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July
2012
Tprofessional
EACHING
The Leading Practical Magazine For English Language Teachers Worldwide
In praise of pronunciation
Jonathan Marks
Regular revision
Hugh Dellar
A mares NEST?
Andrew Sampson
practical methodology
classroom resources
new technology
teacher development
photocopiable materials
w w w . e t p r o f e s s i o n a l . c o m
Contents MAIN FEATURE TEACHING YOUNG LEARNERS
CRITICAL INCIDENTS 12
Louis Rogers cultivates cross-cultural understanding
TEACHER DEVELOPMENT
LEARNING LEXIS: ADJECTIVES 16 PHEW! WEVE FINISHED! 53
Isobel Fletcher de Tllez describes what Dorothy Sommer and Annette Stemmerich have
adjectives do pointers for anyone thinking of taking an MA
Nick Cherkas writes his article on mobile learning from Helena Gomm
Editor
his students perspective: paraphrasing their feedback
helena.gomm@pavpub.com
on being actively encouraged to use their mobile
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In praise of
pronunciation
Jonathan Marks promotes a more practical pedagogy and poses some pertinent questions.
I
havent got access to the term was revived by the communicative word beyond achieving the most basic
demographic details of ETps revolutionaries to express the idea that of communicative purposes.
readership, but it is probably safe even on a short course, learners should Accuracy is associated particularly
to assume that most of you began learn language that they can immediately with grammar, but fluent or perhaps
your careers in the current Age of put to use in the real world; for we had better say proficient language
Enlightenment, which has followed the example, they should learn functions, use also depends on other types of
Communicative Revolution, and that such as how to make, accept and decline accuracy, such as lexical accuracy and
your assumptions about teaching have invitations, rather than gradually appropriacy, which could be called
been shaped largely by the slogans accumulating a stock of knowledge, pragmatic accuracy, and ... what else?
daubed on the banners of the revolution such as the fact that the plural of ox is Ah, yes, pronunciation! Research (see,
and adopted enthusiastically by ELT oxen, which they might or might not for example, that by Rod Ellis) and
teacher training and publishing. You eventually have the opportunity to use. casual observation both tell us that
may have heard elderly teachers in dusty 2 Fluency is at least as important as
staffroom corners muttering about a
previous Dark Age: lessons in cold,
accuracy. Fluency is in quotation marks Most learners
because although most people use fluently
draughty, candlelit classrooms with
to mean very well X speaks English achieve accuracy only
stone walls (and stone desks and pews,
probably) with the teacher expounding
fluently means that X speaks English very partially, even after
well the authors of the Communicative
obscure grammar rules which the
Manifesto adopted fluency to mean the long, arduous years of
learners then had to apply, without
mistakes, to the translation of sentences
ability to achieve communicative success in study and practice
a language although you dont speak it very
so remote from reality that they have
well. Accuracy develops gradually; most
never actually been seen to be used by pronunciation is the area in which
learners achieve it only partially, even
any speaker of any imaginable language. accuracy, especially if understood as
after long, arduous years of study and
practice. The principle of high surrender native-like accuracy (as it generally has
Reverberations value suggests that, even at elementary been, until recently), is least likely to be
level, learners should be encouraged to achieved. As Tom McArthur puts it:
The tenets of communicative ideology
use whatever English they have acquired, Pronunciation. That part of a student
reverberate so loudly through schools,
however fragmentary and inaccurate, to which is exactly the same at the end of a
universities and publishing houses that
attempt to fulfil their communicative language course as at the beginning.
its hard to imagine a time when they
intentions. And with the rise of English Pronunciation relies on
werent taken for granted. For example:
as a global lingua franca, more and more physiological habits which, after an
1 Teachers should teach language with early age, are less adaptable than the
learners, however low their current level,
high surrender value a term actually need to start using English now, rather mental faculties required for language
introduced as long ago as 1926 by Michael than in the distant future. learning in general. The task of
West (quoted by Anthony Howatt), who pronouncing a new language is a
defined it as the proportionate amount of challenging one because we need to use
benefit which will be derived by any pupil Rigidity our speech organs in unaccustomed
from an incompleted course of instruction. A rather rigid distinction between ways: to make new distinctions between
(Incidentally, Howatts book gives a fluency and accuracy developed, ignoring sounds which seem the same to us, to
much more detailed and accurate the fact that a degree of accuracy is a produce sounds which are totally new to
account of the history of ELT than the pre-condition for fluency in either the us, to produce familiar sounds in
opening paragraph of this article!) The general or the specialised sense of that unfamiliar sequences, and so on.
Pronunciation in disguise
Many learners learn primarily through written texts and find it hard to relate what they hear to what they have learnt.
Here is an example of an activity to develop awareness of how written forms can disguise similarities of pronunciation.
6 What did you do to them? 7 The learners practise saying the sentence pairs so that the
9 Did you get through to them? phrases really do rhyme and have the same rhythm.
Outcomes-based
learning
R
Peter Zoeftig ather than handing out outcomes, the coach will be encouraging
ready-made materials or visualisation, self-listening and repetitive
recommends authentic, using textbooks with my practice of situations and topics largely
clients, I use coaching chosen by the trainee. There will be
natural and focused techniques involving correction, pacing (self-)challenging language practice and
and leading, which are focused on the a clear focus on subjective and objective
coaching methods to coachees own experiences and their improvements every step of the way.
emerging insights into language. In this Crucially, both coach and coachee will
increase acquisition of the article, I will draw comparisons between learn how to read subjective shifts that
coaching and more conventional are occurring naturally, and develop
target language. teaching methods to show that by them incrementally.
moving away from teacher-produced
materials and towards student-centred Outcomes-based
experience, with the additional benefit
of coaching techniques and some coaching
insights provided by Neuro-linguistic Outcomes-based coaching and skills
Programming (NLP), we can promote acquisition, as defind here, is where the
change and rapid improvement. coachees define their targets in alliance
with a coach, and are engaged positively
Coaching in the adventure of how to reach them.
The coachees learn where they need to
Coaching is distinct from teaching. It be, and what resources are needed to go
should be collaborative, mainly non- there. Whatever assistance is given by
directive, non-judgemental and the coach along the way is not laid
challenging. It involves authentic use of down by a textbook, theory or teacher
language, self-observation by the belief, but allows for the discovery of
coachee, and the right level of pitch, aspects of the linguistic and cultural
purpose and performance. It has paradigms of the target language, as
direction, is explicit in its skills practice well as giving the coachees insights into
and includes varying degrees of themselves: all key elements in reaching
preparation, intensity and resting. It the goal successfully. Instead of
places crucial importance on the traditional ELT teaching methods based
surfacing of insights (of self and of on syllabuses or textbook exercises, we
language), recognition of patterns and
the management of performance, as
well as being delivered at the right pitch Coaching is distinct
to stretch and challenge the coachee.
Where, in a conventional ELT lesson, from teaching: it should
the teacher would be aiming at getting be collaborative,
the learners to a certain level by
preparing a grammar, communication mainly non-directive,
or vocabulary exercise with plenty of non-judgemental
instructions but limited or non-existent
use of pacing or listening to emerging and challenging
language, in a coaching lesson based on
I
n the past, many coursebooks leant cultural knowledge or expect the teacher Attribution training
strongly towards the culture of the to be able to raise their cultural awareness
target language. There was an as part of a language course. This is Cultural assimilators have a long history,
assumption that if you were learning perhaps not surprising when we consider dating back to the University of Illinois in
English, you would also be keen to know that most definitions of culture incorporate 1962. Initially, assimilators were developed
about an Anglo culture. However, with some aspect of language, even when they to help individuals or groups from one
the growth of English as a lingua franca, do not mention it explicitly. For example, culture improve their interactions with
fewer and fewer materials are Anglo- Larry Samovar, Richard Porter and Edwin those from another culture. Cultural
centric and far more are global in their McDaniel define culture as the rules for assimilators involve students reading
outlook. Arguably, today there are more living and functioning in society. Whilst short case studies, known as critical
interactions in English taking place language itself is not mentioned, few incidents, that involve potential
between two non-native speakers than would question the key role it plays misunderstandings between two groups
between a native and non-native speaker. within this definition. or individuals. The principle underlying
Consequently, it is becoming vital that such an approach, as outlined by
people not only learn about the culture of Cross-cultural training
the speakers of a language but that they
methods Whilst obviously
also understand as wide a variety of
cultures as possible and are able to If English language teachers are to cross-cultural
become cultural trainers as well, what
function effectively in a diverse range of
different training methods are there and
interactions can be
environments. Clearly, enhancing this
understanding would be of benefit to all which is the most effective? Kenneth positive, there are many
learners, but it is particularly important in Cushner and Richard Brislin defined a
range of different training methods.
cases where they
a professional environment. Both
linguistic and cultural skills could impact Firstly, cognitive training, which teaches present a challenge
on an individuals career progression or facts about a target country or culture
the international success of a company. and information about what happens for the individual
psychologically to people living in
another culture. This approach, Cushner and Brislin, is that there is such
Culture in language
particularly in learning about a target an array of situations and behaviours
teaching culture, is probably the one that is most people can encounter that it is not
Language teachers may not see pervasive in many business English possible to give individuals enough
themselves as cultural trainers. Some may materials. However, there is little information about all of the differences.
even resent having to embrace such a evidence to show that this approach Instead, this method deals with the how,
role, particularly when they are aware of actually helps people to function when and why in order to understand
the fees cultural trainers can charge in effectively in another culture. It can also some of the general principles that underlie
comparison to typical English teacher quickly lead students down the path of the specific behaviours people encounter.
rates of pay. However, many find stereotyping some cultures. Other Whilst obviously cross-cultural
themselves in a position where the methods, such as behaviour modification, interactions can be positive, there are
students are reliant on the teachers experiential training, cultural self- many cases where they present a
awareness and attribution training are all challenge for the individual. These difficult
arguably more effective methods as, moments can be defined as critical
Arguably, today rather than learning facts about a culture, incidents: situations that people find
more interactions in students play a much more active part problematic, confusing or even amusing.
either in a story or role. These What makes them stand out and stay in
English take place approaches also push students further our minds is that they are different from
between two non-native down a path of self-reflection and of what we expected to happen in a situation
analysing their own culture and own largely because they are different from
speakers than between behaviour. Such approaches can be the cultural norms we have learnt in our
particularly effective when a person has own culture. Cushner and Brislin break
a native and non- had little experience of other cultures these misunderstandings down into 18
native speaker and, especially, in situations where there themes that can be categorised into three
is one target culture in mind. main areas: Feelings (the emotions and
reasons for their choice. a) It is very unlikely this is the right option. He had
already formed a good relationship before coming.
3 Ask the same pairs to discuss the questions in Exercise
3 and then have a whole-class feedback session. b) There are very few formal terms of address and no
fixed rules in the UK, so this is unlikely to be the
Instructions for Worksheet 2 case.
