Hello again!
Hello again!
I would like to comment on two things, one being lesson time and its effective use. I personally had problems with this, especially as a novice - I wanted my students to like me, so I sometimes chose fun rather than meaningful activities. What really helped me was discovering resource materials from various teacher's books by various publishers. They are helpful because they are not always strictly connected to that particular course book, but can be used universally and you are sure to combine fun and learning.
The other aspect I wished to mention is the importance of listening and I would love to hear other teachers' opinion on this. When I look back, in addition to writing (which has become most universally disliked skill when learning English), students in my country have some kind of aversion towards listening. When asked why, they usually tell me that they see no point in listening, that nobody will make them do multiple choice questions in real life, that they sound artificial... I remember disliking it myself in elementary/high school, so I do understand them. Ms Ur's tips have been very useful, so I will try to implement video materials or tell stories. I would love to hear experiences of other teachers - do you have such a problem in your teaching context?
I would like to comment on two things, one being lesson time and its effective use. I personally had problems with this, especially as a novice - I wanted my students to like me, so I sometimes chose fun rather than meaningful activities. What really helped me was discovering resource materials from various teacher's books by various publishers. They are helpful because they are not always strictly connected to that particular course book, but can be used universally and you are sure to combine fun and learning.
The other aspect I wished to mention is the importance of listening and I would love to hear other teachers' opinion on this. When I look back, in addition to writing (which has become most universally disliked skill when learning English), students in my country have some kind of aversion towards listening. When asked why, they usually tell me that they see no point in listening, that nobody will make them do multiple choice questions in real life, that they sound artificial... I remember disliking it myself in elementary/high school, so I do understand them. Ms Ur's tips have been very useful, so I will try to implement video materials or tell stories. I would love to hear experiences of other teachers - do you have such a problem in your teaching context?
Hi, Jelena. I have also made lots of mistakes in terms of lesson time effectiveness and motivating students for listening tasks! I fell that more than not having an interesting enough lead-in, the main reason to why my students might be feeling demotivated to perform listening tasks could be because the task is way too difficult and does not set them for success. Penny's tips on adapting an activity for different levels will be very useful to deal with weaker and stronger students in my groups during listening exercises. I am planning to use instructions such as "See if you can answer 3 questions", get them to share their answers before listening again and correct with questions like "What questions would you like to answer". Also, I am planning to try "choosing their level -1 " listening materials for students who I see struggle with listening and look demotivated to give them an extra confidence boost. I cannot avoid all the difficult listenings in the book they are using, but maybe balancing these difficult listenings with easier ones, could help. Do you think I would be making it too easy for them?
ReplyDeleteHi Jelena. I was also really struck by her discussion of effective lesson time. I think it's a fantastic principle. We should always give thought to why we are doing the things we are in the classroom and realize that a lot of class time is spent doing things other than learning. However, that isn't to say that having fun or getting to know each other is not important, too. She did say that there are times you will do activities to give them a break from learning and have a bit of fun, maybe a motivation. I sometimes promise my most rowdy classes that if they complete X and Y activity, they can have 5 minutes of a game. But as she said, "Don't fool yourself into thinking they are learning." Of course, there are activities that are fun AND learning focused. But it is hard to get that right, and it is sobering to think how little time we have to learn in the classroom! I know I will go back and take a more careful look at some of my go-to activities for teaching and see how efficient they really are.
ReplyDeleteA really important issue coming up in this thread: the possible conflict between making sure there is valuable learning on the one hand, and trying to ensure that students enjoy the lesson on the other. TWo points here: as Walton says, there are activities that are both fun and learning rich, and one of our jobs as teachers is to try to design activities that achieve both. I remember that the main reason I wrote a book called Grammar Practice Activities (which some of you may know) was because I got fed up with the boring old gapfills / matching / multiple choice grammar exercises in my coursebook and started devising teaching ideas that would provide opportunities to practice the grammar effectively as well as being interesting and fun to do.... (It's still my favorite out of all the books I wrote!). The other point is that of course, as both Jelena and Walton point out, it's perfectly legitimate to take 'time out' occasionally to do lighter games that don't teach much, just for the sake of a breather, or for fun, or as a reward, or to solve discipline problems. Just as long as they are indeed used only for occasional 'time out', not taking up huge chunks of your lesson!
ReplyDeleteThank you all for great suggestions! I would just like to comment on choosing the ''their level -1'' listening - we usually have a course book we are supposed to follow and it has its own set of listening exercises that may or may not be -1. I fully agree it would be useful to do it that way, but what should we do if we don't have much choice in selecting our listenings?
