Simple but Effective
I was having a look through some TOEIC lessons about analysing questions I did and found this conversation activity. I thought I would share. So, you give strips of paper out with each of the answers on them. The students (in pairs) must work together to come up with a flowing conversation that uses all the answers. There should also be room for a beginning and ending, too.
Answers:
I am her/his girlfriend/boyfriend.
We were friends.
He was my limousine driver.
She cuts my hair.
We go jogging together.
We were drunk and fell over.
I’m sorry I can’t tell you that.
I was very scared.
I felt embarrassed.
I thought it was a stupid idea.
I thought he was gay.
Good morning.
Of course.
Example conversation:
A: Hello, Rhianna.
B: Good morning.
A: Can I ask you some questions?
B: Of course.
A: Is it true you are Brad Pitt’s very good friend?
B: I am his girlfriend.
A: Wow! I thought you only knew him as friends.
B: We were friends.
A: Ok. So, how about Angelina? Has she done anything?
B: She cuts my hair.
A: How did you feel when you first met Angelina?
B: I was very scared.
A; Really! And how about Brad?
B: I thought he was gay.
A: What happened the first day you met Brad and Angelina?
B: We were drunk and fell over.
A: And your old boyfriend, do you still see him?
B: We go jogging together.
A: Right. Does he still sing?
B: No, he is my limousine driver.
A: Do you still date him?
B: I’m sorry I can’t tell you that.
A: Thank you for your time.
B: Thank you.
Outline Enquiry Plan – Formative Assessment in teaching Trainee Foreign Language Teachers
(720 words)
Which aspect of your practice do you wish to develop?
With respect to planning trainee teacher lessons and the delivery of them, while making sure concepts delivered through each session focus on foreign language teaching, I still wonder within the short time allowed for each module the trainee teachers actually absorb the vital information given to them. Consequently, when they finish the TEFL trainee teacher course, they can put all these factors into practice in their new employment overseas. My job as an instructor is to help the trainee teachers become proficient educators. While I try to administer these various teaching sessions, I need to see more proficiency in the trainee teacher’s lesson planning and practice teaching where I can observe them using techniques they had already been taught to them over their time learning to teach a second language. This strengthens my thoughts and beliefs about how well they are achieving on the TEFL course and how well I have delivered the content of each teaching module.
What are your reasons for choosing the above?
Having used formative assessment in my classes before and been given written feedback on this, I consider this is a worthy method to check my (trainee teachers) students’ understanding of methods of teaching a second language at various stages over the length of the TEFL course. Of course, my assessment procedure needs work, and getting to know how much of the subject matter the students have processed is a major factor for myself succeeding in my class and personal pedagogically. My 20 hour part of the 120 hour TEFL course and the modules within it are each on a set time limit and students have some difficult days of study absorbing all the information. Within the 20 hours of the practical part of the TEFL course, the students have many modules to complete. From this, it means that students must be able to comprehend the subject matter for each module, take in all that the teacher offers and be able to show this in practice in their teaching as a final project. Although I am fundamentally teaching the basics of TEFL and what the students essentially need to begin their first teaching experience abroad, I still need to give them more than enough information to achieve this. This leads me to improve on improving on my approach, method, and techniques to enhance the learning experience that each and every student has grasped the subject matter of the module. The students then can walk away after the course feeling they have the confidence and the knowledge to prepare for their first foreign teaching assignment, while at the same time, the knowledge they have gained will inject that incentive to further their studies and their teaching. It is this inspiration through my teaching that I want to improve on. This, I feel, can be enhanced by formative assessment of each module during the TEFL course.
What relevant secondary sources (e.g. existing publications etc) have you found. How have they helped to clarify your research?
As teachers use assessment and learning dynamically, they increase their capacity to derive a deeper understanding of their students’ responses. This then serves to structure increased learning opportunities (Darling-Hammond, Ancess, & Falk, 1995, p. 131).
