PART D
NET LANGUAGES
METHODOLOGY FOR TEACHERS PEDAGOGICAL GUIDE FOR TUTORS
Contents:
A: Overview of the course design and management4
1.Who is the course for?4
2.How are the courses structured?4
3.What does each unit of the course contain?4
Methodology for Teachers of Young Learners4
Methodology for Teachers of Secondary/Adult Students5
4.How do tutors and students communicate?5
5.Correcting students’ written work5
Marking Conventions and Assessment Criteria5
Student written work and tutor feedback6
General points for marking students’ work9
6.How are students tested?9
7.How are students graded?9
8.How should records be kept?9
Appendix 1: First Contact letter10
B: Unit by unit guide for teachers11
METHODOLOGY FOR TEACHERS - Primary level11
Unit 1: Children as Learners11
Unit 2: Classroom Organisation12
Unit 3: Lesson Aims13
Unit 4: Teaching Words14
Unit 5: Drills and Chants15
Unit 6: Listening Activities16
Unit 7: Writing Activities17
Unit 8: Using Coursebooks18
Unit 9: Projects20
Unit 10: Assessment and Feedback22
METHODOLOGY FOR TEACHERS OF SECONDARY/ADULT STUDENTS23
Unit 1: Classroom Management – Mixed-Ability Classes23
Unit 2: Planning a Unit of Work25
Unit 3: Selecting and Grading Vocabulary27
Unit 4: Practising Grammar29
Students send their ideas to you.Unit 5: Exploiting Learners'
Errors30
Unit 6: Speaking Activities and Discussions33
Unit 7: Developing Listening Skills35
Unit 8: Teaching Writing37
Unit 9: Using the Internet38
Unit 10: Course Evaluation and Self-Evaluation40
A: Overview of the course design and management
1. Who is the course for?
These courses are for teachers of English who want to update
their knowledge of current English language teaching methodology.
There are two courses available: Methodology for Teachers - primary
level and Methodology for Teachers of Secondary/Adult Students.
Methodology for Teachers - primary level is designed for
teachers who are interested in learning more about teaching young
learners. It is suitable for teachers with a low intermediate level
of English and above, and with limited classroom experience.
Methodology for Teachers of Secondary/Adult Students is more
appropriate for teachers with a higher level of English (Upper
Intermediate and above). It is suitable both for teachers with
limited experience of teaching and for more experienced teachers
wanting to update their knowledge of language teaching methodology.
It covers themes such as: teaching mixed ability groups, role plays
and discussions, process writing, using the internet, and course
evaluation.
2. How are the courses structured?
Each course consists of ten units. Each unit explores a
different aspect of English language teaching methodology.
3. What does each unit of the course contain?
Methodology for Teachers of Young Learners
Each unit of this course consists of a series of activities
which explore the theme of the unit. These include short reading
and listening texts, appropriate to the level of the student taking
this course. The penultimate section of each component –
‘Discussion Topic’ – consists of a task which students respond to
by posting answers in a Forum.
Final Task
The final stage of each unit gives students a chance to put into
practice what they have studied. They are asked to complete a task
and send it to their tutor.
Each unit of the course will take approximately 2-3 hours to
complete.
Methodology for Teachers of Secondary/Adult Students
Each unit of this course consists of a series of activities
which explore different aspects of the theme of the unit. There are
discussion questions to encourage student-student interaction via
the methodology for teachers forum. Each unit in this course also
contains an extended reading activity in the form of a short
article which discusses aspects of the theme.
Final Task
Each unit of this level ends with a small project which is
carried out independently. After completing a series of tasks, the
student writes a report (approx. 300-350 words) for their
tutor.
Each unit of the Methodology for Teachers of Secondary/Adult
Students course will take approximately 4-5 hours to complete.
4. How do tutors and students communicate?
Tutors and students communicate by email. Once a student has
been assigned to a specific tutor, the tutor should send the
student a message (see Appendix 1), which both welcomes the student
to the course, and outlines the terms and procedures by which the
student can contact the tutor.
5. Correcting students’ written work
Each unit of both courses ends with a Final Task for which
students send written work to their tutor. The Final Task provides
learners with the opportunity to explore the theme of the unit in a
more practical way, applying what they have learned during the unit
so far.
Marking Conventions and Assessment Criteria
For the Final Task the assessment criteria for marking student’s
written work are as follows:
· Relevance to rubric
· Task completion
· Accuracy of factual content
· Accuracy and effectiveness of English (relative to course
level)
· Accurate use of terminology
· Length
Mark out of 20
Student written work and tutor feedback
Below is an example of student written work for the Final Task
for unit 2 of the Methodology for Teachers Primary level course,
together with tutor feedback.
Final Task
Choose a coursebook activity that involves the class working in
pairs or groups, such as a game.
· Describe how you would arrange the class.
