foreign language appropriately for study. Academic language includes cognitive, linguistic, and social/psychological components. Some aspects of those components can be taught; others are less useful, while still others may be counterproductive to teach. Cognition is also an important part of academic English. It includes knowledge, higher order thinking (critical literacy), cognitive, and metalinguistic strategies.

Future teachers of foreign language will study English having another approach regarding the social need of the language. For students from Pedagogy Field learning English will rely on how to teach English as a Foreign Language. Teaching English as a Foreign Language involves the didactic planned actions that enables pupils whose primary language, or native language is other than English to develop their reading, writing, listening and speaking skills to a required level. During this process teacher has to form up cognition and competences.

Cognition-refers to mental processes.These processes include attention, memory, producing and understanding language, solving problems and making decisions;

Competence-is a combination of knowledge, skill, behaviour and abilities.

The main goal of English Language teaching as a foreign language is to develop pupil`s communicative competence. Communicative competence is a concept introduced by Dell Hymes and discussed and redefined by many authors. Hymes`s original idea was that speakers of a language have to have more than grammatical competence in order to be able to communicate effectively in a language, they also need to know how language is used by members of a speech community to accomplish their purposes. From here can be stated that communicative competence is a broad term that involves not only the structural features of language, but also its social, pragmatic and contextual characteristics.

Communicative competence is made up of four competence areas: linguistic, sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic.

Linguistic competence is related to the use of the grammar, syntax, and vocabulary of a language. Linguistic competence asks: What words do I use? How do I put them into phrases and sentences?

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Sociolinguistic competence refers to knowing how to use and respond to language appropriately, given the setting, the topic, and the relationships among the people communicating. Sociolinguistic competence asks: Which words and phrases fit this setting and this topic? How can I express a specific attitude (courtesy, authority, friendliness, respect) when I need to? How do I know what attitude another person is expressing?

Discourse competence refers to knowing how to interpret the larger context and how to construct longer stretches of language so that the parts make up a coherent whole. Discourse competence asks: How are words, phrases and sentences put together to create conversations, speeches, email messages, newspaper articles?

Strategic competence refers to knowing how to recognize and repair communication breakdowns, how to work around gaps in one’s knowledge of the language, and how to learn more about the language and in the context. Strategic competence asks: How do I know when I’ve misunderstood or when someone has misunderstood me? What do I say then? How can I express my ideas if I don’t know the name of something or the right verb form to use?

In order to form the communicative competence at students a teacher of English language must possess it.

Figure 1. Components of the Communicative Competence.

Communicative

Competence

Linguistic Competence

Strategic Competence

SociolinguisticCompetence

Discourse Competence

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English teacher`s qualities

“Teachers are those who convey the truth, pass on the knowledge, and

clarify the doubts,” said Confucius.

How must be an english teacher? A”good” is meant effective teacher of english must have high language knowledge, teaching, verbal and socio-cultural skills and dedication to teaching. “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires” (as cited in Think Exist, 2009,William Arthur Ward Quotes). A good teacher must be helpful for students` learning and sure must hold many personal traits. Analyzing different students` perception on “teacher qualities” were selected eight most important qualities. So an effective teacher is creative and interesting, encouraging and caring, enthusiastic, flexible and open-minded, knowledgeable, fair, respectful and holding realistic expectations. All these qualities were grouped into four basic elements that are leading to the existence of an ideal English teacher. These basic elements are:

-English communicative competence

-Instructional competence

-Personality

-Teacher-pupil relationship

An effective teacher has to hold instructional competence through this is meant the ability of providing a student-centered instruction, having adequate didactic knowledge (learning styles and theory) about the subject and being professional (having planning, organizational, presentation skills and ICT literacy). Broadhead (1987) proposed a blue print for effective teachers and stated that personality is the essential characteristic for an effective teacher. Some researchers of pupils` perception reported that such qualities as being patient, kind, friendly, honest, tolerant, helpful, and seldom shows nervousness and anger shape an effective modern english teacher. Murphy (2004) described in a qualitative study exploring characteristics for Effective EFL Teachers as being caring, patient, polite, and amiable, not being boring, shy or strict. Teacher’s personality is highly associated with establishing teacher-student relationship. Davis (2001) emphasized on the relationship between students and teachers and claimed that this kind of social motivation can promote students’ learning and achievement. Effective teachers are that who often adopt communicative theories of foreign language teaching, assign small group work for negotiation of meaning, and instruct selected strategies for foreign language learning. In fact, Brown (2000) also proposed that social factors may affect foreign language learning. Cooperation between students and teachers, such as asking question for clarification, providing feedbacks, requesting for teachers to paraphrase, explain and repeat, is very important for language learning. Socio-affective strategies, in this case, facilitate the social-mediating activity and help with teacher-students interaction.

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Figure2. Effective English Teacher`s Qualities

Tasks for students:

1. Think and explain the differences between teaching English as a foreign language and English for specific and academic purpose.

2. Think and outline qualities of an effective teacher of English language according to the four basic elements that are mentioned up in the script. (see fig. 1). (to be performed in not less than ten lines).

Useful words:Purpose-\ˈpər-pəs\-the reason why something is done or used, the aim (goal) or intention of

something. Process-\ˈprō-səs\-a series of actions that produce something or that lead to a particular result.

Effective-\i-ˈfek-tiv\-producing a result that is wanted, having an intended effect.Achievement-\ ə-ˈchēv-mənt\-something that has been done or achieved through effort: a

result of hard work.Linguistic-\liŋ-ˈgwis-tik\-relating to language or linguistics.Sociolinguistic-relating to the social aspects of language.Flexibility-\ˈflek-sə-biliti\-capacity of being bent, able to change or to do different things.

Fill in the missing with the necessary words (communicative competence, organize, fluent, trainings, techniques, studies, accurate, changes, teachers, key, progress, qualities, personality, achievement, language knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, flexibility, flexible, environment.)

EET

Personal qulities:patience, confidence,

etc

E CCKnowledge of pedagogical

theory

AchievementOrganizationPlann

ingPreparation

Flexibility

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Teacher is a … element in learning English. Their … pay a basic role in student`s ….To make their students leap great heights, teachers need to possess the following qualities: …, …, …, …. and … .

English teachers should learn to be …. Teaching a foreign language is a dynamic exercise. … should know how to adapt themselves to constant ….

Good English teachers have pedagogical knowledge. They need to know how to … classroom activity, apply different …, use creativity and provide pupils with an … in which they can learn well. English … is very important for teachers. They must be …, … and have knowledge on English culture. Not less important for efficient English teachers is the desire to improve themselves through different … and ….

Develop your Academic English!Translate the paragraph, pay attention at the academic vocabulary:

Noam Chomsky believes that children are born with an inherited ability to learn any human language. He claims that certain linguistic structures which children use so accurately must be already imprinted on the child’s mind. Chomsky believes that every child has a ‘language acquisition device’ or LAD which encodes the major principles of a language and its grammatical structures into the child’s brain. Children have then only to learn new vocabulary and apply the syntactic structures from the LAD to form sentences. Chomsky points out that a child could not possibly learn a language through imitation alone because the language spoken around them is highly irregular – adult’s speech is often broken up and even sometimes ungrammatical. Chomsky’s theory applies to all languages as they all contain nouns, verbs, consonants and vowels and children appear to be ‘hard-wired’ to acquire the grammar. Every language is extremely complex, often with subtle distinctions which even native speakers are unaware of. However, all children, regardless of their intellectual ability, become fluent in their native language within five or six years.Interaction

Evidence to support Chomsky’s theory Children learning to speak never make grammatical errors such as getting their subjects,

verbs and objects in the wrong order. If an adult deliberately said a grammatically incorrect sentence, the child would notice. Children often say things that are ungrammatical such as mama ball, which they cannot

have learnt passively. Mistakes such as I drawed instead of I drew show they are not learning through imitation

alone. Chomsky used the sentence colourless green ideas sleep furiously, which is grammatical

although it doesn’t make sense, to prove his theory: he said it shows that sentences can be grammatical without having any meaning, that we can tell the difference between a grammatical and an ungrammatical sentence without ever having heard the sentence before, and that we can produce and understand brand new sentences that no one has ever said before.

From “Language Acquisition”. N. Chomsky

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Unit II Substantial Methods of Teaching English as a Foreign Language

Content:

-Methods of Teaching English as a Foreign Language-Method Features-Advantages/Disadvantages -Typical Techniques

Key Words: o communicate, teaching style, methods, advantage, disadvantage, features, teacher`s/pupil`s role, techniques, classroom activity, approach, grammar translation, direct method, suggestopedia, silent way, communicative teaching.

Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols which allow all people in a given culture, or other people who have learned the system of that culture to communicate or to interact. Teaching a foreign language cannot be defined apart from learning it. Teaching a foreign language refers to guiding and making pupils to learn well. During the years scholars tried to understand the process of teaching a language (how the learners learn) in order to be able to determine the philosophy of language education and teaching styles. So, along the years scholars looked for more effective ways of teaching a foreign language. In their debates and discussion on teaching process they have often centred on the items such as:

- grammar and its role in the language learning-the development of accuracy and fluency in teaching-vocabulary and its role in language learning-teaching productive and receptive skills, motivating learners-the role of effective learning strategies, learning tools and materials and technology.

According these ware shaped more methods of teaching a language. Some examples of them are: Grammar Translation Method, Silent Way, Direct Method, Audio-lingual , Situational Approach, Communicative Language teaching. All the existing methods may be necessary to different contexts of teaching a foreign language. There is no single method strongly recommended in the teaching English. An effective teacher must know methods, their advantages and disadvantages to be able to blend them or apply the relevant method in his classroom activity.

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Methods of Teaching English as a Foreign Language

The Grammar Translation Method is an old method which was originally used to teach dead languages which explains why it focuses mainly on the written form at the expense of the oral form. It was designed according to the faculty psychology approach which was very popular during the 18th and 19th century.

Method Features: Use of mother tongue. Vocabulary items are taught in the form of word lists. Elaborate explanations of grammar. Focus on the morphology and syntax. Reading of difficult texts early in the course. Practice focuses on exercises translating

sentences or texts from mother tongue to the target language and vice versa.It is surprising to see that the Grammar Translation Method was still in use in some classrooms during the late decades of the 20th century. May be, it’s because it has some advantages.

Advantages Translation is the easiest and shortest way of explaining meaning of words and phrases. Learners have no difficulties to understand the lesson as it is carried out in the mother

tongue. It is a labor-saving method as the teacher carries out everything in the mother tongue.

Criticism What the method is good at is “teaching about the language”, not “teaching the

language”. Speaking or any kind of spontaneous creative output was missing from the curriculum. Students lacked an active role in the classroom. Very little attention is paid to communication. Very little attention is paid to content.

Typical Techniques Translation of a Literary Passage-translating target language to native language;

Reading Comprehension Questions-finding information in a passage, making inferences and relating to personal experience; Antonyms/Synonyms-finding antonyms and synonyms for words or sets of words,; Grammar-understanding grammar rules and their exceptions, then applying them to new examples, students create sentences to illustrate they know the meaning and use of new words.

The Direct Method, also called Natural Method, was established in Germany and France around 1900. It is a method for teaching foreign languages that uses the target language, getting rid of any use of mother tongue in the classroom. As teachers became frustrated with the

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students inability to communicate orally, they began to experiment with new techniques. The idea was that foreign language teaching must be carried out in the same way people learn their mother tongue!

Method Features: Translation is completely banished from any classroom activity. Classroom activities are

carried out only in the target language. Oral teaching comes before any other kind of reading and writing activities. Use of chain activities accompanied by verbal comments like: I go to the door. I open the

door. I close the door. I return to my place. I sit down. Grammar is taught inductively (ex. having learners find out rules through the

presentation of adequate linguistic forms in the target language). Use of context to teach concrete vocabulary. Abstract vocabulary is taught through

association if ideas. Emphasis is put on correct pronunciation and grammar. Teaching through modeling and practice.

AdvantagesIt is a natural method which teaches language the same way the mother tongue is

acquired. Only the target language is used and the learning is contextualized. Its emphasis on speech made it more attractive for those who have needs of real

communication in the target language. It was one of the first methods to introduce the teaching of vocabulary through the

context.Disadvantage

Hard for public schools to integrate (constraints of budget, classroom size, time, and teacher background made such a method difficult to use).

Typical techniques The teaching techniques based mostly on reading aloud, question answer exercise, self-

correction, conversation practice, fill-in-the-blank exercise, dictation and paragraph writing.

The Audio-Lingual method of teaching had its origins during World War II when it became known as the Army method. It is also called the Aural oral approach. It is based on the structural view of language and the behaviorist theory of language learning. The audio-lingual approach to language teaching has a lot of similarities with the direct method. Both were considered as a reaction against the shortcomings of the Grammar Translation method, both reject the use of the mother tongue and both stress that speaking and listening competences preceded reading and writing competences. But there are also some differences. The direct method highlighted the teaching of vocabulary while the audio-lingual approach focus on grammar drills.

Method features: Use of grammar patterns. Mistakes are bad and should be avoided, as they are considered bad habits.

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Language skills are learned more effectively if they are presented orally first, then in written form.

Meanings of words can be learned only in a linguistic and cultural context.Advantages

It aims at developing listening and speaking skills which is a step away from the Grammar translation method.

The use of visual aids has proven its effectiveness in vocabulary teaching.Disadvantages

Teaching a language tends to rely mainly on repetition less on creation something new. Boring mechanical drills.

Typical techniques The main activities include reading aloud dialogues, repetitions of model sentences, and

drilling. Key structures from the dialogue serve as the basis for pattern drills of different kinds. Lessons in the classroom focus on the correct imitation of the teacher by the students.

The Silent Way The Chomskyan criticism of the theories upon which the audio-lingual method was

founded led to an interest in not only the affective factors but also on the cognitive factors. In Fact, Caleb Gattegno, the founder of the Silent Way, devoted his thinking to the importance of problem solving approach in education. He contends that the method is constructivist and leads the learners to develop their own conceptual models of all the aspects of the language. The best way of achieving this is to help students to be experimental learners.

The Method Features: Learning is facilitated if the learner discovers or creates. The learner is not a bench bound

listener but an active contributor to the learning process. Learning is facilitated by accompanying (mediating) physical objects. The Silent Way

uses colorful charts and rods (cuisinere rods) which are of varying length. They are used to introduce vocabulary (colors, numbers, adjectives, verbs) and syntax (tense, comparatives, plurals, word order).

Learning is facilitated by problem solving involving the material to be learned. This can be summarized by Benjamin Franklin’s words:“Tell me and I forgetTeach me and I rememberInvolve me and I learn”A good silent way learner is a good problem solver. The teacher’s role is only in giving minimum repetitions and correction, remaining silent most of the times, leaving the learner struggling to solve problems about the language and get a grasp of its mechanism.

Advantages Learning through problem solving looks attractive especially because it fosters:

creativity, discovery, and increase in intelligent potency and long term memory. The indirect role of the teacher highlights the importance and the centrality of the

learner who is responsible in figuring out and testing the hypotheses about how language works. In other words teaching is subordinated to learning.

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Disadvantage Harsh method. The learner works in isolation and communication is lacking badly in a

Silent Way classroom. With minimum help on the part of the teacher, the Silent Way method may put the learning

itself at stake.Typical techniques

Below are a few examples of specific techniques that can aid foreign-language students in monitoring their own speech.Silent-Way Finger/Hand Techniques for Self-Correction

Fingers Representing Words: an easy way to zero in on one word that needs changing (See Figure 1, below).

Twisting Two Fingers: indicates that the word order must be inverted (Figure 2). Scissors Gesture: tells the students to cut off the last part of a word or phrase (Figure 3).

Silent-Way Self-Correction Techniques for Written Work Mark Homework: use simple symbols to indicate bad spelling, a missing word, etc.

(Figure 4). Group Correction: before the students arrive, rewrite some of their incorrect sentences

(taken from homework) on handouts or on the board. Have the whole group analyze each sentence, trying to find the mistakes (Figure 5).Silent-Way Oral Techniques for Self-Correction

The Grunt: the teacher repeats what the student just said, but replaces the word(s) that need correction with a grunt or hum.

Humming to Indicate Stress: this can be used to indicate which words must be stressed in a phrase or where the accent falls in an individual word.

These are only a few examples of many techniques which teachers can invent in order to give foreign-language students feedback on their spoken and written production. Silent-Way hand gestures, marking systems and oral techniques impel students to develop the habit of correcting themselves and put them on the road to independence in a foreign or second language.

Suggestopedia is a language teaching method developed by the Bulgarian psychologist, Georgi Lozanov. Like Silent Way Method, Suggestopedia is an innovative method that promises great effective language learning results. Lozanov claimed that by using this method one can teach languages approximately three to five times as quickly as conventional methods.

Method features: The use of music to relax learners. The furniture, decoration and the arrangement of the classroom.