Inside the Black Box: Raising Standards Through Classroom Assessment By Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam
From my initial reading, I have come to recognise formative assessment as a vital part of the classroom experience. Black and William’s evidence shows that formative assessment is an essential component of classroom work. This has been very informative and is certainly a background for my research project. Black and William highlight that outside the box (the classroom) there are many initiatives and assessments for learning but this leaves out what really happens in the classroom and the teaching experience. It also makes mention to students competing in the class for the best results thus leaving out many students who feel let down by their education. This could change where students become more able to assess their learning thus far and be able to change that. I feel that the acknowledgment for my students that their learning is an ongoing passage through their course they (including myself) can regularly assess how they (and myself) are acquiring the knowledge to succeed thus helping both parties.
Getting used to study methods in Asia – My research
(1611 words)
RESEARCH QUESTION
What salient aspects of XXXXX (An Asian) University and the students that attend do you see as a contradiction?
ABSTRACT
‘Manners maketh the man’ (William of Wykeham, 1350). Whether you are in the street, in a restaurant, or in our case in a university certain etiquette prevails. My observations were done to draw attention to the value of etiquette and also to show the extent of contradiction to normally accepted good manners there are in a university. The results showed that the philosophy lecture room in this Asian University far from being a quiet room of studious individuals was in fact a myriad of factors void of study ethics. The conclusion is that when it comes to studying there is not a universal ideal as the acceptable method.
INTRODUCTION
Etiquette is not a new idea and is changing all the time, as we see nowadays with the development of mobile telephone, but propriety still holds to essential tenets. There are unspoken rules about daily etiquette such as talking loud, using telephones in the wrong place, and being aware of others. There can be a lot of daily life that breaches social manners. In a recent survey, 90% of people thought it would be rude to receive a telephone call at a church which goes to say certain arenas are faux par for telephone use.
In a social minefield for new students to university, one business has recognized what many would not think was needed for learning, and as such, CLM Business Etiquette Consulting in Austin Texas now advises how students should invest in their courses to get them through their university course. CLM’s study courses highlight factors such as establishing meaningful relationships with your professors and other students to ascertain a cooperative experience.
My observations will show that new students in this Asian University need to be shown, taught, and given rules as to how to behave in a lecture room whilst understanding other people’s feelings.
METHODS
Participants
In general, classes consisted of up to 60 to 70 people but due to lateness and students deciding not to come or come back from lunch break numbers fluctuated.
Instruments
Observations were done using a tally system where marks were put onto a written table in the notebook.
Procedures
As most of my pre-research knowledge so far had been through watching university life, it was thought that it would be the right transition to use observations in this part of the research. So, the first thought was to think of categories for the research which were the aspects of study that been had found to be strange.
- Telephone ringing – students don’t put their phone on vibrate. So the lecture room has many ring tones going off.
- Telephone SMS – although not as bad as ringing it still has a high pitch sound
- Coming late – the lesson is supposed to start at 9am although it does not actually start till 9.30am so this gives even later than late students time to arrive.
- Going in and out of class – it is generally presumed that you have prepared for a lecture you would not need to go out of the lecture room before the next break.
- Lecturer making students quiet – this tags along with students talking excessively. It is generally excepted than university is not a school.
- Playing computer (games) – even though this seems strange, it was added because students were observed playing fighting games and using facebook.
- Listening to music – as above, it was observed on the computer and shown from wire coming from student’s ears.
- Sleeping – be it at the start of the morning or the start of the afternoon period, students find they need to sleep more.
- Dress code – being a hot Asian country does mean people get hotter with more clothes but some decorum still has to be kept. Also, the fact that students think that that university is like a fashion show and they must look their best.
- Acting inappropriately – generally being not interested in the lecture thus doing something different.
- Food/snacks – again everything is okay if kept within reason but excessive snacks is not really needed.
So, it was now time to set up observation times. It seemed obvious to set up an observation in the morning on the first class. There was generally the rule that once the lecturer says ‘good morning’ he expects the students to be quiet, listening and generally be ready for study. This was always around 9.30am, so this was made the start time. Normally, there was a break around 10.30am, so this worked well to have a one hour observation time. The thought was that it would be best to observe in the afternoon too, to see how students reacted to having a lunch break. Also, they had been in university since 9:00am, and there was all day of lecture, so it was interesting to see their endurance level. There was also the case of how many hours of observation would be done. With the philosophy course, which was being observed, it was only one month, so three lecture days were observed. This meant observations would be over three mornings and three afternoons. In total a period of three hours for morning and three hours for afternoon lectures. Then, a tally sheet was written up as to help keep a record of the times students and the lecturer performed anyone of the categories that had been suggested.