· Write the instructions you would give the class at the
beginning of the activity, during the activity and at the end of
the activity.
· Describe your own role during the activity.
Send the completed task to your tutor.
METHODOLOGY FOR TEACHERS - Primary level
Final Task Unit 2: Classroom organisation
Student: Alex
Tutor: Catherine
Task: Choose a coursebook activity that involves the class
working in pairs or groups, such as a game.
1. Describe how you would arrange the class.
2. Write the instructions you would give the class at the
beginning of the activity, during the activity and at the end of
the activity.
3. Describe your own role during the activity
Activity:
The coursebook activity I chose is a speaking-writing activity
from Surprise 4, OUP.
1. Organisation:
This activity is designed to be done sitting 2 by 2. I would
probably not allow students to choose their partner, because this
might take a long time. I would indicate who they should work with,
if possible the person sitting next to them, to avoid students
having to move to another table.
I think that is a good strategy Alex: with this age group it is
more efficient to assign partners. Letting them choose might be
chaotic and take a long time, as you say.
2. Instructions:
Before the activity:
a) Vocabulary: I would hold up a copy of the exercise for the
class to see. I would say: "Please write the vocabulary under the
picture." (reading comics, playing computer games, etc.)
OK, good to hold up the exercise to focus the students'
attention on you. But the choice of the word vocabulary is a bit
vague here. You want them to write the verbs, don't you? So you
need to say that. Otherwise students might write: comic book,
console, etc.
b) Checking results: "OK everybody, what's the first activity?
And the next one?"etc. ✓
c) Preparation for task: "Now think about your likes and
dislikes. If you like reading comics, draw a happy face – here. And
if you don't like reading comics, draw a sad face." Again I would
hold up the copy of the exercise to show the class where to draw
the happy/sad face. ✓
The activity:
Speaking: "Now ask your partner: 'Do you like....?' And your
partner has to answer: 'Yes, I do. / No, I don't.' If your partner
likes the activity, draw a happy face here, and if no, draw a sad
face." I would also write the question and answers on the board for
extra clarity.
Good idea to write the question and answers on the board.
Students can refer to to it if they get stuck.
After the activity:
a) Writing: I would hold up the copy of the exercise again, wait
for everybody to look at me. Then I would point to the writing
exercise. "Now write a report about your partner. For example: My
friend's name is Maica. She likes reading comics. She doesn't like
writing emails."
Giving an example is an essential part of clear instructions. It
would be especially effective if you involved the students in
creating the example by eliciting it from them.
b) Checking: "Now change your reports with your partner. Check
for mistakes." ✓
c) Extra writing: "Write other activities that your partner
likes and doesn't like."
Asking the students to extend the activity is an excellent idea.
But maybe do this right at the start of the lesson. After writing
the 6 verbs in stage 1, they could add some free-time activities of
their own.
3. My role:
My role will vary depending on the stage of the lesson. When I
set up the activity I'm an organiser. I indicate who works with who
and where they will sit. Part of my role as organiser is giving the
instructions and ensuring that everybody knows what they have to
do. While performing this role I want the class to be focused on
me. I will speak loudly and distinctly so all the students can hear
and understand me. ✓
Once the activity has started, my role changes. I am now a
monitor, I will check that students are doing the activity
correctly, I will help those who are having difficulties, I will
praise and encourage students when appropriate. In this stage of
the lesson I will work with individuals, so I will speak quietly so
I don't distract the other students. I will be moving around the
classroom and I will try to spend some time with each couple. ✓
Good work, Alex. You describe in detail how you plan to exploit
this material and the decisions you made about how to manage the
activity are very sensible.
Your instructions are short and to the point and the language
you use is carefully graded. For the writing stage of the lesson
you included a concrete example of what the students have to do.
This is probably the easiest and clearest way to set up an activity
and is highly recommended.
You also described precisely how you will vary your role for the
different stages of the lesson. You have made appropriate decisions
about how to manage the different interactions effectively (open
group work and closed pairs practice). You are clearly aware of the
principles of classroom management and can see how they can be
applied effectively. I'm giving you 17 out of 20 for this task.
A couple of points to consider:
1. When giving instructions, try to be as precise as possible.
As I mentioned above: "Write the vocabulary" could be confusing. It
is clearer to say: "Write the verbs" in this case.
2. At lower levels it is important to include an example of the
activity in the instructions, so students can be absolutely sure of
what they have to do before they go into pairs.
Language:
As agreed, I'm including some comments on your English. In fact,
your writing is of a high standard and I only noticed some very
minor things. They are highlighted in yellow in your task.
1. designed to be done sitting 2 by 2 = ..sitting in pairs.
"Sitting two by two" sounds unnatural.
2. and if no = The expression is: If not, ....
3. Now change your reports = Here you need: "exchange your
reports", which has they idea of both giving and taking.