1 Give out Worksheet 2 and ask the students to read the c) This is the most likely option. Small talk is a key part
first critical incident. Monitor and check understanding, of building a relationship at the start of a meeting
answering any questions where needed. Then ask the and can go on for as much as 20 minutes.
students to discuss the question that follows. d) This might be the reason. Some British people find
(This incident is largely about cultural differences in talking about money, even in some business
attitudes towards time and directness of situations, a bit difficult and often prefer financial
communication. Sally might have been surprised at the negotiations or discussions to take place in writing.
directness of the receptionists response. There could
also be issues related to time some cultures are 3 Discuss as a whole class some of the issues from the
much more monochromic and follow the clock rather two situations attitudes to time, direct communication,
than the event.) politeness and taboo topics.
reactions caused by a lack of familiarity), likely option, which of the other options you clearly need to know the target culture
Knowledge (such as the structure of work, might be possible and which are unlikely to well from either living there or through
roles and hierarchy) and Categorisation be the reason for the situation occurring. extensive research. If you are writing
(the way to respond to particular There are over 100 examples of these in critical incidents with options, then it is
situations, such as greeting someone). the Cushner and Brislin book and many best to pilot the incident with other people
Critical incidents typically explore one or more available on the net that are both from the target culture to check that you
more of these themes, and encourage culture-specific and culture-general. have chosen the most likely options.
students to think about the behaviour of An alternative to providing a story with By using critical incidents in class,
the individuals in a story and to assess options is to use a more open-ended you can not only encourage discussion
why there was a difficulty or breakdown. approach in which the critical incidents and fluency practice, but also help your
In both culture-general assimilators and presented still explore the same themes, students to analyse both their own and
culture-specific assimilators, the critical but dont prescribe fixed options for other peoples reactions and behaviour in
incidents can be accompanied by a students to choose from. They are left different situations. Hopefully, this will
number of different options for the students more open for the students to discuss and give students the tools to move ET p
beyond
to choose from. These options present explore the situation, and for the class to simplistic cultural stereotyping.
different reasons for the misunderstanding analyse their knowledge of the situation
for the students to choose from. The and the feelings they themselves might Cushner, K and Brislin, R Intercultural
Interactions: A Practical Guide Sage
students can discuss which option best encounter in the given situation.
Publications 1996
explains why the difficulty or unexpected There are two worksheets on page 14
Hofstede, G, Hofstede, G J and Minkov,
situation occurred. Each of the options is accompanying this article. The instructions M Cultures and Organizations: Software
accompanied (on a separate sheet) by a for these are in the box above. The first of the Mind (3rd edition) McGraw Hill 2010
description of what is the best or most worksheet contains some brief statements Samovar, L, Porter, R and McDaniel, E
for discussion around some wider Intercultural Communication: A Reader
cultural themes of self, time, power and Wadsworth Cengage Learning 2012
Critical incidents communication. The second is a culture-
Louis Rogers is a Course
encourage students to general and culture-specific one Tutor at the University of
orientated towards the UK. It would be Reading, UK. He is the
think about the behaviour quite easy to construct similar worksheets
author of Reading Skills
and Writing Skills, in the
yourself to cover some of the broad- DELTA Academic
of the individuals in a Objectives series, and
scoping issues such as time or power. the Intermediate and
story and to assess why For further information on some of these Upper-Intermediate
levels of the Business
themes, the work of Geert Hofstede, Result Skills for Business
there was a difficulty found in many business and management Studies workbooks,
published by OUP.
or breakdown books, can be a good starting point. In
l.j.rogers@reading.ac.uk
order to write culture-specific activities,
Worksheet 1 Worksheet 2
1 Read the questions and choose the 1 Read the incident below and discuss the question that
option from each pair that best follows.
describes you.
Sally was working in the offices of her company in another
1 Which statement do you think of first
country for a few months. A parcel arrived for her at the front
when you are presented with a
desk and she went to collect it. While she was there, she talked
problem?
to the receptionist and asked her a few questions. She was
a) I know what I need to do to solve
really impressed at how friendly and helpful she had been and
this situation.
felt that the receptionist was very professional. Later, Sally saw
b) I know who best to speak to for
help. the receptionist leaving the building and remembered one more
question she had. The receptionist told Sally that she was on
2 Which statement best describes your
her break and that her question would have to wait until later.
feelings at work?
Sally was surprised by the response and change in attitude.
a) I have a formal relationship with my
manager and there is clear distance Why do you think they saw the situation differently?
between us.
2 Read the incident below and discuss the question that
b) I have an informal relationship with
follows.
my manager and feel like an equal.
Hans recently had a challenging meeting in London. He had
3 Which statement is most like you?
been in contact with the company for some time via email and
a) I like to focus on one thing at a time
felt that he had built up a good relationship with his clients.
and dont like interruptions.
However, when the meeting happened, things did not go as
b) I like multi-tasking and dont mind
smoothly as he had hoped. It wasnt entirely clear who was in
interruptions.
charge and no one seemed to use formal terms of address with
4 Which statement is most like you?
anyone. There was also a long time spent talking about his
a) If there is a problem, Id prefer to be journey and the weather, and a lot of fussing over tea and
told directly.
coffee. After about ten minutes he tried to move them on to
b) I dont like confrontation and so will discussions of the contract but was surprised about their
suggest there might be a problem.
negative reaction. He was also surprised at their unwillingness
2 Work with a partner and explain why and awkwardness in talking about money and that they
you chose each option. preferred an offer letter. The constant negative jokes about
themselves also made him lose some confidence in their
3 Discuss these questions with a
company.
partner.
Why do you think the situation did not go as well as he had
a) Do you think your culture focuses more
hoped?
on the importance of an individual or a
group? a) Hans is not very good at forming relationships with clients.
b) Do you think there is a strong hierarchy b) Hans did not know how to show respect to the most senior
in your culture? person in the room.
c) How do you feel when people are late? c) Hans was not aware that the small talk was actually a key
part of the meeting.
d) Do you think people in your culture are
direct or indirect? d) Hans spoke too directly about money.
Learning lexis:
Adjectives
Isobel Fletcher de Tllez recommends ten ways for teaching adjectives.
I
t is sometimes difficult to know by fixed collocations, matching exercises are Patterns with past participles
looking at an isolated word useful for getting students used to the striped pyjamas
whether or not it is an adjective: association of certain adjectives and checked tablecloth
adjectives are morphologically very nouns. Many of the ideas below already spotted tie
varied. Whether or not it is acting as an have matching elements, or can be lined paper
adjective depends on the words usage, adapted to make matching exercises. Seasons
usually betrayed by its position in the Be sure to randomise the words in winter coat/boots
sentence. Adjectives describe nouns, the lists and boxes; for your spring blossom/flowers
acting as modifiers before the noun (best convenience, items are matched up here summer holidays
friend) and qualifiers after the noun with their answers. autumn leaves/colours
(secretary general), where they often
occur as a phrase (the girl with auburn 1 Nouns as adjectives 3 Order of adjectives
hair). They also act as complements Present these lists for the students to A build-up of several adjectives is possible
after linking verbs (She looked strange). complete with a single word from the box. before the noun, although not all
Nouns themselves can act as categories will occur in the same
adjectives (pipe line) often typically in line room towel card
sentence. These will generally be in the
certain genres such as business language order: opinion, qualitative/quantitative,
1 pipe 3 tea
in multiples (deputy human resources colour, classifying (for four, which is the
hair bath
manager). usual maximum). Give the students
air hand
Present and past participles can act these adjectives and several nouns and
washing beach
as adjectives (delaying tactics, smoked let them order them suitably.
salmon). It has been noted that as the 2 board 4 credit
English Romantic poet John Keats committee birthday 1 Opinion
matured, his adjectives changed from seminar business shocking, lovely, amazing, surprising
pre-noun adjectives to pre- and post- dining identification 2 Qualitative/quantitative
noun participles as adjectives. It is a little, three, a few, several hundred,
2 Collocations
certainly the mark of a more advanced an expensive
writer to use participles adjectivally, so Ask the students to collocate suitable
3 Colour
this might be something to introduce to adjectives with given nouns. These can be
white, dark, purple, pale pink
your more advanced students. grammatical or lexical, eg colours, sizes,
materials, etc. Explain to the students 4 Classifying
Like nouns, the lexical content of
adjectives is considerable, and so that there may be several acceptable wooden, two-headed, plastic, Spanish
adjectives will make up a large percentage combinations; these are not fixed 5 Nouns
of the lexical items that students need collocations, and adjectives can collocate house(s), insect(s), wine
to know and use. Similarly, because as freely as necessary. However, in
general terms, certain combinations are 4 Present participles as
they rarely stand alone, they have
significant collocational power, which more likely than others. adjectives
will substantially increase the students Onomatopoeic present participles In each case, ask the students to match
generation of language. crashing noise the words from the two columns.
screeching
rattling
brakes
chains
a) The present participles of transitive
verbs can be used as adjectives to
Here are ten ways to practise adjectives flashing light describe the effect on a person or thing.
with your students. Because adjectives beeping tone They do not describe an intrinsic
occur with nouns, and sometimes in fairly thundering crash quality of the noun.
Follow
may be allowed to show their groups
the questions or instructions if they are
having difficulty in understanding what
is required of them. However, I have
found this is not generally necessary
once the students become accustomed
to this type of activity.
the leader
In activities such as group feedback
or games, where the students are
required to write on the board, a team
writer can also be elected though the
teacher can assign this role in the
interests of saving time.
