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Posts Tagged ‘metodologia’

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Using videos
Submitted by Sally Trowbridge on 15 January, 2010 – 13:05

You can watch videos and listen to children talk about their lives on the British Council’s NEW LearnEnglish Kids site for young learners. The short topic-based videos are all found in one section called Kids Talk: http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/kids-talk

Topics and resources: find your way around
Click on an image to select a video. Underneath each video you’ll find printable activities, scripts and a question about the video for children to respond to by posting comments.
To the right of each video you will find a list of links to activities related to the topic: videos, quizzes, flash cards, word searches, online games, stories, songs and more activities.

Classroom ideas
Here are some tips and ideas for using the Kids Talk videos in the classroom.

Pre-viewing: Prepare students for what they are about to watch by doing some of these activities.

* Brainstorm vocabulary connected with the video topic. Set a time limit of two minutes to keep this snappy.
* Revise and pre-teach vocabulary with flashcard activities. Find the flashcards you need listed in alphabetical order of topic here: http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/practise-your-english
* Introduce new vocabulary by showing the picture cards to students one-by-one, saying the word, then asking a question about the item. For example, if you are introducing wild animals you could hold up a tiger picture and say: Tiger. What noise does a tiger make? For food items you could ask students to raise their hands if they like or dislike the different food items on the cards.
* Drill new vocabulary by having students repeat words after you.
* Play a game of ‘What’s in my bag?’ to give students practice saying the new vocabulary item. Put a set of picture cards in a bag and take each one out slowly. Students have to guess which card you are going to take out next. Children can either shout out their guesses or for a quieter game have them put hands up and wait to be asked for their guess.
* Click here for lots more ways to use flash cards in class: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/using-flash-cards-young-learners.
* Tell learners they are going to watch a video about..…What do they expect to hear and see? Prediction will help with comprehension – they’ll have some idea of what to expect. Write any predictions on the board to refer to later.

While viewing: Give students a task to do while watching to provide something for them to focus on. The first viewing could be to establish a general understanding of the video. Subsequent viewings can concentrate on more detailed and specific understanding.

* Have students sit back-to-back in pairs, with only one student of the pair able to see the screen. Play the video with no volume. The viewing student describes the film to his/her partner. You could then pause the video half way and have students swap roles.
* Play the video through once with volume. Were the students’ previous predictions of content correct?
* The teacher can pause the video and students predict what they will see/hear next.
* Learners listen for specific pre-taught vocabulary. Have 6-8 words or pictures on the board – students raise a hand when they hear the words.
* Print out the audio scripts before viewing (click under the video to find these) and chop them up into sections. Have students work in pairs to order the script as they watch.
* Print out the audio scripts (available under the video) before viewing. Blank out some words, phrases or questions. Students complete the scripts as they watch.

Post-viewing: Follow-up and extension activities can focus on language from the videos or use the videos as a springboard for connected tasks.

* Ask students for a personal response. Discuss some of the questions under each video and have students give their opinions.
* Your learners can read some of the students’ comments under each video. Do they agree or disagree with these opinions?
* Your learners can send their own written comments to LE Kids. First they need to register here: http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/user/register. There is a simple form to complete. Children will have to give an e-mail address, as this is where the password information will be sent. If your students don’t have their own e-mail address they will have to join with the help of their parents. This is a good idea anyway so that parents are involved in the process.
* Print and do one of the fun activity sheets with word searches, puzzles and more. Find these under the videos or on the right of the page.
* You can read tips on using topic-based resources related to the video you want to use. They are in alphabetical order so scroll down until the find the one you want: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/teaching-kids
* There’s also a list of topics in alphabetical order under the explore tab:
http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/explore
With one click you will be taken to all the material connected to the topic you are looking for.
* Alternatively, use the search facility. Just put in the name of the topic and you should find it!
* For project work you might want to browse related activities. Click on the following links to see what’s available:
o Online games: http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/language-games
o Stories (traditional and original): http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/short-stories
o Songs (traditional and original): http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/songs
o Craft downloads (masks, puppets, pictures to colour and more): http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/craft-downloads