4. each couple = ..each pair. A "couple" refers to married
people or people who are in a relationship.
I look forward to your next task!
All the best,
Catherine
General points for marking students’ work
Tutors can use a "footnote" system for responding to written
tasks, or they can respond in the body of the text, using a
different colour. Comments should refer to the content rather than
language use.
In addition to the comments about individual points, tutor
feedback should include a general comment on the written work which
summarises its strengths and weaknesses and also provides a
rationale for the mark which has been given.
Finally, if the student wishes to receive feedback on language
use, the tutor should add comments on a limited number of
errors.
Given that this course requires tutors to send feedback on
topics connected with teacher training and development, it is
strongly recommended that tutors are themselves qualified to at
least DELTA level.
6. How are students tested?
Testing for both courses is by continuous assessment. For the
Final Task of each unit, students send a piece of written work to
their tutor. The marks for these pieces of work are totalled to
make up the student’s final score for the level.
7. How are students graded?
The Final Task for each unit is scored out of 20 to make a total
maximum score of 200. To pass, a student must get 120 marks or more
(i.e. 60%).
8. How should records be kept?
The marks should be recorded on the online marksheet available
on the platform.
Appendix 1: First Contact letter
Dear _______,
Welcome to the Methodology for Teachers course. My name is
(_______) and I will be your tutor.
The course has 10 units, and you will have access to the course
material for one year. However, I recommend that you try to finish
one unit every two weeks.
There is one piece of written work in each unit which you need
to send to me. This is part of the FINAL TASK. I recommend that you
write your answer in a Word document and then send it to me by the
internal mail system on the platform. I will make comments on your
work and send it back to you in the same way.
The course is graded by continuous assessment. Each writing task
is marked out of 20 which makes a maximum total of 200. In order to
pass the course, you need at least 120 marks (60%).
So I can get an idea of your teaching background, could you send
me an email answering the following questions? (Please feel free to
add any other information that you think might be relevant.)
1. How long have you worked as a teacher?
2. Where do you teach? What kind of a school is it?
3. What level do you teach?
4. Which books do you use? Did you choose the books? What do you
think of them?
And one final question: Would you like me to comment on your
English usage, or would you prefer to concentrate on the content of
the course?
If you have any questions during the course, please send me an
email and I will get back to you as quickly as possible.
I hope you enjoy the course!
All the best,
(_______)
B: Unit by unit guide for teachers
METHODOLOGY FOR TEACHERS - Primary level
Unit 1: Children as Learners
Summary
The unit focuses on how children between the ages of 5 and 12
learn, and looks at teaching activities that are suitable for young
learners.
Discussion Topic
Share your ideas with other teachers. Do you agree or disagree
with these statements from exercise 8? Explain why.
· "I never do songs with my group of 10-year-olds. They think
singing songs is for babies."
· "I always start the lesson with a review of the previous
lesson. And I always end the lesson with a song."
· "I prepare extra exercises for the children who finish early.
It's not good if they have nothing to do."
For example: I disagree with the first statement. I find that
all age groups like songs. I think this is because ....
Post your comments in the Forums
Final Task
This is the final task students are given:
Children as Learners
Find a story you would like to use in class. It can be real,
invented or from a coursebook.
Write a lesson plan, showing how you would use the story with a
group of six-year-olds. Write comments about how your lesson plan
would be different for a group of 10-year-olds.
Send the completed task to your tutor.
Unit 2: Classroom Organisation
Summary
In this unit students learn about teacher roles and learner
interaction, and look at different types of classroom organisation
and activities.
Discussion Topic
Share your ideas with other teachers.
· Do you change the organisation of the class during the lesson?
Explain why/why not.
· What are your favourite management tips?
For example: I find it useful to get learners to work in pairs
to check their homework. This means that they can help each other.
They are more motivated and engaged.
Post your comments in the Forums
Final Task
This is the final task students are given:
Choose a coursebook activity that involves the class working in
pairs or groups, such as a game.
Describe how you would arrange the class. Write the instructions
you would give the class at the beginning of the activity, during
the activity and at the end of the activity. Describe your own role
during the activity.
Send the completed task to your tutor.
Unit 3: Lesson Aims
Summary
In this unit students learn about lesson planning, and consider
aims, stages and procedures.
Discussion Topic
See a page from a coursebook. Look closely at the page and
identify the following:
· Topic
· Linguistic aims
· Communicative aims
· Activity types
· Appropriate age group
Post your comments in the Forums
Final Task
This is the final task students are given:
Choose a coursebook lesson that you are planning to teach (or
one you would like to teach).
Read the Teacher's Book for the instructions. Write out the plan
for the lesson, using exercise 4 as an example. When you write the
plan, include these points: Give each part (or stage) of the lesson
a name. Say why you are doing the stage (aim). Briefly outline what
will happen at each stage (procedure). Estimate the time for each
stage.
