Student
Teaching Young Learners – Games and Puzzles
TASK
Choose a language item from the list below and design a simple lesson plan using one of the games to teach/practice the item.
Student Vocabulary Game
Number of players: 2-6
Age: 6+
Materials: A score/category sheet per group, a deck of alphabet cards and a pencil
Object of the game: To name objects beginning with the chosen alphabet card and to be the first person to get rid of his/her alphabet cards.
| Player name: |
| 1, Toys: |
| 2. Fruits and Vegetables: |
| 3. The Classroom: |
| 4. Things in the home: |
| 5. The Body: |
| 6. Boy’s and Girl’s Names: |
| 7. Sports and Hobbies |
| 8. Animals/Pets |
| Score: |
1) A Student shuffles the cards and deals 5 alphabet cards. The cards are laid face down in front of each player.
2) The remaining alphabet cards are laid face down on the table in front of the group.
3) Alternate people start but the first player to the dealer’s left starts play by turning over their alphabet card, and then naming something from the first category on the sheet beginning with his letter. Once the learner has said a word they must write it on their sheet. Their go is over.
4) They have 10 seconds to think of an answer, if they do not have an answer in the allotted time they must pick up an extra card from the middle of the table and place it face down in front of them. Their go is over.
5) Each student takes turns to turn an alphabet card from their pile and naming an item in the first category. Examples are not allowed to be repeated.
6) The round ends when someone has picked up all their cards and named something from the category each time.
7) The other students must add up how many remaining cards they have, and write that number on their score sheet, e.g. 3 cards remaining = 3 points
8) The process is repeated with the person to the left of the dealer being the new dealer and the person to their left starting the new game. The game continues with objects from the second category.
9) The games continue until all the 8 categories have been completed
10) The person with the lowest score is the winner.
SIT TESOL CERTIFICATE COURSE
Essay # 1 – Focus on Learning
(814 words)
For this essay, I would like to focus on my experience so far on the TESOL course. Our TESOL group of students have so far been shown many different techniques and been made to feel like students as a way of letting us learners get to see it from the student’s perspective. The crux of my ideas and formulation for future actions with regard to teaching, the TESOL student has to know how it feels to be a learner to understand how they feel and take in the lesson. This of course will relate to the soon-to-be teacher’s future benefit of becoming as valuable a teacher as possible. In relation to this, I will further refer to my SIT course and focus on the learner.
Referring to my language learning first as a supposed language student, I can fairly say that it wasn’t a breeze. You have to write words down, memorize, ask your peers, organize information, play an active part and downright do more, which is hard if you really want to be a successful and competent language learner. I had a few times when I wasn’t really involved and missed a few points, but at those times the auditory experience was enough, I enjoyed sitting back. On the flip side to this experience, I had many times when I sailed through everything because I put the work in and got the benefit out. I suppose that for a language learner it is hard to be attentive all the time and at times the students would just prefer to be looking at the class happening and not playing an active part.
With reference to the ‘Learners Are Individuals’ handout that I have read, it alludes to this point that there are many different styles of learning, you can not have a class of 20 students all with exactly the same way of learning. I empathize with this as I sometimes hear my peers speak and they have a lot more to say or they explain a point better than the way you thought. My reaction to this is that we are all the class together and it should be a shared experience and that everyone should benefit from everyone although there are some students more salient.
Everyone in the class I have found is a vital part of having the successful ambiance that will bring successful lessons. I found that my peers were very helpful, funny at times, and really people who wanted to learn. This made for a worthwhile lesson. The people, my fellow peers, on the course are from a diversity of backgrounds. It is funny really there are people on the course who every morning say they have done the homework and others that say they are going to leave it for another day. Some people just do their writing in note form and those that write full essays. I think this shows that people have their own way of processing information and dealing with set projects to do. I am sure everyone will hand his or her work in on time but not everyone follows the same learning path to the end.
What I have learned from the perspective of a student is that it is hard and materials have to be explained and modeled properly. Students have got to be kept amused and clear instruction has to be given. Now that I am further into the course and having been shown constructional ways of making and doing lesson plans I have noticed the techniques you, the teacher, are using to get the students to reach their goals. An example would be (the instructor) Fran’s class on ‘problems and advice’. The step-by-step process using PPU (presentation / practice / use) allowed the students to learn about giving advice. It basically followed a course of Fran explaining first then some manipulated practice and then the students using their learned language on advice. I think this method helps all individual members of the group who are all of a different aptitude. We worked as a group with Fran making sure everybody had a chance and I felt as though the group moved along nicely if I were that ESL student the class would have instilled that knowledge of giving advice because of the systematic way of keeping the students attentive with varying teaching techniques.
