Hi all, sorry to be a late addition to the discussion.
Hi all, sorry to be a late addition to the discussion. I had a friend visiting from Canada and was off hosting and gallivanting around Japan a bit. I enjoyed session 2 (and found myself trying to type in replies) but don't regret the opportunity to enjoy a 50 year old Yamazaki whisky.
But back to work!
First off, I love the present perfect activity tied to elicit certain expressions.... definitely borrowing that one. Secondly, I sure wish I had attended this course 18 years ago. Some painful missteps as a young teacher could have been avoided by these lovely tips.
As a teacher of young learners (now) I find that if I distract them by "disguising" the oral activity with an active game. Even with new students, I find it very successful to divide a class into two or three groups and play a version of musical chairs (slightly more chairs than half of the students), except that each round is an introductory question (how are you, age, birthday, etc). Standing students ask the question and seated students answer. Then the questioner sits in the chair and the previously seated student runs off to a new chair. Students caught standing up lose a point for their team (students who finished asking the question are safe and they change, even if the seated person has not answered yet). Even new, shy kids get caught up in the energy and speak out forgetting that they are "new" and "don't understand". Lots of repetition and modelling in a fun way.
I really liked some of the ideas presented in Tip 10. Use Tasks. Brainstorming and Consensus are two things I have never tried. I will be remedying that soon.
One thing I have done with great success is the survey, or a variation of it. We were practicing the degrees of like/dislike (Love, can't stand, like a little etc) as well as object pronouns. I had 6 topics (Food, Music, Leisure Activities, Sports, Animals, TV/Movies) numbered. The first few minutes were used to write down an example of each topic for Love, Like, Hate, then we started the game. Using Snakes and Ladder boards and making small groups of 4-5 students, they had to roll a dice and speak a sentence associated with that topic, choosing as they like from the degree of "like." The other members all had to respond with the appropriate object pronoun and either agreement (I love it, too!) or disagreement (I hate it!). The preliminary work gave them a head start with ideas helping their production, and later they caught the momentum and produced on their own. They were encouraged to make new sentences rather than using the same over and over. (The idea was adapted from a speaking task outlined in Fifty-Fifty, Book One, pg. 63). I found that the focus on the game board distracted from the fact they are sharing publicly and allowed the quieter students to produce quite naturally. It was successful, but what I enjoyed most was watching the same thing that Penny commented on which was the shared smiles and animations of common ground that frequently, from appearances, were unknown to the participants.
I do have a challenge that I have been unable to solve. I have a class of three returning students. There is a 6th grader (1 yr in USA), a 7th grader (4 years in USA) and an 8th grader (2 years in USA). They all read at a high level, and have good listening comprehension. I have met my match in the 8th grader.
Regardless of the simplicity of the task, question, or activity, it is so very hard to get her to produce. It is something that I have spoken with the parents about and even in L1 she is EXTREMELY quiet. In a 1:1 situation, I have tried out waiting her with little success--and I just ended up feeling like a bully. There have been a few successes in group activities, where I have seen her animated and, for her, expressive, but where is the line between pushing for production and accepting an individual? The 6th grader is the most outgoing and fluent in spite of her shorter stay, (smart family as well) and the 7th grader is the most accurate and both of the younger ones are more outgoing personalities and the older one lets them dominate the lesson time. Do I accept the 1-2 word answers or push for full production?
Another area I find I can learn and better myself is with the chants and clapping. Especially for classroom expressions. I thank you all for introducing such great resources as Carolyn Graham and Jason Levine. As a non-musical person I find that this is not a natural inclination for me to lean on.
But back to work!
First off, I love the present perfect activity tied to elicit certain expressions.... definitely borrowing that one. Secondly, I sure wish I had attended this course 18 years ago. Some painful missteps as a young teacher could have been avoided by these lovely tips.
As a teacher of young learners (now) I find that if I distract them by "disguising" the oral activity with an active game. Even with new students, I find it very successful to divide a class into two or three groups and play a version of musical chairs (slightly more chairs than half of the students), except that each round is an introductory question (how are you, age, birthday, etc). Standing students ask the question and seated students answer. Then the questioner sits in the chair and the previously seated student runs off to a new chair. Students caught standing up lose a point for their team (students who finished asking the question are safe and they change, even if the seated person has not answered yet). Even new, shy kids get caught up in the energy and speak out forgetting that they are "new" and "don't understand". Lots of repetition and modelling in a fun way.
I really liked some of the ideas presented in Tip 10. Use Tasks. Brainstorming and Consensus are two things I have never tried. I will be remedying that soon.