RESULTS
In the end only 7 categories were calculated on.
- Telephone ringing
- Telephone SMS
- Coming late
- Going in and out of class
- Lecturer making students quiet
- Sleeping
- Acting inappropriately
These categories not scoring, I thought were mostly due to the lecturer advising students not to do certain actions. Another factor was due to the lecturer being professional and knowing his subject matter. The feeling was there was some respect to the lecturer which came from his professionalism thus students were less interested in turning to other means of interest.
For the morning results, there was amazement regarding how many times the lecturer had to make the students quiet. In the space of three hours the lecturer had to tell some of the students twenty two times to be quiet. That works out at once every eight minutes. It has to be noted that there was a genuine disrespect for the lecturer from parts of the class, not only his lecturing but also the years of study he had completed to become so knowledgeable and competent in his job. Surprise was felt by how many students needed to go out even though they had time before the class and also that the break was not far away. It was recognized that the telephone problem of ringing and SMS messages was very low in the tallying. This was mainly due to already being talked about several times. Students actually had heeded the lecturer’s warnings albeit warnings many times before observations. A little bit of confusion was shown as to why students still turned up late when the lecturer started thirty minutes late. It was felt that even if he started one hour late they still would be late because they knew when the lecture started they would arrive sometime after.
For the afternoon session, it was always immediately noticed that big groups of students were missing. It was assumed that they just came to sign in the morning and thought that was good enough for the whole day. For some reason during the afternoon session, the rate of people going in and out of the class increased by 55% from the morning session. This worked out at one every three minutes during a three hours period. Some students actually arrived late and then left. This actually created two points on the tally card, one for late and one for going in and out. Again, there was bewilderment by the amount of times the lecturer needed to tell the students to be quiet, even to the extent of asking one group ‘what did I just say?’ as to question them if they were listening. This was done two times over a space of ten minutes and was met by laughter and a general nonchalance by those students who were devoid to the lecturer’s job in hand. There was actually an 83% increase in the lecture making the students quiet from the morning session.
CONCLUSION
It is recognized that in some countries certain etiquette is not thought about and study ethics are laughed at. Some students, although being new to university, still adopt old ways of studying so even though they have reached adulthood they still assume a child like attitude to learning. They feel that it is the lecturer job to keep them quiet and not their own personal position to be individuals who think and take responsibility for their actions. The overriding factor that has been shown through this observation has been some students total lack of awareness of others and their general detachment from other people who are at the university for the purpose of learning. One gets the feeling that students deride people that show a willingness to learn. Students studying get distracted easily so even someone going outside creates noise which is acknowledged with a quick glance from a studying student. It is also amazing because the attitude of the lecturer in this study who has a PHD and has shown to be the epitome of a university lecturer was scorned by many who felt the need to go in and out of the lecture room and talk.
Bibliography:
William of Wykeham, Motto of Winchester College and New College, Oxford (1324 – 1404)
Patricia Lee MA (Oxon), MA (QUB) holds qualifications from the British Psychological Society and in teaching adult literacy. She has been a school governor, sat on the working party for the Jigsaw Visitors’ Centre at Armley Prison and made 1933-style shorts for the Leeds Metropolitan University Gymnastics Squad.
Write an assignment of around 500 words explaining how you would prepare an IELTS candidate for the exam
Outline the process you would follow and identify some of the possible problems you might encounter and address cultural nuances with regard to the method of teaching using the teacher-student approach.
Preparation has to be important for any aspect of life and IELTS is no exception. The test is certainly a challenge. The greatest challenges are faced by candidates themselves who are having to adapt and adjust their learning styles to cope with a test that is making new demands on them. Candidates have to be honest with themselves and make sure that they are capable of doing the test. It is important for the teacher to grade candidates before they sit a preparation course. The teacher has to ascertain which candidates are at least at an intermediate level of English which means they can have a genuine chance of passing.