Send the completed task to your tutor.
Unit 4: Teaching Words
Summary
This unit looks at factors to consider when introducing new
vocabulary, and students practise different presentation and
practice activities.
Discussion Topic
Share your ideas with other teachers.
· Write the commands for a "Listen and do" activity to practise
body vocabulary. Write a simple version for real beginners and a
more challenging version for an elementary group.
For example:First, touch your nose. Now, ...
Then, compare your commands with what other teachers have
written.
Post your comments in the Forums
Final Task
This is the final task students are given:
Teaching Words
Choose a theme, such as sports, clothes, transport, animals,
etc. Choose 10 words related to this theme. Decide how you would
teach them.For example, would you use translation, gesture or
visuals to help the children understand the words? How would you
practise the words that you have chosen? Write a plan for the
lesson, including the above points.
Send the completed task to your tutor
Unit 5: Drills and Chants
Summary
Students look at different types of drills and chants, and
investigate the effectiveness of using drills and chants in
class.
Discussion Topic
Share your ideas with other teachers.
· Do you use drills and chants in your lessons? Explain why/why
not.
· What do you like or not like about using them?
For example:I often use drills in class, especially to practise
the pronunciation of a new word. I never use chants, but I would
like to try ...
Post your comments in the Forums
Final Task
This is the final task students are given:
Drills and Chants
Write a language drill (including the different prompts, like
ball, bike ...) or a chant for a grammar structure you are going to
teach soon. Explain how you will set it up. For example: Will you
use any visual material? Will you drill all the children together?
Will you drill the answer, the question or both? Will you write the
drill/chant on the board? When? What will your instructions be?
Send the completed task to your tutor.
Unit 6: Listening Activities
Summary
Students look at different types of listening activities for use
in class, and practise planning listening practice lessons.
Discussion Topic
Share your ideas with other teachers.
· Do you use live listening in class? Explain why/why not.
· If you do use live listening, describe a lesson idea you have
used. Do you think it was successful?
·
For example: Occasionally, I talk about the weekend in class.
The children really like this and ask me lots of questions. When I
do this, first I ..., and then I ...
Post your comments in the Forums
Final Task
This is the final task students are given:
Find a story you would like to use in class. It can be real,
invented or from a coursebook.
Choose a story you would like to use in a class for a listening
activity. (If it is a fairy tale, you might need to adapt it to
make it easier for the children to understand.) Decide what you
would do before, during and after the listening. Think of ways of
helping the children to understand the story, and to focus their
attention on the main points. Write an outline of what you would
do.
Send the completed task to your tutor
Unit 7: Writing Activities
Summary
Students will look at different types of writing activities, and
practise how to use writing activities effectively in class.
Discussion Topic
Share your ideas with other teachers.
· Describe more interesting ideas for writing lessons using
lessons that you have tried yourself or that you have seen or heard
about from other teachers
Post your comments in the Forums
Final Task
This is the final task students are given:
Writing Activities
Choose a speaking or a listening activity in a coursebook, such
as a game or a song. Think of ways of including or adding a writing
element. For example, could you follow the game (or song) with a
story, a letter or a poster? How would you set this up? What
instructions would you give? What materials would you need to
provide?
Send the completed task to your tutor
Unit 8: Using Coursebooks
Summary
Students look at the advantages and disadvantages of using
coursebooks, and evaluate a coursebook they use.
Discussion Topic
Share your ideas with other teachers.
· Look at these comments from teachers about coursebooks. Do you
agree or disagree with them? Give your reasons.
"I think it is impossible to find the perfect book; each one has
good and bad features."
For example: I agree. I think it's impossible to find the
perfect book. This is because every teacher and every class is
different. However, I think that some books ....
"A good coursebook should have themes which relate to the
children, lots of recycling and lots of pictures."
"It isn't enough to have a Students' Book, Teacher's Book and
Workbook; a teacher needs other things, like flash cards and
supplementary components."
"My school chooses the coursebook. I don't have any say in the
matter."
"I like coursebooks with central characters and a story."
"If the workbook has an answer key, the children just copy the
answers."
"We don't use coursebooks for very young learners at my school.
I make all my own materials."
· Which coursebooks have you used? Which do you like best and
why?
Post your comments in the Forums
Final Task
This is the final task students are given:
Use the evaluation criteria in exercise 7 to evaluate a
coursebook you have used, or one you would like to use. See the
evaluation criteria again. Write a short report about the
coursebook. Include: a brief description of the age and level of
learners it is designed for. the book's components. the book's
positive and negative features. why you like or don't like the
book.
Send the completed task to your tutor.
Unit 9: Projects
Summary
Students look at the advantages and disadvantages of doing
projects in class, and practise planning a project.
