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.Table 13.1 is an example of a checklist based on the idea of learning from comprehensible input.It can be used to evaluate a participant’s presentation of a listening to pictures activity (McComish, 1982), where learners look at a complex picture and listen to the teacher’s description of it, occasionally having to answer true/false questions based on the picture.After using a checklist on one or more presentations of an activity, participants may wish to revise the checklist to make it more valid and more practical.Making MaterialOften using new activities or procedures will require the teacher to produce material for the activity.This may be because such material at thePlanning an In-Service Course189Table 13.1 Evaluating a listening input activityPoints to noticeNotesWas there a large amount of listening?Would learners be able to understand the languagethey listened to?Why?Did the teacher check that the learners werekeeping up? How?Was the activity friendly and non-threatening?Why?Were there new language items in the listening?How would they be understood?appropriate level is not commercially available, but also because making material can develop a deeper understanding of an activity.Participants struggling with making activities may also provide feedback to the workshop organiser about where further input and discussion is needed on the focus of the workshop.When making material, participants should always keep their own learners in mind.This will ensure that the material is appropriate and consistent.At the least, the material which is made is something from the workshop which can be used in class, and at the best a prototype for similar activities.There are two major approaches to making.One is perfection through gradual approximation, and the other is perfection through preparation.In perfection through gradual approximation the participants see a model activity and then quickly try to make their own, knowing that it is just the first of several attempts and will need to be improved.They receive feedback from other participants and the workshop organiser and then revise what they made or make another similar activity.The advantages of this approach to making is that (1) there are several opportunities for making, (2) feedback and input is more meaningful once participants have experience with making the activity, (3) speed at making is an aim, helped by repeated practice.The disadvantage of this approach is that the first attempt may not be so good.The perfection through preparation approach involves looking at a model, analysing it, studying the steps involved in making the activity, planning the making, and then making the activity.The advantages of this approach are that (1) the first attempt is likely to be reasonably good and usable, and (2) theory and practice are more closely related.The disadvantage of this approach is that the preparation input reduces the time available for the actual making.190Planning an In-Service CourseA few participants may find that workshop conditions are not favourable to materials production and they may feel that they can do it more efficiently in their own time and with better access to resources such as a photocopier, a computer, magazines to cut up and other source materials.The outcome of this component of a workshop is actual materials, and the skill to quickly make a suitable activity.The making goal is a time-consuming one in a workshop and its relevance may be questioned if participants are using a prescribed text in class.It may be that adapting material is more relevant.However, being able to make good material quickly is a very valuable skill and can be a striking demonstration of understanding of what lies behind an activity.Planning Lessons and Units of WorkWorkshops can focus on planning.This involves fitting activities together, so that principles of selection and sequencing are effectively applied.This goal for a workshop is particularly useful when participants have been introduced to a new activity and now have to decide how it can be used in their own teaching.Harmer (1984) describes an interesting activity that can be used to encourage discussion through choosing and sequencing activities in a plan of work.The learners are given a blank timetable and a collection of small cards containing the name of an activity and the time needed to fill the slots on the timetable.The participants work in small groups to fill the timetable.There may be a list of principles that must be followed.Each group has to explain and justify their timetable to others.Input to this component of a workshop may be sample lessons from a course book, participants’ descriptions of their own lessons and units of work, and content and sequencing principles.The outcome should be participants who are able to choose activities to meet a particular learning goal, who are able to decide what techniques will be the ones they will use most often in their teaching, and who are able to plan an integrated sequence of work.Problem SolvingThe problem-solving goal of workshops aims to apply the ideas gained in a workshop, or to use the support of others in a workshop, to solve common classroom problems.These can include problems like the following:•In communication activities my learners often speak their first language instead of English.•My learners are not motivated to learn English.•My learners are not good at reading.Planning an In-Service Course191•My classes are very big.•We have to make our lessons more communicative.