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Teacher’s authority. The teacher plays a central role and he/she is the source of all information.

Method Description-In the classroom The arrangements and the physical atmosphere in the classroom are paramount for making sure that the students feel comfortable and confident. The use of various techniques including art and music, are used by the trained teachers. Introduction: The teacher teaches the material in “a playful manner” instead of analyzing lexis and grammar of the text in a directive manner. Concert session (active and passive): in the active session, the teacher reads with special intonation as selected music is played. Occasionally, the students read the text together with the teacher, and listen only to the music as the teacher pauses in particular moments. The passive session is done more calmly.

-Elaboration: The students sing classical songs and play games while “the teacher acts more like a consultant.

-Production: The students spontaneously speak and interact in the target language without interruption or correction.

Advantages Through Suggestopedia we learn to trust the power of the mind. Teachers learn that deliberately induced states of relaxation can be valuable at times in

the classroom. We can also benefit from the use of music to get students sit back and relax.

Disadvantages It is not a practical method as teachers face the problem of the availability of music and

comfortable chairs. Lozanov refers in a number of occasions to the importance of memorization, excluding

any reference to comprehension and creative problem solving. In fact language is not only about the power of the mind to memorize. It’s about understanding, interacting and producing novel utterances in different unpredictable situations.

The Communicative method-also known as Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) emphasizes learning a language through communication. Learning a new language is easier and more enjoyable when it is truly meaningful. Communicative teaching is based on the work of sociolinguists who said that an effective knowledge of a language is more than merely knowing vocabulary and rules of grammar and pronunciation. Learners need to be able to use the language appropriately in any business or social context. Grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary are necessary parts of effective communication. With the communicative method two primary approaches may be taken. Some teachers prefer to teach a rule, and then follow it with practice. Most, though, feel grammar will be naturally discovered through meaningful communicative interaction.

Method features: An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language. The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation.

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The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language but also on the learning process itself.

It supposes enhancement of the learner’s own personal experiences as important contributing elements to classroom learning.

An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activities outside the classroom.

The teacher facilitates the communication in the classroom, and he also acts like an adviser and a guide. The students` role is to be communicators. They are actively engage in trying to make themselves understood and in understanding others.

The mother tongue can be used. However, whenever possible the target language should be used.

Advantages: Focuses on fluency, engages children, and allows children to express themselves.

Disadvantages: Student may not see the value in learning English through group work, games, and activities; communicative method does not focus on error correction; Students don’t feel challenged; CLT focuses on fluency not accuracy. Thus student may produce incoherent and grammatically incorrect sentence.

Typical techniquesCommunicative Language Teaching uses almost any activity that engages pupils in

authentic communication. Typical activities that suppose communication and social interaction, such as conversation, discussion sessions, role play, language games, and picture strip play stories are welcome.

Useful words: Paramount- \ˈper-ə-ˌmauT nt/ very important.Emphasis- \ˈem(p)-fə-ˌsīz\ to give special attention to (something), to place emphasis on

(something).Feature- \ˈfē-chər\ an interesting or important part, quality, ability, characteristic.Analyse- \ˈa-nə-ˌlīz\ to study (something) closely and carefully, to learn the nature and

relationship of the parts of (something) by a close and careful examination.Method- \ˈme-thəd\ a way of doing something a careful or organized plan that controls ,

the way something is done or a procedure or process for attaining an aim.Spontaneously- \spän-ˈtā-nē-əsli\ done or said in a natural and often sudden way and

without a lot of thought or planning.Unpredictable- (adj.) /an-preˈdik-tə-bəl\-unexpected or not known in advance.Playful manner- full of fun and high spirits way.

Tasks for students:Teacher should be creative in using different kinds of teaching method. They have to

choose an appropriate method to teach-learn pupils.

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1.Think and make up a lesson plan for the 5th class choosing a theme, paying attention on the main features of suggestopedia method (introduction, concert session, elaboration, production). See pag. the model.

2. Think and make up a lesson plan for the 5th class on any theme, following the communicative teaching method features.

Unit IIILinguistic and Psycho-pedagogical Principles in Teaching-Learning English as a

Foreign Language

Content:

-Teacher effectiveness accomplished through principles -Linguistic principles-guidelines aimed at linguistic area -Psycho-pedagogical principles-fundamental ideas derived from sociolinguistic and

psychological aspects

Key words: principles, communicative competence, guidelines, syntax, phonology, lexicon, language patterns, imitation, spiral approach, automaticity, intrinsic motivation, cognition, skills.

Teacher effectiveness is measured by the level of communicative competence in a foreign language developed at pupils involved in learning. This requires a long teaching-learning work. In this academic work are implicated both sides teacher and students and supposes complex activities that involves cognitive, sociolinguistic and psychological aspects. That is why the study of English language can’t be considered only the memorization of some vocabulary and sentence structures with “good” pronunciation. The study of English language is a complex process that demands preparation the dedication day by day work and systematic evaluation-improvement. The success can be achieved if the teaching-learning process is guided and built on some principles. Principles are fundamental rules, ideas that serve as the foundation for teaching learning process. Teaching-learning principles will be as guidelines that will help teachers in planning their activities and contribute to English communicative competence progress. There are more types of principles outlined according different aspects of the teaching-learning process. The most important are linguistic and psycho-pedagogical principles of teaching-learning English language. Linguistic principles are derived from Linguistic science and aim at linguistic components: syntax, phonology, lexicon and meaning.

Principle 1. Give Priority to Sounds. The sounds of English should receive priority. Sounds should not be presented in isolation. They should appear in proper expressions and sentences spoken with the intonation and rhythm which would be used by a native speaker.

Principle 2. Present Language in Basic Sentence Patterns. Present, and have the students memorize, basic sentence patterns used in day to day conversation. From small expression the students can easily pass on to longer sentences. In case of learning mother-tongue,

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the student’s memory span can remember by heart much longer sentences than those of a foreign language. The facility thus gained in a foreign language enables the learners expand the grasp of the language material in respect of sounds and vocabulary items.

Principle 3. Language Patterns as Habits. Real language ability is at the habit level. It does not just mean knowing about the language. Make language patterns as habit through intensive pattern practice in variety of situations. The students must be taught to use language patterns and sentence constructions with appropriate vocabulary at normal speed for communication. In fact the habitual use of the most frequently used patterns and items of language, should be present more than simple accumulation of words.

Principle 4. Imitation. Imitation is an important principle of language learning. No leaner by himself ever invented language. Good speech is the result of imitating good models. The model should be intelligible. Imitation followed by intensive practice helps in the mastery of the language system.

Principle 5. Controlled Vocabulary. Vocabulary should be kept under control. Vocabulary should be taught and practiced only in the context of real situations. This way, meaning will be clarified and reinforced.

Principle 6. Graded Patterns. “To teach a language is to share a new system of complex habits, and habits are acquired slowly.” (R.Lado) So, language patterns should be taught gradually, in cumulative graded steps. This means, the teacher should go on adding each new element or pattern to previous ones. New patterns of language should be introduced and practiced with vocabulary that students already know.

Principle 7. Selection. Selection of the language material to be taught is the first requisite of good teaching. Selection of language items should involve: frequency (how often a certain item or word is used), range (in what different contexts a word or an item can be used), coverage (how many different meanings a word or an item can convey), availability (how far an item is convenient to teach), learnability (how far an item is easy to learn), teaching hability (how far and item is easy to teach - in the social context).

Principle 8. The Oral Way. Experts believe that the oral way is the surest way to language learning. Prof. Kittson rightly observes,. “Learning to speak a language is always the shortest road to learning to read and write it.” Prof Palmer also writes,. “We should refrain (hold back) from reading and writing any given material until we have learnt to use its spoken form.”

Principle 9. Priorities of Language Skills. Listening (with understanding), speaking, reading and writing are the four fundamental skills. Listening and speaking are primary skills, while reading and writing are secondary skills. Reading and writing are reinforcement skills. They reinforce what has been learnt through understanding and speaking. In fact, understanding and speaking speed up the reading process. Writing should be introduced after reading.

Principle 10. Multiple Line of Approach. “The term multiple line implies that one is to proceed simultaneously from many different points towards the one and the same end. Teacher should reject nothing except the useless material and should select judiciously and without prejudice all that is likely to help in his work”. In teaching a language, it implies attacking the problem from all fronts. Say, for example, there is a lesson on ‘Holidays’ in the text book. The

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teacher can have a number of language activities connected with the topic such as oral drill, reading, sentence writing, composition, grammar, translation, language exercises etc.

Principle 11. Language Habit through Language Using. A language is best learnt through use in different contexts and situations. Prof. Eugene A. Nida rightly observes, “Language learning means plunging headlong into a series of completely different experiences. It means exposing oneself to situations where the use of language is required.” Another scholar expresses a similar opinion by saying: “Learning a language means forming new habits through intensive practice in tearing and speaking. The emphasis should always be on language in actual use”.

Principle 12 Spiral Approach. The “spiral” approach to language learning should be followed. Previously taught vocabulary and structures should be reintroduced in subsequent units whenever logical or possible. This is “spiral approach”.

Principle 13. Use Mother-tongue Sparingly. The mother-tongue should be sparingly and judiciously used during teaching English. Of course, at the early stage, some explanations will have to be given in pupil’s mother tongue. It is important that students do not use their mother-tongue in the classroom.

English language learning is a complex process, the mastery of which requires to be taken in account all factors. It is important to note that foreign language learning is never a linguistic phenomen only. It is affected by more sociolinguistic and psychological factors. The pupil’s prior knowledge, attitudes, personality, learning styles, skills and motivation, learning environment, are all factors related to the eventual outcome of the language study. The well-known scholar H. Douglas Brown, in Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy, maintains that English language teaching has moved into a post-methodological era and that teachers should base our pedagogy on principles that will “form the core of an approach to language teaching” (pp. 54-55). He has outlined and divided twelve principles into three categories: cognitive, affective, and linguistic. These categories are presented below along with Brown’s definitions or statements regarding the principles.

Cognitive PrinciplesAutomaticity. “Efficient foreign language learning involves a timely movement of the

control of a few language forms into the automatic processing of a relatively unlimited number of language forms. Over analyzing language, thinking too much about its forms, and consciously lingering on rules of language all tend to impede this graduation to automaticity” (p. 56). Automaticity is the road to fluency.

Meaningful Learning. “Meaningful leaning will lead toward better long-term retention than rote learning” (p.57). What Brown means by “meaningful learning” is using activities in class that target and incorporate students’ needs, personal interests, and goals.

The Anticipation of Reward. “Human beings are universally driven to act, or ‘behave,’ by the anticipation of some sort of reward—tangible or intangible, short term or long term—that will ensue as a result of the behavior” (p. 58).

Intrinsic Motivation. “The most powerful rewards are those that are intrinsically motivated within the learner. Because the behavior stems from needs, wants, or desires within

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oneself, the behavior itself is self-rewarding; therefore, no externally administered reward is necessary” (p. 59).

Strategic Investment. “Successful mastery of the foreign language will be due to a large extent to a learner’s own personal ‘investment’ of time, effort, and attention to the foreign language in the form of an individualized battery of strategies for comprehending and producing the language” (p. 60).

Affective PrinciplesLanguage Ego. “As human beings learn to use a second language, they also develop a

new mode of thinking feeling, and acting—a second identity. The new ‘language ego,’ intertwined with the second language, can easily create within the learner a sense of fragility, a defensiveness, and a raising of inhibitions” (p. 61).Self-Confidence. “Learners’ belief that they indeed are fully capable of accomplishing a task is at least partially a factor in their eventual success in attaining the task” (p. 62).

Risk-Taking. “Successful language learners, in their realistic appraisal of themselves as vulnerable beings yet capable of accomplishing tasks, must be willing to become ‘gamblers’ in the game of language, to attempt to produce and to interpret language that is a bit beyond their absolute certainty” (p. 63).

The Language-Culture Connection. “Whenever you teach a language, you also teach a complex system of cultural customs, values, and ways of thinking, feeling, and acting” (p. 64). . . . “Especially in ‘second’ language learning contexts, the success with which learners adapt to a new cultural milieu will affect their language acquisition success, and vice versa, in some possibly significant ways” (p. 65).

Linguistic PrinciplesThe Native Language Effect. “The native language of learners exerts a strong influence

on the acquisition of the target language system. While that native system will exercise both facilitating and interfering effects on the production and comprehension of the new language, the interfering effects are likely to be the most salient” (p. 66).

Interlanguage. “Second language learners tend to go through a systematic or quasi-systematic developmental process as they progress to full competence in the target language. Successful interlanguage development is partially a result of utilizing feedback from others” (p. 67).

Communicative Competence. “Given that communicative competence is the goal of a language classroom, instruction needs to point toward all its components: organizational, pragmatic, strategic, and psychomotor. Communicative goals are best achieved by giving the attention to language use and not just usage, to fluency and not just accuracy, to authentic language and contexts, and to students’ eventual need to apply classroom learning to previously unrehearsed contexts in the real world” (p. 69).

Teacher effectiveness depends a lot on building the teaching-learning process on principles. This will help teachers to choose such strategies, techniques, activities, learning sources, and way of work that will help to achieve the learning goal.

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Figure 3. Levels of Language. Useful words:Academic work- activity (activities) that contributes to the development of the mind.Approach- \ə-ˈprōch\ a way of dealing with something : a way of doing or thinking about

somethingCognitive-\ˈkäg-nə-tiv\ relating to, or involving conscious mental activities (such as

thinking, understanding, learning, and remembering).Grasp- \ˈgrasp\ to take and hold (something) with your fingers, hands, to understand

(something that is complicated or difficult).Guideline- \ˈgaīd-ˌlīn\ a rule or instruction that shows or tells how something should be

done. Language pattern- a model or original use of word combinations.

Tasks for students:1. Remind! What difficulties did you meet as a beginner while learning English?2. Point out what or who did you help to succeed in? 3. Think and say! Can be used your own learning experience in planning an effective

teaching activity?

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Unit IV Teaching Listening Skills

Content:

-The importance of Listening -Comprehension and student`s problems -Listening stages and strategies -Interactive comprehension, listening techniques

Key words: listening, skills, listening comprehension, information processing, top-down, bottom-up, pre-listening, while-listening, post-listening, meaning, negotiating, interactive listening.

The importance of Listening. „Speaking does not of itself constitute communication unless what is said is

comprehended by another person.” „Teaching the comprehension of spoken speech therefore of primary importance if the communication aim is to be reached” affirmed Rivers1 insisting on more attention to listening comprehension. Listening is used far more than any other language skill in the classroom. The importance of listening can not be underestimated in learning a foreign language. The level of communicative competence possessed by a learner depends mostly on the level of listening skill. That`s why listening is one of the most challenging skill for our learners and must be developed at a high level. By developing their listening skill well we develop our pupil`s ability to become more independent learners, as by hearing accurately they have bigger possibility to reproduce accurately, increase their understanding of grammar and develop their own vocabulary.

Listening comprehension and learner`s problems. “Listening is not a one-way street. It is not a process of a unidirectional that supposes only the receiving of audible symbols. The final product of the listening process is information comprehension that happen due to pupil`s cognitive and affective mechanisms. The listening process provided in the classroom has two basic aims, mentioned Rost (2001), Richard(2005). They are: learning to listen (learning to understand spoken messages) and listening to learn (learning the syntax and lexis of the foreign language through listening). A good listening comprehension happen when these two aims are achieved. What is listening comprehension? It is a process of information processing in which the listener is involved into two way communication, or one way communication, or self-dialog communication. The listening process can be of two kinds: top-down and bottom up.

Top-down refers to meaning creation by listeners using background information (knowledge of the topic, general knowledge in attribution of meaning, "the listener's ability to bring prior information to bear on the task of understanding the "heard" language". (Morley 2001)).

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Bottom-up refers to meaning creation by listeners mainly call on linguistic knowledge to elicit meaning through speech perception and word recognition (Ex. listeners first decode (or understand) the smallest elements of what they hear – the sounds. /p/ is recognised as being /p/ and not /b/, /i:/ as being /i:/ and not /i/ or /e/ and so on. These sounds are then combined and the individual words are decoded – the listener recognises that s/he has heard /pi:t/ and not /pit/ /bit/ /bi:t/ /bi:d/ or some other word. The words are then combined into sentences and the listener works out the meaning of /pi:t/ : as in I saw Pete yesterday or I bought some peat for the garden. To this will be added recognition of features such as intonation and so on, until they finally reach the non-linguistic context).