Make a video:

* Top tip: Have a helper (a student or another teacher) to do the filming. It can be tricky to film students and maintain order at the same time.
* Low tech: For some simple, low-tech tips on making a short film using a digital camera or mobile phone look here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/meandmymovie/. Then go to ‘How to’ and click on the mobile phone and camera images for tips.
* Hi tech: Nik Peachey has come up with lots of ideas for using a webcam in class:
http://nikpeachey.blogspot.com/2008/11/things-you-can-do-with-your-webcam-1.html
http://nikpeachey.blogspot.com/search/label/video

Make sure that videos of your students are only shown in class. Parental permission may be needed for public viewing.

When you have used some of these ideas, why not come back to this page and leave a comment below to tell us how your class went. Let us know if you have any additional ideas!

Have you heard of Jeremy Harmer? No??

Well, he’s a teacher, author, teacher trainer, lecturer and much more.

I just found him on Twitter and on his webpage you can find very interesting things like some videos of lectures, audio clips, interviews and so on.

Check it out.

Have all a great week!

Alex Mackenzie, from the Mackenzie School of English very kindly allowed me to reproduce an article he wrote about CLIL – Content and Language Integrated Learning, a very interesting trend in teaching (not only languages). Check it out and you can also e-mail Alex for your comments at amackenzie@mackenzieschool.com.

How should CLIL work in practice?
by Alex Mackenzie

Anyone who is anyone in the EFL world these days is talking about CLIL. The general consensus is that it’s the way forward but there is much debate about how it’s going to work in practice and how it’s going to be integrated into EFL schools. There are many high-schools across the world who actively run CLIL programmes but as of yet it hasn’t really entered the private EFL sphere.

As Academic Director in a school that offers CLIL courses and implements its principles in General English too, my aim in this paper is to give my own ideas on the matter; ideas that are working in practice as we speak. To begin with, let’s have a look at the underlying principles behind CLIL.

Principles of CLIL

• Content and Language Integrated Learning- pretty much does what it says on the tin- it’s dual-focused education where attention is given to the topic as well as the language. Personally, I like to think the topic is more important, English is simply the medium used. Very often the subject in the EFL classroom is the language itself- wouldn’t you prefer it if your students could leave being able to speak about rainforests rather than relative clauses! Whether the topic is a school subject or another, the principles are the same. The fact that importance is given to the topic and the language gives a more integrated methodology of learning and teaching, drawing attention to the educational process as a whole as opposed to just how languages should be taught.
• Making content/context king means that the student is actively involved in the language; they are immersed in it, surrounded and engulfed in it. They are using the language but the context, theme and task are the driving forces. When the students are engaged and interested in the topic they are more motivated to use and learn the language needed to communicate. It also promotes a more natural use of language; simply because the scope of the language is so much wider than the constraints of a traditional EFL lesson.
• CLIL has been called ‘education through construction, rather than instruction’ which again puts the onus on the student- they learn, they build their language because they are put in the position where they have to, not because they are being taught to. CLIL is based on language acquisition rather than enforced learning. Some people are of the opinion that students often learn despite their teachers; with CLIL teachers take much more of a facilitator role than instructor.
• Fluency is more important than accuracy. The nature of CLIL lessons means that the students will produce (and be exposed to) a vast array of language, the focus is firmly on communication and accuracy comes with time. Making mistakes is a natural process in language learning, and as we all know, language doesn’t have to be accurate to be communicative. CLIL exposes learners to situations calling for genuine communication.
• CLIL promotes critical thinking and collaboration skills as well as language competence. It produces life-long learners and students are sent out with real-world skills and enhanced motivation and self-confidence.

CLIL is sometimes called ‘English across the curriculum’ which I think narrows the scope of it a little. CLIL can be a Geography lesson conducted in English but it could also be a lesson on another subject such as ‘film’, ‘literature’ or even ‘sports’. The principles are the same.