I
believe that promoting learner to negotiate meaning, using phrases leader selection process, which always
independence by assigning such as What do you mean? and Can you generates a degree of excitement.
individual leadership roles prior to repeat that? Students may at times elect a leader who
the start of a group activity has Ensure that the students are aware has not been contributing to the lesson
advantages for both the students and that the group leaders are responsible (for whatever reason) up to that point.
the teacher: for the entire group and for making sure This is seldom done maliciously it
that everyone understands what is going simply conveys in a friendly manner that
If the students are able to complete
on and remains focused at all times. everyone is required to participate equally.
tasks successfully with minimal
teacher intervention, they are more I have also noticed that assigning
likely to remain focused. Procedure leadership roles in groupwork activities
At the start of a group activity, I ask helps to improve the listening abilities of
Student-to-student interaction time is the students, and is a good confidence
the students to close their books, get
increased. booster to the team leaders, particularly
into groups and choose a group leader.
when their respective groups complete
Accountability is motivational: group They can either volunteer, or they can
play rock, paper, scissors to determine the given task successfully.
leaders are well aware that they are
who gets the role. In most cases, An added benefit is that with the
responsible for facilitating successful
students will volunteer or will ask or team leader being the only person with
group activities.
elect one of their classmates to be the a book open, there are no distractions
It helps in improving self-confidence. leader something they seem to enjoy. (no papers, books, pens, pencils, etc to
The selection process also provides a fidget with), and the students remain
The students will inadvertently focused throughout the activity. ETp
practise certain communication skills, quick break from the lesson routine,
such as negotiating meaning. which gives the students a breather Michael Tasseron is a
before starting the activity. South African who has
The students listening skills are likely In an activity involving answering been teaching English
since 2004. His first
to improve. comprehension questions from the teaching experience
was in China, after
With the focus moving from the coursebook, the group leaders are the which he moved to
teacher to the students, the teacher is only people with the book open, and Japan, where he spent
they read the questions aloud without six years. He is now
able to step back and focus more on teaching in Oman.
providing relevant feedback to the showing them to the others in the
students. group. It is important that everyone else
closes their books and puts their pencils
michael.tasseron@gmail.com
and pens away. If anyone does not
Preparation understand the questions, they can
When assigning roles, make sure that negotiate meaning by asking Can you
everyone gets an equal chance to lead; say that again? or What do you mean? Writing for ETp
so if one student is a group leader in a In other types of group activity, the Would you like to write for ETp?
particular activity, a different student group leader reads the instructions to We are always interested in new writers
should be chosen to lead the group in the the other members of the group. The and fresh ideas. For guidelines and
next one. This is important, regardless group leader thus has the responsibility advice, write to us or email:
of how the students are grouped. of ensuring that everyone is clear about helena.gomm@pavpub.com
Make sure that the students are able what they are expected to do.
complexication
be on the ball. For example, you cant
use the intensifier prompt unless an
adjective is already in place, so you need
to get the order right. For this reason,
when the students are working in groups,
Paul Bress prompts his students to produce more complex sentences.
its best to conflate the intensifier prompt
and the adjective prompt into a single
Y
ouve probably all seen, taught or corner drives that absolutely huge
taken part in a lesson in which Mercedes thats parked under the tree. adjective phrase; prompt.
elementary students have to keep That really old man whos standing in the Note that, in my example, Ive used
on adding to a list of things theyve corner drives that absolutely huge a monotransitive verb (drive). You need
supposedly bought in a supermarket: I
Mercedes thats parked under the tree, but to use one of these to have both a
he lives in a bedsit. subject noun phrase and an object noun
went to the supermarket and I bought a That really old man whos standing in the
litre of milk, a loaf of bread and a carton phrase. But if you use a ditransitive
corner drives that absolutely huge verb (eg give) or an intransitive verb (eg
of yoghurt, etc. Although the strain on Mercedes thats parked under the tree, but
the short-term memory may be off- exist), you are automatically altering the
he lives in a tiny bedsit. etc
putting, students still appear to gain degree of complexification.
some pleasure and satisfaction from Using prompts Some teachers may be tempted to get
creating an ever-longer sentence with Teachers can use large flashcards to their students to manipulate the tense
the limited language they have at their indicate how the students have to but, in the case of the example sentence
disposal. Theyre probably used to saying complexify the sentence. Smaller above, it ends up being nonsense and not
one short sentence and then clamming versions of these cards can be used in good language for the students to aspire
up but now theyre holding the floor small groups of students. Here are some to. Its probably better, therefore, to
for a good half a minute! suggested prompts: practise a different version of the
In my experience, students generally exercises Im suggesting here.
ADD AN ADJECTIVE TO
like to be asked to produce ever more THE SUBJECT NOUN PHRASE.
complex sentences. This may not ADD AN INTENSIFIER TO
constitute an obviously communicative THE SUBJECT NOUN PHRASE. I could understand why some teachers
act but, nonetheless, they may find ADD A PREPOSITION PHRASE TO might think that the above suggestions
themselves becoming more empowered THE SUBJECT NOUN PHRASE. have an old-fashioned ring to them and,
ADD A RELATIVE CLAUSE TO furthermore, that perhaps the prompts
as they manipulate language with
THE SUBJECT NOUN PHRASE. might be too difficult. My response
increasing ease.
ADD AN ADJECTIVE TO would be that its important to limit how
Complexifying sentences THE OBJECT NOUN PHRASE.
often you undertake such an exercise and
ADD AN INTENSIFIER TO
Imagine that two people are at a party THE OBJECT NOUN PHRASE.
to teach the language of the prompts
and are talking about a third person. ADD A PREPOSITION PHRASE TO with great care (I dont think the noun
One says to the other: That man drives THE OBJECT NOUN PHRASE. phrase is a particularly hard concept to
a Mercedes. Here we have a very basic ADD A RELATIVE CLAUSE TO grasp it can be done by using the idea
subject (noun phrase)verbobject (noun THE OBJECT NOUN PHRASE. of slots). Once youve taken the trouble
phrase) sentence. Lets first see how we ADD BUT TO INTRODUCE to set up this complexification work,
can expand the sentence by adding to A NEW CLAUSE. you should find that any reasonably
the two noun phrases: It can be just as demanding to ask the motivated class will take to it like a duck
That man drives a Mercedes. students to modify the sentence in some to water or an old duck to freezing
That old man drives a Mercedes. way. For example: cold water ... or a very old duck to
That really old man drives a Mercedes. That really old man whos standing in the absolutely freezing cold water ... ETp
That really old man in the corner drives a corner drives that absolutely huge Mercedes
Paul Bress lives in
Mercedes. thats parked under the tree, but he lives in a Whitstable, UK, where
That really old man whos standing in the tiny bedsit. he works as a part-time
corner drives a Mercedes. PROMPT: ALTHOUGH teacher of English to
overseas students and
That really old man whos standing in the
Here, the students have to rearrange the also writes novels. His
corner drives a huge Mercedes. novels are: The Man
sentence so that but is replaced with Who Didnt Age, The
That really old man whos standing in the
corner drives an absolutely huge Mercedes.
although (Although that really old man Dysfunctional Family,
For Adults Only and The
That really old man whos standing in the whos standing in the corner drives that Check-out Operator, all
corner drives that absolutely huge absolutely huge Mercedes thats parked published by Fast-Print
under the tree, he lives in a tiny bedsit). and available in Kindle.
Mercedes under the tree.
Other prompts that can be used with paulbress@talktalk.net
That really old man whos standing in the
Correcting
oral errors
Meng Tian focuses on effective feedback.
C
ommunicative language Factors activities, sometimes called controlled
teaching has convinced practice activities are designed to
teachers that in order to get There are many issues which need careful encourage correct production of newly
English language learners consideration, including the teachers presented language or to correct errors
communicating well in the target and learners roles in error correction, later on, while the goal of
language, interaction activities must be what errors to correct and how to correct communicative activities is to get the
incorporated into lessons so that they them. In addition, the learners level learners to use new language in more
can practise speaking with their peers and attitudes need to be taken into natural communication. This distinction
and with the teacher. However, whilst consideration. Error correction can, helps teachers decide the extent to
communicating in ones mother tongue therefore, be very complicated since all which errors should be corrected. In
is natural, communicating in another these factors will influence its efficacy. non-communicative activities, teachers
language is very demanding, especially Decisions about how to react to the should focus on accuracy and try to
for low-level learners. The learners performance should be based
communication process requires on the following factors:
accuracy and fluency in the target 1 Error categories
If the students
language, while the planning and editing Distinguishing between different types are given appropriate
time is very limited and some necessary of errors can help teachers decide which
language components are likely still to be errors can be self-corrected or peer-
feedback, they will
unfamiliar or even unknown. Therefore,
it is inevitable that learners will make
corrected and which need to be teacher- gradually come to
corrected. Some errors can be self-
errors during the learning process. corrected by the learners completely know the difference
Although errors indicate that the unprompted or with the guidance of the
learners grasp of English is imperfect, between correct and
teacher or other learners. Some, however,
there are positive aspects to be are produced regularly and systematically incorrect language
considered. On the one hand, the and can be much more deeply ingrained.
learners are taking part in a challenging The learners might not know what the
interaction, trying to express themselves correct form should be or may know correct the learners errors immediately.
in another language. They are what the correct form should be, but are With communicative activities, it is
experimenting with what they have not able to produce it for themselves. better for teachers to avoid over-
learnt. If they are given appropriate correction and focus the learners
feedback, they will gradually come to 2 Interaction aims attention on the communication of
know the difference between correct and In terms of the aim of interaction, a ideas rather than specific grammar
incorrect language. On the other hand, distinction is often made between non- points or vocabulary usage.
by noticing and correcting the students communicative and communicative But when should teachers correct
errors, teachers can get an idea of what activities. As Jeremy Harmer explains, errors? The options include:
needs to be focused on in future lessons: the former are generally intended to immediately; after a few minutes; at the
errors can reveal how much new ensure accuracy, while the latter are end of the activity; later in the lesson; at
language has been absorbed and how designed to improve language fluency. the end of lesson; in the next lesson; later
much further practice is needed. In other words, non-communicative in the course; never. If the objective is
oral errors
especially during the early stages of
clear; perhaps you would like to revise it.
What do you think? and praise, such as
Good job or Youre making progress
will boost their confidence and morale.
language. Michael Swan and Bernard
Smith have produced a useful analysis
and categorisation of common errors
made by learners of English from
language learning. As Stephen Krashen It is not hard to find areas of different countries.
points out, errors are inevitable and will improvement in learners work. For Encouraging the learners to keep an
be plentiful as learners learn and example, successful communication, error correction notebook (with notes
experiment in using new language. In accurate use of grammar points recently of any errors made and their
short, errors are an important part of learnt, use of new vocabulary, good corrections) can be a helpful strategy.
learning and the feedback teachers give pronunciation, and so on. The use of This will help the learners to monitor
plays a vital role in this process. positive comments will neutralise any their errors and provides a useful
The learners response to correction negative emotions created by correction. revision tool and a way of encouraging
should be taken into consideration, too. them to be more independent.
Error correction touches not only the If necessary, teachers should give
cognitive skills, but also the affective
Some learners remedial sessions highlighting any
recurring errors in order to develop the
aspects of language learning, which may have a passive learners awareness of common errors.
include feelings and attitudes. Teachers
must, therefore, be careful to avoid attitude toward This is a face-saving technique, as
causing negative reactions when they individual learners will not be in the
correction and will spotlight and those who recognise their
correct. Learners who lack confidence
in their language ability may become expect the teacher own errors in those that are highlighted
discouraged, especially when correction will be consoled by the knowledge that
is given without explanation and they
to identify and correct they are not alone in making them. Just
make sure that no names are mentioned
dont know what to do with the errors for them when highlighting the errors!
feedback given by the teacher.
Moreover, comments like I dont
understand what you are saying can Strategies
damage the learners self-esteem.