Discussion Topic
Share your ideas with other teachers.
· Choose the project below that you think would work best in
your class. Explain why you think it's the best choice.
Finding out about food and healthMaking a family photo album
Planning a partyPlanning a new zooDesigning a CD cover and posters
advertising gigs for a bandMaking a class Web page
· What other kinds of projects have you (or other teachers you
know) done?
Post your comments in the Forums
Final Task
This is the final task students are given:
1. Planning: Describe how you would set up a project. Follow
these steps: Think of a topic or theme you could make into a
project. Write a list of the stages or components that you could
incorporate into it.
For example:
Food and health
Food from different countries
Food that is good for you and food that is not
Food from animals and plants
Different colours in food
Different forms of packaging (tins, packets, etc.)
Healthy recipes
2. Research: Now decide how you will get the children to
research these areas.For example: magazines, books, maps, the
Internet, etc. 3. Presentation: Think about how and where the
children will display their work. For example: posters on the wall
to show illustrations of food, maps to show where food comes from,
etc.
Send the completed task to your tutor.
Unit 10: Assessment and Feedback
Summary
Students look at factors related to assessment and feedback, and
design a test to use in class.
Discussion Topic
Share your ideas with other teachers.
· Do you use continuous assessment? Explain why/why not.
· Is continuous assessment difficult to evaluate?
· What information does continuous assessment give the teacher
that tests don't give?
· Does continuous assessment create more work for the
teacher?
Post your comments in the Forums
Final Task
This is the final task students are given:
1. Choose a unit in a coursebook. Identify the aims of the unit
in terms of language and skills. 2. If you were teaching this unit,
how would you test to see if these aims had been achieved?
Send the completed task to your tutor.
METHODOLOGY FOR TEACHERS OF SECONDARY/ADULT STUDENTS
Unit 1: Classroom Management – Mixed-Ability Classes
Summary
Unit 1 explores the topic of mixed-ability groups. The first
part looks at the factors which make learners different from one
another and includes a text which discusses this topic. The second
part focuses on how to work with mixed-ability groups and provides
teachers with suggestions as to deal with them most
effectively.
Discussion Questions
Students choose two of the questions below:
1. What factors do you consider important in causing mixed
ability? Put these in order of importance for you:
Previous exposureAttitudeLearning
stylePersonalityAptitudeMotivation
2. Look again at the classroom scenarios in exercise 1 and the
solutions suggested by teachers. What do you think of the teachers’
suggestions? What else would you do in these situations?
3. “Every group is a mixed-ability group.” Do you agree with
this? What are the implications of this statement for teachers?
4. Mixed ability is usually considered a problem. But is it?
Could there be some advantages to having students of different
levels and abilities in the same class?
Post your comments in the Forums
Final Task
This is the final task students are given:
Look at one unit of a coursebook you are familiar with. Evaluate
it in terms of its usefulness for mixed-ability groups. Include the
following points and illustrate where appropriate with examples
from the unit:
Identify the book and unit you will be looking at: title,
publisher, level, unit, topic, main language and communicative aims
of the unit.
Are the tasks in the unit graded? Are there simple tasks, and
more complex tasks that could be assigned to faster students? Are
there extra exercises and activities available for students who
need further practice or for those who need to be challenged?How
does the teacher's book deal with the issue of mixed-ability
classes?Give some examples of how you could adapt the material of
the unit to cater for the needs of faster and slower students.
Write a report of between 250 and 300 words and send it to your
tutor.
Unit 2: Planning a Unit of Work
Summary
Unit 2 looks at the different ways in which teachers plan
lessons. The text focuses on the factors which make for an
effective lesson plan, such as the teaching context, or the
importance of balance and variety. The text is also used to present
students with some basic concepts connected with lesson planning.
The second part of the unit explores how and why teachers plan
lessons differently from one another, with a view to raising the
students’ awareness of different ways of planning lessons.
Discussion Questions
1. Whose planning style is most like your own – Deniz, Paolo or
Erika? (See exercise 1). Or none of these? Why?
2. Which qualities are most important in planning a unit of
work? Give your reasons. Choose from this list (and add others if
necessary):
VarietyLogicRelevanceBalanceCohesionFlow
3. When you plan a lesson, do you…
plan one lesson at a time or a series of lessons?start with the
aims?use the coursebook a lot?Start with a general idea of what
will ‘fit’?
4. What advice would you give a new teacher who says: “I spend
hours and hours planning a scheme of work: I seem to go round and
round, not getting anywhere.”
Post your comments in the Forums
Final Task
This is the final task students are given:
Plan a 45-minute lesson at the elementary level, based on the
following material:
You could include some of the following activities. (Or, you
could choose to do different activities.)
· Exploit the receipt as a reading text. Prepare some questions
for the students to answer. For example: What's the name of the
restaurant? Where is it? etc.
