LESSON STUDY

The Lesson Study is an important process in which English teachers, in this case, gather to discuss, analyze and receive some feedback of their lessons. While revising this topic in class, I understood which the steps are from this methodology. The process is shown in the image below.

This knowledge I will apply in a teaching situation when I start to teach to my students at school or high school but before teaching I have to record my lesson. I will also ask my coo-workers to do the same in order to get together to analyze. Once we gather and have the videos, we will check our lessons and give some feedback about them. In this way, we will improve our teaching process and state good objectives to make learners have a good understanding about the language.

One thing to take into consideration about this method is that helps students to focus on learning English, responding to their needs and skills.

The video you will find in here demonstrates a class using this method.
Additionally, I provide you a PDF document how the Lesson Study works: https://www.ets.org/flicc/pdf/Nov4LessonStudyPacketOne.pdf 


BIBLIOGRAPHY

(Mary Spratt, Alan Pulverness, Melanie Williams, 2011)

WRITING LESSON OBJECTIVES

When writing lesson objectives, I could learn that there are some essential steps in the course development process;

-         Selection of content

-         Development of an instructional strategy.

-         Development and selection of instructional materials.

-         Construction of tests and other instruments for assessing and then evaluating student learning            outcomes.

Also, lesson objectives are brief descriptions what learners expect to do it by the end of the class.

That is why in a teaching situation, first of all, I have to focus what I am going to do in the lesson. For example, if I am going to teach the simple present, I have to establish first the lesson objectives according to learners’ needs. Then, I will create the activities and materials which will help students to achieve those objectives.

Moreover, teachers have to take into consideration when writing lesson objectives in the following,

-          Focus on student Performance not teacher performance.

-          Focus on product - not process.

-          Focus on terminal behavior - not subject matter.

-          Include only one general learning outcome in each objective.

Below, you will find an interesting link which focuses about writing good lesson objectives: http://www.educationoasis.com/curriculum/LP/LP_resources/lesson_objectives.htm

Also, I share a video about the same topic. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

(Mary Spratt, Alan Pulverness, Melanie Williams, 2011)

BLOOM'S TAXONOMY

What I learnt from this topic is that using verbs aligned to Bloom's Taxonomy serve to create discussion questions and lesson plans that ensure your students' thinking progresses to higher levels. Additionally, it helped me to formulate good lesson objectives according to the students' needs. Using the Bloom's taxonomy will contribute to do my lesson plans correctly. It means that while preparing the class, I would use the precise objectives to state in the lesson plan. For example, if I want to do my lesson communicative, I would use the verb "produce" by doing something in the class.

Also, there are some tips to write good objectives. The tip I consider most important is that English teachers do not have to make writing objectives tedious, trivial, time-consuming, or mechanical. They have to keep them simple, unambiguous, and clearly focused as a guide to learning.

Finally, Bloom’s taxonomy is very much helpful when writing lesson plans!

Below, there is a video which focuses on Bloom's taxonomy in a explained way. 

Also, I attach you some tips to write your objectives in a good way: http://tips.uark.edu/using-blooms-taxonomy/ 

CATEGORIZING LEARNERS' MISTAKES

UNIT 29

Recognizing learners' mistakes is an elementary process in which each English teacher has to master. Seen like that, there are 6 categories of learners' mistakes. They are:

-        Pronunciation

-        Grammatical

-        Inappropriate register

-        Lexical

-        Spelling

-        Punctuation

From this unit, I have understood how students make the different mistakes during a lesson process. Moreover, we have to take into consideration the three types that a mistake has. They are slips, errors and L1 interference.

To demonstrate my understanding about it, I will show you an example. In a teaching situation, if there is a student who makes a slip mistake, the teacher has to know which mistake it is (Slip, Error, L1 Interference). He/she has to recognize it in order not to fossilize the student utterance and identify which category it is as well.

Inappropriate language used in the lesson will not develop students’ ability about it. It happens if a teacher does not know how to recognize learners’ mistakes he/she might let students make the same mistake all the time without having the opportunity to correct.