For an IELTS preparation course, I would set a timetable for the candidate to study. This could be in the region of 3 or 4 weeks before the test although their preparation should start earlier. Candidates may well be unfamiliar with IELTS test so I would expect 30 or more hours just to teach the ins and outs. This would mean each candidate gets at least 8 hours of training on each module. Candidates need a pre-preparation course IELTS test. This allows them to get a feel for the format and what they are faced with while highlighting difficulties. From the start, I would encourage candidates to read widely, e.g. newspapers, journals, magazines and books for pleasure, due to the fact that the reading module can be the most difficult. I would focus on developing their vocabulary in the topic areas to enable them to comprehend terms, expressions, and terminology they may encounter. I would advise the candidate to spend a minimum of 1 hour per day on individual self-directed study. I would advise writing every day and give the candidate enough writing test formats so they become instinctual. I would show the candidate that a lot of material can be found on the internet such as practice tests. I would also set regular homework including practice exams and individual tutorials where problems can be discussed.
My job as an IELTS teacher would be to set out to challenge, motivate, and build confidence. This would be done with task and communicative based activities, appropriate to the candidates’ needs. Group work and pair work would play an integral part. I would pay special attention to those questions that individuals get wrong. I would encourage the group to help others understand why they were wrong. I would be well prepared with the resources, especially when proving those wrong answers. I would be also wary of other problems that arise such as students being familiar with multiple-choice tests and tending to listen to every word in a test conversation without extracting main points. Moreover, cultural difference can also arise, for example, Asian students are not used to arguing a point and tend to give short answers in speaking. I would recognise that some candidates have grammar knowledge but their speaking is limited.
Furthermore, I would recognise where difficulties may arise. I would encourage peer checking. I would encourage students to underline keywords and phrases when they read, as well as paying attention to keywords in the questions. When writing about bar and line graphs, pie charts and tables, I would make sure candidates understand what the axis on the graph(s) or the percentages in the pie chart(s) represent. This includes writing within a specific time recognising that time pressure can worry candidates. I would focus also on grammar and spelling, highlighting that points can be lost in the test. I would expect the students to be conversant with each module a week before the test.
As a final thought, I would advise the candidate to make sure that the week before the test is not a time for intensive study. Stress and worry come with doing the test. The week before is a time to review skills and their test techniques. I would be their advisor if problems arose. I would say the candidate must be relaxed and ready for the test.
(669 Words)
Egalitarianism
(425 words)
Egalitarianism highlights equal rights, so everyone is equal which means all of us recognizing other people’s plights and other people’s extremes.
Firstly, you have only got to look at this picture above from the protests in Bangkok. The multicolored group, neither red nor yellow, were trying to highlight the plight of the rural protester. They expressed they are not educated enough to accept democracy and the new rule of the new government. In many ways, it could be true. However, why are others just poking fun at them? In Thai society, shouldn’t everyone have equal rights and a right to a proper education? Why is there Elitist thinking? And, why is there such a divide? Society can never come together if people do not trust or respect the other.
Furthermore, in Thailand where nearly half of the workforce are women, you can ask, do women have an equal role? Are there equal amounts of women and men in the Government? Although the Thai constitution specified that women and men have equal rights, the challenge is the gap between words and reality. We see that gender stereotypes usually prevail and traditional beliefs do not really change.
Secondly, look at the next picture below. What can you see? Who would you say is normally the abuser?
In our Utopian model, everyone would be seen as equal so the image as man the all-powerful being would hopefully weaken.
Finally, in all these examples, our egalitarian message here is to highlight the divide that many countries put themselves in that sees rich people in a country within which there are other citizens in abject poverty. Here, emphasizes a class divide that has no real hope of narrowing. Education failing and Governments are slow to make real change. This is why we think a Utopian idea, where Governments either by way of tax, salary rise for the poor, create a climate where pop stars, TV stars, and basically half talented nobodies are put on a pedestal as idols and real people whose value has far more worth to society made to be heroes. It means methods do not let the rich get richer and richer without bearing some of the weight of a nation’s poverty. We can all live on an equal basis.
We can start to appreciate the better values and morals in society. We can further recognize male superiority has been an undeniable trait of humanity.
Hopefully, all this would create a society that helps those at the lower strata of life and supports progressive changes for women.