Some learners may have a passive Teachers should be equipped with We must all bear in mind that the aim
attitude toward correction and will enough knowledge of the grammar, of correction is to bring about self-
expect the teacher to identify and vocabulary, and so on of the target awareness and improvement, and when
correct errors for them. language to enable them to provide good giving correction teachers should not
lessons without misleading the learners forget to give positive feedback on the
and causing teacher-induced errors. learners work. If this is not done as a
Implementation While preparing lesson plans, teachers matter of routine, it can be hard to
The effectiveness of any error correction should familiarise themselves with all maintain a positive and cooperative
depends on its implementation. Both aspects of an item of language they are working atmosphere. ETp
teachers and learners have to try to focusing on. The more they know about
replace negative reactions with a the language they are going to teach, the Cohen, A D Language Learning Heinle &
positive outlook. Teachers can help by less likely they are to make mistakes. Heinle 1990
explaining to the learners the purpose of At the same time, teachers should Harmer, J The Practice of English
identify the typical grammatical, lexical Language Teaching Pearson 2007
correction and the techniques they will
use. This explanation can include the and pronunciation problems associated Krashen, S D Principles and Practice in
Second Language Acquisition Prentice
fact that the amount and timing of the with the nationality of the learners. This
Hall 1987
correction will depend on whether the will help them predict the sort of errors
Swan, M and Smith, B Learner English
emphasis of an activity is on accuracy the learners may make and enable them CUP 2001
or fluency, to what extent they intend to to cope with them more easily.
correct errors, how they are going to Language transfer has long been seen to Meng Tian has 12 years
provide feedback and how the learners be a source of learning difficulties and of tertiary English
teaching experience at
can help each other in error correction. errors. Contrastive analysis of Shanxi Normal
This will help to create positive attitudes languages indicates that dissimilarities University, P R China,
and Assumption
towards error correction and a between the native and the target University, Thailand. She
supportive atmosphere in class. language may cause confusion leading is currently taking a PhD
in ELT at Assumption
Positive feedback, acknowledging to errors (negative L1 transfer) instead University. Her research
the learners progress, should always be of facilitating the process of second interests include
discourse analysis,
given alongside any correction. This will language learning (positive L1 transfer). fluency and accuracy,
contribute to the learners motivation Thus, when teaching particular group dynamics and
and their willingness to improve. structures which cause L1 interference creative writing.
Negative comments such as Thats and when doing correction, it can be mengtian08@yahoo.com
I
would like to share with you a great
activity, which will make a CLIL
physics lesson on Newtons laws of
motion not only interesting but also
a lot of fun. The activity also includes an
arts and crafts element. You will need at
least two teaching hours for this. The
physics lesson can be combined with
the arts and crafts activity, and then
you will need one hour outside the
classroom to do the rocket launch
itself. (If you dont teach physics, you
can simply make the rockets in an arts
and crafts lesson and just have fun
watching them fly high up in the sky.)
Before you plan the activity you
should first buy a Rokit kit. These can
be obtained from www.rokit.com, and
they can be used over and over again.
If you have more than 20 students in
your class, it is advisable to buy two
kits in order to avoid long waiting times
for launching the rockets. 1 Introduction to Newton velocity (speed, very quick movement),
You will need plastic drinks bottles During the assignment period, the force (power, physical energy), external
(1.5 to 2 litres capacity; one for each students are given an activity sheet to (outer, outside), accelerate (speed up),
student), paper of different colours, complete with information about the body (object), constant (permanent,
coloured string, glue, scissors and sticky famous physicist Isaac Newton (date stable), at rest (not moving), thrust
tape, your Rokit kit, a bicycle pump, a and place of birth, books he wrote, (forward movement).
stopwatch and a score sheet. things he discovered, areas of Next, introduce Newtons laws of
investigation). They do the research on motion:
The thrust of the internet and then make a large First law: An object that is at rest (is
the activity poster with information and pictures. not moving) will stay at rest if no
Newtons three laws of motion unbalanced force acts upon it.
describe the relationship between the 2 Introduction of the laws Second law: An object that is in motion
forces acting on a body and its of motion (moving) will not change its speed if no
resultant motion. By making and Pre-teach any new vocabulary. Explain unbalanced force acts upon it.
launching rockets, your students will the meanings using synonyms in English Third law: For every action there is
gain a practical understanding of these or, if necessary, provide a translation in an equal and opposite reaction.
laws of physics, and hands-on the students L1. Allow time for
experience of the forces that make repetition of the words. 3 Practical demonstration
squid and motorboats speed through The following words and phrases Make and fly rockets as described
the water and space rockets fly. Here should be introduced beforehand below to show how Newtons laws
are some suggestions for how to use (synonyms are given in brackets): work. (For other practical ideas go to
the rockets in a CLIL physics lesson. motion (movement), in motion (moving), www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/newtlaws.)
Poetry to
create poetry
W
Sruti Akula and riting poetry is usually took place because of both peer
considered to be a higher interaction and studentteacher
R Arul Peppin order art and ordinary interaction. This was noted especially
people are wary of even during peer interaction, when the
Rabitha experiment with making an attempt at it. The learners came up with a lot of
experiment described in this article was alternative words in order to follow the
sonnets to teach language. done in order to see how writing poetry rhyme scheme of the sonnet; this
(here a sonnet) could be made created greater sensitivity among them
interesting with the use of materials and with regard to the use of vocabulary.
adequate guidance. On the one hand,
Learners are capable of taking
activities like this improve the learners
learning seriously.
language skills as they play around with
Although a couple of learners were, in
words and, on the other, they develop
the beginning, not as serious as the
creativity and confidence. (Note: We
others, as a result of seeing everyone
were working with trainee teachers in
participating in an enthusiastic manner,
this experiment but the results will be
they too started working seriously
equally relevant to practising teachers.)
towards the goal (providing lines for the
completion of the sonnet).
The rationale
Learners are capable of independent
Dick Allwright and Judith Hanks decision making.
identify the following features of a When one of the learners was advised
learner-centred approach, and this by the teacher to change his idea so that
experiment addresses them all in the the lines he had given would relate
following manner: better to the other lines of the sonnet,
Learners are unique individuals who he justified his own idea and stuck to
learn and develop best in their own his initial decision.
idiosyncratic ways. Learners are capable of developing as
In our experiment, the learners practitioners of learning.
idiosyncratic ways of learning were The learners achievements in this
respected. No one was forced to follow activity boosted their confidence, and
any hard and fast rules, and they were we believe the effect will be long-lasting
given freedom to participate in their and will enable them to participate
own way. For example, some learners actively in future language classrooms
came up with their responses without having to be forced by the
immediately, but some took their own teacher all the time. This will
time. The teachers gave everyone consequently pave the way for the
enough time to work at their own pace. learners to become their own
Learners are social beings who learn practitioners of learning when given the
and develop best in a mutually required facilitation and at the same
supportive environment. time when their idiosyncratic ways of
In this experiment, a lot of learning learning are respected.
revision
they saw in the text.
8 Collocation grid
Get the students to complete a
collocation/expression grid, based on a
text they have studied. Keep this safe and,
at a later date, get the students to use the
Hugh Dellar revises with his students in class grid to help them reconstruct the text.
I
t is vitally important to revise work in pairs. Student A acts or draws activity they have already done. Let
regularly (preferably daily) in class. one of the words or expressions and them ask questions about anything
However, it is also important to Student B guesses what it is. They then theyve forgotten. Then tell them to
get your students to revise in their swap roles. With higher levels, only give close their books and repeat the task.
own time. You can encourage this by one list to each pair so that only the You might also then do a further
giving them a series of helpful tips: student doing the acting or drawing can practice/extension, with the students
there is a photocopiable example on see it. With lower levels, let the student personalising the task or the language.
page 31, which you can use or adapt who is guessing see the list of words.
10 Organising/grouping
and add your own ideas. Give it to the
students as a handout and invite them 4 Team games language
to keep the page for future reference. Divide the class into two teams. Ask Make a list of language items you have
In addition to these self-study tips, one person from each team to sit at the taught, and ask the students to organise
here are some easy and varied revision front of the class with their back to the the words or expressions into groups.
activities you can do in class. board. Write a word or expression on You can:
the board. Each team has to explain the provide the groups yourself:
1 Rote learning word or expression to their team sometimes they may be slightly bizarre
Ask the students to make a list of words member at the front of the class. The rooms in the house or countries;
and expressions they want to learn over first person to guess gets a point for say how many groups you want but
the following week. They could do this their team. not give the titles;
at the end of the lesson or at home. A quicker (but perhaps less fun way) allow the students a free rein in
Collect their lists, check them and make is for the teacher simply to explain a deciding how to group the items.
any corrections, then get each student to word or expression and each team has In all cases, the students can discuss
write their list out afresh on a clean to shout out or write down the answer. their groupings in pairs or small groups.
piece of paper. Give them a week to Another variation is to have a word
learn their chosen words and on the board and the students can only
expressions. You could also use their shout out collocates rather than Hopefully, you will find these activities
lists for some of the activities below. explanations. easy to put into practice in the classroom
2 5 and as a result your students will find
Choose three expressions Translation
the language you have taught them
Ask the students to choose three Get the students to translate the easier to remember! ETp
expressions from their notes. They then expressions they learnt in the previous
mingle and discuss one of the following: lesson and compare with a partner. (In Hugh Dellar is a teacher
why they like the expressions they multilingual classes, they should compare and teacher trainer at the
University of Westminster,
have chosen; with someone who speaks the same London, UK. He has been
why they think they are useful; language.) At a later date, the students teaching for almost 20
years, mostly in the UK
what they mean; could use their lists of translations to test but also in Indonesia.
when they have used them or think each other one points to the translation He is the co-author of
two General English
they might use them in future. and the other says the English. series, Innovations and
Outcomes, both
3 Act or draw 6 What do you remember? published by National
Geographic Learning.
Make a list of words and expressions Read out a text the students have
hughdellar@mac.com
and hand them out. Ask the students to studied. Stop mid-sentence (or mid-
It is important to revise regularly (preferably daily), looking again at the parts of the book
you have studied in class as well as your notebooks.
Here are some good tips to get the most from your learning experiences by revising language at home.
1 It can be a good idea to have two notebooks. One 4 Do any gap-fill exercise from the book again and
for use in class and one for revision. When you get see if you remember the missing words. To make
home, have a look at the notes you took in class this a bit more challenging you can re-do a gap-fill
and organise them in your revision notebook. without looking at the words given.
A few days later, look at the translated 9 Choose up to five expressions that you like and
sentences and translate them back to English.
think are useful. Think of a situation when you
Compare your translations to the original
might use them. Then try to use them in the week
sentences in English. Think carefully about any
ahead. Dont worry about making mistakes. You
differences.
learn from mistakes.
Repeat this a few days later and see if you have
translated the whole expression correctly this 10 Re-read a text from the coursebook. Underline
time. between eight and 12 key words. Then, using only
these key words, try to retell the story. When you
3 If you work with a study partner, you can test each get stuck, give yourself a minute to check the text,
other by saying collocations or sentences in your close the book again and carry on. You can do this
own language. Your partner then says the English on your own or with a study partner.
collocation or sentence. (Only do this with
collocations or complete sentences, not with
Good luck!
single words.)