  

If you want to teach in a class how to recognize learners' mistakes, I provide you a lesson plan related to it. http://site.iugaza.edu.ps/nmasri/files/2012/02/3.3-Trainer-notes.pdf 

In addition, I will provide you a short quiz related to the learners' mistakes in order to practice. https://quizlet.com/77531557/test 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

- Site.iugaza.edu.ps,. (2016). Retrieved 23 January 2016, from       http://site.iugaza.edu.ps/nmasri/files/2012/02/3.3-Trainer-notes.pdf 

- (Mary Spratt, Alan Pulverness, Melanie Williams, 2011)

IDENTIFYING THE FUCNTIONS OF LEARNERS' LANGUAGE

UNIT 28

In this unit, I have learnt how to identify the functions of learners’ language. An English teacher can recognize them based on running activities or tasks and interaction. Also, during the lesson, students can show these functions while they take part in the different stages of the class. Some of them are listed below:

-        Greeting

-        Explaining

-        Negotiating

-        Suggesting

-        Prompting

-        Agreeing

-        Disagreeing

Students use these functions according to their needs, level, age and the learning context.

A clear example about learners’ functions would be when the teacher greets to her/his students and they obviously reply, too (greeting). Later, the teacher decides to check students’ homework and some of them do not have it, so he/she expects an apology from the student (apologyzing).

I, as an English teacher, will apply in a real teaching situation. It might when I provide my students a reading activity, with the given instructions, in which students have to do. They would maybe use a function that is ask for clarification. It means that students could not understand the instructions and they start asking questions.  

In this link, you will find a short presentation about identifying the functions of learners' language to get a better understanding. 

https://prezi.com/iv91jmjajd1m/identifying-the-functions-of-learners-language/

Additionally, I provide you a game in which you will be playing a game about the unit. It is to reinforce your knowledge about it. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/71105529/UNIT%2028.htm

BIBLIOGRAPHY

- prezi.com,. (2016). Identifying the functions of learners' language. Retrieved 22 January 2016, from https://prezi.com/iv91jmjajd1m/identifying-the-functions-of-learners-language/

- (Mary Spratt, Alan Pulverness, Melanie Williams, 2011)

USING LANGUAGE APPROPRIATELY FOR A RANGE OF CLASSROOM FUNCTIONS

UNIT 27

Choosing for a specific language that is suitable for the setting and audience, means using it appropriately. Moreover, there are many functions teachers use in classroom such as, instructing, modeling, encouraging, nominating, getting learners’ attention etc. From those key words, I have learnt the different functions a teacher might use with his/her students. From there, I will start applying them but depending on the activities. 

For example, if I want my students to do an activity, in here the instructing function plays an important role. That is to say that students must follow the the teacher's instructions correctly to complete the task successfully. In this way, I will apply in a real teaching situation to make my lessons succeed.

Something important while teaching and introducing the class, the functions to use would be encouraging or motivating. Using an appropriate function when motivating students will create confidence in the classroom with the teacher, developing a good rapport and participation when using the language. 

In here, you will find the functions with their description. It is more understandable and I hope you click on the link: http://tkt-tools.blogspot.com/p/unit-27-using-language-appropriately.html 

Bibliography:

- Spratt, M., Pulverness, A., & Williams, M. (2012) The TKT Teaching Knowledge Test Course Modules 1,2 and 3 (Vol. Second Edition). United Kindgdom: Cambridge English.

- (Mary Spratt, Alan Pulverness, Melanie Williams, 2011)

SELECTION AND USE OF TEACHING AIDS

UNIT 26

When teaching, we have to keep in mind planned activities that will be developed in the lesson. Based on those activities, teachers select the appropriate aids according to the aim, subsidiary aims and stage aims. Thus, the best aids or resources will have a specific teaching purpose.

What was said, is a summary what I learnt from this unit, that is why we have to think carefully in the tasks, stated in the lesson plan then think about the aids that will be utilized.

Some of those aids used in the classroom would be; board, overhead projector, CD player, DVD player, etc. Moreover, teachers can bring their own aids such as, flashcards, puppets, charts etc. They are also considered as important resources in the classroom.