•I want my learners to speak more in class but they are shy.Problem-solving activities in a workshop can be conducted at a general level but they will be more effective if they are related to a particular teaching situation.This then helps participants to relate the ideas in the workshop to the reality of their own classrooms.There are several kinds of input to problem-solving activities: 1The problems can come from the workshop organiser or from the other participants [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.Table 13.1 is an example of a checklist based on the idea of learning from comprehensible input.It can be used to evaluate a participant’s presentation of a listening to pictures activity (McComish, 1982), where learners look at a complex picture and listen to the teacher’s description of it, occasionally having to answer true/false questions based on the picture.After using a checklist on one or more presentations of an activity, participants may wish to revise the checklist to make it more valid and more practical.Making MaterialOften using new activities or procedures will require the teacher to produce material for the activity.This may be because such material at thePlanning an In-Service Course189Table 13.1 Evaluating a listening input activityPoints to noticeNotesWas there a large amount of listening?Would learners be able to understand the languagethey listened to?Why?Did the teacher check that the learners werekeeping up? How?Was the activity friendly and non-threatening?Why?Were there new language items in the listening?How would they be understood?appropriate level is not commercially available, but also because making material can develop a deeper understanding of an activity.Participants struggling with making activities may also provide feedback to the workshop organiser about where further input and discussion is needed on the focus of the workshop.When making material, participants should always keep their own learners in mind.This will ensure that the material is appropriate and consistent.At the least, the material which is made is something from the workshop which can be used in class, and at the best a prototype for similar activities.There are two major approaches to making.One is perfection through gradual approximation, and the other is perfection through preparation.In perfection through gradual approximation the participants see a model activity and then quickly try to make their own, knowing that it is just the first of several attempts and will need to be improved.They receive feedback from other participants and the workshop organiser and then revise what they made or make another similar activity.The advantages of this approach to making is that (1) there are several opportunities for making, (2) feedback and input is more meaningful once participants have experience with making the activity, (3) speed at making is an aim, helped by repeated practice.The disadvantage of this approach is that the first attempt may not be so good.The perfection through preparation approach involves looking at a model, analysing it, studying the steps involved in making the activity, planning the making, and then making the activity.The advantages of this approach are that (1) the first attempt is likely to be reasonably good and usable, and (2) theory and practice are more closely related.The disadvantage of this approach is that the preparation input reduces the time available for the actual making.190Planning an In-Service CourseA few participants may find that workshop conditions are not favourable to materials production and they may feel that they can do it more efficiently in their own time and with better access to resources such as a photocopier, a computer, magazines to cut up and other source materials.The outcome of this component of a workshop is actual materials, and the skill to quickly make a suitable activity.The making goal is a time-consuming one in a workshop and its relevance may be questioned if participants are using a prescribed text in class.It may be that adapting material is more relevant.However, being able to make good material quickly is a very valuable skill and can be a striking demonstration of understanding of what lies behind an activity.Planning Lessons and Units of WorkWorkshops can focus on planning.This involves fitting activities together, so that principles of selection and sequencing are effectively applied.This goal for a workshop is particularly useful when participants have been introduced to a new activity and now have to decide how it can be used in their own teaching.Harmer (1984) describes an interesting activity that can be used to encourage discussion through choosing and sequencing activities in a plan of work.The learners are given a blank timetable and a collection of small cards containing the name of an activity and the time needed to fill the slots on the timetable.The participants work in small groups to fill the timetable.There may be a list of principles that must be followed.Each group has to explain and justify their timetable to others.Input to this component of a workshop may be sample lessons from a course book, participants’ descriptions of their own lessons and units of work, and content and sequencing principles.The outcome should be participants who are able to choose activities to meet a particular learning goal, who are able to decide what techniques will be the ones they will use most often in their teaching, and who are able to plan an integrated sequence of work.Problem SolvingThe problem-solving goal of workshops aims to apply the ideas gained in a workshop, or to use the support of others in a workshop, to solve common classroom problems.These can include problems like the following:•In communication activities my learners often speak their first language instead of English.•My learners are not motivated to learn English.•My learners are not good at reading.Planning an In-Service Course191•My classes are very big.•We have to make our lessons more communicative.•I want my learners to speak more in class but they are shy.Problem-solving activities in a workshop can be conducted at a general level but they will be more effective if they are related to a particular teaching situation.This then helps participants to relate the ideas in the workshop to the reality of their own classrooms.There are several kinds of input to problem-solving activities: 1The problems can come from the workshop organiser or from the other participants [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]