Initial Surname
Institute
Address
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Postcode Country
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3 Binders
12.50 (inc. VAT) + 4.95 postage and packing
4 Payment
I enclose a cheque made payable to Pavilion Publishing (Brighton) Ltd
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his is the second time I have and perhaps even Beowulf? In Book 3, The Midwich Cuckoos
(Frankenstein), R L Stevenson (Dr Jekyll very small except for one giant (Book 1 the basic dilemmas his plots set up and for
and Mr Hyde), Jules Verne (Journey to of Gullivers Travels)? What if extra- the way he makes them seem credible.
the Centre of the Earth), H G Wells (The terrestrials took over a village and The Day of the Triffids which asks the
War of the Worlds). But, of course, it is impregnated all the women with their question What would happen to humans
arguable that sci-fi has an even longer children (The Midwich Cuckoos)? What if if a species of plant developed which had
pedigree. a race developed which could alternate intelligence, could move around and had
Surely Jonathan Swifts Gullivers between male and female characteristics a lethal poison? is another of his highly
Travels qualifies (especially Books 3 and 4) (The Left Hand of Darkness)? readable and original novels.
IT WORKS IN PRACTICE
Do you have an idea which you would like to contribute to All the contributors to It Works in Practice get a prize! We
our It Works in Practice section? It might be anything from especially welcome joint entries from teachers working at
an activity which you use in class to a teaching technique the same institution. Why not get together with your
that has worked for you. Send us your contribution, by colleagues to provide a whole It Works in Practice section
post or by email to helena.gomm@pavpub.com. of your ideas? We will publish a photo of you all.
Speak!
poor rapport between the learners and
the teacher or amongst the learners
themselves. Olwyn Alexander, Sue
Argent and Jenifer Spencer suggest that,
while individuals need time to develop
confidence, they need to be persuaded
to contribute early when the ideas being
Please,
discussed are still basic. Indeed, if they
dont contribute early, then they will
probably never contribute.
3 Performance factor
The final factor Thornbury identifies
concerns the learners language: they
speak!
may not have enough language to
formulate an answer or utterance. In
fact, they might not even understand
the question being asked. Therefore, it is
essential to ensure that the task is
appropriate to the learners ability.
A
central aim of most ELT Scott Thornbury suggests three addressed, or it might be that small-talk
lessons is to get the learners to factors which could prevent learners and chit chat are unfamiliar concepts in
communicate orally. Indeed, from communicating. the learners culture. It might take time
Tricia Hedge states that the to overcome this fourth factor if,
1 Cognitive factor
challenge of the language classroom is indeed, we believe that we actually can
not only to create opportunities for all Learners might be reluctant to speak
and should. Below are some suggestions
the learners to speak, but also to prepare because the topic being discussed is
which might go some way towards
them for speaking spontaneously. In unknown. Or, even if the topic is not
creating an atmosphere where the
many instances, this can be easily unknown, they might have little or no
learners want to speak.
achieved through the right use of opinion about it. One way to overcome
materials and exercises. However, how these problems could be to discuss only
many of us are faced with learners (if familiar topics (such as the learners The English-friendly
not the whole class) who are incredibly country or hobbies). However, this classroom
reluctant to speak? Getting these learners would soon get boring. A more
The first step is to create, as Jim
to communicate orally can be difficult adventurous way would be to use input
Scrivener describes, a classroom where
and a failure to do so can leave both (such as websites and texts) to give the
learners were free to use their own tongue
learners and teachers feeling annoyed learners a variety of different opinions
whenever they wanted, but in fact mostly
and frustrated. I will outline several and vocabulary about a previously
chose to use English. Of course, this
reasons why some learners might be unknown topic. They could then use
sounds ideal in theory, but how can we
reluctant to communicate in class, this input to facilitate forming and
achieve it in practice? Scrivener suggests
suggest some ways of creating a expressing their own point of view. The
many ways of doing this:
classroom environment where they want point needs to be made, though, that
to speak in English, and finally present discussion topics need to be relevant to The classroom should have English
some speaking exercises for motivating the learners, and should give all learners posters on the wall. (I would add that
less vociferous class members. the opportunity to contribute. having English newspapers and
magazines available also creates the
2 Affective factor feeling of an area where English is
Reasons for reluctance The affective factor comes into play used.)
Although it is quite easy to recognise when the learners suffer from low self-
which learners might be hesitant to esteem and are anxious about speaking. There should be a lot of listening and
speak, it is an altogether different On the other hand, they might simply working on fluency activities. This
matter to suggest reasons for this lack of harbour negative attitudes towards could be done as pairwork or
communication. learning English. In both cases, groupwork.
I would also suggest that you should could be about their hobbies or another
Nicholas Northall works
smile, use humour (if appropriate) and personal topic, such as their home town, at the English Language
be yourself. Arrive at the classroom their family, etc. Teaching Centre at the
University of Sheffield,
early (perhaps a few minutes before the UK, where he teaches
lesson is due to begin) and use this Information gap EAP and contributes to
the centres teacher
opportunity to chat about normal Information-gap activities can be such training programme. He
everyday things with less vocal students. things as discussing different or similar has worked in ELT for
over ten years.
Chatting in the classroom is a good idea drawings, communicating information
as it gives the learners the chance to to complete a table or a text with
share their lives. Finally, remember it missing information, etc. The learners
work in pairs and each has slightly northalln@hotmail.com
can take time to build up a relationship.
Singular or plural?
John Potts charts the intricacies and idiosyncrasies,
the contradictions and complications that make the English language
so fascinating for teachers and teaching. In this issue, he considers why a speaker
of English can get in a muddle over their choice of singular or plural forms.
O
Heres another example, this time a caption to a
is the seemingly cavalier way it treats singulars photograph accompanying a news story in The Guardian
and plurals. For example, most native speakers newspaper:
would find the following sentence, taken from an
A passenger rests at Terminal 4 of Heathrow airport while
online essay on an American English website and dated
waiting for news of their flight.
February 2009, perfectly acceptable:
Interestingly, the passenger in the photograph is a woman,
I believe that everybody is doing their best with the
but nevertheless the caption writer did not choose to write
resources they have at a given moment in time.
her flight.
In contrast, many learners will be puzzled by the switch
from everybody is to their best followed by they have, all
within a few words in the same sentence. Later in the same However, the problem of singular and plural also occurs
online essay, we find: with nouns where gender isnt the issue. Look at these
nouns what do they have in common?
When the store clerk is rude, I remind myself that they are
doing their best with the resources they have. I then ask team company group family Liverpool (football club)
myself if I have any resources to offer them. Inevitably I do. Apple The Faces (rock group)
Ill offer them the small token of a smile or a kind word and All refer to a unit that actually comprises several or
that often shifts their resources enough to make their best numerous people, and native speakers will sometimes
at their next moment in time something much better. regard such nouns as singular, and sometimes as plural.
Quite clearly, the writer is using the plural pronouns they, For example, we can argue that family has two related
their and them to refer to a store clerk, so why the plural meanings: one as a social unit and one as a collection of
forms? One explanation is that we dont know whether the individuals related to each other. So we could plausibly
store clerk is male or female since English very rarely say that the family is still important in modern society and
indicates gender in nouns, and so the singular forms would the family are all getting together for Christmas. In the first,
be extremely clumsy: we treat the concept as one single unit and in the second
as numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.
When the store clerk is rude, I remind myself that he or she
is doing his or her best with the resources he or she has. I This is logical but, as weve seen, native speakers may
then ask myself if I have any resources to offer him or her. simply hop between singular and plural seemingly as the
Inevitably I do. Ill offer him or her the small token of a smile mood takes them. Not infrequently, theyll do this in the
or a kind word and that often shifts his or her resources same sentence. Here are some examples taken from the
enough to make his or her best at his or her next moment internet:
in time something much better. Liverpool look like a team that thinks the title race is still
To prevent this, we use the plural form as a kind of all open. BBC Radio 5 Live, 22 March 2009
purpose or genderless alternative. A much simpler According to Wu, Apple is waiting for flash memory
solution, in this example, would be to make the original prices to decline but are otherwise ready to launch.
subject plural: MacRumors, US tech website, March 2007
When store clerks are rude, I remind myself that they are This group of musicians are enjoying themselves: Mick
doing their best with the resources they have. I then ask Hucknall, Kenney Jones and Ronnie Wood.
myself if I have any resources to offer them ... The Telegraph, 5 August 2010
For each, there are two possible versions if we want to be We can see what has happened here: the initial singular
consistent: subject (a plague) was made more complex by adding of +
plural nouns (bags, fridges), followed in this case by a list
Liverpool looks/look like a team that thinks/think the title
of other items. The writer ignores or forgets the initial
race is still open.
singular at the start of the sentence and chooses a plural
According to Wu, Apple is/are waiting for flash memory verb form to match the plural nouns (and the list) found
prices to decline but is/are otherwise ready to launch. before it.
This group of musicians is/are enjoying itself/themselves: And finally, look back to my sentence above introducing
Mick Hucknall, Kenney Jones and Ronnie Wood. this point:
The third example is interesting, as it includes a reflexive
Another factor in the singular/plural conundrum is complex
pronoun. Notice the difference between these sentences:
subjects.
The class was clearly enjoying itself. (class = one unit)
Sometimes, when native speakers see the plural that
The class were clearly enjoying themselves. (class = several
follows the verb (here, the complement of is, namely
students)
complex subjects) they are misled into making the verb
The class wrote the magazine all by themselves. (individual
agree with it:
class members each wrote something)
Another factor in the singular/plural conundrum are
Someone in the class made a podcast all by themself. (only
complex subjects.
one person (male? female?) made a podcast). This use of
themself as a singular, gender-free, reflexive pronoun is All in all, then, there is plenty to unravel with something as
relatively new, and not accepted by some speakers. My apparently straightforward as singular and plural. Its
spell-checker wont accept it, for example! enough to make a learner (or a teacher) tear their hair out!
COMPETITION RESULTS
8 12 17 15 25 2 4 23 25 12 24 10 22 Congratulations to all Anne Aubrun, Dampicourt, Belgium
M A R K E T Q U E A S Y I
22 25 19 23 12 3 9 17 16 those readers who Sarah Busslinger, Untersiggenthal, Switzerland
I E H U A W O R D successfully completed Guillaume Gombert, Paris, France
16 25 26 22 16 25 12 17 13 25
D E C I D E A R L E our Prize Crossword 51. David Greenslade, Cefn Cribwr, UK
16
D
9
O
8
M
22
I
5
N
14
G
13
L
25
E
15
K
22
I
5
N
The winners, who will Jihanne Khouzaimi, Paris, France
13 23 17 26 19 2 9 10 18 2 each receive a copy of Jenny Lam, New York, USA
L U R C H T O Y V T
25 5 16 25 22 7 25 2 22
the Macmillan English Cora Leder, Wettingen, Switzerland
E N D E I B E T I Dictionary for Advanced Bruno Martin, Paris, France
12 12 23 24 2 25 17 22 2 10 2
A A U S T E R I T Y T Learners, are: Joshua Minder, Ennetbaden, Switzerland
9 6 6 12 13 10 12 2 11 12 10 Iftikhar Sharif, Sialkot, Pakistan
O F F A L Y A T P A Y
6 17 6 17 6 22 14 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
F R F R F I G J T W Q N F B M O Y P A L
1 25 24 2 22 26 9 5 22 26 26 9 2 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
J E S T I C O N I C C O T G K D R V H X Z I U S E C
26 5 17 2 9 12 9
C N R T O A O 25 26 9 5 9 8 22 26 24 22 24 25 20 2 17 25
24 2 12 5 16 12 17 16 10 9 13 20 E C O N O M I C S I S E X T R E
S T A N D A R D Y O L X 8 25 13 10 23 24 25 6 23 13 12 24 12 6
25 9 5 25 13 9 22 M E L Y U S E F U L A S A F
E O N E L O I 9 17 8 9 6 25 8 11 13 9 10 8 25 5 2
25 16 14 25 26 12 5 5 12 17 26 O R M O F E M P L O Y M E N T
E D G E C A N N A R C 6 9 17 25 26 9 5 9 8 22 24 2 24
19 21 25 12 13 9 23 24 5 F O R E C O N O M I S T S
H Z E A L O U S N John Kenneth Galbraith
M
birthpl ace .