ReplyDeleteWalton, I couldn't agree more - students (and in particular children) respond really well when there is a reward involved. I mainly teach adult learners, so the situation is slightly different there - they give me what they see as reasonable objections towards listening and it can get quite difficult to persuade them otherwise.
I am sure to implement Ms Ur's advice on ''choose at least three questions'' and I'll keep you posted on results!
Hi, Jelena, I'm a novice teacher myself. I was also thinking about the same issues you have posted. I found that taking "time out" is beneficial for pupils. I sometimes try to bring up some ongoing events just to help them use English. what I have noticed was that the pupils became more motivated and energetic to carry on the lesson.
ReplyDeleteIn relation to listening, my students think that listening tasks are pointless, because in real life they aren't going to face similar things. But I try to encourage them since Listening is included in their tests. what I do is the following; I tell them in advance what the text is about in order to facilitates things for them. I hope my comment and experience help you.
I really liked Penny's techniques. So, I am going to use pictures in order to motivate them and make them more engaged in the listening activities.
yes, using current events in the classroom is great, Marwa!
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that you, and some of the others, have commented on the negative attitude of many students to listening exercises. I think you/they are right that these are often not obviously relevant to their needs. Obviously they're going to need to listen and understand in their exams, but that doesn't mean doing exam 'clones' as listening tasks, it gets really boring. Try to find other contexts for listening that will seem more relevant for them: listening to the news, as others here have suggested, or to bits of movies or television series, or bits of youtubes, or advertisements/commercials...
What a discussion! Jelena, thank you for addressing both points.
ReplyDeleteI would like to comment on the aversion to listening. When my students start protesting, there are two reasons I usually give them. First, communication doesn't equal speaking, it has two essential parts and one of them is listening. So we need to practise listening to become better communicators in English.
And when my students claim the activities in textbooks to be artificial, I tell them that in real life we listen in different ways and for different purposes. For instance, I switch on TV and see a programme I have never seen before on. So I listen to get the gist and understand if I want to watch it or not. That's your first listening for the 'whole picture'. Then I decide that I want to watch the programme, but it has only relative importance to me. There are just two things I need to learn about. That's listening for specific information. However, five minutes into it I see that the programme is so great I want to understand each and every detail. That's listening for details. In other words, the tasks might be artificial, but they teach my students real-life skills. And then of course, I try to find ways for my students to utilise the skills in their lives.
In my teacher training sessions, I often use TED talks (Education): Ken Robinson, Sugata Mitra, etc. I encourage my colleagues to listen several times and then look at the transcripts, too. They can also check the Spanish translation of the talks.
ReplyDeleteJelena Ruzic Can you supplement the book listenings with your own? Or read them aloud so you can control the pace, maybe use your voice to emphasize emotion or attitude? You could even have students act them out while other students listen?
ReplyDeleteElizabeth Bekes EdPuzzle is useful with TED talks and other videos as you can 'embed' questions in the videos which students have to answer before they continue watching (or they can watch again to check).
ReplyDeleteMartin Cooke Thanks a lot, I haven't used that feature yet. I'm addicted to TED talks, check out my latest favourite: youtube.com - The Muslim on the airplane | Amal Kassir | TEDxMileHighWomen
ReplyDeleteThank you all for great ideas!
ReplyDeleteAs if they knew - yesterday my students threw a tantrum about listening. They are B2 level, so their listening skills are not so bad, and the listening in question was actually very interesting (something about first impressions and love at first sight). After finishing the activity, with ''try to do at least three'' or ''as much as you can'', they told me that time could have been used for something more useful, like speaking!
So we did the speaking! I told them to brainstorm all the reasons why listening is important (in classroom and real life), made them write it down and things seemed to cool off afterwards. I still haven't had the chance to bring my own listening, as Walton suggested, but that is certainly next on my list!
That's what I call turning the tables, Jelena. Good for you! Maybe you could follow it up by a piece of listening - on listening! The aspect I'm thinking of is being a good listener (for communication, to nurture relationships, etc.)... In this manner, you are looking at listening as a social (rather than merely a language) skill. I like the idea that your students feel they have permission "to throw a tantrum" and they get what they need: you LISTEN! Bravo.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth Bekes thanks a lot! I do love the idea of listening on listening :)
ReplyDeleteJelena Ruzic How about a TEDTalk instead to combine both authentic listening with Penny's recommendation to use more videos? This one, for instance ted.com - 5 ways to listen better
ReplyDeleteYou are amazing, Julia, thanks! I will try it out for sure!
ReplyDeleteJelena Ruzic You are very welcome. Let us know how it goes :)
ReplyDelete