Mithodology and planning - Essay Example

?As we plan for everything in our life, planning for a lesson before delivering it is a clever and a safe thing to do. There are many advantages thatteachers can gain from planning a lesson, as it is shown in ESL Methodology study guide 2011. First, it helps them to think of the content, materials and activities they will use in the lesson. Second, it gives them a sense of safety in case they face any problem in the class because they will be ready to solve it. Third, it is like a record for what has been taught. Finally, it helps any other teacher to continue the job of the first teacher smoothly by following his/her plan. Also, a great feature of planning is its flexibility. There is no fixed plan for any lesson. I experienced this by myself, when I continuously changed my plan for this lesson every time I used to teach it. Course ideas The lesson is part of a unit or course that I have taught back in my school. So the idea of the course is not a new thing for me. While designing this course, I focused on the students’ needs in the first place as is explained by Graves (2000). I am going to teach this course to young intermediate female students who are studying English as a compulsory subject among other Arabic subjects in the school. Therefore, on the whole goal of the course is to improve the students’ four language skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing through a common and lovable topic such as food. Beliefs inherent in planning Since the type of the course is integrated course of the four skills, in each lesson I tried to focus on a specific skill. In this lesson, I tried to concentrate more on the writing skill by teaching students the sequence of words that will make their writing more coherent. Also, I have not just focussed on language but also tried to introduce the culture of English language through my lesson as it is presented by Cruz, Bonissone and Baff (1995). They encouraged teaching the culture of the second language and explained that it will make the abstract form of the language more meaningful. Thus, through this lesson I introduced examples of common food in English culture such as peanut butter sandwiches and chocolate muffins. Moreover, there is a connection between L1 and L2, due to the nature of the human brain. Students tend to translate what they learn in L2 to their L1 (Littlewood & Yu, 2009). Therefore, I tried to bring their previous knowledge about food in their L1 and to use the English language to talk about it. Also, when choosing the activities for my lesson I considered my students’ different learning styles as it is cited in Nunan, (1999).Furthermore, I used different learning strategies, through various activities. The reason for this variation is to keep the students interested all the time and to attract their attention. Also, my role as a teacher through these activities was to direct them with simple and direct instructions and to observe their work. However, I did not correct their errors in a direct way and tried to accept their answers as such in order to encourage them and give them the freedom to participate more. On the other hand, the role of the students was productive and they had a great part in speaking, reading and writing. This facilitates my role as a teacher because I had to observe and direct only. Context The topic of my course and lesson is about food, which is a common topic. Therefore, it can be adapted in any context. However, there are some adaptations that could be made according to the context in which this course will be given. For example, kinds of food, types of activities and materials. Also, in my context I have to pay attention on my students’ religious and cultural backgrounds when choosing the topic of my texts. For example, I cannot teach the Muslim students texts that talk about how to prepare a pork sandwich, because eating the pig’s meat is forbidden in Islam. Nevertheless, the number of the students in my real context is vast and there is always lack of materials. However, the most significant element in my context that facilitates teaching and learning is the use of group work. Through it students will gain confidence, which is very important in second language acquisition. Also, it will help me as a teacher, because instead of teaching thirty to forty students, I will be teaching three or four groups. Student’s proficiency The course is designed for students who are in the intermediate level. They did not start learning English at an early age, because in Saudi Arabia students start to learn English when they are ten or eleven years old. However, if you are teaching more advanced students, there are some changes you have to make. For example, you can use the same topic which is food but with more complex texts. Also, the level of the reading, writing, speaking and listening lessons will be more developed. The students’ proficiency is very important when designing a get bored very easily. On the other hand, if the level is very difficult, this may cause disappointment to the students and make them hate the subject. Lesson ideas, content and process This lesson is the fourth lesson in a unit which consists of eight lessons. It comes after a word study lesson which introduces the ordinal numbers and their use. In my lesson, I will teach the students alternative words other than the ordinal numbers such as the sequence of words. This will help them to write more connected sentences. Also, through this lesson, they will know examples of common food in English culture and at the end of the lesson, they will be asked to give examples of food from their local environment. This will be an introductory lesson, while the next lesson is a listening lesson. In it, they will listen to a text talking about food around the world. I start my class with a warm up activity, which is a routine through my course. I ask different pairs to come in front of the class and make a conversation together. Students cannot practice English language outside the classroom, because Arabic is the formal language used everywhere. Therefore, I try to create real situations inside the classroom as it is presented in Nunan’s study (1999, p. 235), in which students can act and play different roles. Also, I consider it as an indirect assessment that allows me to observe their speaking progress. Then I began my lesson which consists of three activities. They move from simple to more complex. The first activity is activity (A) and it is a speaking activity. In it I ask each group a question that requires them to give instructions. They will use the ordinal numbers in their answers. The reason for this activity is that I am building on their previous knowledge to introduce what they do not know which is the sequence words. Therefore, this activity will lead to one of the lesson’s goals. Moreover it will improve their speaking which is one of the course goals. Also, I am applying one of the learning strategies, which is the interpersonal strategy as it is cited in Nunan (1999, pp. 183 – 184), to encourage collaboration inside the group. Furthermore, the questions talk about authentic topics from their local environment. It is a simple activity and lasts for five minutes. Therefore, it does not take them a long time to answer it. I accepted their answers, since the questions can be answered in different ways and there is no wrong answer. Also, there is a chance for each group to negotiate the answers of the other groups. Through the activity, I monitor the class, encourage them and make sure that shy students are involved too. The