Hello everyone!
Hello everyone!
I'm glad to be part of such an amazing community!
Just a few thoughts about today's session:
- Hangman = it can be more student-centred, with the students coming up with the words and competing against each other. They may not learn sth new, but revise and practice vocab & spelling (the upper-level students keep struggling with spelling!). Is revising and practising not learning?
- I may have missed it, but in the 'Recall&Share' activity the word 'existence' appeared twice: is there a reason?
- A similar activity to 'Recall&Share': each student has a piece of paper, the teacher chooses a topic to revise (last or previous topic, eg 'the weather'), students have to write as many words as they remember related to the topic. The the teachers says 'STOP' and they exchange paper with their partners and add the missing words on their partener's list. The aim of the activity is to revise vocab (meaning and spelling) by exposing the students at least twice to the same words, with the teacher's minimum input. It also reinforces team spirit and collaboration.
- Gapped sentences: I'm going to use the 'delete the endings' version as soon as I can! I often look for ways of personalizing the TL as much as possible and this one will definitely serve.
- Stories: they are an amazing tool since they allow you to bond with your students, who want to know more about you and your life, and raise their interest. You can set up an authentic, technology-free listening comprehension activity just telling an anecdote! Thanks Penny for reminding us of such a great power that we have as teachers!
Looking forward to your comments and to the next session,
Jo
I'm glad to be part of such an amazing community!
Just a few thoughts about today's session:
- Hangman = it can be more student-centred, with the students coming up with the words and competing against each other. They may not learn sth new, but revise and practice vocab & spelling (the upper-level students keep struggling with spelling!). Is revising and practising not learning?
- I may have missed it, but in the 'Recall&Share' activity the word 'existence' appeared twice: is there a reason?
- A similar activity to 'Recall&Share': each student has a piece of paper, the teacher chooses a topic to revise (last or previous topic, eg 'the weather'), students have to write as many words as they remember related to the topic. The the teachers says 'STOP' and they exchange paper with their partners and add the missing words on their partener's list. The aim of the activity is to revise vocab (meaning and spelling) by exposing the students at least twice to the same words, with the teacher's minimum input. It also reinforces team spirit and collaboration.
- Gapped sentences: I'm going to use the 'delete the endings' version as soon as I can! I often look for ways of personalizing the TL as much as possible and this one will definitely serve.
- Stories: they are an amazing tool since they allow you to bond with your students, who want to know more about you and your life, and raise their interest. You can set up an authentic, technology-free listening comprehension activity just telling an anecdote! Thanks Penny for reminding us of such a great power that we have as teachers!
Looking forward to your comments and to the next session,
Jo
thanks, Jo
ReplyDeleteRepetition of 'existence' - you're right, my mistake, sorry!
Hangman: yes, the way you do it is certainly better, but my point is that even in your version they are still spending more time 'not-knowing' than on actual engaging with the target language, so it's still not, in my view, a very learning-rich activity for review.
The 'exchange' activity is lovely ... how about taking it one step further, and after they've exchanged and added words, say 'STOP' again, and get them to exchange with someone else, read the new paper, where they'll hopefully find new words they hadn't encountered before and add their own ... and so on, maybe even once more.
Let us know if you use the gapped endings or stories or any other activities in class and how they went!
I'll try the gapped endings too. A great idea!
ReplyDelete