In a teaching situation, the correct use of the aids would be influential for the class because they are extra resources that help students' development about the language. For example, I will apply these aids in real classes using a CD player to do listening activities or an overhead projector to do some exercises or show the materials with the learners.

In here, you will find other interesting aids you can use in the classroom: http://www.fluentu.com/english/educator/blog/esl-visual-aids/

Finally, in this video, you will watch how to use visual aids correctly at using grammar. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

(Mary Spratt, Alan Pulverness, Melanie Williams, 2011)

SELECTION AND USE OF SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS AND ACTIVITIES

UNIT 25

Supplementary materials are tools that we can use in the classroom to reinforce our lessons. They may also come from authentic resources (e.g. newspaper, articles etc.).  From this unit what I learnt is that using supplementary materials and activities, provide something that is missing from the coursebook. Also, it serves to add variety to our teaching. For example, if the textbook presents the same activities in which students might get bored, teachers can use these supplementary materials and activities according to the learners' needs to vary the class atmosphere.

Once I start to teach, I will apply this supplementary materials included in the lesson plan as procedures,  in order to cover what is missing in the book. Thus, it will reinforce students' skills while using the language in an appropriate way.

As a short, we, as future English teachers, can adapt many of them to use with our students at different levels.

As an extra resource, I provide you a link from BBC council British related to teaching in which you will find many resources such as, materials, methodologies, strategies, etc, related to the language. https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/teaching-teens/resources 

Also, in this web page, you will find how to use supplementary materials when teaching English: https://samoseminar.wordpress.com/2012/12/20/supplementary-materials/

BIBLIOGRAPHY

(Mary Spratt, Alan Pulverness, Melanie Williams, 2011)

SELECTION AND USE OF COURSEBOOK MATERIALS

UNIT 24

What I learnt in this unit was truly important for the English teacher's role. First of all, the use of a coursebook helps teachers to do activities inside the classroom which students have to achieve in each lesson. In this unit, I have studied what a coursebook is, how it is organized and which materials it has. 

Mainly, the coursebook is an important resource which includes the teacher's book in which he/she uses to guide students' learning. It is also organized in different tasks depending on the content. Additionally, it contains dialogues, transcripts, audios, the workbook, and interesting topics that will help students' understanding about the language. 

Sometimes, the coursebook accommodates to the students' needs, if not, the teacher's role is to adapt supplementary materials that must have the same aim from the original book.

For example, if there is a topic from the teacher's book that is not interesting for the students, the teacher has to look for another without losing the content (vocabulary, grammar, etc) that the topic has in the original one. 

In a teaching situation, I will apply my knowledge using the coursebook in a correct way. That is to say that, first I will analyze before using it and after that, I will motivate my students what materials they are going to be using in the course in order to let them know for a better class development. 

Below, you will find a video which explains how to use the coursebook correctly. 

In this link, you will find the teacher's book which is part from the coursebook: http://educacion.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2013/03/English_Book_2-Teacher.pdf

BIBLIOGRAPHY

(Mary Spratt, Alan Pulverness, Melanie Williams, 2011)

CONSULTING REFERENCE RESOURCES TO HELP IN LESSON PREPARATION

UNIT 23

There are some aspects I have learnt in this unit. First of all, reference resources focus on extra source information about teaching the language as a help in lesson preparation. They are divided into reference materials and supplementary materials. These materials mainly refer to academic books or dictionaries related to any specific subject related to the language. For example, if a coursebook does not show a well-prepared grammar explanation, the teacher goes for using other references materials. It could be a book that is only focused on grammatical structures with some exercises to do. 

Having learned the key concepts that relate to the unit, I will apply as a future English teacher these references resources in class. For example, if I consider that the coursebook does not have a precise content to make my class understandable, I will use either reference materials or supplementary materials depending on the problem case. In this way, I will anticipate problems about my students' understanding while giving the class.

In the videos presented in the blog, you will find more information about references resources. The first one is how to use the references materials and the second one, how to use a good dictionary related to the same topic. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

(Mary Spratt, Alan Pulverness, Melanie Williams, 2011)