The role of studying these types of information processing by a listener is important for investigating the knowledge “source” or learner’s strategies (way of information perception) that would facilitate listening comprehension in a foreign language. It is well known that many learners have to face listening problems during in or extra classroom activities. Usually learners meet next difficulties in listening:

-trouble in catching (perception) the actual sounds of the foreign language: -understand every word they are failing and get worried and stressed:

-impossibility to understand fast, natural, native-sounding speech;-the need to hear things more than once in order to understand;-difficulty to “keep up” with burden of information;-getting tired while listening for a long time.Studying difficulties that are met by foreign language learners and lower the listening

comprehension plus types of information processing it is easy to design some listener strategies that will help them to face mentioned difficulties while listening activities:

-listening for the main idea;-listening for key words, specific details;-predicting;-drawing interferences;-summarizing;Listening principlesTeaching process has to facilitate learner`s listening comprehension. A foreign teacher

has to design listening activities in a way which should be success oriented and build up learner`s listening skill. Respecting principles for designing a listening activity a teacher will be able to organize efficient listening activities.

Principle1. Construct the listening activity around a contextualized task. Contextualized listening activities approximate real-life tasks and give the listener an idea of the type of information to expect and what to do with it in advance of the actual listening. A beginning level task would be locating places on a map (one way) or exchanging name and address information (two ways). At an intermediate level students could follow directions for assembling something (one way) or work in pairs to create a story to tell to the rest of the class (two ways).

Principle2. Define the activity's instructional goal and type of response.

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Each activity should have as its goal the improvement of one or more specific listening skills. A listening activity may have more than one goal or outcome, but be careful not to overburden the attention of beginning or intermediate listeners. Recognizing the goal(s) of listening comprehension in each listening situation will help students select appropriate listening strategies.

Identification: Recognizing or discriminating specific aspects of the message, such as sounds, categories of words, morphological distinctions

Orientation: Determining the major facts about a message, such as topic, text type, setting

Main idea comprehension: Identifying the higher-order ideas Detail comprehension: Identifying supporting details Replication: Reproducing the message orally or in writing

Principle3. Check the level of difficulty of the listening text. The factors listed below can help you judge the relative ease or difficulty of a listening

text for a particular purpose and a particular group of students. How is the information organized? Does the story line, narrative, or instruction conform to familiar expectations? Texts in which the events are presented in natural chronological order, which have an informative title, and which present the information following an obvious organization (main ideas first, details and examples second) are easier to follow. How familiar are the students with the topic? Remember that misapplication of background knowledge due to cultural differences can create major comprehension difficulties. Does the text involve multiple individuals and objects? Are they clearly differentiated? It is easier to understand a text with a doctor and a patient than one with two doctors, and it is even easier if they are of the opposite sex. In other words, the more marked the differences, the easier the comprehension. Does the text offer visual support to aid in the interpretation of what the listeners hear? Visual aids such as maps, diagrams, pictures, or the images in a video help contextualize the listening input and provide clues to meaning.

Main stages of listening activities.

-Pre-listening

-While-listening

-Post-listening

The pre-listening stage helps learners to find out the aim of listening and provides the necessary background information. These types of activities help to focus the learners’ minds on the topic, specifying and selecting the items that the students expect to hear, and activating prior knowledge and language structures which have already been met. If the learner knows in advance that they are going to make a certain kind of response, they are immediately provided with a purpose in listening and they know what sort of information to expect and how to react to it. Such activities provide an opportunity to gain some, even if limited, knowledge which will help them to follow the listening text. Study types of Pre-listening tasks:

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Setting the context: an idea about who is speaking or of the context. Generating interest: motivate learners by using pictures, personalizing activities, pair

work discussion. Activating current knowledge - what do you know about…?: other questions like: where

are they? What are they? What problems do they face? Why are they important?, etc. Acquiring knowledge: provide knowledge input to build confidence for dealing with

listening by giving a related text to read, a quiz, etc.

Activating vocabulary/language: role play the situation before listening. Learners brainstorm language beforehand and then perform the scene.

Predicting content: once we know the context, we are able to predict possible content. Give learners a choice of things that they may or may not expect to hear, and ask them to choose those they think will be mentioned.

Pre-learning vocabulary: select some vocabulary for the students to study before listening. Match words to definitions followed by a filling the gap activity.

Checking/understanding the listening tasks: give learners plenty of time to read and understand the main listening comprehension tasks.

While-listening activities can be shortly defined as all tasks that students are asked to do during the time of listening to the text. The nature of these activities is to help learners to listen for meaning that is to elicit a message from spoken language. Study the following types of While-listening tasks:

Obeying instructions; where students are given certain instructions and show their understanding by a physical response (they draw, write, tick, underline etc.).

Filling in gaps; while listening to a dialogue students hear only the utterances of one of the speakers and are asked to write down those of the others.

Detecting differences or mistakes from a listening passage; students respond only when they encounter something different or contrary to what they already knew about the topic or the speakers.

Ticking off items (bingo); where students listen to a list of words and categorize (tick off) them as they hear.

Information transfer; where students have to fill grids, forms, lists, maps, plans etc. Sequencing; where students are asked to give the right order of a series of pictures Information search; that is listening for specific items, e.g. answer a particular question

from the pre-listening stage. Filling in blanks of a transcript of a passage with the words missing (e.g. lyrics of a

song). Matching the items which have the same or opposite meaning as those the students hear,

or matching the pictures with the descriptions heard. The post-listening stage comprises all the exercises which are done after listening to the

text. Some of these activities may be the extensions of those carried out at pre-and while-

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listening work but some may not be related to them at all and present a totally independent part of the listening session. Post-listening activities allow the learners to ‘reflect’ on the language from the passage; on sound, grammar and vocabulary as they last longer than while-listening activities so the students have time to think, discuss or write. The following types of post-listening tasks can be used:

Discussing students’ reactions to the content of the listening selection. Speaking in a form of debates, interviews, discussions, role-plays, simulations, dramatization etc. as a follow-up exercise.

Asking students thought-provoking questions to encourage discussion. Setting students to work in pairs to create dialogues based on the listening text. Answering multiple-choice or true/false questions to show comprehension of messages. Problem solving activities during which students hear all the information relevant to a

particular problem and then try to solve it by themselves. Summarizing, students are given several possible summary sentences and are asked to

say which of them fit a recording. Summarizing can also be done by elaborating the notes made by students themselves during the while-listening activities.

Jigsaw listening, to describe a listening exercise during which different groups of students listen to different but connected passages and then the groups exchange information in order to complete a story to perform a certain task.

Writing letters, telegrams, postcards, messages etc. as a follow-up to listening activities.

Based on:

-general knowledge/life experience

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-knowledge of situational routines

Interactive Listening-and-Speaking: Negotiating Meaning through Questioning/Answering Routines

The focus here is on both product and process of negotiating meaning in interactive reciprocal listener/speaker exchanges. Negotiation of meaning is a process that speakers go through to reach a clear understanding of each other (negotiation-to talk, achieve an agreement). Interactive listening involves meaning negotiation. Interactive listening involves six skills: paying attention, holding judgment, reflecting, clarifying, summarizing, and sharing.

Model of procedure:In small groups of 4-10 students, one student can give a brief presentation such as a

brief set of locally relevant announcements, a five-minute “how-to” talk, a personal story or anecdote, or an explanatory talk using visual aids. Either during or immediately after the presentation, each listener is required to ask at least one question in a routine. The type of question is assigned. Speaker then becomes listener and must make sure she is answering the question to the satisfaction of the one who asked.A wide variety of question types can be used, but for each lesson, it is useful to have only a limited number of question types.

Repetition-asking for verbatim repetition of info (“Could you repeat the part about …?”).

Paraphrase-asking for restatement in different words that are often simpler and easier to understand (“Could you say that again?” “I don’t understand what you mean by …”)

Verification-seeking confirmation that info was understood correctly by listener (Did I understand you to say …?” “In other words, you mean ...” “Do you mean …?).

Clarification-seeking more details or an explanation of an item (“Could you tell me what you mean by…?” “Could you explain …?” “Could you give us an example of …?”).

Elaboration-asking for additional information on a point introduced in the presentation (“Could you tell us more about…?”)

Extension-asking for information on a new point, one that was not introduced in the presentation (“What about…?” “How is this related to…?”).

Challenge-challenging points given or conclusions drawn (“What did you base xx on?” “How did you reach the conclusion of …?” “How did you…?” “Why did you…?”).

Foreign language teachers have several responsibilities with respect to the listening skill. First they have to understand how important role listening plays in the language learning

We should listen twice as much as we speak, four times more than we read and five times more than we write.

Rivers

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process to use listening in ways that facilitate this process. Second they must understand the complex interactive nature of the listening process and how important is the listening experience for foreign language learners. Finally, teachers must understand how listening skill typically is developed and help them succeed in it.

Dictogloss Dictogloss is a classroom dictation activity where learners are required to reconstruct a

short text by listening and noting down key words, which are then used as a base for reconstruction.

Example Learners discuss about the sea. The teacher then explains the task, and reads a short text about the sea to the class, who just listen. The teacher reads the text again, and the learners take notes. In groups, the learners then reconstruct the text.

In the classroom Dictogloss is often regarded as a multiple skills and systems activity. Learners practice listening, writing and speaking (by working in groups) and use vocabulary, grammar and discourse systems in order to complete the task.

Useful words: Achieve-\ə-ˈchiv\ to get or reach (something) by working hard.Elicit-\i-ˈli-sət\ to get (a response, information, etc.) from someone.Decode-/dē-ˈkōd\to change (secret messages, documents, etc.) from a set of letters,

numbers, symbols, etc., you cannot understand into words you can understand, to find or understand the true or hidden meaning of something.

Acquire-\ə-ˈkwī(-ə)r\ to get (something) : to come to own (something), to come to have (something), to gain (a new skill, ability, etc.) usually by your own effort.

Relate-\ri-ˈleit\to show or make a connection between (two or more things), to tell something, such as a story.

Tasks for students:1.Study the main problems a student can meet while listening. Think and try to outline

the main that is particularly problematic to you, make some suggestions as to what the teacher can do to help solve it or them.

2.In a group discuss the main stages of listening activities. Remember and recall the stages that you went through when you learned the foreign language. Were the listening stages the same? What elements did you hear first? What stage do you think is the most important in foreign language knowledge aquisition? Give arguments and support your point of view.

3.Prepare a presentation of a listening information (text), form 4 th. Choose a short dialogue or narrative passage. Plan a pre-listening stage where you use visual and situational support to teach the new words and concepts. Then present the text in audio form. Presentation should last no longer than four to six minutes.

4.Plan a listening activity that should last from 8 to 10 minutes, form 6 th. Prepare tasks for all three stages (pre-listening, while-listening and post-listening).

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Unit V

Teaching Grammar Skills

Content:

-The essence of grammar -The grammar function - Aspects of teaching/learning grammar structures -The main stages of teaching grammar -Guidelines, questions on grammar presentation

Key words: grammar skills, rules, knowledge, inductive, deductive, approach, meaning, solation, presentation, practice, explanation, test, grammar exercises.

What is grammar?Grammar is a system of rules that helps the speaker to put together words correctly to

form longer units of meaning. For example in English the present form of the verb be in the third person has two distinct forms, one (is) being used with a singular subject, and the other (are) with the plural; and if the plural (are) is combined with the singular form, and the other (is) with the plural subject; the result will not be correct or can be called “ungrammatical”. Thus the sentence This is a box is grammatical but This are a box is not. According to this Grammar involves rules that guide how units of meaning can be constructed in a foreign language.

The role of grammar in language teachingGrammar knowledge is essential for mastery of language. A foreign language learner

cannot use words if he doesn`t know how to put them together. The main goal of teaching grammar in school is to develop pupils` grammar skills along writing, listening, reading and speaking skills as components of communicative competence in English language. So a learner has grammar skills when is able to apply grammar rules to express him or herself in what would be considered acceptable. Good grammar skills cannot be acquired only through communicative activities or” pure communicative practice” in the classroom an efficient teaching involves grammar practice as well. This means preparing a programme of study-a syllabus-teacher must involve bits of the total corpus of knowledge that are taught one after the other for gradual, systematic acquisition, rather than all at once (communication).

Aspects of teaching/learning grammar structuresGrammar structures are different according to their level of difficulties. Some of them

can have exact parallels in the native language and are easily understood, as example future simple tense; others are quite different and alien as present perfect; while yet others are not so parallel but very simple and easy for example-indefinite or definite article. Some involved single

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word choices as example a/an/some, others entire sentences-conditionals. When the teachers teach a grammar structure should get pupils to learn quite a large number of different related bits of knowledge and skills. All these “bits” may be presented in the form of a table 1: Penny Ur, Grammar Practice Activities, Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers, 1998.

Form Meaning

Listening Perception and recognition of the spoken form of the structure

Comprehension of what the spoken structure means in context

Speaking Production of well-formed examples in speech

Use of the structure to convey meanings in speech

Reading Perception and recognition of the written form

Comprehension of what the written structure means in context

Writing Production of well-formed examples in writing

Use of the structure to convey the meanings in writing

It is very important to have a balance between these “bits of knowledge” (listening, speaking, reading and writing) taking in account, of course, the needs of particular group of pupils.Teaching grammar structure can be done in an inductive or deductive way. In scholastic literature are called and “bottom up” or “top down” approach. Inductive way supposes discovering grammar rules while working through exercises and deductive-teacher explains rules to the pupils.

Inductive-for example: A reading comprehension which includes a number of sentences describing what a person has done up to that period in time. After doing the reading comprehension, the teacher could begin to ask questions such as: How long has he done this or that? Has he ever been to Paris? etc. and then follow with When did he go to Paris? To help the students inductively understand the difference between the simple past and the present perfect, these questions could be followed with which questions spoke about a definite time in the past? Which questions asked about the person's general experience?

Deductive-for example: The present perfect is made up of the auxiliary verb 'have' plus the past participle. It is used to express an action which has begun in the past and continues into the present moment... Example: The student has passed the examination. After which follows practice exercises in the context. etc.

Inductive approach: Specific examples→Practice→General rule

Deductive approach: General rule→ Specific examples→ Practice

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"Grammar is the study of all the contrasts of meaning that it is possible to make within sentences. The 'rules' of grammar tell us how. By one count, there are some 3,500 such rules in English."(David Crystal, The Fight for English. Oxford Univ. Press, 2006)

Figure 1: The deductive and inductive approaches (modified after Stern 1992:150)

The main stages of teaching grammar

Teaching grammar must be organised in a way that offer the pupils possibility to observe the grammar rule, structure and understand how it functions through meaningful practice, so to achieve the ability to use it freely in their speech.When teachers speak about the best way to teach grammar they mean the teaching procedures that should be used to a certain grammar structure, age, level, existed knowledge and skills, so all these features shape our teching styles. In this case cannot be the best way of teaching grammar but the organization of grammar teaching is common. According to Ur3 Komorowska (2002), the grammar teaching can be organized in four stages in which a very wide variety of teaching procedures will fit. They are:

-Presentation

-Isolation and explanation

-Practice

-Test

1. PresentationThe goal of presentation stage is to get the pupils to understand the meaning and form of

the structure in both speech and writing. Usually the structure is presented through a text and after can be used a short dialogue in which the grammar structure is read aloud by the teacher or pupils. Often learners can be asked to read, repeat, reproduce from memory, or copy out the structure.

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2. Isolation and explanationThe goal of this stage is to make learners to understand various aspects of the structure.

At this stage the strucutre is moved away from the context, and focus, on the grammatical items themselves, how they sound and look alike, their meaning and how they function. The teacher while explanations can use native language and if necessary make a parallel with the native language structure.

3. PracticeThe practice stage consists of many exercises done in the classroom or as a homework tasks, which aim is to get the pupils aquinted with grammar structure and to achieve accuracy in using it through training. The grammar practice procedure can involve all aspects: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Teacher must use different types of exercises that will help him to achieve the teaching aim. There are many guidelines regarding the use of grammar practice.Komorowska (2002) attempts to formulate seven rules of conducting grammar exercises:

- must have their subjects and titles;

-must have a clear purpose and instruction;

-should enable repetition of a given pattern in natural situations;

-should be well-paced, varied and short – so that they do not become boring;

-learners should be active and motivated during practice;

-the more individuality and personalization during the practice, the better efficiency of learning grammar;

-learners must be informed whether the exercise aims at fluency or accuracy.

Another set of guidelines is provided by Ur (1993) and it is divided into three sets of factors: those concerning the structures of the task, those that contribute to learner’s interest and those that influence learner’s motivation.

Repetition is very important item and it can be boring. Give pupils a variety of ways of repeating the grammar structure using interesting situations. Correct any mistakes with the new structure. If must be taught a difficult structure teacher starts by devoting some time to use the spoken and written forms, without relating particularly to meaning. Such practice is usually given through exercises like these:-Slot-fillers (the learners insert the appropriate item) e.g. He is ……. Boy. We have ………umbrella. (a, an)Answers: He is a boy. We have an umbrella.-Transformation (the learners change the structure in some prescribed manner)

e.g. This is a woman. (put into the plural)

Answer: They are women.