It has also become Ep hes ian, having
peak on mainland Greece, is wake of the Games. declared himself an
nt to the Ga mes as to do so by the Ephesian
where the gods lived, the norm to poi being bribed
sel fless ideals. tou s act , he was
according to Greek legend, repres ent ing nob le and people. For this duplici
al ticket s.
and so it was considered a worthy place In the 1936 Games, tot banished by the Cre tan
Re ichsmark, growing trend,
to hold sporting contests. The origins of revenues we re 7.5 mil lion In what is becoming a
a pro fit of over one itch ing citizenships in
the Olympic Games were attributed to the apparently generating many athletes are sw
Ho we ver , the offi cial pet e at the Ga me s. There are
gods, and competing legends persisted million marks. order to com
out lay s by the city nt citi zen ship, and
as to who actually was responsible for budget did nt inc lud e countries willing to gra
marks) or by the lete s in exc han ge for
their genesis. The first Olympic Games of Berlin (16.5 million more, to these ath
al gov ern ment (which is ent atio n and the hon our that
German nat ion their repres
for which we still have written records nt US$30 million). Olympic success.
estimated to have spe comes with potential
were held in 776 BC, though it is generally
In the 2012 Ga me s, almost 1 billion
believed that they had been going on for urity alone (20,000 Plus a change ...
is being spent on sec
many years before that.
iStockphoto.com / jokerproproduction
Most individual gold medals Olympians on film
Ray Ewry of the USA won eight individual gold medals, Johnny Weismuller, who won two
swimming gold medals (in 1924
including three in the standing long jump and the 1928) was best known for playing and in
Tarzan in a series of films of the
standing high jump. He won his final medals in 1908 and name. The part of Tarzan has also same
been played by other Olympians:
his record stood until 2008 when American swimmer Buster Crabbe (swimming bronze
1928), Hermann Brix (shot put silve
Michael Phelps won his ninth individual gold. 1928) and Glen Morris (decathlo r
n gold 1936).
Harold Toshiyuki Sakata, silver med
Most amazing finish allist in 1948 in weightlifting, later
appeared as Oddjob, the villain in
In the 195-kilometre cycling road race in Rome in 1960, the James Bond film Goldfinger.
a great pack of riders approached the finish together.
Mario Zanin of Italy won the gold medal, while Sture
Pettersson at the back of the pack took 51st place
just 0.16 seconds behind the winner.
Anyone for
the swimming
Just not cricket
1908 was the first year in which the Olympics were held
obstacle race?
in London and the last at which the host country was
allowed to supply all the officials. This practice was
changed to avoid accusations of bias after it was
claimed that officials were using megaphones to urge on (Sadly, discontinued)
their home team, and had deliberately broken the tape used to be
to force a re-run of the 400 metres after a British runner Which of the following
bu t are no longer so?
had been beaten. Olympic sports, Answers 1 cricket (las
t
l
6 live pigeon shooting played in 1900); 3 rea
There was also controversy in the 1908 tug-of-war war
1 cricket tennis (1908); 5 tug-of-
contest in which the British team, composed of hefty 7 chess (1920); 6 live pigeon
policemen from Liverpool, competed in enormous boots 2 shove-halfpenny shooting (its first and
only
0);
their boots were so heavy, in fact, that it was only with 8 polo appearance was in 190
t
3 real tennis 8 polo (1936); 9 croque
great effort that they could lift their feet from the ground. (1900); 10 motor boating
9 croquet
The rules stipulated ordinary shoes, and the American 4 bar billiards (1908). 2, 4 and 7 hav
e
rts.
team protested, but to no avail. 10 motor boating never been Olympic spo
5 tug-of-war
A second
enthusiasm. Mihly Cskszentmihlyi
argues that the most influential teachers
are those who love their subject and
whose enthusiasm for it is infectious. If
you can communicate passion and
enthusiasm to your students, you will be
a powerfully motivating teacher.
self 4
As well as having a lively and
enthusiastic teaching presence, it is
important to develop a good relationship
with the students. This means caring
about the students learning and progress
and showing them that you care. It is
also important to have high (but realistic)
expectations of what the students can
Jill Hadfield encourages enjoyment achieve and to communicate these
expectations to them. The Pygmalion
of the Learning Experience. effect, described by Robert Rosenthal and
Leonore Jacobson, shows that students
enjoyment of the teachers presence
I
n this article, we will look at the tend to live up to teacher expectations
third pillar of Zoltan Drnyeis and studentteacher rapport; of them, underperforming when these
L2 Motivational Self System expectations are low and performing
enjoyment of the subject matter and
theory: the Learning Experience. well when they are high. As well as
teaching approach;
This is quite different in nature from the communicating your expectations of
other two pillars the Ideal L2 Self and enjoyment of the learning group and and belief in the students, you need to
the Ought-to L2 Self as it is class climate; demonstrate your concern for their
concerned not with the internal drive of enjoyment of success and self-esteem. progress, both as a class and individually,
the learners, but with external factors by giving help, feedback and advice. This
The absence of any one of these will can be in the form of comments on
such as teacher presence, rapport with
have a demotivating effect. homework as well as in face-to-face
other students, experience of success or
In the next section I will give a conversation, for example in individual
teaching approach and materials. It is
summary of the main implications for tutorial times. You can also demonstrate
also different in nature as it consists of
classroom practice and some practical commitment to individual academic
elements that are necessarily part and
suggestions for activities to use as needs and wants by conducting needs
parcel of the everyday teaching and
starting points. analyses on the students wishes and
learning experience, whereas the other
two components are unfamiliar preferences and responding to these in
theoretical constructs which need Implications for your teaching, even if this limited by
explanation and a careful teasing out on classroom practice syllabus constraints.
the part of the materials designer in As well as showing concern for the
order to see how they could be realised
1 Teacher presence and students academic progress, it is also
in classroom practice. This article, rapport important to make each student feel
therefore, will not follow the careful In several studies of factors affecting that you accept and value them as an
question pattern of the last two; motivation (such as those by Drnyei individual, to be tolerant of differences,
nevertheless, I will explore the idea and Csizr and by Chambers), teacher to listen to and respond to students
more closely to answer these two behaviour was rated the most powerful opinions and feelings and to take an
questions: What is involved in enjoying factor. So, what can teachers do to interest in their personal lives, interests,
the Learning Experience? and What are motivate through their behaviour and hopes and ambitions.
the implications for classroom practice? classroom presence? Firstly, obviously,
they should have a pleasant and
supportive manner. Dynamic teaching is Starting point:
Enjoying the Learning Building rapport
also important: lessons should move at
Experience a lively pace and teachers should bring 1 On the first day of the course, ask the
Any language learning experience an energising and enlivening quality to students to produce a piece of writing
consists of a complex relationship them. Another important factor is a about themselves. You can give out a
between the teacher, the class, the sense of fun: classes are more likely to questionnaire about their background,
subject being taught and the students be motivating and enjoyable if teachers family and interests or, better, write an
sense of self. Enjoyment of the and students can share jokes. This does introduction about your own
Learning Experience thus consists of not mean that the teacher has to be a background and interests, inviting
four interrelated areas: performer: in the best classes, the jokes them to reply with similar information.
self 4 Questionnaire
Case by case
Phil Wade studies the creative use of case studies.
work on the PLC (Product Life Cycle)
of a product or products. Discussing
how to extend this cycle and analysing
eternally popular products is relevant to
most companies, as too is investigating
a products USP (Unique Selling
Proposition).
On a grander scale, an activity
involving creating a business plan for a
A
uthentic case studies can be Each case study is different, and it is new company is certainly worth its
enjoyable for students and good to tailor your approach to the weight in gold as the students have to
teachers as they provide an content or plot of the case. The students look at every area of the business, from
opportunity to delve into and dont always need to read the whole case: finance to human resources management.
discuss real issues. They teach students giving them only part of the story, thus Case studies, particularly the lengthy
about the behaviour of companies, creating an information gap, can form the ones, often come complete with graphs
business skills and culture and can thus basis of a productive lesson. For instance, or charts which can form a basis for
provoke interesting discussions. Case a basic problemsolution case would lend discussion. For example, a chart
studies are usually based on a theme or a itself perfectly to giving the students the representing company profits over ten
description of some part of a business, problem section to read at home and years could then lend itself to work on
while many detail a big change or think of possible solutions to present in hypothesising, explaining, deducing,
improvement in a company. Their the next lesson. At the end of the next comparing, contrasting and predicting.
popularity has meant that many business class, after the students have put
English coursebooks now come with forward their ideas, you could hand out
end-of-unit mini case studies modelled the official solution and they could Authentic cases
on authentic (real) situations and, compare. If there are several solutions to are more relevant to
according to several of my university a problem, then each could be given to a
and pre-MA students, these are often the different team who must develop it and the students as they
most educational aspect of a business sell their solution to the other teams. may have some prior
English course. Generally, my students
prefer authentic case studies to ELT- knowledge of the
Exploiting case studies
style cases, which are frequently designed company or the
to practise certain language points. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of
Authentic cases are more relevant to the case studies is that they provide material business area involved
students as they may well have some for learning about business and trying out
prior knowledge of the company or the business ideas. Several standard business All these basic business areas come
business area involved. Students with theories work very well with them. up in most business English coursebooks
business knowledge or experience can For example, a SWOT (Strengths, in some form, but students rarely see
bring that to the forefront, while Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) them in action in real situations, or get to
newcomers to business can represent the analysis, where the students evaluate a work on them in extended activities. By
average consumer and bring a fresh product or company and look at how it analysing a case study, you can see which
person on the street perspective. can develop or progress in the future, area is covered and then extend it; with a
can be carried out on the company or basic company description case, you are
product described in a case study. more or less free to apply any of them.