· Include a vocabulary stage where you get students to focus on
restaurant food.
· Include a personalisation stage where students describe the
last restaurant meal they had.
· Include a language focus stage where students work on past
simple questions. For example: What did you eat? How much did it
cost? etc.
· Include a restaurant role play between waiter and
customers.
· Conduct a survey about good restaurants in your city.
Think carefully about the order of the stages and make sure you
include a language focus and a speaking activity in the lesson.
Send the completed lesson plan to your tutor.
Unit 3: Selecting and Grading Vocabulary
Summary
This unit looks at the factors which help teachers to determine
which vocabulary to teach. It explores the topic of what makes
certain words easier or more difficult to learn and presents
criteria which can be used to decide which vocabulary might be most
usefully learned. It also presents students with key concepts and
terminology which they need to discuss the topic of teaching
vocabulary.
Discussion Questions
Students choose two of the questions below:
1. Look again at the three lists of "house and garden"
vocabulary in exercise 1. Do you agree with the way they are
graded? What five other words would you include at each level?
2. When did you last travel to a country where you didn't speak
the language? What were the first words you learned? Why did you
learn these ones? Do you still remember any of them?
3. Use a dictionary to check that you know the meanings of these
words which can all be used to describe someone’s character.
carefree, easy-going, optimistic, cheerful, nosy, sociable,
obstinate, stubborn, insecure, calm, outgoing, hardworking,
intelligent, brainy, reliable, gregarious, obstinate, bossy,
assertive, even-tempered
Which of these words would you choose to teach to an
intermediate group of learners? How did you make you choice?
4. List some English false friends for speakers of your
language. What do they mean in English? What does the equivalent
word mean in your language?
5. Which of the two statements below do you agree with most?
Why?
a. Students can decide for themselves which words they would
like to learn.
b. It’s the teacher’s job to decide which words students need to
learn.
Post your comments in the Forums
Final Task
This is the final task students are given:
You are going to look at how two different coursebooks deal with
the same vocabulary theme
· Choose a topic or theme – such as "clothing" or "house and
home" or "food and drink".
· Compare the way that two different coursebooks of the same
level treat this area. What similarities and differences do you
notice?
· Which of the two books would you prefer to use – from the
point of view of their treatment of vocabulary? Explain your
choice.
Write between 250 and 300 words and send your work to your
tutor.
Unit 4: Practising Grammar
Summary
This unit focuses on different reasons for using grammar
practice activities and provides students with a range of different
practice activities to look at. The central aspect of the unit
concerns how to provide effective grammar practice. A key point
here is to incorporate a focus on meaning in order to make grammar
practice more meaningful and therefore more motivating for
students. The text in this unit offers ideas about how this can be
done.
Discussion Questions
Students choose two of the questions below:
1. There are many games which teachers can use to make practice
activities more interesting and motivating for students. Do you
have any favourite games which you use to practise specific
language items?
2. How do you try to make controlled practice activities more
communicative and motivating for your learners?
3. What do you think about how the practice activities in
Reading have been adapted? What else could you do to these
activities to make these activities more communicative?
4. What are some of the benefits of providing learners with
receptive grammar practice activities? What is the balance of
receptive and productive grammar practice activities in your
classes?
Post your comments in the Forums
Final Task
This is the final task students are given:
You are going to adapt two grammar practice activities in order
to make them more communicative.
1. First, look at the practice activities below. What structures
are they designed to practise?
a)
Write two pieces of advice for the remarks below. Make one
negative and one positive. Use should, shouldn't, ought to and
ought not to. For example:
I feel very cold.
You should close the window.
You shouldn't walk around with just a T-shirt on.
1. I find it very difficult to sleep at night.
2. I don't seem to have any friends.
3. My parents are always telling me off.
4. I never have anything to do at the weekend.
b)
Look at the picture. Write sentences to describe where the
following objects are:
plant sofa pictures TV radio lamp coffee table
For example:
The plant is next to the window.
2. Think of two or more ways you could make these grammar
exercises more communicative. Consider the following points:
· How could they be turned into speaking activities?
· How could the learners personalise when doing the
activities?
· If they remained as written exercises, how could a
communicative element be added?
· How would you adapt the exercises and set the tasks?
Students send their ideas to you.Unit 5: Exploiting Learners'
Errors
Summary
This unit provides students with an opportunity to reflect on
their attitudes to learner error and how they deal with it in their
own teaching contexts. The unit questions traditional ideas that
errors are ‘bad’, arguing that errors are often evidence of
learning and are also a useful indication of a learner’s progress.
The material provides students with some learner language to
analyse and discusses a number of options for responding
effectively to learner error.
Discussion Questions
Students choose two of the questions below:
1. Do you think it is best to avoid errors in class?
2. Which of the ideas (in exercise 5) have you tried
yourself?
