Grade 7 Problems and Solutions
Problems
Student attention
Discipline/classroom management
Student interaction
Lack of local teacher involvement
Lack of information about students
Know selling propositions: what makes our program different?
What can we teach that a Chinese English teacher cannot teach?
Lack of focus of learning objectives for each class
Lack of focus for the teaching method
Too much focus on PPT
About discipline
About learning objectives for each class
Point system
Inform teachers ahead of time about learning objectives.
Students should demonstrate that they have mastered something. Do no give points for simple, easy answers
Too many classes in one day
Spread out the classes throughout the week.
Lack of understanding of western teaching methods
Desk formation
Communication with teachers ahead of time about classroom formation
Make a video or guidebook explaining procedures for satellite classes
Film specific situations
Explain how to correct naughty students
How should a class start before foreign teacher begins talking
Students should have notebooks before you enter class
How to answer questions
how to raise your hand
Don't stand up when you answer a question
School and teachers need to be on board with what we are doing
Students should line up according to team before entering clasroom
Teacher should give out or subtract points as necessary
Students should not as they enter the classroom
Rotate desk positions to keep things fresh
Lack of efficiency in classes
Lack of content in clases
Let students use English in a communicative way (i.e. video postcards)
Shallow thinking on part of students
Broaden student horizons by giving them practical ways and goals to learn English; contextualize English learning for them
Give penpals to students
Perhaps could be a whole program
Vlogs
Could do a final project that Chinese and American students would send to eachother.
Final project could be videos. Students would use vlogs as part of the information for making the final project.
No review from week to week
No learning assessment
Final project
Set goals and objectives for students (perhaps connected to a final project)
Reverse engineer from a final project.
Have different teachers teach classes within one school
Connect units together so that students review material implicitly
Make class more project, textbook, and student-oriented
Survey students somehow to know students better
Use a story and use the story to teach skills and vocabulary
Skype calls
Give students something tangible where they can apply English to daily life
Video postcard
Make workbook for students to do exercises and actvities
Inform teachers about how to manage and discipline students
For whole semester
For each individual class period
Give seating chart ahead of time
Inform teachers about different kinds of seating arrangements
Curriculum standards
Assessment Pearson Article
Principles of assessment
Practicality
Authenticity
Validity
Reliability
Washback
Types of assessment
Explanation
formative assessment
summative assessment
Assessment of learning
Assessment for learning
assessment as learning
interim assessment
Common Core State Standards
World Readiness Standards for Learning Languages (ACTFL) List of Standards
Communication
Cultures
Connections
Comparisons
Communities
Grade 7 Speaking and Listening (http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/SL/7/)
Grade 7 Language (http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/L/7/)
Methods of assessment List of Strategies
Classroom Management
Teacher should get to class on time and have first slide on screen when students come in
First slide would have requirements and an assignment
On the first day of class, we set the expectations in class
Theme
Do not waste time at the beginning of class. Students should work on something as soon class starts.
Teacher on other side could take roll as their instructs
Have specific rules
Communicate consequences
Communicate consequences
Communicate responsibility
Communicate positive feedback when student obeys instructions
Be predictable and consistent
Indicate what students should do when the complete the assisgnment
Method
Explain
Rehearse
Reinforce
Instruct teachers to rehearse behavior with students ahead of time
Organize the class so that the class could run itself without the teacher present
culture, function and theme need to connected
choose 4 topics and make units based around different functions
Function - how to use the language in a situation
The function is the skill that we would teach
The skills determine the activities in the textbook.
Use standards (i.e. Common Core) to determine what kinds of skills to teach.
Standards inside book entitled "Language and Children"
The function would make the information more interesting for students
Options that students from Jiahui #2 are interested in
War
History
school life
family life
American food
Situation of Covid-19 in America
American presidents
Technical objectives used as a means to accomplish a practical function
3-4 units per theme (one unit per class period)
One function per unit (class period)
functions and standards are connected because they are almost the same thing
skills are outcomes
Make a textbook oriented around songs for Grade 7 Yanan students
Jazz Chant
Folk songs
Comprehensive English: Learning Language Through Culture
School Uniforms
Situations
Getting in trouble with the principal for not wearing the uniform
Getting called the wrong name because you look like someone else
The school uniform is dirty, so you cannot wear it.