Putting it in to practice

CLIL is not a new concept, the name has been around since the early nineties, but people have been learning languages in this way for centuries. Migrants, economic or otherwise, have learnt this way since time began. Let’s take the example of the recent influx of eastern Europeans to the UK, many of them without any formal language education background. On a day-to-day basis, they put themselves in the position where they have to converse, deal with situations and ‘do tasks’. The contexts of these situations force them to not only use but also develop their language. Obviously, learning this way can lead to somewhat of an imbalance in their language skills in certain cases but there is no denying that it works. How many of us, as language learners, can say that we have learnt a language this way? I, for one, certainly can. It’s a natural, proven way to learn a language- the question we have to ask is how can we replicate (and improve on) this in our language schools.

I’m going to look at four different aspects of integrating CLIL into EFL classrooms: Syllabuses, In the Classroom, Teachers and Grammar. This is obviously not exhaustive; merely four factors I believe should be discussed.

Syllabuses

Before I go into this I’ll give you a little background on my school, The Mackenzie School of English. We specialize in year-round education, culture & activity programmes for groups of high-school students. We run content-driven, task-based General English classes as well as CLIL lessons based on traditional school subjects. Both these modes of tuition operate using the principles of CLIL stated above.

Our General English syllabus is thematic and based around topics which appeal to teenage students such as cinema, sport or boys & girls. All tasks in the lessons revolve around this theme and include things such as role-play, games and project work. The lessons consist of extensive integrated skills and encourage students to feel more confident about speaking English without the pressure of accuracy. The tasks and themes lead the way for the lessons; the language taught stems from them rather than the other way around.

The CLIL syllabus follows the same pattern only the topics are traditional school subjects. Again the lessons include group work, tasks and are heavily skills based. This syllabus can actually run in conjunction with General English to provide a bulkier, more academic programme. I see these lessons, in my school, as being an extension of the students’ curriculum back home not something that by any shape or form replaces or works in tandem with it. Obviously with extended CLIL programmes this would have to be rethought.

In the classroom

Tasks are all important and lessons are skills based. The theme of the lesson is adhered to throughout. Students are encouraged to explore topics and their own knowledge of the world is essential. We acknowledge that learners are well-informed, creative individuals and encourage them to bring their own personalities and backgrounds into the lessons.

Very often there are end products to lessons, or a block of lessons, such as videos, magazines and reports. Our lessons are motivational, engaging and entertaining. Language is picked up and mistakes are looked at but the themes and topics lead the way. What the students can actually produce is the language which is worked with and extended. I wouldn’t say this is level specific; even post-beginner and elementary students have enough grasp of the language do this. Vocabulary and Grammar is revised and recycled on a regular basis and students are encouraged to ‘notice’ language.

I have to say we have been overwhelmed by the students’ feedback on the courses we have run so far. They recognise that this is a different way of learning and teaching; they find it intriguing, rewarding and fulfilling. We try our best to instil a ‘can do’ attitude in our student and we’re doing a pretty good job!

Teachers

Obviously for the General English classes we employ enthusiastic, suitably trained EFL teachers. Our teachers are both energetic and energising. For the CLIL courses we look for teachers who hold an EFL certificate as well as a degree related to the subject they are teaching- as EFL teacher s have degrees in everything but language it isn’t too difficult.

One potential pitfall is the way teachers are currently being trained; this article is not the place to go into the failings of this but many teachers, even experienced ones, can be quite against changing their ways. To adopt this style of teaching you have to be open-minded and confident about running a class in this manner.

We have our own in-going training programme at the school; we open teachers’ eyes to the possibilities of this type of teaching and, so far, it has been very successful.