3. Do you believe it is important not to interrupt students when
they are speaking in order to draw attention to their errors.
4. How do you help learners to see that making mistakes can be a
positive thing?
5. Do you have any other ideas for exploiting students’
mistakes?
Post your comments in the Forums
Final Task
This is the final task students are given:
Here is a piece of student writing, written by a lower
intermediate student:
Daily schedule
She starts at 9:00 reading all the e-mails received. She use to
keep reading and answering them till 10:00. Then she carry on
writing letters to the customers who are waiting for their orders
to be delivered.
She stops at 11:30 to make a break and have a coffe in 30
minutes. After the coffe she start making telephone calls till 1:30
when it is time to have lunch.
At 2:30 she make the photocopies that his boss needs for a
meeting that will be tomorrow. She go on making copies till 4:00
that she starts to check the e-mails and correspondence. She keep
doing this till 5:00 that she stops her job to go home.
· Identify and classify the learner's errors referring to the
following:
Organisation
Function words (articles, prepositions, pronouns, determiners,
conjunctions)
Vocabulary and phrases
Spelling
Word order
Tenses
· What are this student's strengths and weaknesses?
· What steps would you take to improve the learner's
development?
Write between 300 and 350 words and send your task to your
tutor.
Unit 6: Speaking Activities and Discussions
Summary
This unit focuses on how to make discussion activities
effective. First, it outlines some of the problems which teachers
have with discussion activities while the text outlines some of the
principles of an effective discussion, such as providing
preparation time and an aim for the discussion. The second part of
the unit shows students how to plan a discussion class and provides
them with a model lesson plan for this kind of class.
Discussion Questions
Students choose two of the questions below:
1. Look again at the speaking activities mentioned in exercise
1.
Role play
Show and tell
Debates
Conversation
Chat
Do you use all these different types of speaking activities? Why
/ why not?
What advice would you give a teacher who was going to use one of
these types of activities for the first time?
2. Here are some of the potential problems with discussion
activities, which we looked at in exercise 2:
Students make lots of mistakes
Not all the students participate
Sometimes students aren’t interested in the topic.
The students spend a lot of time speaking in their mother
tongue.
What do you do to solve these problems?
3. Comment on the lesson plan in exercise 5. Would you like to
teach this class? Do you agree with the points the teacher mentions
in exercise 6? Is there anything you would like to say in response
to this teacher?
Post your comments in the Forums
Final Task
This is the final task students are given:
Choose a coursebook that you are familiar with. Evaluate it with
regard to the opportunities for freer speaking that it provides.
Think about these points:
· Are there lots of suggestions for free speaking
activities?
· What kind of activities are they?
· In what way are the students prepared for the activities?
· Are the activities potentially generative?
· What follow-up is there to the activities?
· Would they work in a context you are familiar with?
· How would you adapt or supplement some of these
activities?
Write between 250 and 300 words and send your work to your
tutor.
Unit 7: Developing Listening Skills
Summary
This unit shows how teachers can use themselves as a valuable
source of listening material for their students and discusses some
of the pros and cons of this kind of listening activity, comparing
it with using pre recorded material. The second part of the unit
offers suggestions as to how to make a live teacher listening
effective and in particular how to make it interactive. The unit
also provides students with suggestions about when they might want
to carry out this type of activity.
Discussion Questions
Students choose two of the questions below:
1. Which the activities from exercise 2 do you use in class? Do
you have any other favourite activities that you use to help
develop students' listening skills?
2. What is the balance of interactive/non-interactive listening
activities that you use in your classes?
3. Do you think that live teacher listening is an activity type
that can be used equally by both native and non-native teachers?
Why?
4. In exercise 5 you looked at some ways of making live teacher
listenings successful such as using real questions and display
questions. What else could a teacher do to make this kind of
listening interactive, and to help students to understand the
listening?
Post your comments in the Forums
Final Task
This is the final task students are given:
You are going to prepare a lesson based on a live listening
about the following:
Topic: Last weekend
Language: Past simple (regular and irregular)
Level: Elementary
Assumptions: Students have already encountered the past simple,
but need further practice.
· First prepare what you are going to say about your weekend.
You can write it out in full, but then prepare prompts or notes
from which you can tell your story. For example: Sat. evening:
cinema with Toni.
· Rehearse your story a couple of times, speaking from the
notes. It's better to speak from notes, rather than reading out the
text. It will sound more natural.
· Record yourself telling the story. Speak slowly and clearly,
pause and emphasise the key words, so the students can follow you.
Your recording should be about one minute long. You can use the Net
Languages Record Yourself tool to make your recording.
· Now prepare a lesson plan based on the live listening about
your weekend. What activities could precede the listening? What
activities could follow it? Don't forget to design a listening task
and a speaking component.
Send the audio file of the recording and the lesson plan to your
tutor.