Using case studies Doing a PESTLE (Political, For this reason, when you are planning
creatively Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, your course, whether you devote one
Used with classes, case studies can Environmental) analysis is also lesson a week to an authentic case or you
encourage debate and provide a context interesting as this looks at all the run a weekly case-oriented option class,
for natural language usage with the external factors which influence a its good to schedule in varied topics
addition of some welcome language company and its products. and approaches so that every week is
support. Nevertheless, authentic case Marketing and advertising are also not just read, discuss, present.
studies can be long and time-consuming areas which are popular and very
so, rather than devoting countless hours approachable. They often revolve
around the five Ps (Price, Product,
Providing speaking
of lesson time to reading them, it is a
good idea to ask your students to read Place, People, Promotion). Some great opportunities
them at home and then come to class with task-based work could be done on The main activity in a case-centred class
notes on the main issues raised and any tackling a marketing brief. ought to be speaking, and you should
new language theyve found. The lesson With large companies which have identify some part of the case which
can then be focused on speaking and diverse products, carrying out a product provides a gateway into this. For instance,
writing, with the case study as the topic. portfolio analysis in order to see which a case based on the effective downsizing
Case by case
Pre-class
completing your post-lesson assessment, Ask the students to go to
reflect on what went well and what www.thetimes100.co.uk/case-study--
didnt. You may need to adapt or even implementing-a-new-vision-at-virgin-
of a company would lend itself well to revisit areas of interest or necessity. trains--156-399-1.php, read the case
roleplaying a formal meeting with the study about Virgin and complete some
Business theory
company heads of a rival company to of the tasks.
tackle the same issue or, even more 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
In class
interestingly, a negotiation between the SWOT 1 Ask the students to find and make
union representatives and managers from notes on as many Virgin companies
PESTLE
each division. This could then be opened as possible in five minutes from
up for the whole class to discuss in a PPPPP www.virgin.com/company/world-map.
follow-up task. When the students are Discuss the individual companies
Business Plan 2
out of character and back in their own (activities, markets, customers, success)
shoes, they will be able to reflect more Marketing Plan
and the Virgin company as a whole.
and be more honest, but they will also USP
probably be more confident. 3 Discuss how the students think
During these moments, you may PLC Virgin motivates its staff.
find their accuracy slips, but as this is 4 Watch the Virgin Vision case study
Business skills
essentially a fluency exercise, it is best to and make notes on their Virgin
give them only a little linguistic help so Presentations Media Shout scheme for increasing
as not to destroy the real conversation. staff morale and the end result
Negotiations
Also, dont be afraid to stoke the fire (www.youtube.com/watch?v=
and be controversial. It is impossible to Meetings S5Fv8E7kruU).
get everyone to agree and also very Brainstorming 5 Ask the students to work in groups
boring. Students who are confident to evaluate the scheme and decide
Discussions
enough to disagree, explain their views how it could be introduced to all
and justify them will push the Reports parts of Virgin.
conversation into new areas. 6 The groups present and debate their
Procedures for lessons Using supplementary ideas.
1 Group discussion about the main videos 7 Discuss why the scheme would or
points in a case which has been would not work in other companies
read for homework 10% Case studies, particularly long ones, can
and countries.
be quite intensive. A video can be the
2 Language/cultural/business ultimate antidote to heavy work and
focus 5% Free case studies available online:
will add a new interesting dimension to
www.thetimes100.co.uk
3 Case-related task such as a roleplay/ the topic. Of course, a directly related
http://aics.acadiau.ca
negotiation/brainstorming 60% video will be perfect but if you cant
www.business2000.ie/Case_Studies.html
4 Writing work, such as a report, find one, then something which
develops the main idea in a new www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/
email or letter 10% contentBankByTheme?bank=CASE_STU
direction or demonstrates skills such as
5 Post-task discussion 10% DIES&count=0&theme=startingabusiness
negotiation or presentation could also &topicId=1073858805
6 Feedback and further/homework be useful. The internet has numerous
allocation 5% www.smarta.com/advice/case-studies
sites where you can find business-related
www.inc.com/guides/growth/20806.html
Planning for courses videos. Using a video introduces the
www.ksgcase.harvard.edu/content/Case_
When planning a course, it is a good idea of speaking and will always create Web_Resources/Free_Access_to_Web-
idea to plot what type of cases you will a response. Linking the case and the Based_Cases.html
use, the business theory perspective and video is the important part and when
the type of interaction that will take this is done successfully, the result is a Phil Wade has a Business
more mixed-skills lesson which utilises degree, a PGCE, the
place as well. This way you avoid CELTA, MA TESOL and
repeating the same lesson formula and authentic reading and listening. DELTA Module 3. He has
managed an MA business
also topics. Using grids or tables like
those here will help you accomplish English course and has
taught corporate,
foundation, undergraduate
these goals. If your students come to and pre-MBA courses. He
class very enthusiastic or opinionated Virgin lesson plan is a Cambridge examiner,
materials writer,
about what they read, then allow time This is a video-based case study lesson, contributor to BESIG and
and provide activities to build on this. designed for use with laptops or tablets. member of the TESOL
France editorial team.
On the other hand, if they are However, it could also be delivered via a
philawade@gmail.com
uninterested in the case, you may need main projector/laptop combination.
A mares
that, compared to NESTs, non-NESTs
generally encounter more difficulties in
fluency, vocabulary, pronunciation,
listening comprehension, grammar, and
idiomatic English and NESTS are
usually, as Robert Phillipson puts it, the
final arbiter of the acceptability of any
given sample of language. Recent
NEST?
studies into the language competence of
native speakers (NSs) and proficient
non-native speakers (NNSs) continue to
reveal differences between them. Anna
Siyanova-Chanturia and her colleagues,
for example, find that even very
proficient NNSs are slower to process
idiomatic language when reading;
Andrew Sampson untangles learners beliefs Parvaneh Tavakoli finds that NNSs
about native speakers. pause more often than NSs, and for
longer periods, when speaking.
However, there are many cases of
M
any language schools and native speakerness is used as a yardstick
educated non-NESTS whose language
other ELT organisations for employability, and yet there appears
competence is superior to that of many
proudly advertise the fact to be no operative consensus as to what it
native speakers. Kimberley Mulder and
that they have native entails. For the sake of simplicity, I
Jan Hulstijn, for example, in their study
English-speaking teachers (NESTs) told the learners in this survey that
into the competence of native Dutch
among their staff, and this is often NESTs are teachers raised in an
speakers, found a high degree of
assumed to be what learners want. While English-speaking country and non-
variability in native speakers language
the Charter of Fundamental Rights of NESTs are teachers raised in Spain.
knowledge and skills. Mark Rebuck,
the European Union (2000) dictates that While the wording of individual
surveying BBC radio online
organisations in the EU may not, in fact, responses differed from one respondent
programmes, finds that native-speaker
discriminate against non-native speakers to the next, there were broadly six types
speech contains a wide variety of
of English, ELT job adverts can still be of response, as summarised in the box
grammatically incorrect and lexically
found requesting native speakers only. below.
inappropriate utterances. Linguistic
Employers seeking native speakers but
NESTs can provide a better model of competence appears to depend not solely
wishing to appear to heed EU legislation
language, especially pronunciation. on whether a person is a native speaker
may, of course, accept applications from
Almost half the learners surveyed or not, but rather on factors such as
non-native speakers and then choose to
expressed a preference for a NEST on their level of education, profession and
dismiss these on some other grounds.
the assumed grounds of greater age. And, as Phillipson points out, in
While there has long existed a debate
over the relative merits of NESTs and
non-NESTs, what is often overlooked is Number Prefer to be
the opinion of the learners themselves. of taught by a NEST
Do learners actually prefer native- students or non-NEST? Why?
speaking teachers? And if so, why? This
14 NEST NESTs can provide a better model of language,
article reports on a small-scale survey
especially pronunciation.
conducted at a private language school
in Spain to find out learners 6 Non-NEST Since non-NESTs have learnt English as a second
preferences, and discusses the extent to language, they are better qualified to teach it.
which these opinions reflect current
beliefs within the ELT profession. 4 NEST Since NESTs are more competent users of English
than non-NESTs, they can focus their efforts on how
best to teach it in the classroom, rather than on their
Data collection own production of it.
A total of 30 adult learners of general
English were asked if they preferred to 3 Non-NEST Non-NESTs are better equipped to diagnose
be taught by a NEST or non-NEST, and learners problems since they speak the same L1.
why. The problems involved in actually
2 NEST NESTs can teach about the target language culture.
defining NESTs and non-NESTS have
been well documented, for example by 1 No preference No reason given.
George Kershaw, who asserts that
NEST?
cases where the pronunciation of non-
and experience, and not necessarily of
linguistic competence.
Phew!
Choices
So, what is possible for you and what is
a realistic choice? Naturally, there are
some practical aspects of doing an MA
that we would like to point out. Most
programmes at American, British or
Australian universities can either be
Weve
done on campus (full-time or part-time)
or by distance learning. Some
universities offer MA courses or selected
modules off campus at a location close
to interested students, making it easier
for them to attend. Some distance-
learning MA programmes have no face-
nished!
to-face modules, others have a balance
of compulsory meetings at intermittent
weekends or for intensive two-week
sessions. It is necessary to think about
what will work for you in your present
life situation.
Finance
W
Dorothy Sommer and orking in the field of ELT, In addition, financial aspects need to be
we are all involved in taken into consideration. The cost for
Annette Stemmerich education, and it seems, an entire programme can be anywhere
therefore, to be a logical from 12,000 upwards, and careful
tell a tale of MA survival. and natural step to be involved in life-long planning and attention must be given to
learning and professional development the fact that this will have to be paid
ourselves. Studying for a Masters degree within a certain time frame, perhaps in
is one way of doing this. We are two one year or within three years.
teachers who took the plunge each of us
found an MA programme that suited our Support
needs and we havent looked back. Now Finally, its not only important to
that we have finished, we both feel, with consider your financial situation, but
hindsight, that it was the best decision also crucial to think about the amount
we have made since we started teaching. of time you will have available. Are you
Here, we offer some advice and teaching full-time or can you cut back on
guidance for anyone who is thinking the number of hours in the classroom
about embarking on a similar path. for the duration of the degree course?