Needing to buy the school uniform -- right color; right size; price
Mix up your uniform with somebody else's
- Academics
Situations
Cell phones in schools
Situations
Using a cellphone during lunch time/break time
Needing to call parents in an emergency
Call parents to bring school uniform
Call parents to come pick you up after school
School lost a student's cellphone because school confiscated cellphone
Phone is stolen at school by another student
Phone breaks during PE class
School breaks cellphone as they try to confiscate cellphone
A funny ringtone/notification sound goes off during class or test
Student tries to a wear mascot costume as a uniform to school
Expelling Students
Situations
- Student expelled for a bogus rule
Conversation between child and parent for being expelled for a bogus rule
Conversation between child and parent for being expelled for doing something humorous
- Potential employer asks expelled student why/how he was expelled from school
- Conversation between expelled student and former principal who expelled the student 20 years ago
- Texting conversation about a homework assignment that nobody wants to do.
Detention
Situations
Conversation between two students during detention during a humorous punishment
- Overdependence
Situations
Parents trying to kick out adult child from home
Adult child asking parents for money
Student trying to find a job or apply to school but has no idea what he is doing because his parents decide and do everything for him so that he can focus on homework
Conversation between adult child and parents about doing chores around the house (i.e. laundry, cooking). But child does not know how to do chores.
Conversation between parent and adult child about playing video games all day
Conversation with potential employer
Conversation with college staff
College Education Necessary for Financial Independence
Situations
Conversation between parent and student about a bad Zhongkao/Gaokao score
Conversation between child and parent about wanting to get some kind of humorous/random job after graduation
Conversation between child and parent about what to major in during college/what school to go to
Getting a low-paying job after a whole college education
A person going into debt for college
A person who goes into debt from overspending with a lot of money
Miscellaneous from Creating a Compelling Conversations
choosing a restaurant
Should you buy it?
Writing an app review
ordering takeout
commenting on something that someone else bought
Talking about my hometown
buying stuff on Jingdong or Taobao
How do you spend your time?
Enjoying a great game
video games
board games
Loving Pets
Celebrating birthdays
Getting dressed in the morning and complaining to mom
Learning about a famous person you admire
Reviewing movies
Chatting in person and online
- Social Status
Situations
A rich, famous person who goes into debt from overspending
Conversation between parents and child about the kind of job to get after graduation. Enjoying job vs. making money?
Should a person do something that he does not enjoy or have skills for in order to make money?
Pressure of improving social status
Parents set expectations for child.
Asking for a gift that you think would make you happy
- A day in the life of an American student -- free time, extracurricular activities
A Straight A Student
- People who commit suicide because they do not feel perfect.
Conversation with teacher about a bad grade on the final exam.
Conversation with parents about getting a bad grade on the Zhongkao/Gaokao, and all of your friends got perfect scores.
Conversation with parents about why you need to practice an instrument so much
- Getting caught for cheating on a test with a cellphone
- Bullying
Situations
Conversation between roommates at college when student does not know how to do basic tasks such as chores.
Conversation about food because student does not know how to cook.
Monologue project???
Filial piety
Parent made a big sacrifice of sorts in order to buy a new phone that ends up being a knock-off of the real thing. Student throws away the item after realizing that it is a knock-off. After throwing item away, student realizes the sacrifice that parents made.
- Buying a house
- Choose a suitable partner
- Having children
Conversation about whether or not buying a house would buy you happiness.
- Pressure to get a socially acceptable major and job
Student shows up at the bottom of the ranking list and only one major is available to him.
Student bullied/mocked for not being able to run in PE class because he is too fat.
Mom criticizes child for "imperfect" body figure.
Student tries to lose weight but does not know how to lose weight, so student stops eating.
Has to go to hospital because he stopped eating.
Looking at a cellphone while teacher is lecturing
Reasons for being bullied
Body shaming
Stuttering
Physical or mental disability
Bad hygiene
Bad eating habits
Being poor financially
Too pretty/handsome from a poor family
Health problems/allergies
How parents abuse children in China
comparing children to others
verbally disowning children
beating children up with a belt
Different accent
Hometown discrimination
Gender discrimination
Bad grades
Socially awkward
Not able to read a room or have conversation
Odd interests
Being albino
migrant worker
From Irene -- Get a good major at a good school and get a good job
to be respected
to improve face of parents
to become a head of a public institution
to have connections/relationships
to improve family status
to be resourceful
to have privileges so that you can get things done in the workplace and for other people
to be stable
Conversation about whether or not you need to have a boyfriend or girlfriend
- Student does not like major because parents decided major for him.
- Student has conflict with roommates because he does not know how to take care of a room/house.
- Parents push student to work for a company for social status
- Parents die, and students go through life crisis.
Workaholism in Japan
Overemphasis on academic performance South Korea
Work-life balance
Independent children in Japan who walk to school on their own.