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Such exercises are very useful in memorizing the structure form. They become very easy for a pupil who performs them and help the learners to express correctly but they are less useful in making meanings with the structure. So teachers must move on to meaning based exercises as the pupils have a fundamental possession of rules regarding structure form and its application. Another category of practice procedures still stresses the production or perception of correct forms, but involves meaning, as well. Such examples of exercises are:-Translation, to or from the native language-Slot-filling, multiple choice, based on meaning. e.g. He (works, is working, worked) at the moment.Answer: He is working at the moment.-Slot –filling, with choice of answer not provided,e.g. Last night we …… television.Answer: Last night we watched television. -Matchinge.g. He an animal I is soldiers She are a woman The men am a student The dog a soldierAnswer: He is a soldier.

The third type of exercises stress on production and comprehension of meaning. In the same time the teacher must observe how learners manipulate with the structure forms in the process of production. Such practice can be developed with the help of activities based on production of entertaining ideas. This practice very often includes pair work, group work, or activities where learners communicate between them. So the stress will be put on accuracy and fluency of language as well. Ur (1993) provides some ideas for communicative activities, such as brainstorming - where a single impulse may initiate a great amount of responses, chain exercise - where students ask similar questions to one another, fluid pairs – where students exchange information on the basis of a prescribed dialogue, semi-controlled small group transactions – where learners are encouraged to use certain patterns, but they control the content, and finally, free discussion – the least controlled exercise, where learners have an opportunity to conduct an authentic conversation in the foreign language.

These three types of exercises must be used in the order given here but sure exist situations when teachers have to return while practicing communicative exercises to an exercise that focuses on correct form because the students are making consistent mistakes in a certain structure, or do not use all types because the structure is easy.

4. TestPupils do tests to demonstrate to themselves and to the teacher how they learned the

grammar structure. The aim of this stage is to provide feedback without which neither teacher nor learner would be able to progress very far. Kinds of testing: current feedback inquiring, homework tasks, practice exercises, final evaluation, sure they can be done orally or in writing

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form. In this case most testing is done automatically almost unconsciously by the teacher and learners as the teaching activities proceeds.

All stages are important while teaching grammar structures but especially teacher must insist on practice stage to build up long term knowledge. The same organization in teaching grammar can be observed in the national English course books. Sure the teacher is free to choose his own way to teach grammar structures but notional course books respects the same material organization. This can be easily noticed from the following examples of teaching countable and uncountable nouns in the 4th form:

The countable and uncountable nouns often are quite difficult for pupils to understand. Good helpers in understanding the distinction between countable and uncountable (count-noncount) nouns are the usage of article, final-s (nouns that take a final-s, plural form) and quantifiers or expressions of quantity (many, much, a lot of few, little). The pupils from the 4 th

form can efficiently understand the concept of countable and uncountable nouns with the help of quantifiers many/much, few/little.

The presentation is given through a text in which appears the new grammar structure. A dialogue is read by the teacher and the grammar structure is appointed as example and after the rest examples are discovered with the help of the pupils.The dialogue: Andy: Hey, Mum will be home soon.Let's have a surprise for her. Vicky: Great! What can we make? Andy: Let's make some pancakes. Vicky: That's a great idea! I like pancakes andMum will be very pleased.Andy: What do we need?Vicky: We need some flour, sugar, salt,eggs, milk, and oil.Andy: Do we have everything we need?Let's see. There is a lot of flour andsugar in the cupboard.Vicky: But there is little milk and there arefew eggs in the fridge.Andy: OK. I'll buy some eggs and milk.Vicky: Buy some ice-cream too, please.Andy: Mum is very fond of it.You too.

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Isolation of the grammar structure from the context it`s translation and explication on the blackboard Examples is provided by the teacher in unity with pupils: a pancake-some pancakes; an egg-some eggs; x-some milk; x-some flour. Visual examples are useful for helping teacher make learners understand the distinction. The teacher can try to take some food items into class. Show the pupils the items and as a whole class help them classify the items. They'll soon see the difference between coffee and carrot, for example. The teacher can then explain or elicit the difference between mass (uncountable) and unit(countable). If the teacher thinks his students are up to it, he can explain the use of quantifiers many/much/a lot of and few/little. In some classes where the level of knowledge is suitable the teacher explains the use of singular or plural verbs with countable and uncountable items. Pupils can make sentences using a picture the teacher gives them the following structures: There's some ________ on the table There isn't any ________ on the table There are 5 ________ on the table There aren't any ________ on the table

The practice stage consists of more classroom exercises whose aim is to make learners to understand well the grammar structure and transform what they know from short-term to long-term memory for example: UR

1. Look at the picture and name the things. Which of them go with and which go with much/many, few/little? Write them down in your exercise books.

Model: many pancakes-few pancakes.

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2. Complete Mrs Stan's sentences with a lot of:

Model: There was much milk.

There is a lot of milk now.

There was much flour.

There was _____flour now.

There were many eggs.

There are ____eggs now.

There is little sugar now.

There was ____ sugar.

3. Complete the questions using How much or How many?

Model: How much gem? How many oranges?

1. ________ ice cream?

2. _________ oil?

3. _________ bananas?

4. _________ water? (milk, apples, sugar).

The test stage consists from some feedback homework exercises. One of them can be a written evaluation of the learned grammar structure. The pupils have to make a dialogue between two friends discussing about a pancake recipe, where they will demonstrate their skill

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of using countable and uncountable nouns having as a support the exercise from the course book:

Let`s learn how to make pancakes. Break the eggs and drop them into the bowl. Beat the eggs and add the sugar. Beat again. Add the milk, the flour and some salt. Mix everything. Add the oil. Fry the pancakes on both sides. Serve the pancakes with jam or ice-cream.

To make pancakes you need: 200 gr flour 2 cups of milk, 2 egg, 1teaspoon of sugar, teaspoons of oil, salt.

More ideas regarding teaching countable and uncountable nouns see on 1

Questions on grammar presentation1. The structure itself. Was the structure presented in both speech and writing, both form

and meaning?2. Examples. Were enough examples provided of the structure in a meaningful context?

Are you sure the students understood their meanings?

3. Terminology. Did you call the structure by its (grammar-book name)? If so, was

this helpful? If not, would it have helped if you had? What other grammatical terminology was (would have been) useful?

4. Language. Was the structure explained in the students mother`s tongue, or in the target language, or in a combination of the two? Was this effective?

5. Explanation. Was the information given about the structure at the right level: Reasonably accurate but not too detailed? Did you use comparisons with the students' mother tongue (if known)? Was this/would have been this useful?

6. Delivery. Were you speaking (and writing) in an appropriate speed?

7. Rules. Was an explicit rule given? Why/why not? If so, did you explain it yourself or did you elicit it from the students? Was this the best way to do it?

Guidelines in presenting new grammar structures In order to develop efficient lessons activities in teaching new grammar structure is very

well to keep an eye on the following guidelines suggested by Ur. 1. A good presentation should include both oral and written forms, and both form and

meaning.

2. It is important for learners to have plenty of contextualized examples of the structure and to understand them. Visual materials can also contribute to understanding.

3. The answers to this will depend on your situation and learners. On the whole older or more analytically-minded learners will benefit more from the use of terminology.

4. Again, this very much depends on your own situation and judgment.

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5. This is the problem about striking the right balance between accuracy and simplicity referred to earlier in this unit. Your explanation should cover the great majority of instances learners are likely to encounter; obvious exceptions should be noted, but too much detail may only confuse. As a rule, a simple generalization, even if not entirely accurate, is more helpful to learners than a detailed grammar-book definition.

6. These are basic and important points; your observer will help you here.

7. Here you have to decide whether a rule would be helpful or not then, whether to elicit it from the learners on the basis of examples (sometimes called the inductive method), or give it yourself, and invite them to produce examples (deductive).

Useful words: Accuracy- \ˈa-kiuə-rə-si\-the ability to work or perform without making mistakesAcquaint- \ə-ˈkwāint\-to cause (someone) to know and become familiar with somethingAttempts- \ə-ˈtem(p)t\-to try to do (something), to make an effort to do, accomplish or

solve.Manipulate- \mə-ˈni-pyə-ˌlāt\-to use skillfullyConcerning- (preposition)-relating to (something or someone)Perception- \pər-ˈsep-shən\-the way you think about or understand someone or

something, the ability to understand or notice something easily.Inquiring- \in-ˈkwī(-ə)r\- to put a question :  seek for information by questioning. Tasks for students:1. Explain how these questions can help a teacher in planning a grammar them teaching:-what are the objectives of the lesson?-what type of learning background do the pupils have?-what materials and resources are available?-what kind of learning style does each pupil have?2. The use of grammar workbook exercises get pretty dull, how do you think are they

worthwhile? How should be they used?

3. Think and design three activities in teaching a grammar structure (modal verbs (can/could), see annex 3 as a model.

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Unit VI

Teaching Reading Skills

Content:

-The role of reading-Developing reading skills-Stages of reading comprehension-Methods of reading

Key words: reading skills, vocabulary development, decoding, meaning, discourse, comprehension, skimming, scanning, intensive/extensive reading, anticipation, while-reading, post-reading, reading methods.

The role of reading

Reading has a great impact on learning a foreign language. It is the basis of instruction in all aspects of language learning: using textbooks for language lessons, writing, revising, developing vocabulary, learning grammar, editing, and using computer assisted language activities. Reading is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols in order to construct or derive meaning (reading comprehension)Wilky pedia. It is a cognitive process because processes information, applies knowledge and changes preferences. So what is the role of reading in the foreign language in the learner development?

-Through reading pupils learn language. Reading material is language input. Pupils doing different tasks during the lesson learn vocabulary, grammar and discourse structure, they have good opportunity to see how different elements of the language work together to convey the meaning.

-Through reading learners obtain information about different subjects they are studying, so they have a good opportunity to enrich their general knowledge.

-Through reading pupils develop their socio-cultural knowledge. Reading different materials during foreign language lesson and not only, they are introduced into the lifestyle and worldviews of the nation whose language pupils are studying.

Rivers ( 1981:147 ) stated that reading is the most important activity in any language class , not only as a source of information and a pleasurable activity, but also as a means of consolidating and extending one’ s which are knowledge of the language” Reading is essential in studying a foreign language so that reading skills are components of the communicative competence and the main purpose of the teaching process in a foreign language is the developing communicative competence to pupils.

What do learners read?

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The main text-types pupils meet in their classroom activities:

-Novels, short stories, tales; other literary texts and passages (e.g. essays, diaries, anecdotes, biographies, recipes), plays, poems, nursery rhymes

-Newspapers and magazines, advertisements, letters, postcards, notes, emails

- Handbooks, textbooks

-Tasks instructions, problems, rules for games, textbook rules, posters, signs, reports

Why do learners read?

The main reason for reading is understanding a written text. Understanding means text comprehension. Text comprehension is the process that supposes cognition in studying a foreign language means language. But this goal is a general one and for it achieving exists few other reading purposes that have to be accounted during classroom activities.

Purposes for reading:

-Reading to search for simple information (scan the text for a specific piece of information, e.g. tasks instruction)

-Reading to skim quickly

-Reading to learn from the text

-Reading to integrate the information

-Reading to write (or search for information needed for writing)

-Reading to critique texts (critical evaluation of the information)

Each reading activity must have a certain reading purpose. Knowing the reading purposes helps a lot both teacher and pupils. It helps them to choose how to approach the reading text, to choose a proper reading strategy and type of reading.

Main types of reading used for language acquisition:

-Extensive reading: reading longer texts, Brown (1989) explains that it is carried out "to achieve a general understanding of a text." Long and Richards (1971, p.216) identify extensive reading as "occurring when pupils read large amounts of high interest material, usually out of class, concentrating on meaning”. The aims of extensive reading are to build reader confidence, enjoyment and reading fluency.

-Intensive reading: reading shorter texts to extract specific information. Intensive reading, sometimes called "Narrow Reading", may involve students looking intensive inside the text. This is more an accuracy activity involving reading for details.

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-Skimming: quickly running through the text to get the gist of it, to know how it is organized, or to get an idea of the tone or the intention of the writer

-Scanning: quickly going through the text to find a particular piece of information. Scanning is used when a specific piece of information is required, such as a name, date, symbol, formula, or phrase, is required.

Skimming and scanning are sometimes referred to as types of reading and at other times, as skills or techniques. Brown (1994) suggested that "perhaps the two most valuable reading strategies for learners as well as native speakers are skimming and scanning." (p.283), and Grellet affirms that “both skimming and scanning are specific reading techniques necessary for quick and efficient reading”(p.19). In reading activities often skimming and scanning are used together. For example, the reader may skim through first to see if it is worth reading, then read it more carefully and scan for a specific piece of information to note.

According to different purposes of the classroom or extra classroom reading, teachers must try to develop proper activities that will fulfill them. A great contribution to reading purposes achievement plays pupils skills. Reading involves a variety of skills. The main ones are listed below.

-Recognizing the script of the language. Automatic decoding, being able to recognize a word at a glance

-Previewing and predicting. Giving the text a quick look to be able to guess what is to come.

-Deducing the meaning and the use of unfamiliar lexical items

-Understanding explicitly stated information

-Understanding conceptual meaning

-Understanding the communicative value

-Understanding relations within sentences

-Understanding the relations between parts of the text through lexical connection devices

-Interpreting the text by going outside it

-Recognizing indicators in discourse

-Identifying the main points or important information in a piece of discourse

-Distinguishing the main idea from the supporting details

-Reading faster. Reading fast enough to allow the brain to process the information

-Drawing conclusions, summarizing

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-Paraphrasing. Re-stating texts in the reader`s own words

-Visualizing. Drawing a picture, a map or a diagram of what is described in the text

-Adjusting reading rate according to materials and purpose. Being able to choose speed and strategies needed for the level of comprehension desired by the reader

To develop the above skills teachers have to design a strategic reading activity that will be supported by different types of exercises. When reading is taught using a text mostly teachers insist on several reading skills (as well as grammar, vocabulary, discussion, and writing exercises). Rarely are reading skills the focus. When students traditionally read a story and then discuss its content, learn vocabulary, or grammatical structures found in a story, they may practice those reading skills that they already know. So they will not have opportunity to develop new ones. Reading activities must be built in a way that will give possibility for students to learn to use analytical language orallymiculescu.

…Reading comprehension has come to be viewed as the “essence of reading”

European reading panel

Main stages of reading comprehensionReading comprehension skills can be developed through a good planning of reading

activities. These activities involve challenging tasks that learn our pupil talk and think in the foreign language. Efficient reading activities usually involve much speaking, writing, and listening as pupils do silent reading. The goal of the strategic reading activities is to encourage the pupils to be active, thinking readers.

Note! Reading comprehension is an intentional, active, interactive process of meaning making that occurs before, during and after a person reads a particular piece of writing.

The main stages of strategic teaching reading comprehension skills:

-Anticipation – pre-reading

-Reading--while-reading

-After reading-post reading

Anticipation involves specific exercises that help pupils to predict before they read in class. Predicting is a specific reading skill. Having this skill reader will be able to use prior knowledge to think about the topic, make predictions about the probable meaning of the text using verbal or nonverbal elements, and preview the text by skimming and scanning to get a sense of the overall meaning.

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Many different exercises can help teacher develop anticipation skill at the pupils but they must be choose according to the teaching goal.

During pre-reading a teacher may: Assess students' background knowledge of the topic and linguistic content of the text

Give students the background knowledge necessary for comprehension of the text, or activate the existing knowledge that the students possess

Clarify any cultural information which may be necessary to comprehend the passage

Make students aware of the type of text they will be reading and the purpose(s) for reading

Provide opportunities for group or collaborative work and for class discussion activities

Sample pre-reading activities: Using the title, subtitles, and divisions within the text to predict content and organization

or sequence of information

Looking at pictures, maps, diagrams, or graphs and their captions

Talking about the author's background, writing style, and usual topics

Skimming to find the theme or main idea and eliciting related prior knowledge

Reviewing vocabulary or grammatical structures

Reading over the comprehension questions to focus attention on finding that information while reading

Constructing semantic webs (a graphic arrangement of concepts or words showing how they are related)

Doing guided practice with guessing meaning from context or checking comprehension while reading

Pre-reading activities are important at both lower levels of language proficiency and at earlier stages of reading teaching. As students become more proficient at using reading strategies, teacher can to reduce the amount of guided pre-reading and allow students to do these activities themselves.

Sample of pre-reading exercises.

Look at this picture from a magazine article.

What will be in this article?

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What kind of article is this?

What do you already know about this?

This activity can be provided in small groups. Teacher must find large, clear illustrations from magazines or newspapers articles.