Do you live alone or do you have the
Before you start support of people directly involved in
your life, such as family or friends, who
Motivation can help take care of daily chores, cook
First of all, you need to decide whether dinner and watch small children for you?
you really want to do an MA, and then Are you going to be able to find time in
start gathering information about different your busy schedule for about 1520
programmes in order to find out which hours a week for reading course
one best fits your needs and career material, related ELT books and
goals. Be sure to choose your university professional journals? In addition, you
according to your specialised area or will need to allocate time for studying for
focus: some degree programmes emphasise exams and writing the papers that you
certain broader fields, such as young will be required to produce, as well as
learners, or areas of research, such as for researching and writing your thesis.
pronunciation. There are different kinds of
motivating factors; some of them may
be intrinsic, eg your desire to learn more
The course experience
about ELT; some may be extrinsic, eg a Back to school
manager or administrator requires you You might be returning to academia
to have a higher degree before you can after a long absence from a university
move up into a coveted position. setting. You may have almost forgotten
M-learning
W
Nick Cherkas looks at hen I first heard the current Recently, though, my English
buzz word m-learning teacher has been doing some really cool
mobile learning from the (mobile learning), I was things with us in class. He actually lets
initially confused about how us use our mobiles for activities! At first
students point of view. mobile phones and other devices could be we couldnt believe it, but we had a class
used in the classroom. I didnt understand discussion about using mobiles in the
how they could help students, but later I lesson. Here are some of the things we
realised their potential. I also realised decided:
that students in my setting Morocco
We all use our mobiles every day, so
always had mobile phones with them.
its useful for us to learn English
Some lucky people had shiny
using something thats relevant to our
smartphones, some had older, more
lives outside the classroom.
basic models. But they all brought their
mobiles to class every lesson some We can use our mobiles to have more
students forgot to bring a pen, but they fun in class as they can be used as a
always had their mobiles! I decided to camera and a recorder, as well as a
view this as an opportunity rather than phone.
an inconvenience, and I started to
Sometimes we can use our mobiles
encourage my students to use the cameras
when we leave the classroom and go
and voice recorders in their phones
around the school grounds and the
more and more. I incorporated the use
neighbourhood: were still practising
of mobiles into some of my existing
English and its great to do this in
classroom activities and developed some
other places rather than the same old
new activities using them as well.
classroom.
I though it best to write about m-
learning from the students point of We need to have some rules. When
view the following words are mine, the teacher tells us to, we have to turn
although the sentiments come from off our phones, for example if were
students whom Ive spoken to. (My own concentrating on something else, like
comments are in blue.) writing or drama.
We have to be respectful to each
other. If we have each others
numbers, were not allowed to send
mean messages or take photos that
they wont want other people to see.
This is a form of bullying and we
My parents always tell me that I use my have strict rules in our class about
mobile too much I always have it on me this. If we break these rules, then we
so I can check my Facebook page, take might not be able to use our mobiles
photos (Why should I carry a camera in class anymore. (This is a
with me like my mum does when Ive got potentially tricky area its best to
a great camera on my phone?), check the be open and honest with the
time (Who needs a watch?), listen to the students, and each school might
radio and keep in touch with my friends. have its own policy about this. Think
At school, teachers always tell us that about the cultural issues around
were not allowed to use our mobiles in recording voices and taking photos
class but it doesnt stop anybody isnt as well. Individual students who
that what silent mode is for? dont want to do this can still take
M-learning
worry, I didnt understand all of them
guess which feeling he had while he was either!) After the conversation had
saying it. It was really funny! After we finished, we spoke to our partners about
had guessed a few, he put us into what we had understood. Then our
part and contribute to activities, groups, asked one person in each group teacher asked us to think about some of
even if they dont want to record to take out their mobile and find the the words they had used in the
themselves or have their photos voice recorder. (The first time, you conversation: to agree (thats right
taken.) might want to give a bit of extra time totally), to show that they understood
for this.) Then he pointed to one of the (I see of course uh huh), to give
Our teacher would have a meeting their opinion (in a nutshell basically
feelings on the board and we had to
with all our parents to explain how at the end of the day). Fortunately,
record ourselves saying the sentence as
we would use mobiles in class so they our teacher had also recorded the call
if we felt that way. My favourite one
wouldnt be upset about this. on another phone so we could listen
was curious! When wed done this, we
We wouldnt use our mobiles all the listened back to our sentences and had again. The words and phrases which we
time, to make sure that it didnt to guess which feeling matched with heard can all be used to help us have a
become boring. Our teacher which of the sentences. conversation, and we practised using
explained that mobiles are just It was really useful for me because it them. Then we wrote them on some big
another tool which can help us to helped me remember the meaning of pieces of paper and stuck them on the
learn and have fun with English, like the feelings, and I could hear my wall of the classroom so we can use
computers, coloured pens or CDs. pronunciation and correct my mistakes. them again and remember them better.
(Variety is the spice of life, but too For example, I learnt that we dont say
much is haphazard and reliance on for a as two separate words it actually Hanging on the
one tool just gets boring!) sounds more like furra! English is a
funny language. It was really good fun telephone
Its really fun to use our mobiles, and and weve done this activity with other One time, our teacher really surprised
its easy because we always have them feelings. Its really useful to hear your us. In the middle of the class, he took
with us. We like it because it shows that voice recorded to help you to correct your his phone out of his pocket and
the teacher understands how we pronunciation, and we can correct each answered a call! We all went quiet and
communicate with each other and how others pronunciation in this way, too. couldnt believe it some students felt a
we have fun outside school, and it lets (This is where you could incorporate a bit angry that he would do this. I felt
us enjoy English more. I think that if study skills session on how students like I had to listen, though. Anyway, he
youre having a good time in the can improve their pronunciation.) ended the call and then told us that it
classroom, its easier to learn, and I
wasnt really a call! We had to tell our
always look forward to my English
With a little help from partners what our teacher had said, and
lessons because theyre different and
then he asked us some questions about
more interesting than other lessons. my friends the call was he happy or angry? Was it
Before this, we had had a discussion in from his family, a friend or his boss? Our
Feelings, nothing more class about how it was really difficult to next task was to rewrite the conversation
than feelings listen to conversations in English and and imagine what the person on the
how, whenever we spoke to a native other end of the line had said. Again,
Last week, our teacher asked us what speaker, we sometimes found it difficult the teacher had recorded what he said
was important when communicating in to speak. We also thought that the so we had a chance to listen again to
English. We said that it was important listening exercises in our book didnt check our answers. After this, we wrote
to be clear, to use correct language, to really sound like any of the real English our own conversations and acted them
use body language, to maintain eye conversations that we had heard. So our out in groups one person acted one
contact, and to use proper intonation so teacher connected his mobile to some side of the conversation to one group,
that people know if youre asking a speakers, and then called one of his the other person to another group. Then
question and how you feel. friends (with a little help from more we had to guess what the other person
Our teacher wrote some feelings technically-minded colleagues). We was saying, before we checked with
words on the board, which we had had been studying about advances in another group. It was a bit chaotic but
learnt the week before: science and technology, and our teacher lots of fun!
started a conversation with his friend (Thanks to Nick Bilbrough for this
disappointed pleased suspicious
about this. (I had a few questions in activity.)
upset curious confused
mind to guide the conversation, and
worried excited
the friend was expecting my call, but
Pictures of you
didnt know the topic. This was to try
He then wrote this sentence on the board: One of my favourite ways we used
to make it as spontaneous as possible.
You went for a coffee? mobiles was in storytelling. Our
Depending on your ethics and friends
(Some students may question this and you could call them out of the blue.) homework was to take three photos: a
tell you its not grammatically correct, It was very interesting, although his photo of something in our house, a photo
which will spark an interesting debate friend was very clever and used some of something in our street and a photo of
in itself.) big words we didnt understand. (Dont something in our neighbourhood. Weve
QR codes
embarrassed to confess that
they dont really understand.
In this article, she examines a
strange symbol that seems to
(but were afraid to ask) be popping up all over the place.
Try reading the QR code on this page. code for a website, its useful to shorten
The news
I used it myself in class or with my trainee teachers, but I am
going to make an exception this time.
For a long time I have been looking for a tool like Voxopop
Again, this idea would work well with groups of four or five
students. Get each group to think of a number of news stories
which are current in their country. Tell them to brainstorm each
(www.voxopop.com), which I heard about recently in a talk.
story so that they more or less agree on the details. Then ask
Voxopop is like an oral discussion board. You set up a topic for
each student to prepare one of the news stories by making notes
discussion, say technology, then record a question. Your
and working out the basic structure. The students can practise
students can then go onto Voxopop and record their answers.
presenting their news stories in their groups before recording
This can be a great way of brainstorming and sharing ideas
them on Voxopop. Once they are happy that they know their
around a topic, or for simply having discussions around a theme.
stories well enough, they can go to Voxopop and record a whole
The students can listen to your question and listen to all the
news broadcast, taking turns to present their stories.
other recorded answers and then add their own answer. It
works just like a discussion board, but everything is oral.
History
Voxopop is great for anything linear. Imagine, for example, that you
want to record the history of a certain country, person, club or
institution. In fact, anything with a linear history will work well.
Suppose, for example, that we asked our students to research
the life of Steve Jobs. They could work in groups of four or five
and each take a certain period or event in his life. They research
their part, take some notes and then practise presenting their
information orally within their group. Once they are clear about their
part of the story and have practised it, they can go to Voxopop
and take turns to record each part of the life of Steve Jobs.
The activity doesnt have to involve something that the students
have to research. We could, for example, get them to work in
groups and prepare information about five important events or five
important people in the history of their country. Again, they could
discuss the topic and take notes, and then each student in the
group could practise talking about one person or one event. Once
they are happy that they are able to talk about their person or event,
they can go to Voxoop and take turns to record their part. A key
Of course, you are not limited to just one question. You can
thing here is to give the students time to prepare and practise
set up as many questions under a theme as you want; you can
before they go to Voxopop and do their recordings.
even add a new question halfway through the discussion. The
tool is really flexible. You could end up having seven or eight
recorded questions under a theme and then each question
As you can see, Voxopop can be used for lots of different things.
could have as many answers as you have students in the class.
As I admitted at the start of this piece, I havent actually used
Here are some ideas for more ways to use it:
the tool myself, though I am planning to try out some of these
ideas as soon as I am back in the classroom. I like any tools that
Chain stories encourage students to do more oral work, and this one really
Voxopop isnt just good for discussions; you can also use it for opens up lots of opportunities.
chain stories. A chain story can be done with the whole class, Voxopop is not as easy as some of the other tools I have
but it is much more interesting to put the students into groups of recommended. My advice is to watch my free help videos (at
four or five and get each group to create their own chain story. www.teachertrainingvideos.com/voxopop/index.html) as these will
Instead of starting with a question, one student simply records show you, step by step, how to use it. Voxopop is not particularly
the first part of a story and then the next student records the difficult, but it will take a while to become sufficiently familiar
next part. It is advisable to give them time to prepare their with it to be able to demonstrate it to your students. ETp
stories. You might provide them with a theme or some key
Russell Stannard is a Principal Lecturer in ICT at the
words which they have to use. Once the students have decided University of Warwick, UK, where he teaches on the
on their story, you can get them to record it bit by bit, with each MA in ELT. He won the Times Higher Education
student recording one part. Award for Outstanding Initiatives in Information and
Communications Technology in 2008, TEFLnet Site of
Another way to use the chain idea is to combine it with a the Year in 2009 and a 2010 British Council ELTon
listening comprehension. You could play the students a story in award, all for his popular website
www.teachertrainingvideos.com.
the class, then put them into groups and get them to rebuild the
story as a group. They could then go onto Voxopop and try to Keep sending your favourite sites to Russell:
russellstannard@btinternet.com
record the story, again part by part.
puzzle are given, but not in the right order. When you have finished, you 5 15 16 1 3 1
Pierre de Coubertin
will be able to read the quotation.