second activity is activity (B) and it is a reading activity. I distribute a sheet of paper to each group, a reading passage with some questions is written in it. The reason for this activity is to see how the sequence of words is used to connect the sentences, which is one of the lesson’s goals. Also, the reading passage will be as a model to help them in the next activity when they write their paragraphs. After they answer this activity, I hang colourful flash cards on the board having the sequence of words. Through these flash cards, I use a visual learning style as it is presented in Nunan, (1999). Also, with tactile learners, I use real objects such as peanut butter, jam and bread. Then I ask them to prepare a sandwich. Moreover, I use one of the reading strategies, which is scanning when the students look for the sequence of words in the passage. This contributes to the course’s goal in improving their reading. The activity lasts for ten minutes and students enjoy at the end of it when they get engaged physically in making the sandwiches. So, I am able to combine fun with learning. I continue my role of observing and directing only, because I want students to have a bigger part in class. Also, the more they participate, the more I am able to evaluate the strong and weak students and help the weak ones. After this activity, students will take five minutes break to enjoy the sandwiches they made. The third activity is activity (C) and it is a writing lesson. At the beginning of the activity, I will explain the instructions and ask them about the ingredients of chocolate muffins. Then, I will display a sheet of paper to each group and I will hang a poster on the board. The reason for this activity is to develop their ability of predicting and enrich their cooking experience, which is one of the lesson’s goals. Also, this activity will enable students to write in a coherent and a smooth way which will contribute to the course’s goal in improving their writing. Through this activity, I applied a visual learning style by using a poster. Also, the activity has an element of ethnicity, because at the end of the activity students give examples of their favourite food from their local context. Moreover, the whole class creates delicious recipes and use the sequence of words to talk about them, which is an evidence for me and my students that they achieve the main goals of the lesson. The activity takes fifteen minutes and it is more complex than the other activities. I direct them with simple instructions and students answer it very easily. When correcting their answers, I am very flexible because cooking is a flexible process. This makes them more relaxed and they talk freely. To conclude the lesson, I made quick revision on the lesson. Also, I open a discussion between the students to describe healthy and unhealthy food and their effects on the body. It is like a final assessment to make sure that we achieved the lesson’s goals. The conclusion took four minutes. After that, there are five minutes to talk about the homework which I write on the board. The board is divided in to three parts. The first and second parts are for the lesson content. The last part is for homework. The lesson can be improved according to the learners and context in which, it is going to be given. You can change the activities and materials. The lesson plan is clear and easy for any teacher to follow. The only thing that a teacher needs to know is the different personality of the students and how to deal with them. This can be done with the help of personal contact with the students. Effectiveness of goals and objectives The goals and objectives of the course in general and the lesson in particular are clear and achievable. This is emphasized through direct and indirect assessment. Finally, we see how planning is important in lesson making. It makes the job of the teacher much easier and he/she records everything that has been done in class. No matter how proficient you are, you need to plan a lesson before delivering it because nobody is perfect. Annotated Bibliography Canale, Michael and Swain, Merrill. (1980). Theoretical Bases of Communicative Approaches to Second Language Teaching and Testing, Applied Linguistics, (1) 1. This article is very useful for this research as it explains about different communicative theories in terms of second language teaching. According to the writers, second language teaching needs a communicative approach to be adopted in the classroom environment to accommodate the learners to learn actively. As the article explains about various communicative theories for second language teaching, therefore, it is a strong article having information about various theories related to teaching a second language. Cruz, G. I., Bonissone, P. R. and Baff, S. J. (1995). The Teaching of Culture in Bilingual Education Programs: Moving Beyond the Basics. New York State Association for Bilingual Education Journal (10). pp. 1-5. This article is again significant in terms of the concept of language acquisition. However, the writers explain the importance of culture in bilingual teaching and learning. For teaching students a second language, not only their own culture but the culture of second language, both should be taught for enabling the students to learn language in a multicultural environment. For teaching language, one must be aware of the culture of students as well as his own culture, which is quite a difficult job because of richness of cultures. Lessard-Clouston, Michael. (1997). Towards an Understanding of Culture in L2/FL Education. The Internet TESL Journal 3 (5). Also available at http://iteslj.org/Articles/Lessard-Clouston-Culture.html This article explains that students of second language learning should also be taught about the culture of the second language as it makes language acquisition quite easy. Language is a part of culture and without knowing the culture, language cannot be learnt wholly. The article is very informative and descriptive, however, the writer elaborates that language teaching is culture teaching, which cannot be considered as fully true. Littlewood, William and Yu, Baohua. (2009). First language and target language in the foreign language classroom. Language Teaching 44 (1). pp. 64 – 77. In this article, the writers mention about the strategy that the teachers are asked to follow while teaching a second language, that is to use the target language in class in place of first language of learners. The writers explain that this approach is not used by teachers because of its inappropriateness. Teachers use the first language of learners to accommodate them with the knowledge that they require. The reasons behind this approach are elaborated in this article. The teachers are also informed about various strategies that can be implemented for using the target language extensively. References Canale, Michael and Swain, Merrill. (1980). Theoretical Bases of Communicative Approaches to Second Language Teaching and Testing. Applied Linguistics (1) 1. Cruz, G. I., Bonissone, P. R. and Baff, S. J. (1995). The Teaching of Culture in Bilingual Education Programs: Moving Beyond the Basics. New York State Association for Bilingual Education Journal (10), pp. 1-5. Lessard-Clouston, Michael. (1997). Towards an Understanding of Culture in L2/FL Education. The Internet TESL Journal 3 (5). Also available at http://iteslj.org/Articles/Lessard-Clouston-Culture.html Littlewood, William and Yu, Baohua. (2009). First language and target language in the foreign language classroom. Language Teaching 44 (1), pp. 64 – 77. Read More