Discovering meaning!

Discovering meaning!
Students are rearranging words to make meaningful sentences

miércoles, 6 de octubre de 2010

Classroom Language: Supporting and Celebrating Learning!

The beginning of October marks the second month of the academic school year. By now, for many of us, we have gotten to know a little more about our students: their names, their likes and dislikes, their study habits and their linguistic capabilities. We have also probably established several classroom routines to provide opportunities for meaningful repetition, classroom structure, speaking and the development of study skills and habits.



No doubt, in addition to this, we will be thinking about the language we are using in the classroom. Our classroom language is critical for creating an atmosphere that both supports and celebrates learning! There are so many different kinds of language we can use in the classroom to do this. For example, there is the language of praise and encouragement: Good for you! Keep it up! Your work is excellent! You must be so proud of the work you have done! etc.



There is the language of classroom management: Let's help each other!
Let´s share what we know! Say what you know! Show what you know! Tell me more! I´m listening! How can I help you?
etc.

There is the language of rules and classroom routines: Let´s begin the class with a song. What´s the weather today? Speak softly to your partner! Let´s play a language game! Can the classroom helpers hand out the glue, please? etc.

I find one of the most effective ways of judging how I am contributing to and in fact affecting my classroom environment is to record myself and listen to the language I use. My cell phone records short sequences easily and gives me a quick playback on what I am saying and how I am saying it. It provides me with lots of food for thought.

If you are a native or a non-native speaking teacher, you may want to look for more ways to create a positive atmosphere that is so essential for language learning. Here are two web sites that I like for 101 different ways to praise aand encourage our students to succeed: www.songs4teachers.com/101waystopraiseachild and www.youthonline.ca/101thingstodo/praise1-50b.shtml

Another great source is the book, "A handbook of Classroom English" written by . You can find the entire, super-helpful and complete book at www.scribd.com/doc/6909785/a-handbook-of-classroom-english if you don´t already have a copy.

If you are a university student studying teaching methodology and you would like to expand and build your classroom language, take a look at this powerpoint presentation which I have converted into a short video clip. You might find it helpful.

Write me if you have any questions, comments or stories about the language we use in the English classroom!

Happy teaching and learning :-)


Theresa

domingo, 3 de octubre de 2010

Oral English Communication Skills

Oral English skills are critical when teaching English to children. I´m reminded of how many hours native children "hear" and "absorb" their mother tongue before actually beginning to speak their own first few words, anywhere from 2000 to 5000 hours of contact time!

Compare that with the 30 -70 hours most young children receive in preschool and early primary and it´s easy to understand why it takes a while before young children feel comfortable producing language in English.
I´ve always felt that teaching children English implies having a very good understanding of just how effective our own oral communication skills are. But how does one do this?

In business circles, companies use an interesting and effective tool for diagnosing the overall status of a particular situation. This tool is called a SWOT analysis: S for strengths, W for weaknesses, O for opportunities and T for threats.

The strengths and weaknesses analysis refers to the internal environment of the company or situation being analyzed. The opportunities and threats refers to the external ennvironment of the company or situation.


When I began to think about my own oral language skills, both in Spanish and Catalan, it occurred to me that the SWOT analysis could be a very helpful instrument in helping me to see where I was in terms of oral language skill development. It forced me to think about my own personal strengths and weaknesses as a language speaker and reflect upon the opportunities
and threats in my immediate teaching and learning environment.


Sometime later, I came across a language blog written by Neil Barker. He also had the idea of doing a SWOT analysis. Take a minute to visit his blog and see his personal SWOT analysis as an English language teacher. http://neilbarker.co.kr/2010/03/02/personal-teaching-swot-analysis/


In the university classes I teach, my student teachers are asked to do their own personal SWOT analysis as it relates to their oral language communication skills. The results are most enlightening and rewarding!


If you have done or would like to work with SWOT analyses in yor classrooms or with teachers you work with, drop me a line and let me know how it is going. If I can help in any way, just let me know!

happy teaching!

theresa