Unit 8: Teaching Writing
Summary
This unit looks at two popular approaches to teaching writing –
process and product. The unit breaks down both product and process
approaches into broad stages and examines the characteristics of
each. It also compares the two and discusses when and why a teacher
might favour one over the other. Finally, the unit looks at how a
product and process approach could also be combined within the same
lesson.
Discussion Questions
1. A product approach? A process approach? Which approach do you
prefer? Why?
2. In what contexts might one be more preferable than the other?
For example, think of teaching children, teaching business people,
teaching English for academic purposes, exam preparation etc.
3. What other activities for teaching writing have worked for
you?
Post your comments in the Forums
Final Task
This is the final task students are given:
You are going to evaluate the writing component of a unit of a
coursebook that you are familiar with.
· Identify the book you are going to look at. Include the
following information:
Title
Level
Unit
Topic of the unit
Main linguistic and communicative aims
· List and briefly describe the activities that practise the
writing skill. Does the book take a process or a product approach?
How do you know?
· Choose one writing activity from the unit.
- If it is a process-focused activity, how could you adapt it
and include more product-focused activities?
- If it is product-focused, how could you adapt it to make it
more process-focused?
Write between 250 and 300 words and send your work to your
tutor.
Unit 9: Using the Internet
Summary
This unit explores the variety of ways in which the internet can
be exploited for teaching purposes. It discusses how the internet
can be used both as a resource and as a means of communication by
both teacher and learners and it also looks at typical activity and
exercise types which internet-based language teaching material
offers. The unit also provides students with basic terminology
which they will need to talk about these topics.
Discussion Questions
1. How have you used email and the Internet to help you in your
teaching? For example, have you ever used materials from the
Internet in your classes. Do you use email to communicate to your
students? Do you belong to a listserv?
2. What are some problems involved in using the Internet in your
teaching? How would you suggest avoiding or solving these
problems?
3. Make some predictions about the way technology is likely to
affect the teaching of languages in the next 5 to 10 years. For
example, what kinds of translation and interactive programs will we
be using? Will this make teaching easier?
Post your comments in the Forums
Final Task
This is the final task students are given:
Visit the following Web site and take a look around to see what
there is on offer.
Learning English:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/
Look at the materials, watch some of the videos and try a
couple of the activities. Then write an evaluation of the material
and include the following points:
· Who do you think this Web site is aimed at? What level would
the material be suitable for? What age group would the material
appeal to? Give reasons and examples to support your opinions.
· Suppose you are teaching in a school that has all the
necessary technology. Choose an activity or a piece of material
from the BBC site that would be suitable for a group of young
adults at intermediate level studying general English. How would
you use the material in class? Write the outline of a lesson plan,
showing how you would develop the online material into a 45-minute
lesson. For example: devise one or two activities that could
precede the material. Or devise one or two activities that could
follow the material. And don't forget to include a speaking
component!
Write between 250 and 300 words and send your work to your
tutor.
Unit 10: Course Evaluation and Self-Evaluation
Summary
This unit looks at a range of different options available to
teachers both for assessing students’ progress and for encouraging
students to reflect on their own progress. The unit compares and
contrasts two type of evaluation (summative and formative) and
provides a number of activities which teachers can use to evaluate
their students’ progress, such as learner diaries, course
questionnaires, student-generated quizzes and so on.
Discussion Questions
1. Look again at the activities for evaluating students’
progress from exercise 1. Have you ever used these activities? Did
you find the activity useful? If you haven’t used these activities,
would you like to? Why / why not?
Can you recommend another activity for one of these areas that
you have used with your students?
2. End of course questionnaires
Can you suggest other questions that you would include in an end
of course questionnaire? Is there any other method that isn’t
mentioned here that you use to collect feedback from your
students?
3. Ongoing evaluation
Which of the activities discussed in question 4 have you used
with your students? How effective did you think the activity was?
Is there anything else that you do to encourage your learners to
evaluate their own progress?
Post your comments in the Forums
Final Task
This is the final task students are given:
You are going to describe how you evaluate your students'
learning and consider different self-evaluation activities.
· Think of your present teaching situation. How do you evaluate
your students' learning? Describe the different techniques that you
use.
· Do you give your students any self-evaluation activities?
Describe them.
· Which of the following evaluation activities would work in
your teaching situation?
· Which ones would not be suitable? Explain your choices.
1. Students review what they have learned and write tests for
each other.
2. Students write a letter to their teacher evaluating their
progress.
3. Students listen to and evaluate a recording of themselves
doing a speaking activity.
4. Students keep a diary about their learning process.
5. Teacher gives students a questionnaire about their progress
at the end of the course.
6. Teacher conducts one to one tutorials with the students to
talk about their progress.
Write between 250 and 300 words and send your work to your
tutor.
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