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5. SELECTING METHODOLOGY
5.1. The Communicative Approach.
5.1.1. Warm Up
5.1.2. Presentation
5.1.3. Practice
5.1.4. Production
5.1.5. Evaluation
5.2. The Task-Based Approach
5.3. Total Physical Response.
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Registro Propiedad Intelectual. Autor Ian Miles & Brbara Herriott-Connor: Nmero de Asiento Registral
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1. INTRODUCTION
It is important that the teacher makes the most of the chances that he has for
efficient classroom management. This is an area that is often neglected, but at
the same time it is one that can have a wide ranging effect upon the success of
the lessons. In this area we have to think about various aspects, such as how
the arrangement of the space can change the attitude of the pupils, and how
the teacher can exert control in both a deliberate and a more subtle manner.
The information that we will use in this unit has been taken from The Modern
Classroom by R.Hicks, Classroom Control by Dervla Murphy and At The
Chalkface by Brewster.
A complete list of references will be given at the end of this unit.
We will begin by looking at space management.
2. SPACE MANAGEMENT
If the classroom is badly organised we may find that the students dont work so
well. This is simply because a correct layout of the classroom is essential if we
want to create an atmosphere that motivates the students. The problem is that
in a classroom containing a large number of students it may be difficult for us
to arrange the desks according to a pattern that we find suitable. It may be
desirable for us to have a large spacious classroom that gives us room for the
children to move around, but all too often this is an impossibility. Therefore we
have to think carefully about the kind of arrangement that is going to suit us.
The Traditional Arrangement is for the teachers desk to be at the front of the
class and all the students arranged in rows facing the front. This is generally
good for activities such as examinations, and is quite good for maintaining
order, but the problem is that it doesnt offer much scope for close monitoring
as the teacher may find it difficult to move among the desks. In addition to this,
problems may arise when the teacher wants the students to partake in group
work, as the scope for communication is limited.
The Horseshoe Arrangement is among the most popular of styles to be used in
the classroom. It is good for communication and many activities. The teachers
can monitor with ease as they can move around the desks inside the
horseshoe.
Mix and Mingle is the method favoured for communication games as the
students have the chance to move freely around the classroom. The main
disadvantage with this method is that at times it can feel a little chaotic. If the
group is large it is easy for the teacher to lose control.
There are many other arrangements and the teacher should feel free to alter
the layout of the classroom according to the needs of the lesson. It may be
better if we can place the students into ready made groups of between four and
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six as, according to Brewster, this is the optimum number that can be easily
aligned for either pair work or group work.
It is also true that the students who sit closest to the teacher tend to work
harder and to achieve more, so the teacher should try to regularly make
adjustments to those pupils who are sitting near to him in order to give the
whole class the same opportunities.
In addition to the layout of the class, we should also think about how we are
going to create the right atmosphere. If a class is dull and dark, so too will the
students be. A classroom, especially at primary level, needs to be large and
bright, all the space available has to be utilised to maximum effect in order to
provide the students with an atmosphere within which they feel relaxed enough
to study.
There are many things that a teacher can do in order to brighten up the class.
One of the main things is to put the work that the students have done up on
the wall. This immediately has the effect of encouraging the students to work.
Pictures and drawings can give a nice, friendly atmosphere to the classroom, as
well as personalising it for the students. It is important to ensure that everyone
in the class has something on display.
In addition to this, the teacher may like to use cupboards, etc. in order to create
different areas, such as a library, a drawing area, and so on.
One of the things that many teachers realise is that the timing of the lesson can
be very important and often quite difficult. The teacher doesnt want to run out
of things to do, but at the same time he doesnt want the lesson to finish before
he has achieved his objectives. With experience, the teacher may find that he is
able to predict the length of time needed for different tasks with different
groups. We will look at this area in more detail next.
INTERACTIVE LINK
http://www.league.org/gettingresults/web/module1/diversity/build_spa
ce_learning.html
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3. TIME MANAGEMENT
Time Management is a key area of teaching. It has to be carefully planned to
ensure that the duration of the activities matches the duration of the lesson.
It is a good idea for the teacher to always have spare material with him in case
the class manages to complete the set activities within a given time period. In
addition to this, the teacher has to make sure that he doesnt finish the lesson
in the middle of an activity. This calls for careful planning. The teacher must
have some idea of the level of ability of his class. If he underestimates them,
they will finish all he has set within the given period, and overestimating them
will result in a failure to achieve the tasks - which could result in demotivisation.