Grammar

We’re all aware of the endless debates there are about grammar- how best to teach it, can we teach it at all, etc. One thing I think we can all agree on is that focusing on single (or even 2 or 3) grammatical structures and practicing them intensively in class doesn’t really do the trick. The minute the student walks out the door they will, more than likely, be making the same mistakes. We, in the industry, have been looking at grammar in this way for years; think of it from a student’s point of view- they look at the same language time and time again. By the time a student reaches upper-intermediate, for example, they might have studied certain forms three or four times. It’s true that learners need to know different things about the same grammar at different levels but I feel that you often reach the point where you are going through the motions- you teach grammar simply because you think you should.

CLIL is not language teaching without grammar; it’s present and it’s contextualized too. The idea that grammar can be dissected into individual chunks doesn’t really work in my opinion. Grammar, I believe, should be looked at in a more holistic sense- using contexts and functions to lead the way- using the students own language competences as a starting block for what to teach- using grammatical awareness raising activities like in TBL.

The Future of CLIL

I’m not going to hypothesise on the future of secondary school education throughout the whole world and whether bi-lingual schools and tuition is the way forward but I will say that I believe CLIL has a lot to offer us, as EFL teachers. It’s a methodology which presents student-centered lessons, recognises that the students are worthwhile individuals and allows students to really communicate in a classroom environment. It is a move away from how things are presently done but, I believe, it’s a positive shift.

As language teachers we should always be looking forward, always looking for ways to better our teaching and for ways to make the language learning process easier and more enjoyable for students. The principles behind CLIL do just that.

I very much hope you have found this paper informative and thought-provoking. It’s not intended to be a rant, sermon or bible, but is my opinion of how things should work and how we are going about it in my school.

References

CLIL Matrix: Central Workshop Report 6/2005 Marsh et al.

Profiling European CLIL Classrooms Marsh et al.

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) at School in Europe Eurydice Survey

Content Based Instruction: A Shell for Language Teaching or a Framework for Strategic Language and Content Learning? Fredricka L. Stroller

CLIL Content and Language Integrated Learning Lena Tidblom

I found this on the Russian version of the SpeakUp Magazine, which is called Speak Out, for some reason.

Students in New Zealand can now write their exams in the language of text messaging! Some teachers approve of the idea, some don’t.

Now, how good is your SMS English? Take a look at a composition written by a 12-year-old girl from Scotland.

MY SUMMER HOLIDAYS

My smmr hols wr CWOT.

B4, we used 2 go 2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr 3:-@ kds FTF.

ILNY, its gr8.

Bt my Ps wr so {:-/ BC o 9/11 tht they dcdd 2 stay in SCO & spnd 2 wks up N.

Up N, WUCIWUG – 0.

I ws vvv brd in MON.

0 bt baas &.

AAR8, my Ps wr – they sd ICBW, & tht they wr ha-p 4 the pc%qt…

IDTS!!

I wntd 2 go hm ASAP, 2C my M8s again.

2day, I cam bk 2 skool.

I feel v O:-) BC I hv dn all my hm wrk.

Now its BAU…

OK, so would anyone like to translate this into “real” English (so to speak)?

Yo, people! How’ve you all been?

I’m going to be teaching this pronunciation course next month via Aulavox and I have done a lot of research and come across some very interesting sentences to practice some sounds. They’re like tongue-twisters.

Voiced T practice

Betty bought a bit of better butter. But, said she, this butter’s bitter. If I put it in my batter, it’ll make my batter bitter.

‘SH’ Practice

Joe’s weather machine shows a sharp drop in air pressure, especially offshore.

Ships in motion on the ocean should be sure to use caution.

‘J’ Practice

A German judge and jury have charged and jailed a strange giant, who sat on the edge of a bridge throwing jelly onto large barges.

Well, these are only some examples. Want some more? Sign up for my newsletter on my website to have news on the Pronunciation Course in March.

Now, as I’m a very generous guy, click here for lots of tongue twisters.

Take care, y’all!

Guys, I’ve found this series of teacher training videos by the University of Oregon and they cover core areas of teaching as Reflexive Teaching, Contextualizing Language, Peer Observation, among others.