Note ! a good exercise to develop anticipation skill. These strips are parts of a story. Each person in your group should have one strip. Read your own strip silently. The teacher will read the first part of the story to you. (strip d.) Then each student will read a strip out loud to the others, and the group will decide the correct order of the strips. Write the best order for the strips:

The Stolen Car

d. A car thief at Boston`s Logan Airport got more than he expected last week. The car he decided to steal was not empty.

f. A two year old girl and two poodle dogs were asleep in the back seat.

b. Greg Winter, the father of the child, let the car for just a minute. He ran into the terminal building to bring a lunch to his wife, Susan.

a. When he came out of the terminal, he was dismayed … his car was gone!

_________________________________________________________________________

c. Greg called the police and went with them in a search of the area around the airport.

e. The car (with child and dogs still safe inside) was found in less than two hours.

g. The thief, apparently recognizing his mistake, had abandoned the car in East Boston.

While reading is a reading stage when pupils monitor understanding by questioning, thinking about, and reflecting on the ideas and information in the text.

During reading activity readers will be able to:

Obtain the needed information when reading for specific information Understand line/sequence of ideas well enough to enjoy reading Understand each main idea and how the author supports it? To check comprehension

in this situation, pupils may:

-Stop at the end of each section to review and check their predictions, restate the main idea and summarize the section.

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-Use the comprehension questions as guides to the text, stopping to answer them as they read and put down some notes.

Post reading activities help pupils to think about and respond to texts they have read. After reading exercises teach readers to reflect upon the ideas and information in the text, relate what they have read to their own experiences and knowledge, clarify their understanding of the text, and extend their understanding in critical and creative ways.

Samples of post-reading activities: Making big, small books Using cause and effect worksheet Making up dialogue journals between students posing as characters Making up a new ending Rewriting a paragraph in a new tense Making up character comparisons/maps Writing own story using similar plot or style Writing true/false statements Developing comic strips which are centered around the topic Using Graphic and semantic organizers Recognizing story structure Summarizing

Read ideas about some exercises listed above:

Graphic and semantic organizersGraphic organizers illustrate concepts and relationships between concepts in a text or

using diagrams. Graphic organizers are known by different names, such as maps, webs, graphs, charts, frames, or clusters.

Regardless of the label, graphic organizers can help readers focus on concepts and how they are related to other concepts. Graphic organizers help students read and understand textbooks and picture books.

Graphic organizers can: Help students focus on text structure "differences between fiction and nonfiction" as

they read Provide students with tools they can use to examine and show relationships in a text Help students write well-organized summaries of a text.Here are some examples of graphic organizers: Venn-Diagrams (used to compare or contrast information from two sources. For

example, comparing two stories). Storyboard/Chain of Events (used to order or sequence events within a text. For

example, listing the steps for brushing your teeth). Story Map (used to chart the story structure. These can be organized into fiction and

nonfiction text structures. For example, defining characters, setting, events, problem,

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resolution in a fiction story; however in a nonfiction story, main idea and details would be identified.

Cause/Effect (used to illustrate the cause and effects told within a text. For example, staying in the sun too long may lead to painful sunburn).

Recognizing story structureIn story structure instruction, students learn to identify the categories of content

(characters, setting, events, problem, and resolution). Often, students learn to recognize story structure through the use of story maps. Instruction in story structure improves students' comprehension.

SummarizingSummarizing requires students to determine what is important in what they are reading

and to put it into their own words. Instruction in summarizing helps students:-Identify or generate main ideas-Connect the main or central ideas-Eliminate unnecessary information-Remember what they readFor successful summarizing teachers teach pupils to follow these steps:-Read the passage through.-Find the topic sentence. If there is no topic sentence, write one of your own.-Decide the overall pattern of organization.-Cross out all unimportant information, ideas that are not connected to the topic. Also, cross out ideas that are repeated.-If there is a list of details think of a word which names them all. For example, dog, cat, horse, elephant can be crossed out and the word animal can be used.-If many actions are listed, think of a word which names them all. For example, Andrew took the meat and vegetables out of the refrigerator. He got out a pan. He chopped up the food. You can put these together as, Andrew cooked the dinner.A summary is always shorter than the original text, often about 1/3 as long as the original.Teacher will pay attention to:Content- How were the key points selected from the passageStyle - The ability of pupils to use his own words -The accuracy and quality of writing.

Sample of Summary writingThere are so many lessons one can learn about life from a dog. Imagine this scenario: it is

raining heavily outside and you need to leave for someone's house. The dog is up and eager, to go with you. You tell it to stay home. As you leave, you see it squeezing out through the gap in

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the doorway. You scold it and order it back home. Then at every turn you make, you suddenly see it following you sheepishly at a distance. It follows at the risk of being reprimanded for the sore reason of being somewhere nearby. How else can we experience so selfless an instance of love and faithfulness? We can learn a lifelong lesson from this sincere warm display of companionship.

Observe the eating habits of your dog. It does not eat, except when hungry. It does not drink, unless it is thirsty. It does not gorge itself. It stops eating when it has had enough.

A dog also sets a perfect example of adaptability. If it is moved to a strange place, it is able to adapt itself to that place and to its thousand peculiarities without a murmur of complaint. It is able to learn and adapt to a new family's ways and customs. It is quick and ready to please. Man, being accustomed to comfort and wealth will be lost if suddenly stripped of all he is accustomed to.

A dog also teaches us a thing or two about, unselfish love. When a dog knows death is approaching, it tries, with its last vestige of strength, to crawl away elsewhere to die, in order to burden its owners no more.

A dog does things with all vigor. However, when there is nothing to do, it lies down and rests. It does not waste its strength and energy needlessly. Many working people are burning the candles at both ends. Many suffer nervous breakdowns due to stress. Perhaps, they should learn to rest like a dog does. A dog above all is truly man's best friend.

AnswerDogs can teach us many lessons of life. It can teach us through its acts of love and

faithfulness, endangering itself just to accompany you. We can also learn from its eating habits. It will never over-indulge and knows which food to avoid. Dogs are also able to adapt to its surroundings quickly without complaining as compared to man who complains at the slightest change. Dogs are also unselfish, choosing not to burden his loved ones but to go away and die. Dogs also know when to work and when to play. They do not waste their efforts unnecessarily like some of us do at work. Thus, dogs can set us great examples through their day-to-day living. ( 120 words )

Causes and effects exercises.

Causes and effects exercises contribute to reading comprehension. It is important to learn how to recognize the cause-effect pattern when pupils read.

Example: A baby began to cry.

The mother gave him a bottle.

What happened first? What happened next?

A baby began to cry._________________ The mother gave him a bottle.

(Cause) (Effect)

Teacher has to teach reader while reading a passage with cause-effect pattern think what happened first? Then to look or think about the effect. A cause-effect sentence not always put

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the cause first.

Example: Because a baby began to cry the mother gave him the bottle.

(Cause)_______________ (Effect)

The mother gave baby the bottle because he began to cry.

(Effect)_______________(Cause)

In both sentences, because is the signal word. It is in the part of the sentence that tells the cause. Signal or connecting words are used to link the cause and effect. Examples of connecting words are: because, so, consequently, therefore, due to the fact, since, as a result, the reason for, thus, nevertheless.

Sometimes one cause has many effect and vice versa.

Example: Fifteen inches of rain fell in Miami in four hours. As a result, all public transportation stopped, Kim`s car would not start, Bob had to stay at home, and no one came at Ann`s party.

Cause: Fifteen inches of rain fall in Miami in four hours.

Effect: All public transportation stopped.

Kim`s car would not start.

Bob had to stay home.

No one came to Ann`s party.

Pupils can work with following task to develop cause-effect skill:Match the cause with effect (causes on left; effects on right), write the cause and effect for each sentence, write a possible effect (cause) for each cause (effect), write a positive (negative) effect for each cause, write cause and effect reading comprehension questions, identify and write from the text causes and effects.

Developing Reading ActivitiesDeveloping reading activities involves more than identifying a text that is "at the right

level," writing a set of comprehension questions for students to answer after reading, handing out the assignment and sending students away to do it. A fully-developed reading activity supports students as readers through pre-reading, while-reading, and post-reading activities.

As you design reading tasks, keep in mind that complete recall of all the information in a text is an unrealistic expectation even for native speakers. Reading activities that are meant to

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increase communicative competence should be success oriented and build up students' confidence in their reading ability.

Construct the reading activity around a purpose that has significance for the students

Make sure students understand what the purpose for reading is: to get the main idea, obtain specific information, understand most or the entire message, enjoy a story, or decide whether or not to read more. Recognizing the purpose for reading will help students select appropriate reading strategies.

Define the activity's instructional goal and the appropriate type of response In addition to the main purpose for reading, an activity can also have one or more

instructional purposes, such as practicing or reviewing specific grammatical constructions, introducing new vocabulary, or familiarizing students with the typical structure of a certain type of text.

Check the level of difficulty of the text The factors listed below can help you judge the relative ease or difficulty of a reading

text for a particular purpose and a particular group of students. How is the information organized? Does the story line, narrative, or instruction conform

to familiar expectations? Texts in which the events are presented in natural chronological order, which have an informative title, and which present the information following an obvious organization (main ideas first, details and examples second) are easier to follow.

How familiar are the students with the topic? Remember that misapplication of background knowledge due to cultural differences can create major comprehension difficulties.

Does the text contain redundancy? At the lower levels of proficiency, listeners may find short, simple messages easier to process, but students with higher proficiency benefit from the natural redundancy of authentic language.

Does the text offer visual support to aid in reading comprehension? Visual aids such as photographs, maps, and diagrams help students preview the content of the text, guess the meanings of unknown words, and check comprehension while reading.

Remember that the level of difficulty of a text is not the same as the level of difficulty of a reading task. Students who lack the vocabulary to identify all of the items on a menu can still determine whether the restaurant serves steak and whether they can afford to order one.

“To learn to read is to light a fire, every syllable that is spelled out is a spark”

Victor Hugo

Methods to Teach Reading English Language PhonicsThe phonics method is probably the best known and widely used method to teach reading

and writing in the English language. Children are taught the alphabet first. They learn the names

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of the letters and the sounds they make. Once they have learnt the letter sounds they will begin to blend two letters together to make simple words then three letters, then four and so forth.

For children to learn the phonics method they need phonically written books using regular words that are interesting to young children.

Example: The cat sat on the mat. ..... The hen is in a pen.Steps:

Step 1. Learn Letter sounds and short vowels. Learn the sound of each letter using real objects, games and flash cards. Then combine the sounds to practice reading words: m a t mat run sip. Demonstrate using flash cards.

Step 2. Learning Beginning blends. Learn the sound and sound combinations that come at the beginning of words. Use the beginning blends to read words: swim brick slide crab grass frog.

Step 3. Learning ending blends. Learn the sound and sound combinations that come at the end of the words. Then use the beginning and ending blends and sounds to read words: watch fish sting back grizzly.

Step 4. Learn the long vowel sounds. Learn the long vowel sounds and practice reading with other combinations to make words: brave rain puppy sport read.

Step 5. Learning challenging sounds. Learn the unusual sound combinations and practice them with the other sounds to read fluently: saw brown shrunk night house.

Sample of exercises that develop reading skills:- read the letter and draw the picture of the things that begin with that sound -match the picture to the sound and vice a versa-look at the picture and write the letter (sound) -locate the things that begin with a particular letter in the surrounding environment -treasure hunt-look and pronounce phonic stories -label the things in the environment-identifying the sounds in unfamiliar text.Learning the sounds and their blends may be disinteresting for young children so you

should keep it short and entertaining. You can introduce one letter a day or one letter a week but the one letter a day method works quite well and it does not become boring.Using the phonics method, most children will learn to read basic words and sentences within three to six months.

Look and sayWith the 'look and say' method children learn to recognize whole words or sentences

rather than individual sounds. Your student will look at a word which you sound, and in turn will repeat the sound (the word). Flashcards with individual words written on them are used for this method often accompanied with a related picture.

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If you don't use a picture with the word the child will probably make a wild guess as to what it says trying to remember what sound you made previously. This is not a good method if you don't include pictures.

It is also recommended with this method to use whole short sentences rather than individual words. Write a short sentence representing the picture displayed. Say the sentence and ask the child to repeat it while pointing and looking at each individual word as he/she repeats what you said.

Language experience approachThe language experience approach is the third method. This particular method actually

uses pupil's own words to help them read. Your student may draw a picture of dad in the car. In that case you would write underneath the drawing; Dad is in the car.

You continue to collect drawings your student makes and write a short sentence underneath each drawing. A picture of a playground would read; we went to the park or playground. A picture of a cat could read; the cat sat on the mat. A picture of walking the dog could read; mum walks the dog to the park.

Teachers will achieve the best result while teaching reading to beginners combining the given methods. Usually teachers find borrowing using only one of them, for interactive teaching usually is used a combination of Look and Say and Phonic method.

Useful words:Comprehension-\ˌkäm-pri-ˈhen(t)-shən\-ability to understandOpportunity-\ˌä-pər-ˈtü-nə-ti\- a favorable possibility, a good chance for advancement or

progress.Proficiency-\prə-ˈfi-shən(t)-si\-advancement in knowledge or skill.Input-\ˈin-ˌpuT t\-something put into a system or expended in its operation to achieve

output or a result, information in general.Discourse-verbal expression in speech or writing, a formal, lengthy discussion of a

subject, either written or spoken.

Tasks for students:1. What does reading comprehension mean to you? 2. Think and remember which strategies your teachers used in the classroom at foreign

language lessons. Which of them do you find efficient?3. Set up an activity to help pupils connect sounds with letters. Specify which reading

method you use.4. Chose a theme, and a text. Set up reading activities for each reading stage, at least one.

Be attentive and put down all what you are going to say as a teacher and pupils answers, too.

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Happen due to Strategic reading organization Anticipation-use of prior knowledge-make prediction using non-verbal/verbal elements-get an overall meaningWhile reading-think-question -reflectPost-reading-respond to the text-relate to own experience-extend understanding in a critical, creative way

Unit VI

Teaching Writing Skills

Content:

-The role of writing-Approaches in Teaching Writing-Writing process, main stages-Guidelines in Teaching Writing

Key words: writing, knowledge, communication, thinking, process, coherence, spelling, writing stages, drafting, revising-editing, publishing, language learning.

The role of writing

Reading comprehension

General Skills

-word recognizing and decoding

-thinking while reading sense making

-knowledge applying in own contexts

Reading with a purpose

Reading applying a certain type of reading

Developing reading activities according to didactic norms

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Writing is the activity or skill of marking coherent words on paper and composing textxdictionary. Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols, so it supposes communication. In studying foreign language writing does not have only communication function, it is a way of language learning. There are more reasons of teaching pupils writing:

Writing reinforces the grammatical structures, idioms, and vocabulary that teachers have been teaching pupils

Give our pupils a chance to be adventurous with the language, to take risks Enrich knowledge experienceThe close relationship between writing and thinking makes writing a valuable part of any

language course. A great deal of writing that goes on in foreign language lessons, especially in elementary-level class, is sentence writing. Students repeat or complete the given sentences to reinforce the structure, grammar, and vocabulary they have learned. So why the pupils write during foreign language lessonRaimes:

-to communicate with a reader;-to express ideas without the pressure of face-to-face communication-to explore a subject;-to record experience;-to become familiar with the conventions of written English text;

Approaches in Teaching WritingThere is no one reason how to teach writing in foreign class. There are as many answers

as there are teachers and teaching styles, or learners and learning styles. The following figure shows what writers have to deal with as they produce a piece of writing:

During years were developed more approaches of teaching writing.The Controlled-to-Free ApproachIn 1950s and early 1960s, the audio-lingual approach dominated the foreign language

learning. Writing served to reinforce speech through mastering grammatical and syntactic forms. Students are given sentence exercise then paragraphs to copy or manipulate grammatically, changing questions to statements, present to past, or singular to plural. Overall, this approach stresses grammar, syntax, and mechanics, and emphasis accuracy rather than fluency.

The Free-Writing ApproachThis approach stresses quantity of writing rather than quality. Pupils should put content

and fluency first and not worry about form. Once ideas are down on the page, grammatically accuracy, organization, and the rest will gradually follow.

The Paragraph-Pattern ApproachIt focuses on organization by copying the paragraphs or model passages. The approach is

based on the principle that in different culture or situations, people construct and organize communication with each other in different way. The stress is put on organization.

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The Grammar-Syntax-Organization ApproachThe approach stresses on simultaneously work more than composition feature. Writing

cannot be seen as composed of separate skills which are learned one by one. So learners must be trained to pay attention to the organization while they work on grammar or syntax.

The Communicative ApproachThe communicative approach stresses the purpose of a piece of writing and the audience

for it. Learners work with tasks that encourage to behave like writers in real life and to ask themselves the questions about purpose and audience:

-Why am I writing this?-Who will read it?The writing must be truly communicative and writing for a real reader. Readers are

brought into writing assignments through writing back, asking questions, making comments.The Process ApproachThe teaching of writing has begun to move away from a concentration on the written

product to an emphasis on the process of writing. Writers ask themselves not only questions about purpose and audience, but questions:

-How do I write this?-How do I get started?Here, pupils are trained to generate ideas for writing, to think of purpose, audience, ways

of communication and so on. In fact it is a developmental process from generating ideas to expressing them, drafting, and so on. This process of writing has more stages: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing.