Normally the lesson would last for around 50 minutes. This means that the
teacher must have a clear idea of exactly how much his class are capable of
achieving within this time period and set his objectives accordingly.
We have to take into account the fact that the attention span of young children
is much less than that of adults. For this reason the teacher must ensure that
his management of the time must take into account how long he feels a series
of activities are likely to last for. It is perhaps more valuable for the primary
school teacher to prepare a series of short exercises than it is for him to
prepare a long one, this way the students will have a lot of variety which will
help them to maintain their interest for a longer period.
Basically, the responsibility is on the shoulders of the teacher. The more he
knows about the character and the capabilities of his students, the more likely
he is to be able to plan a lesson according to the time available.
However, even if we have managed to decide on the best layout for our class,
as well as the way to plan the activities according to a schedule, we still have to
think about how we are going to place the students.
INTERACTIVE LINK
http://www.utoronto.ca/tatp/timemanagement.pdf
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4.1. Lockstep:
This means that the whole class forms one group, with the teacher as the head.
This was used all the time in the classroom, and it still should be used from
time to time in the Communicative Approach as it has some advantages. Firstly
the teacher can monitor the class as a whole in order to ensure that everyone
is doing what he should be doing. This is much harder to do when the class is
divided up into smaller groups. In addition to this, it is good for the presentation
stage of a task. The students are encouraged to listen to the teacher as a
whole, so the initial example that they receive should be a good one. During
this type of grouping the teacher needs to watch the students carefully in order
to ensure that they are all listening. The main disadvantage with this method is
that when we want the students to express themselves individually, we may
find that there are students who are too reticent to speak out in front of a large
group and so they remain silent, even when they know the answer to a
question.
The following suggestion is one of the most common groupings:
4.2. Pairwork
The students form a pair with their friend, although the teacher has to ensure
that the friendship does not detract from the task that has been set. We can
often find that two students who are friends out of the classroom as well as in
will often try to show off to each other. It may be a good idea if the teacher
occasionally changed the seating so that the pairs could be changed, thus
giving the students the opportunity to work with different partners. Pairwork
has many advantages. The students are much more confident and they
encourage each other to do the work. The teacher can move around the class
monitoring each pair and ensuring that the task is being carried out. However,
it is in this area of monitoring that problems can sometimes occur. If there are
15 pairs, or sometimes even more in a group, the teacher is going to find it
difficult to keep track of what is going on. For this reason it is generally
preferable if the tasks are kept short, that way the students dont have the time
to discuss irrelevant things when the teacher is on the opposite side of the
room. The other problem is that the students are only engaging in an exchange
with one other person. For this reason the teacher should think about the
possibility of small group work.
4.3. Small Group Work
This tends to have a much more dynamic aspect than pair work for the simple
reason that the students have to confront conversational situations with more
people. This gives them greater scope for communication, even if at times this
is in the L1. However, this
isnt important as they are learning to work
together. As the groups progress, we may find that the students will help each
other by giving suggestions and advice. The student-student interaction can
often be more valuable than the traditional teacher-student relationship. Also,
when the students are working together in groups they have a better chance to
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relax - when there are only 2 students there can be a great feeling of pressure
and the students are more stressed by the search to find the answer. With a
group the odds are increased as there are more people available to find a
solution. However, group work of any description has its disadvantages. Often
we may find that the class becomes too noisy due to a level of over excitement
among the students, a fact that can severely distract them from their work. The
group members may not interact well, and we may often find that the stronger
group members will dominate. For these reasons the teacher has to make some
decisions. It may be an idea to keep the students together in one group
because this will form some group identity, but generally speaking the groups
should not be too fixed from the beginning. The teacher can try various formats
in order to discover which groups work well together, perhaps mixing the
abilities to see if the stronger students help the weaker ones. Once the teacher
is satisfied that he has arranged groups that work well together, then he can
think about keeping them together for the whole of the year. Finally, the
teacher should be prepared to make use of a wide range of different groupings
and an equally wide range of different activities in order for the students to
become used to variation.
INTERACTIVE LINK
http://www.eltforum.com/topic30.html
Now that we have seen the kinds of things that the teachers have to think
about when they are arranging the class and the pupils, we will move onto the
methodology that can be applied.
5. SELECTING METHODOLOGY
Methodology is basically the study of the process of language teaching. The
idea is that through reflection on the techniques used we will be able to
improve our system. According to the curriculum we should teach
communicative competence. This is one of the latest theories of language
teaching, and it certainly seems to be the most effective system up to now.
