2013

Material Development Task Social Work

Alaluf, Judith Gonzlez, Cecilia Didctica Especial II Observacin y Prctica II

Material Development Task - Social Work Alaluf - Gonzlez The Task Our assignment consisted of preparing a full task-sheet for a reading comprehension course within the field of Social Work. In doing so, we had specific objectives to be met. Our goals included: presenting and practicing reading strategies using the knowledge of text format to aid interpretation; presenting a grammar form for recognition and presenting logical connectors for interpretation. Needs Analysis Since this task was to be implemented in an ESP course, we needed to carry out some research to be able to cater for the students specific needs. Thus, following Hutchinson and Waters approaches to needs analysis, we gathered relevant information and concluded the following: The focus was on developing only one skill reading. The course was aimed at college students in the second semester of their course of studies. Students level of English was basic. Text Selection After carrying out needs analysis, we embarked upon the task of choosing a suitable text to work with. Therefore, we decided to examine different sources of material and to become acquainted with the topics and contents we could encounter within the above mentioned field of expertise. We also relied on the Internet and browsed different web sites where we could find texts of the specialization. For example, we surfed on the websites of several schools of Social Work from the USA or England. In the end, we decided to work with an authentic up-to-date text we extracted from a reliable source: the United Nations Development Programme website (undp.com). The text is the prologue of a report entitled Social Protection, Growth and Employment: Evidence from India, Kenya, Malawi, Mexico and Tajikistan. We followed McGraths selection criteria (106) and we considered this text to be relevant to specific learners needs and useful as regards topic as well as content. This report comprised both appropriate carrier content (technical vocabulary and specific concepts) and also suitable real content (language to be dealt with through the completion of the task). The Closing Task After the selection of the text, we determined what application task we could implement and then, we started developing the rest of the activities bearing that closing task in mind. It is extremely important to decide the round-off task at this point of the material development process because the rest of the activities should be planned in relation to

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Material Development Task - Social Work Alaluf - Gonzlez this very last task. Besides, in order to choose the right text, we followed the TAVI approach (Text As a Vehicle for information). The underlying principles of this approach state that, if we ask our students to perform a reading task with a pragmatic function (that is, reading for the sake of obtaining information from the text) the activity will be more meaningful and consequently, more memorable. Theoretical Framework Even though we drew upon different authors and theories to complete this work, we decided to put emphasis on the nature of reading comprehension process and, thus, we prepared different pre-, while-, and post-reading activities with the purpose of simplifying students reading process. Moreover, we implemented and interactive approach to language learning by making use of top-down and bottom-up processing of information. That is to say, we tried to make students rely on their background knowledge as well as the linguistic context of the text to enhance and improve reading comprehension. We attempted to follow and inductive approach in most of the activities since learning by discovering is more enduring and significant for the learners. However, there were also cases in which we made use of the deductive approach since we considered that a simple, straightforward explanation could be more profitable for students in certain type of activities. With regard to the overall development of the reading skills, we deemed it essential to raise students awareness of the reading strategies they already possess and the ones they can acquire. It is important for them to practice different reading strategies such as previewing, predicting, scanning, and skimming, to mention some and identify them as useful tools to apply when approaching other L2 texts in the near future. Tasks Design At the very beginning of the task-sheet, we included several objectives to be met after completing the activities. The purpose of this was to raise learners awareness of what their expected learning outcome was. Pre-Reading Activities Most of the activities in this section aimed at activating learners prior knowledge on key concepts to be developed later on. In order to accomplish this, we followed Langers Prep -Pre-reading Preparatory Instructions. First, we presented learners with the title and the source of the text so as to activate their ... expectations and predict the content of the text. (Schulz in Mikulecky, 41) This might be a good chance to develop a nice

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Material Development Task - Social Work Alaluf - Gonzlez brainstorming activity. The second exercise consisted of activating schemata on a specific concept that was fundamental for the understanding of the report. That was Social Protectionism. After this, we included an exercise that might be considered as a minireading task that better prepared students to comprehend the main text and that dealt with the objectives of Social Protectionism. We thought that, by including this activity, we could confirm students predictions and check their understanding of the concept. Then, we prepared an activity that emphasized learners knowledge of text format. We focused here on how prologues are structured and the different parts a report may be constituted by. In this activity, students had to order the constituents parts of a report. The rationale of this activity are both, to lower learners anxiety about what to expect from the reading passage before delving into it and also to make students aware of the fact that the macrostructure of the text is also likely to render meaning. So, we stressed the importance of interpreting the meanings conveyed by forms or structures rather than merely making sense out of content words. While-Reading Activities In this section of the task-sheet, the exercises were aimed at facilitating comprehension of concepts and vocabulary as well as presenting grammar items and connectors. Students had to explain or define some concepts mentioned in the text and then, answer questions. Activities based on lexis are included as part of while-reading section in EAP courses because they enhance and contribute to the comprehension of the entire text. This type of activity also may help to improve students understanding of L2 syntax. In the first activity of this section (section C), students had to label the paragraphs contained in the prologue with a summarizing idea that was provided. But there was an extra idea that did not correspond to any of the paragraphs of the text. This idea was included with the intention of making the task more challenging and keeping learners alert while working on it. We based our decision here on Dudley-Evans and St Johns theoretical ground that materials should be challenging. We believed the rationale of this activity is to develop students skimming skills and assist them in the identification of main ideas. Then, we introduced a grammar point: the Present Perfect. We chose to present this grammar item due to its high frequency of appearance in the text. Moreover, the foreword did not include specific dates; it dealt mainly with the current state of affairs regarding global economy, poverty and social protection. Hence, we thought it was an ideal context to introduce this tense that does not focus on the time when actions take place, but on the actions themselves.