Stages of Writing ProcessWriting is a complex cognitive process. Classmates and others inclusive teacher respond

to drafts. Freeman 2004. Teacher must teach students to see writing as an act of writing and rewriting to give coherent shape of thoughts. Writing is a thinking intellectual work. That is why students must understand writing as a process formed up from more stages:

-PrewritingPupils discover the topic, purpose, and audience. They organize their ideas while

preparing to write through the use of techniques (free writing, looping, listening, outlining, charting, mapping. In the classroom work this stage usually takes not more than five minutes.

-DraftingPupils write the first piece of writing that is based on prewriting. Drafting is a working

thesis and students must be learned to use sketch to generate new details or provide main ideas with details. The focus in this stage is on content, not grammar or spelling.

-Revising-EditingRevising is the act of creation. Students must focus on content and organization, while

revising he expands and clarifies ideas. While editing pupils focus on spelling, grammar and punctuation. They read for

meaning, complete sentences, and look for grammar spelling. Teachers teach pupils to use

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actions like: adding, rearranging, removing, replacing. Check if sentences start with capital letters, proper nouns capitalized title with a capital letter.

PublishingPupils must be taught how to read and share their writing with the rest of the classmates.

Writing is a visual form of communication, either printed in hard-copy or in electronic form.

Guidelines for teachers in Teaching WritingTeacher must build strategic writing teaching pupils how to give structure and unity to

their writing of a coherent piece of writing. Teach your pupils how to build a paragraph as the smallest unity of a piece of writing:

1. Topic sentence (reason, advantages or disadvantages).

-Details that supports the reason.-Example (s)

2. Supporting sentence (reason advantages or disadvantages).

-Details-Example(s)

3. Concluding sentence.

Teach your pupils to pay attention at a given tips list while writing and to: state the purpose of their writing not focus on spelling and grammar while drafting, they can check later in writing process think how to arrange the best information state identify the main idea and its supporting details read aloud if possible and listen to their words look for problematic areas check spelling, grammar, and punctuation get feedback from their peers get help from their teacher

Teach your pupils to use checklists for different types of writing. Checklists can be written by teacher or pupils and contain specific questions (Does your essay contain a title? Is the first sentence of every paragraph indented?), instruction regarding content and organization of the text (Does each paragraph have a main idea?). A new checklist can be devised to fit each writing assignment, focusing attention on the critical features of one particular task:

-Which sentence expresses the main idea?-Which sentences develop that main idea?-Is every verb in the correct tense?-Have you used the correct form of each tense?

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Fig. 5 Main stages of writing process.

Ways of dealing with errors One of the basic problems in teaching writing is correcting errors. Correcting errors do

not always promote learning but ignoring them, teachers tend to develop the lack of language accuracy. So, what do about errors? Obviously, when pupils write make a lot of mistakes, and it becomes necessary to devise ways of dealing with errors. Study some general strategies for writing tasks:

See errors as friends, they tell a great deal about pupils problems, according them teacher can shape the learning process.

Give pupils time and opportunity to correct errors before you do. If pupils are producing notes, lists, or a first draft, concentrate on meaning. Let the pupils

with your help to identify and correct errors. Devise a system for indicating some or all of the errors in the pupil`s revising. Example:

sp.- Spelling errors, v.- error in verb form or tense, ^-missing letter or word, SS.-error in sentence structure. A teacher can point exactly to an error by circling or underlining in the text and writing the symbol in the margin.

Highlight one or two types of errors that seem to occur frequently in a student's paper. Explain the "correct" usage and give a few examples if you can.

Often it’s best to point out the problem and let the students do the fixing. If you correct the grammar, do so for only one paragraph so the students can see how to make corrections themselves.

Draftingorganizing and

developing ideas

Revising-Editingcontent and organization

spelling grammar punctuation

Publishing sharing ideas

Prewritingtopic ideas

making a plan

Writing Process

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Ask students to keep a log of errors to consult in order to avoid recurring errors on the next assignment.

Samples of Practical Writing Activitiesbook

Pictures like drawings, photographs, posters, slides, magazines, diagrams, and maps are useful resources for teachers. They provide efficient learning experience for pupils and their use leads to a variety of language activities: guided composition, sentence-combining exercises, letters, reports, or essays.

Using a sketch of a living room the teacher can design a variety of activities that will focus pupil`s interest and language use.

DescriptionDraw the sketch of a room on the board. Students put down words that could be used to

label the items from the room drawn. Through discussion pupils decide how to label the sketch. In groups they discuss and write down other words that they need to describe the room, e.g., next to, on the left, etc. The teacher then erases the sketch from the board and the pupils write a description of the room from their memory. They exchange papers and draw sketch of the room their partner has described.

Description, comparison, and contrasta. Divide the class into pairs of students and give the picture to Student 1 of each pair,

who writes a description of it for Student 2. (It might be useful first to review with the whole class the use of the present tense, the use of there is and there are, prepositions of place, and new vocabulary words). From the written description he receives, Student 2 tries to draw a sketch of the room.

b. While Student 1 is writing about the picture, Student 2 writes a description of a room that he knows well. He gives the description to Student 1, who then tries to draw a labeled sketch of the room and furniture.

c. The two students look at the sketches and the two descriptions and make lists of the similarities and differences between the two rooms. Together they write, for the rest of the class, a composition that points out these similarities and differences. Before they begin to write, they discuss how to organize the material they have in their lists.

3. Paragraph assembly Prepare index cards with one sentence on each, which together form a paragraph about

the picture. Use the passage in (5) on page …. Hand out one index card to each pair or small group of students. The task for the whole class is to put the sentences on the cards in order so they form a paragraph. When asked, “Who has a sentence that could be the first sentence of the paragraph?” we expect to hear from the pupils with “Debbie Johnson`s bedroom in her home in Catskill is small but practical” rather than from those with “It is next to the door.”

4. Sentence combiningIndex cards can be used as in example 3 above, with the information on the cards

separated so that each card contains a sentence that combines with another to make a new sentence. For example, two cards, given to two pupils might read:

Debbie Johnson`s room is small (and/but/yet) practical. Although Debbie Johnson`s room is small, it is practical.

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Though small, Debbie Johnson`s room is practical. Debbie Johnson`s room (though/while) small, is practical. With the new sentences they have formed, the pupils can discuss how to organize those

sentences to make a paragraph, as in 3 above. 5. Paragraph completionPrepare a paragraph about the picture and write it on the board but omit the ending (in

brackets).Debbie Johnson`s bedroom in her home in Catskill is small but practical. The room is

only 10^14, but the furniture is conveniently placed. As you walk through the door, you see the desk on the right side of the long wall. To the left of the desk, there is a bookcase with four shelves. In the far left corner of the room, there is chest of drawers. The rest of the short wall on the left is occupied by the bed. Then, on the wall next to the bed (there is a big closet with two shelves and space to hang clothes. It is next to the door. On the right-hand wall there are two windows, which make the room very light and airy.)

The pupils discuss how to end the paragraph. Then they compare their version with each other`s and with the version above.

6. Controlled compositionAsk the pupils to pretend that they are Debbie Johnson`s. She is now sixty years old and

is writing to grandchild to describe her room in her old family house in Catskill. The pupils rewrite the above paragraph, using the past tense “My bedroom was small….”

7. Writing FormsIt is useful to be able to fill out a form in a foreign language. The filling out forms or

questionnaires provides pupils with the opportunity to work with language. Pairs of students interview each other as they are job applicants and after they transfer information into forms.

Pupils can read a short passage and after extract the necessary information to fill out a form. The class can be organized in a variety of ways for an activity of this kind. Only one pupil of a pair has the passage, so that when he presents the information on a form, his partner has to reconstruct the description; or the pupils fill out a form as they listen to the passage above, and then fill out a similar form for a person in their family. From this information another pupil constructs a descriptive paragraph.

8. LettersLetters are one of the most spread forms of communication. For this teachers teach pupils

letters writing. Teaching letters writing give the chance to deal with a variety of forms and functions that are an essential part of language mastery. Letters can have different goals: to congratulate, complain, inquire, order, apply, thank, invite, explain, and apologize. Each of these language functions has its own associated vocabulary, sentence structures and appropriate choice of words and tone to fit the audience.

Letter of application for a jobDeal with the addresses, date, greeting, closing, punctuation, and spacing. Show the class

sample of a letter of application, such as the one below:259 Hill Street

Catskill, NY 12414

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June 5, 1984The ManagerCatskill BookstoreWater StreetCatskill, NY 12414

Dear Sir:I would like to apply for the job of summer salesperson, which you advertised in today`s

Daily Mail. I have just graduated from Chisinau State University with good grades in English and History. I was editor of University newspaper. I read a lot in my spare time and last summer I even worked in the Main Street bookstore in my grandparents` home town Balti. I was born in Balti on October 22, 1980.

If you require a letter of reference about my work and ability, please write to Ms. Galina Adam, the manager of the bookstore from Balti.

Yours truly,Ion Gindea

Give each pair of pupils an advertisement for job. One of the pair writes his own letter of application for the advertised job, while the others fill out a registration form like this one:

Summer Employment AgencyRegistration Form

Name _________________________________________________________________Address________________________________________________________________Date of birth _____________________________ Birthplace______________________Height____________Weight________________ Health_________________________Schools attended________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Previous work experience__________________________________________________Hobbies________________________________________________________________References______________________________________________________________Then pupils exchange their forms and letters and discuss them.Daily NotesDaily notes are useful for pupils to write every day, for their own eyes and not to be

judged by others, they often find that they can write more and more and like it. a. Ask pupils to keep a special book and to write in it in English for few minutes every

day. Reasons can be different: a reaction to something they saw or read, an account of an event, or a description of a feeling. Teacher can check periodically to see if the pupils do this, and advise sometimes regarding language errors.

b. Allow a few minutes at the end of each class for pupils to write in their notebooks a summary of what happened in the class. From what they write, teacher can often discover quite a lot about own lesson.

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c. Begin some lessons by letting pupils write for ten minutes on any topic. They write as much and as quickly as they can. If they can`t think a word in English can use the native language. It is good to encourage some of them to read aloud what they have written.

Useful words:

Tasks for students: 1. Design an activity that clearly involves the writing stages.2. Create a sample of two activities of writing notes.3. Create a sample of an activity of writing an informal letter. Present the features of an

informal letter.

Unit VII Language Testing

Content: -The importance of Language Testing

-Types of Tests-Test Techniques

-Guidelines in Summative Test Preparation-Samples of Scoring Profile

Key words: testing, types of tests, initial, formative, summative, to interpret, to design, curriculum, testing techniques, language skills, assessment, proficiency, feedback, scoring.

The Importance of Language Testing Test as a word evokes a negative reaction and pupils associate it with a test paper with

traditional questions, timed and where they desperate try to solve it. Sure, testing is more than this. The forms of testing can be different and over the years they became more humanistic. Pupils may be required to build up a portfolio or, observed in their normal activities of classroom communication. They may be asked to carry out activities outside the classroom context and provide evidence of their performance or, asked to take part in role plays or, in

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group discussion as a part of oral assessment. Clearly, forms of testing are very different and each form is good as long as they correspond to our educational context and help us to achieve the teaching-learning goal. What are tests? Tests are didactic tools that provide accurate measurement of pupils’ language abilities in which the teacher is interested. Abilities here we mean-what pupils know to do. From here the function of a test is to measure language proficiency and not only. Language tests are very important tools for teachers because except function mentioned above they have significant functions that help teacher:

-To discover how successful students have been in achieving the objectives of a lesson, unit.

-To diagnose pupils strengths and weaknesses.-To identify what they know and what they don`t know.-To motivate pupils to learn or review the specific language material.Teacher as a subject of teaching-learning situation has to think of instruction as an

interrelated unity of three activities. Fixing the learning objectives he must:-Decide what the pupils will learn.-Communicate to pupils learning goal, provide conditions for learning, monitor pupils’

progress, give feedback and improve their achievements. -Evaluate the learning. Teacher`s plans for teaching are incomplete if they don`t involve testing plans. Good

testing planning will make teachers` teaching more efficient.Feedback-The return of information about the result of a process or activity; an

evaluative response: asked the students for feedback on the new curriculum.

Types of TestsNot all tests are of the same kind. They differ according to how are designed and what

they are for. The form, test method and purpose make them different. According to their form tests can be orally, written and computer. In terms of method can be distinguished between traditional paper and pencil language tests and performance tests.

Paper and pencil tests language tests are familiar examination question paper. They are typically used for the testing of separate components of language knowledge (grammar, vocabulary) or, of receptive understanding (listening, reading comprehension). Tests involve the following techniques:

-Questions and answers. Simple questions, very often following reading, or as part of an interview; may require short or long answers:

What do people prefer colour films to black-and-white ones?-True/False. A statement is given which is to be marked true or false. This may also be

given as a question, in which case the answer is yes or no.Pupils are taught artisanship at school.Pupils are not taught artisanship at school.-Multiple choices. The questions consist of a stem and a number of options (usually

four), from which the pupil has to select the right one.

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We would study English if we … to England.a) Go b) would go c) will go d) went-Gap-filling and completion. The pupil has to complete a sentence by filling gap or

adding something. A gap may or may not be signaled by a blank or dash; the word that must be inserted may or may not be given or hinted at.

They (go) to Australia in 1980.Or They ____________ to Australia in 1980. (go)Or A_______________ is someone who writes books.Or I`ve seen that film. (never)-Matching. The pupils are faced with two groups of words, phrases or sentences; each

item in the first group has to be linked to a different item in the second. Large smallUnhappy manyA lot bigLittle sad-Dictation. The teacher dictates a passage or set of words; the pupils write them down.-Cloze. Words are omitted from a passage at regular intervals (for example, every

seventh word). Usually the first two or three lines are given with no gaps. The family is all fine, though Leo had a bad boat of flu last week. He spent most of lying

on the sofa watching _____________ when he wasn`t sleeping!His exams __________ in two weeks, so he is ____________ about missing school, but

has managed to _____________ quite a lot in spite ___________ feeling ill. -Transformation. A sentence is given; the pupil has to change it according to some given

instruction.Put into the past tense:It has a large window.-Rewriting. A sentence is given. The pupil must rewrite it, making the given change of

expression, but keeping the basic meaning.He came to the meeting in spite of his illness.Although…-Translation. The pupil is asked to translate expressions, sentence or entire passage to or

from the target language.-Essay. The pupils are given a topic like The Country I would like to visit and asked to

write an essay of a specific length. Languge TR UR

In performance based tests, language skills are tested in an act of communication. Performance tests are most tests of speaking and writing, in which a more or less extended sample of speech or writing is elicited from the test taker.

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Tests also differ according their purpose, so they can be achievement and proficiency tests. Achievement tests are associated with the purpose of instruction and related to curriculum aims.

According to period of time achievement tests can be diagnostic, formative and final testing.

Diagnostic test is given by the teacher at the end or beginning of the year, term and their function is to identify pupil`s strengths and weaknesses.

Formative Testing focus on the learning objectives, assess current pupil`s work and provides information that help teacher to adjust teaching and learning while they are still happening. Formative tests forms are: observation, discussions, questioning, peer/self-assessments, homework, etc. Teacher must record the results of formative testing, giving marks and appreciating the knowledge progress. This provide to motivational benefits helping pupils to feel in control of their own learning and improve level if needed.

Final or summative tests focus on final teaching-learning product -result. It is given at the end of the unit, term, year to check and understand the level of knowledge assimilation. Summative means to sum up what has been learned. The forms of final testing can be: final exam, test-paper, portfolio, essay, report, etc.

Guidelines in Summative Test PreparationTeachers have professional responsibilities in designing a summative test. This test is a

tool that will give information about pupil`s achievement. Each decision the teacher makes will have a positive or negative influence on his pupils. That’s why is very important to follow some guidelines for test preparation. Before test a teacher must:

-Announce pupils at least a week in advance about the test, its aim, types of techniques, and size.

-Tell the pupils the content (material) and abilities that will be tested.-Inform students about the time, place, and some rules or restrictions that must be

respected.-Give some tips about the best way to cope with the test tasks (It is very well to be given

some “test-tips” before the test itself for a better preparation).-Allow class time for revision, this will encourage pupils and help them with pre-test

learning.-Speak pupils about the level of performance is expected.

Designing the Test-Revise the curriculum. Focus on the competences that have been developed at the

provided lessons.-Choose the best test techniques that would measure the developed competences, be

careful and see if they are of high quality (involve tasks that are known by pupils, have clear instructions), revise and correct the errors.

-When you choose or select test`s techniques or readymade tests, make sure that they are appropriate for your intended use.