However, care must be taken because sometimes the theory is unrealistic and
cannot be used in a large classroom, or with a particular student type. For this
reason it is important that the teacher is adaptable and can accept different
methods according to how he judges the needs of his students.
What must always be kept in mind is that the teacher has control over the
methodologies that are to be used, and so he has to feel free to experiment
with different types until he finds the one that most suits the class.
The methodology that we are going to examine in this section is the basic
methodology that should be used in all classrooms that deal with language.
Once this has been accepted as a foundation, the teacher can start
experimenting with different styles. This basis is The Communicative
Approach.
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Sociocultural:
How a native speaker would react in a given situation, using tone, register, etc.
The learner needs knowledge of forms, meanings and functions. However,
he must also take into consideration the social situation in order to convey his
meaning correctly. The basis of the system is a knowledge of the rules plus
when, how and to whom to use them.
The main features of the Communicative Approach are:
PRESENTATION
PRACTICE
PRODUCTION
kept to a minimum, especially with students who are still learning to write in
the L1.
It is also important that the items that are being taught are contextualised. The
students react better to things that are within the scope of their experience and
so the teacher must attempt to provide exercises that bring the language to
life, placing it - wherever possible - within the boundaries of real life situations
to which the students can relate.
Finally the teacher has to think about the methods that he is going to use to
evaluate the students.
5.1.5. Evaluation
Generally speaking, he should think about a continuous assessment. In this way
he can make judgements about the way that the course is going to go
according to the needs of his students and the speed at which they are
learning.
The teacher will begin with an
beginning of the year, this way
young students, or with complete
of the English words in Spain they
Throughout the year the teacher will make a Formative Evaluation based on
the achievements of the students at various points. This can be done through
tests, drills, exercises or an assessment of the students abilities at the end of
each didactic unit.
Finally the teacher will need to make a Summative Evaluation at the end of
the year in order to assess if the objectives have been achieved.
The teacher should also take into account the various Evaluation Criteria that
can be found in the Curriculum. These criteria are suggestions for skills that the
students should have acquired. If they can perform successfully the skills as
laid out in the criteria, then the teacher will know that his general objectives
have been achieved.
Within the Communicative Approach we can find different variants that can be
considered as methodologies themselves. We are going to have a look at one of
them, namely, the Task-Based Approach
5.2. The Task-Based Approach.
The idea of this method is again, to produce students who are communicatively
competent. Students must be able to use the appropriate language depending
on the context, the topic and the roles of the participants. Moreover, they must
be able to manage the different processes of communication, such as
information sharing, interaction and negotiation of meaning. Different tasks
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will enable them to acquire these abilities. To understand this, we first of all we
have to know what a task is.
A task is a series of sequenced activities which lie around the solution of a
problem as the result of processing or understanding the language: drawing a
map while listening to instructions (Richards, Platt and Weber). A task has the
overall purpose of facilitating language-learning. Tasks involve language in
action (to communicate) in which the users attention is focused on meaning
rather than linguistic structure. According to Nunan, a task is a piece of
classroom work which involves learners in comprehending, manipulating,
producing or interacting in the target language while their attention is
principally focused on meaning rather than form.
A task must have various components:
* Input data: verbal (a dialogue or a reading passage), and non-verbal (a
picture sequence, some photographs).
* Activity: in some way will be derived from the input and which will set out
what the learners are to do in relation to the input.
* Goal: its general intention.
There are different types of tasks and activities depending on whether they lay
emphasis on one aspect or another.
The tasks can be grouped according to their goal. So, firstly, we find those
activities aimed at giving instructions and organising the functioning of the
classroom. Secondly, activities the goal of which is to get the students used to
handle the most frequent situations of communication through taking part in
short dialogues, role plays, etc. A third type of activities include those aimed at
exchanging information among students.
We can also mention those activities that make reference to the development
of general capacities, such as observing, classifying or transferring. And finally,
those activities aimed at playing.
Summing up, the activities must be varied and foster the balanced practice of
the four skills. The rhythm of the activities will depend on the feed back of the
students. However, in Primary Education, there should be a frequent change of
activity in order to maintain the students interest and make learning more
effective.
Finally in this section, we should mention the Total Physical Response, which
has become part of the Communicative Approach, particularly in Primary
Teaching.
5.3. The Total Physical Response.
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In addition to this he must be the Controller of the Class. The teacher is the
one who decides which activities are going to be used, and how they will be
used. However, if the teacher is to take a Communicative Approach, there are
times when he has to relax his control a little, and let the students take charge.
