Teacher's portfolio

TEACHER’S PORTFOLIO

Student’s name, surname Muromtseva Alisa

Group, course 3th course, 5af group

Unit 1 plan.

Grammar

Teacher’s tips

Considering whether it is helpful to teach grammar to learners simply by making them aware of patterns and practicing them or by also teaching them grammar rules and grammatical terms, focus on functions, language skills, fluency and communication, use exercises and activities focus on form and use to give students practice of both – they have to develop accuracy in both form and use.

Class activity/ lesson plans

Changing time in sentences

Changing forms of the word

Predicting forms from the context

Practicing grammatical patterns

Activities focus on form and use with explanation

Useful unit vocabulary

Determiner - is a member of a class of words used to modify nouns or noun equivalents. Determiners help clarify what a noun is referring to and are typically placed before descriptive adjectives.

Contraction - also known as 'short forms', are shortened words. Specifically, a contraction is when two words are shortened in form and are put together to form one new word. 

Unit 2 plan.

Lexis

Teacher’s tips

Make students understand new words fully – form, meaning, part of speech, how it is pronounced and spelt, all the meaning it have, it will take time, but it is the way to remember it and use in a productive way. Make them repeat new lexis as much as it possible, then don’t forget to use it in next lessons, but what is the most important thing here – not inly repeat words, but also make them write, hear and say it. Play new words in basic life situations. Conduct associations.

Class activity/ lesson plans

Extension activities:

Brainstorming

Labelling

Categorising

Making lexis sets

Predicting vocabulary from context

Using key words

Using relationships between words (synonyms, lexical sets, word families) and the way they are built (suffixes, prefixes) to make activities for extending

Proving false friends

Proving homophones and homonyms

Categories of words

Flash cards

Useful unit vocabulary

Affixation - process of adding a morpheme—or affix—to a word to create either a different form of that word or a new word with a different meaning; affixation is the most common way of making new words in English.

Idioms - a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words

Collocations - is a group of two or more words that are almost always put together to create a specific meaning. Using a different combination of words sounds unnatural or awkward. Some common collocations are: to make a mistake, but not to do a mistake. a big decision, but not a large decision.

Chunks - are the most common collocations, a sequence of words that usually go together.

False friends - is either of two words in different languages that look or sound similar, but differ significantly in meaning.

Homophones - is a word that is pronounced the same (to varying extent) as another word but differs in meaning. A homophone may also differ in spelling.

Homonyms - each of two or more words having the same spelling or pronunciation but different meanings and origins.

Word families - is a group of words that may share a common root word with different prefixes and suffixes in morphology. They're used for teaching spelling.

Unit 3 plan.

Phonology

Teacher’s tips

Study learners understanding a wide variety of English accents to communicate with people from different places, practicing in hearing and recognizing sound features before they are asked to produce those features themselves, regular focusing in lessons on different aspects of pronunciation to make learners aware of its importance, focus on problematic phonemes, introduce phonemic symbols to the classes a few at a time rather than at all once, use symbols with kids, but less with teenagers, create the phonematic script to use it in dictionaries.

Class activity/ lesson plans

Repeat sounds/words/sentences after the speaker

Pronounce words using a transcription

Match words with a transcription

Tongue twisters

Sort words into groups according to their pronunciation

Find a word which is the only one with a different sound from the group

Sentences to train an intonation – tone rises or falls

Useful unit vocabulary

Phonemic chart - is a set of symbols that represent all the sounds in spoken English.

Word boundaries - is a zero-width test between two characters. To pass the test, there must be a word character on one side, and a non-word character on the other side. It does not matter which side each character appears on, but there must be one of each.

Unit 4 plan.

Functions

Teacher’s tips

Studying functions is really important, because when we speak grammar is not so important, it is more about our gestures, emotions and intonation for sure, so if you want to travel and practice English, you have to learn functions by speaking, pretending some situations and creating examples for each of them. A focus on functions in the classroom can lead to an emphasis on communication and learning language in chunks. We can use structures and see it in the extract from a map of a coursebook.

Class activity/ lesson plans

Combining functions and grammar

Making dialogues

Acting out scenes

Repeating sentences after the speaker

Match sentences with emotions

Useful unit vocabulary

Colloquial - used in or characteristic of familiar and informal conversation In colloquial English, "kind of" is often used for "somewhat" or "rather." also: unacceptably informal. b: using conversational style a colloquial writer.

Appropriacy - refers to whether a word is suitable for the context it is being used in. It is an important aspect of language but an extremely complex one, as decisions about how to say things depend on understanding exactly what is right for the context and the culture.

Unit 5 plan.

Reading

Teacher’s tips

Choosing interesting and modern subjects to make students more motivated, reading aloud only after researching of the text, don’t ask students to read in an intensive way, but ask them to scim the text to understand the main idea.

Class activity/ lesson plans

Pre-teaching vocabulary

Lead-in activities

Brainstorming

Reading adapted versions of books as homework

Useful unit vocabulary

Links - If there is a link between two things or situations, there is a relationship between them, for example because one thing causes or affects the other.

Deducing - to use logic or reason to form (a conclusion or opinion about something) to decide (something) after thinking about the known facts.

Cohension - s the grammatical and lexical linking within a text or sentence that holds a text together and gives it meaning. It is related to the broader concept of coherence.

Unit 6 plan.