One thing I have done with great success is the survey, or a variation of it. We were practicing the degrees of like/dislike (Love, can't stand, like a little etc) as well as object pronouns. I had 6 topics (Food, Music, Leisure Activities, Sports, Animals, TV/Movies) numbered. The first few minutes were used to write down an example of each topic for Love, Like, Hate, then we started the game. Using Snakes and Ladder boards and making small groups of 4-5 students, they had to roll a dice and speak a sentence associated with that topic, choosing as they like from the degree of "like." The other members all had to respond with the appropriate object pronoun and either agreement (I love it, too!) or disagreement (I hate it!). The preliminary work gave them a head start with ideas helping their production, and later they caught the momentum and produced on their own. They were encouraged to make new sentences rather than using the same over and over. (The idea was adapted from a speaking task outlined in Fifty-Fifty, Book One, pg. 63). I found that the focus on the game board distracted from the fact they are sharing publicly and allowed the quieter students to produce quite naturally. It was successful, but what I enjoyed most was watching the same thing that Penny commented on which was the shared smiles and animations of common ground that frequently, from appearances, were unknown to the participants.
I do have a challenge that I have been unable to solve. I have a class of three returning students. There is a 6th grader (1 yr in USA), a 7th grader (4 years in USA) and an 8th grader (2 years in USA). They all read at a high level, and have good listening comprehension. I have met my match in the 8th grader.
Regardless of the simplicity of the task, question, or activity, it is so very hard to get her to produce. It is something that I have spoken with the parents about and even in L1 she is EXTREMELY quiet. In a 1:1 situation, I have tried out waiting her with little success--and I just ended up feeling like a bully. There have been a few successes in group activities, where I have seen her animated and, for her, expressive, but where is the line between pushing for production and accepting an individual? The 6th grader is the most outgoing and fluent in spite of her shorter stay, (smart family as well) and the 7th grader is the most accurate and both of the younger ones are more outgoing personalities and the older one lets them dominate the lesson time. Do I accept the 1-2 word answers or push for full production?
Another area I find I can learn and better myself is with the chants and clapping. Especially for classroom expressions. I thank you all for introducing such great resources as Carolyn Graham and Jason Levine. As a non-musical person I find that this is not a natural inclination for me to lean on.
Hello Scott! Thank you for some useful tips. I also use board games with all ages and levels and the results are just as you described.
ReplyDeleteI would like to help you, if I can, with two matters here. One is chants and clapping. When I got my first five-year-olds, most materials included songs and chants and I was terrified - I am non-musical and I hoped I could avoid that at any cost. However, I got some good tips from my mentor at the time - kids don't care how well you sing, as long as you do. Furthermore - the worse you song, the better they would feel if they don't sing well/are shy to sing in public. So just relax and do your best and your students will appreciate it.
Another suggestion relates to this 8th grader.If you see that she responds well in groups, perhaps you can gain her trust by ensuring that most activities are done in groups and slowly build your way towards longer individual response. I had a similar situation and the girl felt grateful that I didn't push her and that I gave her time. Of course, every case is different, but this method worked for me. Kids often show initial resentment or fear - until they learn to trust that teacher.
Hope I helped!
Hi Scott,
ReplyDeleteI agree that games are a wonderful means specially with younger learners.
I think that your Ss have ever appreciated your sincere efforts , even before 18 years.
And every tomorrow , you'll fascinate us all with new magnificent works.
Scott van Leenen Thank you for sharing your experience.
ReplyDeleteIf I may, I would like add my two cents concerning your problem. Jelena Ruzic has already shared some great insights. As for me, I am not really an expert in working with groups, but sometimes I get 'uncooperative' teenagers who don't want to talk. If the problem is one-word answers, then I plainly ask them to give me a full-sentence answer and give a reason or elaborate. Sometimes they need to time to think of said reason (they might also need some inspiration as in certain situations they are truly lost as they still lack the experience). Then I either provide the time or accept the 'I don't know' answer (which is usually followed by me calling them very mysterious and intriguing people :) After some time they get used to talking more and I don't need to prompt them anymore.
Also as far as I understand, in class the younger ones are more active and the older one gets left behind. Have you thought of teaching the other two students ways of involving others in the discussion? Maybe a role-play kind of activity with a 'chair person' who is responsible for getting everybody to talk or leading the discussion can work? In other words, can it be possible to make speaking more student-centered, so that you are not the one 'pushing for production', but it is other students encouraging their quieter mate to talk?
Hi Scott, thank you for the tips. I'm going to try the same techniques you used to make your students talk about expressing like and dislike. But, I want to know penny's point of view on how to deal with the female pupil.
ReplyDelete