Before, during and after the class the teacher has to have the role of
Organiser. It is important that both the teacher and the students know what
they have to do and when they have to do it. This means that the teacher has
to provide good, clear stages to the lesson, and that the students must be
aware of what is expected of them at all times.
Throughout the activity the teacher has to play the role of prompter, ensuring
that he can fill in any major gaps in the students vocabulary. He must also be a
participant when the activity calls for it and a resource for when the students
need help.
Needless to say, the role of the teacher goes way beyond the few items that we
have mentioned here. The teacher could have a multi-faceted role, including
developing an interest for L2 learning among the students, and making their
horizons broader.
However, one thing is clear. The teacher is the one whom the students follow,
and it is up to him to provide the best example, not just of language learning,
but of the way to behave in the real world.
INTERACTIVE LINK
http://eltnotebook.blogspot.com/2006/11/teacher-talking-time-partone.html
7. CONCLUSION
The main thing that we have seen in this unit is the importance of the role of
the teacher. Throughout the space and time management, the grouping of the
students and the methodology to be used, it is the teacher who makes all of the
decisions.
The vital thing is that the teacher makes the right decisions. In order to be able
to do this, he has to know his group and their needs. This means willingness to
change. If the teacher is fixed in his ways then the class will never have the
chance to progress.
It is up to the teacher to ensure that the needs of the lesson are made to fit the
needs of the students, and not the other way round.
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REFERENCES
-Allwright, R. and K. M. Bailey. 1991. Focus on the language classroom: An
introduction
-Burns, A. 1999. Collaborative action research for English language teachers.
New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 0-521-63895-X.
-Edge, J., ed. 2001. Action research: Case studies in TESOL. Alexandria,
VA:TESOL. ISBN: 0-939791-92-7.
-Freeman, D. 1998. Doing teacher research: From inquiry to understanding.
Boston: Heinle & Heinle. ISBN: 0-8384-7900-6.
-Wallace, M. J. 1998. Action research for language teachers. New York:
Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 0-521-55535-3
-Wallace, M. J. 1991. Training foreign language teachers: A reflective approach.
New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 0-521-35654-7.
A GOOD WEB PAGE:
http://www.catesol.org/shelter.html
This small web page includes some good tips on various subjects.
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NOTES
It is essential that the teacher makes the most of the resources that he has for
efficient classroom management. If the class is badly organised, we may find
that the students dont work so well. The layout of the class is important.
Traditionally, the teachers desk is at the front of the class. Not good for close
monitoring, or when the teacher wants the students to take part in group
work. The horseshoe is the most popular of the styles. Mix and mingle is
good for communicating, but it is also easy for the teacher to lose control of
large groups. The right atmosphere also has to be created in the class. It
should be bright and cheerful. The timing of the lesson is important, and also
difficult to achieve accurately. It is more valuable for the teacher to prepare a
series of short activities than long ones. The grouping of the students is
important too. The lockstep approach is when the class forms one group as
a whole. This makes it easy for the teacher to monitor the class, but it does
not encourage the students to express themselves individually. Pairwork is
also useful. The teacher may want to move the children around occasionally
so that the pairs are varied. Small Group Work tends to have a more
dynamic aspect and the students have a greater scope for communication.
Sometimes the class can be too noisy and so it must be controlled closely by
the teacher.
Methodology is the study of the process of language teaching. It should
follow the Communicative Approach. The class should follow the pattern of
warm up present, practise, produce. The Warm Up is when the teacher
acclimatises the students to the language. The presentation is when the
teacher introduces the students to the things that are going to be taught. The
practice stage is when communication is introduced, but in a controlled way.
Finally, in the production stage, the students are encouraged to produce
language in a more natural, freer way. It mustnt be forgotten that the
students should use all of the skills and that the things being taught are within
the scope of their experience. The evaluation should be initial, formative
and summative. The Task-Based Approach: set of activities that lie
around the solution of a problem. Elements: Input, activity, goal. Types of
tasks. Total Physical Response method is used as a way of getting the
students involved in what happens in the class and acts as a means of
motivation. The role of the teacher is very important. He has to be law
maker, so that he can maintain discipline, class controller, to decide what is
going to be done in the class as well as organiser, prompter and resource.
The teacher is the one whom the students follow, so he has to make sure that
he is setting them a good example, both in the area of language learning, and
also in how to behave in the real world.
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2. What should be taken into consideration when thinking about the timing of a
lesson?
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