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Chapter 12: Focusing on language - Coggle Diagram
Chapter 12: Focusing on language
2. Testing
You could test:
their general level of English, without reference to any course
the students' progress over the course so far
A good test
will seem fair and approppriate to the students
will not be too troublesome to mark
will provide clear results that serve the purpose for which it was set
Criteria rather than marks?
the canddiate meets the criteria in some respects, but with significant problems
the candidate meets and surpasses the criteria
the candidate meets all main aspects of the criteria
the canddiate is unable to meet the criteria in any respect
Some common discrete-item testing techniques:
gap-fill
sentence transformation
sentence construction and reconstruction
two-option answers
matching
Designing discrete and integrative questions
assessing speaking
prepare criteria
too many students
speaking tasks
self-assessment
4. Cuisenaire rods
Some starting points:
Rods help to focus
The rods can be themselves, or represent other things
Some approaches and some examples:
Making meaning tangiable and being precise about meaning
Focusing on grammar by restricting the lexis
Clarifying structure
Contextualizing
Cuisenaire rod exercises:
Example: Make a short rod story to exemplify one use of "going to"
6. Timelines
A tool for clarifying the 'time' of various verb tenses
They are one way of making English grammar more accessible
A timeline attempts to make the flow of time visible, and thus enable learners to see more clearly exactly how one tense differs from another, or how a single tense can refer to different 'times'
1. Errors and correction
student errors=progress is being made
Different kinds of errors:
grammar
lexis
pronunciation
Main objective of speaking acivity:
fluency
accuracy
Corrections:
teacher-student
small group
student-student
all class
self-correction
coursebook/reference book
Indicating that an errror has been made (some examples)
using facial expressions
repeat sentence up to error
tell the student that there is an error
Responding to errors
Useful correction technique: fingers
using finger sentences
3. Using the learners' first language
students using thir own language
common problem, there are different reasong for that
using English in class
put English-language posters on the walls
only "hear" English
spend a lot of time on fluency work without correction
Activities, that make use of L1:
Mediation
English whispers
Diplomatic affairs
Diplomatic incident
Translation role plays
5. Dictionaries
Printed vs. digital
benefits and drawbacks
Printed dictionaries:
Monolingual vs. blingual
Training students to use a monolingual printed dictionary
Sounds to spelling
Same sounds
Order
Dictionary work with all kinds of dictionary
Where's the stress?
Dictionary race
Anagrams
Upgrading
Which word?
Alongside reading
Guessing spelling
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