To conclude the focus on learning and In relation to bringing this learning experience to my teaching. I think it gives me a broader perspective to look at the fact that there are many facets to a learning classroom experience and what you take from it is to try and apply these to your classroom. What you are left with a feeling that you can emphasize with the students’ needs and thus you be able to bring that something that will help the students to achieve.
Classroom Management
The topic I have chosen for this essay is ‘the teacher’s presence/manner’. The reason I have chosen this topic is that during the SIT course I have noticed a few inconsistencies in my manner/presence. These issues have been picked up by my peers, the instructors, and me. I am pleased to say the issues that made me choose this topic are not problems. They are just points that need refining for me as an English teacher and I hope by explaining them will bring a better understanding of my classroom management. I have also embedded in the essay, the topic of challenging the students for the purpose of education. I also would also like to explain that I have been teaching an upper intermediate group of students ranging from level 9 to level 15. I would like to talk about my presence and manner in relation to dealing with certain levels of English. Basically, the teacher’s manner and presence should be natural and the voice natural but befitting the level that the students are, thus challenging them.
The main issue that I have come to find out in this course is my voice that seems a bit unnatural and modified for ESOL students with broken-up sentences and not complete sentences. I realize that as a teacher your voice is not only to transmit information, but also mood atmosphere, and emotion for the students. This is why I have come to recognize this subject through the impact of others, which has made it a learning experience. I think that my peers and instructors have dealt with the issue very encouragingly. I had one lesson where I had to give a warmer. I was observed and given feedback. During the feedback, I was asked about my voice and why I spoke slower. I had to admit that I really did not know. It was also commented during feedback that I spoke like this outside the classroom. In the feedback session, I was also told by my instructors that I needed to lift my voice up although it could be fine for instruction there were still not complete sentences, which lost intonation. I must have never really thought about that much because I had another lesson this time a bit longer and once again I repeated myself with the slower talking as if the slower I talk the easy it is to understand. I think as a quick observation that I may speak slower to make sure I am understood although I have no proof that there are problems speaking faster. I think with clear instruction at a smooth pace, I can, once finished talking, step aside to allow the students to construct their own knowledge and understanding without slowly rabbitting on. Also with this understanding, I can be a skillful teacher who uses his voice and knowledge to enhance students’ participation and understanding.
Anyway back to my second lesson this time fifty minutes long. Again it was noticed my language become a little unnatural. I wasn’t using contractions or connected speech. It was commented that I speak normally to my peers so why don’t I speak to my students the same. This was good feedback for me. It was at this stage of the course that my voice and instruction in class became a focus of mine to understand why I did speak slower without complete sentences. I was asked if I had only done lower-level learners. This is true and I have been teaching kids of twelve and thirteen recently. So I think maybe this point was true. Maybe, I had got into a rhythm of using basic language that I never knew was fixed. So, I am glad this was pointed out to me. I guess you could also say that I may think that the students are unaccustomed to thinking critically and unable to learn difficult material. I think you must learn that the students know a lot more than they are given credit for.
Now I have recognized I have an issue to tackle I have dealt with it by becoming more aware of the situation. I haven’t shouted across the room but I have quietly mentioned it to a few people and during feedback, I have listened to my peers discuss it. The first thing I think of is the keyword ‘variety’. Variety for my voice because, If I can use my voice along with a number of parameters like volume, pace, pitch, and modulation, this will hopefully with practice make my voice more interesting. I think becoming more conscious of the issue of voice sound and facing up to it instead of denying it will make for a more relaxed classroom with good performances from the students and me because the language and instructions are clear. Moreover even simple exercises like stretching the muscles controlling the aperture in the back of my throat I think will work.
Also, I think now and in further lessons, I will limit my language to what is needed and be sensitive to what I am saying. I think that language can play a big part in how you are perceived by people and I would not like the upper intermediate group to think that I am not devaluing their level of English. I think that a teacher can dominate quite unintentionally. I would like to think that I respect the students’ level of English and I am appropriate to it. One of the steps I can take in the pursuit of getting the more natural verbal sound is to recognize students’ knowledge and experience. I should realize my talking and likewise, the students talking helps their understanding and knowledge. I should also like to point out that their knowledge is not so much given and received as constructed by themselves individually and collectively which is more of a reason to make my instruction clear and limit teacher talk time.
A few final points with regards to feedback I think my instructors have responded well and given me clear examples of the issues that need dealing with. I think they noticed that you could become a bit disoriented with the language, which is not natural. If the language doesn’t flow I think the lesson will become a bit stilted.
To conclude I think that some of the points raised in my essay not only have a bearing on me but also on the students who see and hear when my voice/manner/presence is employed constructively to inspire to help them find their own voices, to model a commitment to eloquent speech, and to honor the individual and collective knowledge that students invariably hold.
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