Here are the first video for you to check out!

Tell me if it has been valuable for your teaching or if you used any of the activities or concepts expressed in the videos.

See you next time!

Let me share with you guys an activity I learned many years ago in a workshop I attended.

Its aim is to raise awareness of how much English is used in students’ lives and they don’t even realize it.

1. Ask students to write down all the words in English that they use in their everyday lives they can think of. Lots of computer-related words will come up.

2. Now, ask them to write a paragraph, a crazy or silly one, using all the words. The paragraph should be written in Portuguese.

3. After they have finished writing the paragraph, ask them to re-write it by replacing every English word with a Portuguese correspondent.

This is a fun activity and can be used on the first day of class, and it works nicely with older students (14-year-olds on).

Try this activity with your students and e-mail me to tell me how it went!

Now, check out this Mafalda’s comic strip about foreign words.

See you next time!

Yo, sup everybody?

ELLLO (English Listening Language Lab Online) is a must-see!

There are hundreds of listening practice exercises, with transcripts, exercises, slides, quizzes and it is updated every week, so there’s always something new.

I use it a lot with my intermediate and advanced students because it brings a plethora of accents and they talk about so many interesting subjects.

You can also print out activities and download the audio files to your computer.

In a nutshell, it’s a gem!

See you next time!

Guys, how’ve you all been?

I came across this very good workshop on teaching kids, by a British teacher in Japan.

He’s very lively and motivated and we can learn (and review!) a few things about kids. There are six parts and the first one is here for you.

Check it out and tell me what you think!

See you next time!

I’m reading this very good book, “Eat that Frog” and it talks about how to stop procrastinating and getting things done.

In a particular chapter the author, Brian Tracy, writes about the role of learning in our personal growth.

I have found some interesting things and I quote,

“Continuous learning is the minimm requirement for success in any field.”

“Everything is learnable. And what others have learned, you can learn as well.”

“The more you learn, the more you can learn. Just as you can build your physical muscles through physical exercise, you build your mental muscles with mental exercises. And there is no limit to how far or how fast you can advance except for the limits you place on your own imagination.”

That’s fantastic, isn’t it? I got so pumped when I read it and I hope you get too because as teachers, we’re always students.

Take care and see you next time!

I started teaching the little ones (7-11) some years ago and I have discovered great things about them:

- You can’t underestimate a child’s intelligent or perception;

- They learn fast, but they forget fast too!

- They’re highly kinesthetic, so keeping them in their seats is a real challenge;

- Bring lots of extra material (pens, erasers, etc.). They lose their all the time.

- And last but not least, they need routine. And here’s what this next tip is all about.

Always put the date on the board, like this “February, 5th 2009″ and say it aloud every time. This way, by the end of the year, they will have learned the months, some ordinal numbers and the year, naturally.

There’s this very smart girl in my 3rs grade classroom who asked me once, “Teacher, por que você não colocou o ‘th’ no dia?” And it was because it was a third of December. So they notice it!

You can also draw a sun, a cloud and a cloud with raindrops to show what the weather is like that day, and always say, “sunny”, “rainy”, “cloudy”, etc.

Remember: kids learn a lot with visual and listening approaches, make very good use of them!

See you next time!

Hello, there!

I also teach kids, 1st to 4th graders and we always have to come up with interesting and motivating things in the classroom.

Kids motivation entails doing something with a purpose and when such thing is accomplished successfully they need to be rewarded: a candy, a hug, a kiss on the cheek, and so forth.

But sometimes you need to give that something extra, that something special for that student who did extremely well, a proof of your recognition. And that’s where today’s website tip comes in:

123 Certificates is a website where you can customize and print out the cutest certificates, ranging from special dates (Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day, etc.) to dinosaur-themed certificates.

If you teach kids, and even young teens (11-12 year olds), take a look because I’m sure you’re going to love it!

Have a great and productive week!