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-Establish the procedure for scoring decide exactly how you will assess each task or item of the test, and how much weighting, percentage of total grade you will give it.

-Make the scoring system as simple as you can and inform pupils about it: write the number of points given for each task.

-Try to make the test more motivating for pupils finding interesting contents and tasks as it is possible.

Giving the Test-Remind pupils about the test content, format and scoring system before giving papers.-Read instructions and make sure that everything is clear.-Help if it is needed pupils who still have difficulties with instructions or have some

misunderstandings.

After the Test-Interpret pupil`s performance in a positive way.-Go briefly through the answers in class and comment on them.-Use test results to evaluate the learning aims not as a weapon for punishing or

controlling pupils’ behavior. -Use tests results for future planning, for improving the language knowledge

achievements.

Scoring of Testing WritingWhile testing the pupil`s writing work teacher must score and pay attention to the next

factors:Grammar6- Few noticeable errors of grammar or word order.5-Some errors of grammar or word order which do not, however, interfere with

comprehension.4-Errors of grammar or word order fairly frequent; occasional is reading necessary for

full comprehension.3-Errors of grammar or word order frequent; efforts of interpretation sometimes required

on reader`s part.2-Errors of grammar or word order very frequent; reader often has to rely on own

interpretation.1-Errors of grammar or word order so severe as to make comprehension virtually

impossible.Vocabulary6- Use of vocabulary and idiom rarely (if at all) but efficiently.5- Reach vocabulary.4-Uses wrong or inappropriate words fairly frequently; the way of expressing ideas are

limited because has a lack of vocabulary.3-Limited vocabulary and frequent errors clearly hinder expression of ideas.

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2-Vocabulary is so limited that reader must often rely on own interpretation.1- Vocabulary limitations so extreme as to make comprehension virtually impossible.Mechanics5- Few (if any) noticeable lapses in punctuation or spelling. 4-Occasional lapses in punctuation or spelling which do not, however, interfere with

comprehension are difficult. Reading is necessary for full comprehension.3-Frequent errors in spelling or punctuation; lead sometimes to obscurity.2-Errors in spelling or punctuation so frequent that reader must often rely on own

interpretation.1- Errors in spelling or punctuation so severe as to make comprehension virtually

impossible.Fluency1-Choice of structures and vocabulary consistently appropriate like that of educated

native writer.2- Occasional lack of consistency in choice of structures vocabulary which does not,

however, damage overall easy communication.3- “Patchy” irregular in quality, with some structures or vocabulary items noticed

inappropriate to general style.-Structures or vocabulary items sometimes not only inappropriate but also uncorrected

used; little sense of easy of communication.-Communication often damaged by completely inappropriate uncorrected use of

structures or vocabulary items.-A ”Hotch-potch” of half-learned misused structures and vocabulary items expressing

communication almost impossible.Form-Highly organized; clear progression of ideas well linked.-Material well organized; links could occasionally be clearer communication not

impaired.-Some lack of organization; re-reading required for clarification of ideas.-Little or no attempt at connectivity, though reader can deduce some organization.-Individual ideas may be clear, but very difficult to deduce connection between them.-Lack of organization so severe that communication is serious impaired.

Score:Grammar: _____ + Vov: _____ + Mech ____ + Fluency ____ + Form = Total ____

Scoring Profile- English as a Foreign Language Composition ProfileScore level criteria

Content 30-27 Excellent to very good: knowledgeable substantive thorough development of thesis, relevant to assigned topic.

26-22 Good to average: some knowledge of subject, adequate

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range, limited development of thesis, mostly relevant to topic, but lacks detail.

21-17 Fair to poor: limited knowledge of subject, little substance, inadequate development of topic.

16-13 Very poor: does not show knowledge of subject, non-substantive, non-pertinent, or not enough to evaluate.

organisation 20-18 Excellent to very good: fluent expression, ideas clearly stated/supported, succinct, well-organised, logical sequencing, cohesive.

17-14 Good to average: somewhat choppy, loosely organized but main ideas stand out, limited support, logical but incomplete sequencing.

13-10 Fair to poor: non-fluent, ideas confused or disconnected, lacks logical sequencing and development.

9-7 Very poor: does not communicate, no organization, or not enough to evaluate.

vocabulary 20-18 Excellent to very good: sophisticated range, effective word/idiom choice and usage, word form mastery, appropriate register.

17-14 Good to average: adequate range, occasional errors of word/idiom choice and usage but meaning not obscured.

13-10 Fair to poor: limited range, frequent errors of word/idiom form, choice, usage, meaning confused.

9-7 Very poor: essentially translation, little knowledge of English vocabulary, idioms, word form, or not enough to evaluate.

Languageuse

25-22 Excellent to very good: Effective, complex constructions, few errors of agreement, tense, number, word order, articles, pronouns, preposition.

21-18 Good to average: effective but simple construction, minor problems in complex construction, and several errors in agreement, tense, number, word order, articles, pronouns, prepositions but meaning seldom obscured.

17-11 Fair to poor: major problems in simple/complex constructions, frequent errors of negation, agreement, tense, number, word order, articles, pronouns, preposition and fragments\, run-ons, deletions, meaning confused.

10-5 Very poor: virtually no mastery of sentence construction rules, dominated by errors, does not communicate, or not enough to evaluate.

Mechanics 5 Excellent to very good: demonstrates mastery of conventions, few errors of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, paragraphing.

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4 Good to average: occasional errors of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, paragraphing but meaning not obscured.

3 Fair to poor: frequent errors of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, paragraphing, poor handwriting, meaning confused.

2 Very poor: no mastery of conventions, dominated by errors of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, paragraphing, handwriting illegible, or not enough to evaluate.

Total score

Comments

Tasks for students: 1. Study attentively the above scoring profile for a composition and try to analyze the the

composition given by the teacher and interpret the obtained total score. 2. Study Magic English 4th grade, choose one unit. Then work with the unit and

curriculum, paying attention at the required knowledge and competences and try to design a test paper with a scoring profile.

Unit VIII Lesson Planning and Teacher`s Resources

Content: -The Importance of Lesson Planning- English Lesson Planning Process-Lesson Stages-Finding a Balance between Required and Additional Material-Benefits of Didactic Material Use

Key words: lesson planning, stages, introduction, presentation, practice, evaluation, advantages, curriculum, objectives, topic, goal, didactic material.

The Importance of Lesson Planning

Teaching a foreign language is a complex process. It involves teaching-learning activities that teacher performs in the class room area and not only. The effectiveness of the teaching-learning process depends on the way how activities are planned by the teacher in

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advance. Lesson plan represents a detailed description of activities in which teacher thinks about the content, didactic material, the way of knowledge assessment, teaching-learning strategies. What is an English lesson plan?

An English lesson plan is the teacher's guide for a current lesson, and it includes the goal (what the students are supposed to learn), how the goal will be reached (tasks and instructional strategies) and a way of measuring how well the goal was reached (assessment, homework etc.).

A lesson is like a journey and lesson plan for a teacher is like a map. It shows where to start, where you finish and the route to take to get there.

A lesson planning is very important for teachers. It offers advantages like:-gives confidence;-allows to manage time, effort and resources efficiently;-gives opportunity to anticipate possible problems and look for solutions;-contributes to professionalism building.

English Lesson Planning ProcessDesigning a lesson plan is not a simple action. It involves complex actions made by

teacher. Each lesson is a unity from a continuous teaching cycle, in which each learning activity is based on the previous one, serving as an instructional roadmap for teachers. Foreign language curriculum offers the teacher competencies for all skills areas (listening, grammar, reading, writing, and speaking) at each level. The first step before planning is to review the curriculum; it gives a clear outline of what teacher must develop through his teaching activities. The teacher determines the lesson topic and according to the shaped finalities given by curriculum he defines the lesson goal and objectives. Objectives are what pupils should know and do to obtain the finalities or exactly competencies; they are like guidelines for a teacher that gives a strategic structure to the entire teaching–learning activity. The objectives must be clear and describe the intended learning. It will be efficient to communicate them to learners so they clearly will know what is expected of them. Instructional objectives must be specific, outcome-based, and measurable, and they must describe learner behavior. While planning teachers has to think about didactic material. It must be selected according to pupils level, motivational and informative capacity. Any didactic material will be good if it helps to accomplish our objectives and achieve the communicative purpose. A computer, projector, book, cards, games, pictures, worksheets, different objects can serve to our goal to develop pupil`s communicative competence in English.

The lesson is built from more stages, the teacher`s task is to structure the stages of the teaching-learning activity. Different models of plan involve different stages. The most common

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are: Warm-up, introduction, presentation, practice, application and evaluation. They must be coherent and logically linked.

Another important action while planning is assessment. Pupils` assessment follows from the objectives. A teacher must design tasks that will measure what pupils know and what they know to do. From here lesson planning process involves:

-analyzing or reviewing the curriculum-mapping the competences -determining the lesson theme-outlining the lesson goal and objectives-selecting the didactic material-structuring the lesson stages-planning the assessment

English Lesson StagesWarm-up is a stage that requires creativity from the teacher. Something easy, short and

catching that will increase pupils’ motivation and focus their attention. Each short task but interactive in a way can be suitable for a warm up exercise if it wakes and focus the pupil`s brain so to get active involvement: a proverb, joke, question, poem, picture.

Warm-up gives fun relax, sets good mood or language gym. Introduction is an initial lesson stage in which the teacher announces the objectives of

the lesson and explain pupils what they will have to do for this.Presentation introduces new information, checks learner comprehension of the new

content, and models the tasks that the learners will do in the practice stage Practice provides opportunities to practice and apply the new language or information.

This stage involves many tasks that offer pupils possibility to use the target language in different contest and a semi controlled atmosphere in exploring the meaning. Firstly are controlled tasks and after open, when pupils feel the learned structure.

Application stage refers to a variety of tasks that help the pupils to apply the language. Here the teacher`s duty is to provide a free atmosphere when pupil apply the target language with the lowest teacher implication. These include games, class discussions, free writing tasks and communication activities.

Evaluation is a stage which enables the instructor and learners to assess how well they have worked. This stage is important for both parts; teachers can see if they achieved the intended competencies and pupils measure their achievements that give them a sense of proudness and satisfaction.

All activities can be loosely categorized as being controlled, semi-controlled, or free. A controlled activity is one in which there is only one correct answer, which the

instructor knows beforehand. The student doesn’t have any chance to play with the language. Controlled activities work to make the language automatic, and to lay down pathways in the brain. Choral drills (also known as listen and repeat) and dialogues are examples of controlled activities.

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A semi-controlled activity gives the student/s a little more freedom to play with the language, while still reinforcing the lesson's target language. Brainstorming words related to the weather and questionnaires are examples of semi-controlled activities.

A free activity gives the student/s the most freedom with the language and allows them to tie it to previously learnt language. What happens during a free activity is up to the student. Examples are debates and role-plays. Note: Free activities don't include general conversations.

When you have ready the lesson plan and you checked it several times take in account some tips before your lesson and rethink it again each step:

1. Prepare more than you need: it is advisable to have an easily presented light (reserve activity ready in case of extra time (see Ur and Wright, 1992 for some ideas).

2. Similarly note in advance which component of the lesson you will sacrifice if you find yourself with too little time for everything!

3. Keep a watch or clock easily visible, make sure you are aware throughout how time is going relative to your program. It is difficult to judge intuitively how time is going when you are busy and the smooth running of your lesson depends to some extent on proper timing.

4. Do not leave the giving of homework to the last minute! At the end of the lesson learner’s attention is at low ebb, and you may run out of time before you finish explaining. Explain it earlier on, and then give a quick reminder at the end.

5. lf you have papers to distribute and a large class, do not try to give every paperYourself to every student! Give a number of papers to people at different points in the

class, ask them to take one and pass the rest on. 6. lf you are doing group work, give instructions and make sure these are understood

before dividing into groups or even if practicable handing out materials if you do it the other way round students will be looking at each other and at the materials and they are less likely

Following Curriculum and Finding a Balance between Required and Additional Material

National Curriculum for English language is a document that refers to a defined and prescribed course of studies and involves the basic resources for instruction. It is designed according to language proficiency principles and socio cultural norms. English Curriculum covers all language skill areas: listening, reading, writing, speaking and their competencies that teacher must develop to learners. As guidelines are objectives that show the teacher what must do student to develop the given competences at each area. Competences are finalities grouped at each level according to the learner’s age. Curriculum is like measure scale with clear guidelines for teacher that conducts to the final result. It is important to respect and keep in account the curriculum indicators. According to curriculum were written and course books approved by Ministry of Education. Magic English for primary level, English for life and so on for each level are books that provide a ready-made structure for teaching material. Teachers have different opinions regarding their efficiency but they are the basic resource and you as a teacher have less or no possibility to use as a main another book. Anyway, each class is different and teachers need to be able to find additional material and adapt it to be suitable for pupils. To organize

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interactive lessons teachers need actual, interesting, information so a course book can help in planning but can not replace the teachers own ideas for what she wants to accomplish. From here additional didactic material is very important for successful teaching learning process.

Benefits of Didactic Material UseDidactic material supports and contributes to efficiency of organization a lesson or

English activity. It intensifies cultural and sociological aspects of learning.

How do you think it happen? Think and comment on your opinions.

Teacher must become researchers inside their classroom and notice which sort of material will increase learning. Exists a wide variety of didactic material and teacher must know how to adopt it in a creative way. Due to integration of ICT in language teaching-learning process this allows a high degree of individualization of learning activity. Starting with handmade material (charts, pictures, maps, cards) and till multimedia tools (sites with commix, digy stories, audio, video, movies, e-books) facilities language teaching-learning process. Benefits of didactic material use are:

- Increases pupils ‘emotions motives, attitudes- Provides opportunities for language use- Offer plenty of free practice- Develops strategic competence- Helps to develop learners ‘self-confidence

Guidelines for Teacher-Made Didactic Materials Worksheets and work cards should be: - be neat: well written, clear margins, different components well-spaced;

-begin with short and clear instruction, usually including an example or model (if is needed can be used the mother language);

-be clear and attractive to look, have a balanced and varied layout, can be used underlining and others emphases to draw attention to significant thinks, if possible use colors and graphic illustration;

-include self-check facilities.

Tasks for students:

-Why do you think the course book is very important and bring more reasons how it becomes a useful resource in teaching English language at the lesson? Think about readymade activities, texts, picture, and teaching programme.

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-What should do teacher to extend the activities to increase their pupils learning opportunities?

-Study carefully all lesson stages; choose age, level you intend to plan, theme, goal, time allowed, etc. and write a plan. Prepare all didactic materials you need for successful learning.

Cambridge University Press 1996

Unit IXThe Management of the English Language Classroom

Content:

-The Role of Classroom Management-Classroom Management Elements-Efficient Classroom Management Tips

Key words: classroom management, process, strategies, rules, procedures, discipline, motivation, English language, attitude, attention.

The Role of Classroom ManagementLanguage knowledge, planning skills are not enough for a good teacher. English good

achievement requires except planning a good classroom management. Classroom management refers to the ability to deal with problems in different learning-teaching situations. A good management must be seen as an ongoing-oriented process. English good achievement cannot happen without a classroom environment that encourages pupil`s motivation, creativity, grows

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problem solvers, facilitates feedback, productive activities and leads to the desire to communicate in English. Good classroom management skills along with the upper mentioned skills facilitate the process of teaching-learning English.

Classroom Management ElementsA classroom is like a micro society in which pupils are citizens, who have needs and

interests. Teacher should know that a good classroom management can be built due to strategies application. These strategies involve classroom rules, routines, and procedures. An efficient teacher should know how to manage with them to get good results. Down are given some useful strategies for English classroom management:

-creating a welcoming classroom environment;-establishing discipline rules;-making a special teaching style, interesting and varied;-praising and encouraging good behavior and learning;-showing pupils that he cares out them and respect.

Creating a welcoming classroom environment.Creating a good environment in the classroom contributes to motivation increase and

makes activities challenging. English Classrooms must be equipped in a specific way. The following ideas can be helpful for a teacher:

- use bright colors, posters with pupils home or classwork;- label the classroom objects (labels and signs in the classroom offer opportunities to use

printed language in ways that are real and meaningful for pupils experience. They will read and learn. Eg. Chairs, library, the behavior board. It can encourage pupil`s self-confidence, responsibility). Labeling allows pupils better understanding surroundings;

-create specific areas or centers eg. writing area (papers, pencils, pens, pictures, dictionaries, various well labeled bins) all aids that could encourage writing, listening area-place the CD player, a computer, several story CD and reading area-books, dictionaries, magazines, newspapers;

-create art area-in primary level, especially, construction paper, glue, scissors, art supplies. Establishing discipline rules.Discipline problems are listed as the major problem for most new teachers. What can

teachers expect and how can they effectively handle discipline problems? Classroom management combined with an effective discipline plan is the key. There are many literature works that touch the discipline subject like “Anne Meets her Class”:

Stand quite still, be quite calm, and gradually the children will become conscious that you are waiting. Never, never attempt to shout them down. …. A chair fell over, someone yelped with pain, there was a burst of laughter, and Anne saw the clock jump to another minute. Anne advanced into action.