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Material Development Task - Social Work Alaluf - Gonzlez In order to present this grammar structure, we extracted three sentences from the text that contained the new language item and wrote them in isolation for students to focus their attention only on them. We put the verbs in bold to highlight the new grammar input. After reading the sentences, learners had to answer five questions that led them into the inductive process of rule formation for the Present Perfect tense. Questions were prepared for students to infer both meaning and form out of the examples presented. We preferred to stress the meaning and the Spanish equivalent of the tense rather than the English form for them to better assimilate the function and usage of Present Perfect. Finally, we included a chart with a brief explanation on how to form the Present Perfect because, as mentioned before, we believed the focus was not on students forming this complex tense but only on recognizing it and understanding it. Activity C in the while-reading section is about connectors. In this case, we stated from the very beginning that the connectors introduced here showed a logical relation of contrast between two ideas. We extracted two fragments from the text and highlighted the connectors by writing them in italics. Briefly and concisely we explained the function of the connector in the first fragment avoiding the use of metalanguage so as not to overwhelm them (It can be observed that in this activity we took a more deductive approach to language teaching). We emphasized here the identification and comprehension of the ideas linked by the connectors and the understanding of the logical relationship of contrast existing between them. Thus, we provided three sentences in L1 as options for the interpretation of the first idea present in the first fragment and students had to choose which the most suitable alternative was. Then, they had to recognize and interpret the second idea. With the second fragment, learners had to identify and interpret the two opposing ideas on their own. Post-Reading Task (Closing Task) As it was stated before, perhaps, this is the most important activity of the whole worksheet. This is the opportunity we offer the experts to put into practice what they have learnt after completing this set of activities. According to TAVI principles, it would be the application of the information obtained in real life situations. We thought it would be convenient and productive for learners to take the key concepts developed in the foreword social protection policies, inclusive growth and employment- and encourage them to reflect upon different strategies or activities they would implement in order to improve Argentinas current situation.

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Material Development Task - Social Work Alaluf - Gonzlez The Rubrics Although we had the chance to write all the assignments in the L2 and take them as an additional source of input for students, we decided to leave them in L1 so as to avoid confusion and help learners to feel at ease with the material, as Tomlinson indicates (9). Besides, we decided to write the instructions using the second person singular pronoun usted to keep a formal treatment with the experts. Lay out We wrote the instructions in bold to distinguish them from the rest of the text. We selected a simple font and a big enough font size for the sake of clarity. As McGrath points out, materials should be as user-friendly as possible (135).We left enough space for students to complete the activities. Conclusion Material development and production was a really challenging task for us. Now we understand the importance of decision-taking in this kind of works and we think ou r final product may be very useful and appealing for ESP learners since it is based on authentic text, the subject matter is up to date and the activities proposed are varied. Tomlinson refers to the importance of materials achieving impact for learners to assimilate the new language presented in the worksheet. He states that Impact is achieved when materials have a noticeable effect on learners, that is when the learners' curiosity, interest and attention are attracted. (Tomlinson, 8) Added to this, the exercises designed aimed at developing different reading strategies and facilitating learners understanding of the overall complex process of reading comprehension.

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Material Development Task - Social Work Alaluf - Gonzlez BIBLIOGRAPHY Dudley-Evans, Tony and St John, Maggie. Developments in English for Specific Purposes. Cambridge: CUP, 1998. Grabe, William and Stoller, Fredricka. Teaching and Researching Reading. Harlow: Pearson Education, 2002. Hutchinson, Tom and Waters, Alan. English for Specific Purposes: A Learning-Centred Approach. Cambridge: CUP, 1987. McGrath, Ian. Materials Evaluation and Design for Language Teaching. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2002. Mikulecky, Beatrice. A Short Course in Teaching Reading Skills. Reading: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1990. Selim, Jahan. Social Protection, Growth and Employment: Evidence from India, Kenya, Malawi, Mexico and Tajikistan. United Nations Development Programme. 18 July 2013. Web. 13 Aug 2013. Tomlinson, Brian. Materials Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge: CUP, 1998.

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