–To your desk! She roared, and quickly!With a shock she saw her words obeyed! ”Another teacher`s attempt to gain pupils attention:

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-Class! This not working”, she upped the voltage somewhat: “Class!! “ And once more, even more loudly: “Class!!!” Seeing her ineffectiveness, she finally screamed: “Shut up!” And the class became quiet. But then the talking started again, the noise began to grow, and again she started.

Both examples present the teacher`s wish to establish the classroom discipline. From lasting teaching experiences is clear that discipline remains as being very important in the teaching-learning process and as one of the key of pupil`s success in studying English. The establishing of lesson rules is very evident. Some tips listed down can be very helpful.

"Praise should deal, not with the child's personality attributes, but with his efforts and achievements." said Haim Ginott.

Agree on the rules The teacher and pupils should agree on the rules that everybody should respect. No pupil would consider coming late for school as a proper conduct. So, start a list of proper classroom conduct.

Clear rules and regulations Once the rules and regulations are set, state them clearly. They should stipulate what is expected from pupils and what is not-the dos and the don'ts.

Updating and reviewing. Novel instances of indiscipline may occur. That is why the rules and regulations may undergo updates or reviews from time to time.

Additional several strategies for getting pupils attention can be useful for a teacher in the classroom:

-Write the word “Silence, please!” on the blackboard.-Clap a short rhythmic phrase and have students clap it back. Use a twister. -Put your finger against your lips to suggest silence while holding your arm up.-Whisper in the ear of a pupil, “It is time to start-pass it on” and then wait till the pupils

will pass the message. Avoid:-raising voice-yelling-saying “I`m the boss”-using degrading, insulting-using physical forcePraising and encouraging good behavior and learning.-Praise pupil and focus on his effort, not on ability or intelligence. Cut out “you are so smart, you are such a good…”

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-Focus on positive behavior not the negative. If you focus your attention on problematic pupils some of your good students may became troublesome just to attract attention.Example:Don't say, "If you get mark 10 on your test I will give you a sticker."Do say, "You did great on your test that was a big improvement, here's a sticker."Showing your pupils that you care about them and respect.Demand from your pupils respect. Respect them and learn them to respect you as a

teacher. From teacher`s experience:"It takes me about two to four weeks at the beginning of school to establish the policy. I

just lay down the law that no one will call anyone names, and I just push respect, respect, and respect. I believe that if I respect my kids, they will respect me and I have never found that to be any different. I am not saying I get the best kids, but by the time they leave my classroom everybody wants to have my kids because they have learned respect and manners."Show you care about them. When you have chance ask pupils how they are, congratulate on birthday, ask about difficulties, so they feel that you care about them.

Good classroom management also supposes specific classroom procedures like:- Do something different so that everyone knows it`s time for English, eg, a poem, a song,

a special greeting.-Wear something special during the lesson, eg. badge, a hat.-Stand in different place or arrange the room differently.

-Find pictures, symbols that pupils associate with English.-Have a clear view of all students.-Use signals to gain student attention.-Develop routines and procedures for the beginning and end of class.-Develop efficient processes for assigning and monitoring class work.-Make sure frequently used materials are readily accessible.-Avoid unnecessary distractions.-Consider and plan for flexible grouping needs.

Efficient Classroom Management TipsWhile teaching-learning English language the teacher should apply different forms of work

(pair, individual, group). Study some useful tips for group, pair work to make it more effective.-Explain the activity. Make sure pupils know exactly what they have got to do. Go over the

instructions carefully and encourage pupils to ask questions. -Arrange the groups. Often you must clearly indicate to students who they should work

with. Allow students to work with their friends most of the time, but explain that in some sessions you are going to organize them so they get a chance to work with everyone in the class. This is also a good strategy for controlling discipline.

Pupils can be regrouped using techniques such as counting off, categorizing according to the color of their clothing or their shoes size, giving them pieces of a puzzle, to put together, labels with type of inscription, etc.

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-Set a time limit. Establishing a time limit gives a sense of urgency to an activity. It is also a good idea to stop an activity after most of the groups have finished so that the whole class is not left waiting.

-Give examples of demonstrations. Before you divide the class into pairs or groups, give as many examples as necessary to make sure students understand what they are supposed to do. You can model the activity with a pupil and then ask some stronger students to demonstrate it. This ensures that the class understands exactly what to do and how to do it and that you do not have to interrupt pupils in the middle of the activity to repeat the instructions.

-Circulate. As pupils are working, circulate around the classroom and make sure they all understand and are participating in the activity. Provide assistance when they needed.

-Follow up. Invite pupils to report to the class on what their group discussed or what their partner told them.

- Rules. Establish the rules for the group/pair work before you start the activity: Plan your work before you start. Distribute the tasks. Don`t shout and talk over one another. Listen to each other’s opinions. Everyone must contribute to the final task.

When you assess the work, make it clear that this is a group/pair assessment and that they are all responsible for each other`s work.

Useful words: Teaching style-Behavior-\bi-ˈhā-vyər, bē-\ the way a person acts or behaves.Procedure-\prə-ˈsē-djər\ a series of actions that are done in a certain way or order, an

established or accepted way of doing something. Label-\ˈlā-bəl\ a piece of paper that is attached to something to identify or describe it.

Tasks for students: -Which are classroom management elements presented in the text and can you add

additional facts that seems to you as being important in having a good class management? Give your reasons.

-Imagine you are a teacher, it’s a beginning of a new learning year, think in advance which rules you`ll fix so to have a good classroom environment for an efficient English learning. Write them down and present it as a poster.

-Study carefully the group/pair work tips and think about an activity, choose one type of work (pair/ group), imagine all steps and after describe on a paper it as clear as possible.

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AnexaSuggestopedia MethodLesson Plan

MY DAY-Class- 5th -Language skill: speaking Lesson goal:-At the end of the lesson, the students will be able to talk about what they do every day.

I get up / She gets up What time do you….?

What times does she…?Vocabulary:

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Ten o’clock, half past ten, a quarter past eleven, Noon, one o’clock, four o’clock, a quarter past eight, a quarter to eleven, to get up.

Introduction:Poem with doing different movements that imitates the clock striking hours.

Presentation: First concert: This involves the active presentation of the material to be learned.

Second concert: The students put aside their scripts and the teacher reads at normal speed according to the content (Beethoven, Concerto No. 5 in E flat major for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 73 ("Emperor")). Text:

Far away there is a wonderful town. There must be something skittishly in what they decided to do. So peeling potatoes till the end was a pleasure more than a dislike. This annoyed because the more they peeled the more it seemed to be. That won`t be. Scraping can be painful sometimes and not only. Once I`ve pushed the knee through theses bushes sure in advance I should guess how it could be.

Scraping sometimes can serve as getting up from dreaming to reality. Oh, you know from hot feelings or emotions usually don`t realize the real gravity of things. Then the more you think, the more frightening becomes. When trying to find the thread through deeds and words become heavy we consume our self so much and provoke deeper bad emotions. I hate thinking anymore I am tired and I am lost in this \There is a big palace there. A young man is the Emperor of the place. He usually gets up at ten o’clock in the morning. He takes a bath at half past ten. He has breakfast at a quarter past eleven. Then he goes out at noon. At one o’clock he has lunch. At four o’clock in the afternoon he goes shopping. He has dinner at a quarter past eight. Then, he goes to bed at a quarter to eleven. What a life!

The pictures will be put up in the classroom to create a good environment. The teacher presents the pictures telling the time and the actions, and then asks to the students to repeat after her/him. For example:

Teacher: ten o’clock Students: ten o’clock

After practicing the vocabulary, the teacher shows another picture and asks to the students a question. For example:

Teacher: What time it is? The teacher writes the answers on the whiteboard.

Practice:The students will have to complete a puzzle (see Annex 8). As the next activity, the students have to complete a chart with some information about their classmates. They have to walk around the class asking the correct question according to the pictures, and complete the chart (see Annex 9). Students are going to watch a video. They have to

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pay attention to it because later the teacher will ask some questions. Also students have to work in groups of three. They have to ask and answer questions about them. For example:

Student A: What time do you get up? Student B: I get up at 7:00 Student A: What time does he get up? Student C: He gets up at 7:00 Production:

A short story will be given to the students, so they have to read and complete the information below.

Homework:The students have to write their daily routines. They have to write about what they do from morning to night and the time they do each activity.

Grammar ActivitiesThe use of present continuous tense. 1. Look at the pictures below. Using the present continuous tense, describe what

these people are doing. Example: He is playing tennis.

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_________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________

-Ask and answer these questions with a partner.

What are you doing? I am _________ing. What is he/she doing? He/She is _________ing.

What are they doing? They are _________ing.

- Now, take turns describing to the rest of the class what other people in the classroom are doing.

Divide the classroom into groups. Give each group a magazine picture of people doing different things. Give one minute to memorize what everyone is doing in the picture. Collect the picture. Students write down what everyone is doing. Hand the picture back to the groups.

-Students check their lists to see who remember best. -Students ask each other what people are doing.

Tense revision.Game: Verb tense jump!Divide the class into three teams. Assign a tense for each team: present continuous, past

simple, future with going to.Say a sentence using one of the tenses: I read a book last night. The group with the corresponding tense jumps up and says the tense of the sentence.

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The teacher continues in the same manner with different sentences. Award a point for each correct answer.

Teaching modal verbs can/could/may/might.This activity helps to generate discussion using modal verbs of possibility. To begin, the

class reads about a dilemma between a boyfriend and girlfriend. The students then answer questions about what it's possible for each person to do in the story. They answer the questions using the modal verbs of possibility can, could, may and might. Afterwards, the students have a class discussion based upon the dilemma in the story as well as their answers to the questions.

Jon’s StoryRead the story and answer the question using modal verbs of possibility and certainty.

One evening, Jon was sitting at home watching TV when the phone rang. It was his

girlfriend Kate. Kate asked Jon if he would like to go out tonight. Jon had had a hard day at work and was feeling lazy and tired. So, he told Kate he was sleepy and was going to bed soon. Kate wished him sweet dreams and hung up the phone. Twenty minutes later his ex-girlfriend Anna called Jon. She was in town on business and would be leaving town again tomorrow. She asked Jon if they could meet tonight. They had not seen each other since they split up two years ago. They agreed to meet at a local restaurant for dinner. Anna and Jon met at the local restaurant, and they sat down for a meal together. They were half-way through their meal when in walked Kate with her friends. Kate was shocked to see her boyfriend having dinner with his ex-girlfriend! She walked over to Jon’s table… What is it possible for Jon, Kate and Anna to do in this situation? Write a sentence for each person using modal verbs of possibility could, might and may. _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ Discuss your possibilities with your classmates. Do they agree with you?

TEACH-THIS.COM Advice Game This is a great game for practicing giving advice. The students get to practice various

phrases for giving advice in different situations. Procedure

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Divide the class into teams of three. Appoint one student in each team to do the writing. Write on the board the following sentence.

I had an accident in my car. Explain that the teams have to write down as many pieces of advice as they can think of using the phrase: You should… For example:

You should call the police. You should check the damage to your car.

Tell the teams that they shouldn’t write sentences, which simply say the same thing in a different way, e.g. You should check for damage to your car. You should look to see if your car has any dents. Set a five-minute time limit. Then get the teams to swap papers. Ask each team to read out their list in turn. As the other teams read out their sentences, the teams should tick any duplicate sentences on their list. All the sentences should give appropriate advice for a car accident. Each team gets one point for each correct sentence. Play further rounds using other phrases for giving advice and situations. Other phrases:

You ought to… You need to… My advice is to… You could try… I would advise that… If I were you, I'd... You'd better... If I was/were in your place, I'd...

Other situations:

I can’t find my wallet. Burglars broke into my house. I was sacked from my job. This food I’ve just cooked tastes terrible. My wife/husband left me. I didn’t pass the exam. My business has gone bankrupt. I didn’t get the job.

The team with the most points at the end is the winner.

Reading ActivitiesConnecting sounds to letters

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Samples of cause-effect exercises. Write one positive and one negative effect for each cause. Use your imagination and write complete sentences.Cause: The cat crossed the street.Positive Effect ______________________________________________________Negative Effect______________________________________________________Cause: The bird landed on the branch.Positive Effect ______________________________________________________Negative Effect______________________________________________________Cause: The bee lands on the rose.Positive Effect ______________________________________________________Negative Effect______________________________________________________Read the paragraph and answer the questions.A seed falls down. Rain soaks it. The sun warms it. Roots grow. It becomes a plant!Why did roots grow?

Why do seeds fall?

My feet were hot. I took off my shoes and socks. Ah, that feels better!Why did the writer take off his shoes?

Why did the writer's feet feel better?

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Sample printable

Story map. Anexa

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LESSON PLAN

SCHOOL: school-kindergarten nr.152 „Step by Step”DATE: TEACHER: SUBJECT: English FORM: 2CMODULE: 2THEME: Tim’s New ToysSPECIFIC COMPETENCE INDICATORS (SCI) and SUB COMPETENCE (SC):

Listening 1.3.Understanding the meaning of words in simple sentences.Spoken Interaction

2.4. Reproducing simple answers and questions concerning the students’ familiar objects.

Listening 1.3.Understanding the meaning of words in simple sentences.Spoken Interaction

2.4. Reproducing simple answers and questions concerning the students’ familiar objects.

LESSON TYPE: teaching-learning

DIDACTIC STRATEGIES AND TECHNOLOGIES:Methods:

Brainstorming Explaining Brainwriting Four corners

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Teaching aids: Magic Box Toys Sheets of paper A die Markers

Organisational forms: Group work Individual work

Bibliography:

1. Ignatiuc Iu. Aladin L. Foca L. Puiu D. “Magic English” Pupils’s Book 2nd Form2. Ignatiuc Iu. Aladin L. Foca L. Puiu D. “Magic English” Workbook 2nd Form3. Klementieva T. “Sunny English” Workbook Forms 1-34. Paidos C. Paidos Cr. “Grammar Is Fun”5. Keyes Joan Ross “The Oxford Picture Dictionary”6. Bantaş A: “Dicţionar Englez-Român Român-Englez”

7. Văleanu D. “Practice English with Speedy” Workbook 2nd Form

O b j Strategies

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Instructionalevents ec

tive

sTeacher-pupils’ activity

Tim

e

Teaching-Learning

Eva

luat

ion

Met

hod

s

For

ms

Tea

chin

g ai

ds

1 2 3 4 6 7 8

Evocation

Realisation of Sense

The pupils will:

Describe an object using the learnedwords

Greet the pupils -Good morning, pupils. -Good morning, teacher.

Magic BoxThe pupils will guess the object in the box asking questions: e.g. Is it big? Is it a ......?

They will speak about the object in the box:

BALL e.g This is a ball. The ball is orange.Write all the ideas on a poster.

What toys do you know?

The pupils will take a sheet of paper with the name of a toy on and will stick it to the toy. e.g. lorry- camion

2

7

5

3

Brainwriting

Brainstorming

Chain

Group work

A boxA ball

A poster with the word BALL on

Sheets of paper with the name of the toys

Group

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Learn new words

Use the vocabula-ry related to toys

Learn to

New VocabularyThe pupils get cards with the new words:Toy- jucăriePlane- avionTrain- trenLorry- camionBus- autobusCar- maşinăKite- zmeu de hîrtieRope- coardăBike- bicicletăRoller skates- patine cu rotileDoll- păpuşăThe pupils will repeat the new words after the teacher. Then they will read the words by themselves.Look at the toys and see if you stuck the names of the toys correctly. The pupils will write their names under the toy they like.

Lorry Doll Bike Rope

4 3 4 4

The children will devide into groups according to the grid.In groups they will discuss the objects they have. e.g. This is a lorry. It is new. It is not old. It is green. It is not red.

5

2

7

2

The four corners

Group work

onToys

Cards with the new words

A sheet of paper with a grid onMarkers

Sheets of paper for each group

Group

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Reflecion

Homework

show the possession

Present them.

Every child will take an object and will say e.g. My doll- Dan’s carStick the example on the easel:

Lily’s doll

The pupils will throw the cube and will say a sentence about the toy on the top. e.g. doll-This is Lily’s doll.

The pupils will name 2-3 toys they learnt new and will ask questions about the unclear things. Learn the toys. Write word combinations to say whose toy it is.

5

5

2

Explaning

The cube

Indivi-dual work

A die

Indivi-dual

Individual

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ANN ‘S DOLL

TIM ‘S BUS

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BALL

Page 95: Metodica Predarii Buna l Eng

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