Writing

Teacher’s tips

Make a connection between text type and grammar construction to use for writing, focus on aspects of cohesion, using cohesive devices, go from all of the stages during writing, drafting twice, understand the aim of your text, then lexis and grammar only

Class activity/ lesson plans

Pre-writing activities (the aim, their reasons for writing, the audience)

Gap filling

Sentence transformation exercises

Dividing text into paragraphs

Putting punctuation

Correction mistakes in text

Story completion, jumbled picture stories, writing birthday cards, writing emails

Listening speaking reading activities before writing

Using models of different text types

Work in pairs

Useful unit vocabulary

Layouts - refers to the arrangement of entities in two and three-dimensional spaces. For instance, on a page, bits of writing and images are given

Narrating - is a required element of all written stories (novels, short stories, poems, memoirs, etc.), with the function of conveying the story in its entirety.

Drafting - refers to actually writing the words of the paper. As part of the writing process, you will write multiple drafts of your paper. Each rough draft improves upon the previous one.

Exercise example – writing

Rephrase the following using milder language

1. Andy is very proud

2. My sister always behaves immaturely

3. He is terribly disorganized

So, I think writing exercises in my coursebook (Spotlight 11^th grade) is more focused on text types and accuracy.

Unit 7 plan.

Listening

Teacher’s tips

Choosing not only audio files, but also video files to see gestures and emotions of people who are speaking, choosing relevant text types, distinguish intensive and extensive listening, paying attention to accent, intonation and pauses of speakers, listening exercise for several times.

Class activity/ lesson plans

Pre-teaching key-words

Pre-listening tasks

Listening authentic texts

True/false/not stated exercises

Training word and sentence stress with a dictation

Post-task activities

Useful unit vocabulary

Hesitation - is a linguistic form that appears in environments in which speakers have difficulties in retrieving lexical information during speech production. 

Utterance - is a unit of speech. In phonetic terms, an utterance is a stretch of spoken language that is preceded by silence and followed by silence or a change of speaker. (Phonemes, morphemes, and words are all considered "segments" of the stream of speech sounds that constitute an utterance).

Gist - the primary piece of information about something. 

Exercise example – listening task

Pre-listening activity:

the list of new vocabulary, predicting the subject of exercise

For the first course

For the second course

Vegetarian dish

Gravy

Soft drinks

A set of cutleries

Order

Waiter

Bill

The main part:

“You are going to listen a conversation of people who are having a meeting in the restaurant. Match following statements (true/false/not stated)”

Post-listening activities:

“Now you are going to listen the task again. Try to write words or sentences that will prove your answer.”

Prepare two-three minutes talk task about your favorite restaurant and your favorite dish there and present it to your group.

Easy to do – understand the point of the task, who are talking – personalities, place, emotions

Difficult to do – distinguish which statement is false and which is not stated, students tend to draw logical chains and conclusions, while task not require it.

Solution – to indicate clearly the requirements of the task, give more time before the second listening to read all of the statements to prove.

Unit 8 plan.

Speaking

Teacher’s tips

Using emotions and body language during speaking to make it in a natural way, write and correct mistakes after student finished speaking, using oral fluency (speaking in a normal speed, with little hesitation, repetition self-correction, smooth usage of connected speech), using interactive strategies.

Class activity/ lesson plans

Reading aloud after deep research of the text, using. All of the stages of speaking activities – lead-in: an introduction to the topic of the lesson plus activities including a focus on a new language, practice: activities move from controlled to free, post-task: activities in which learners do free speaking on the topic and/or work on the language used in tasks: integrated skills lessons, information gap activities.

Useful unit vocabulary

Target confidence – is the confidence interval provides us with a range of values that we believe, with a given level of confidence, contains the true value. 

Fluency – is the ability to speak or write a language easily, well, and quickly.

Exercise example

Give a 2-minute talk about your family. Remember to talk about

• The members of your family

• Who you admire most in your family and why

• Your family values

• What you usually

You have to talk for 1,5 – 2 minutes. You partner will listen until you have finished. Then she/he will ask you some questions.

It is focused on proper lexis and accuracy. My students had to focus more on intonation and emotions to speak more free and naturally.

Unit 9 plan.

Motivation

Teacher’s tips

Denote aims to study English – make a list of your interests, benefits and plans for future

Make every task clear and as interesting and modern as it possible

Class activities/lessons plans

To make your students motivated you need to be a good example, behave naturally and be as sensitive as it possible, create a classroom atmosphere – create a pleasant, calm secure and ordered atmosphere, bring in humor and smile. Give them clear instructions, point out the purposes and usefulness. Give a positive feedback and praise, always make sure students experience success, but accept all of the mistakes – they are natural part of learning, texting with a pen-friend, inviting native speakers, give exercises about language culture

Useful unit vocabulary

Target language - a language other than one's native language that is being learned.

Exposure - refers to the contact that the learner has with the language that they are trying to learn, either generally or with specific language points. Referring to the language in general, it often refers to contact outside the classroom.

Exercise example - write an essay (by NSE model) 
“Exams motivate students to study harder”
-What is your opinion? Do you agree with the statement? 
Write 200-250 words

Way to motivate students:
- Realize that your essay will be published on the page of your favorite blogger/influencer
- Realize that your essay will be used for statistics that will determine the format of the exam this year
- Create a competition for “top 5 essay of the group”
- Make the requirements more free: unlimited number of words, not necessarily following a template

Unit 10 plan.

Exposure on focus on form

Teacher’s tips

To acquire language, learners need to hear and read a wide variety of language at the right level for them, to acquire language it is not sufficient just to listen to or read language. It has to be language at the right level. This means language that is just a little challenging for learners because it's a little beyond their current level. Teachers can choose recordings and reading materials at the right level of difficulty.

Learners need time to acquire language. They may need a silent period before they can produce new language and we cannot expect them to learn things immediately. Learning language is a slow process that necessarily involves making mistakes. Learners need to use language to interact. In the classroom this can be with classmates or the teacher. This gives them the opportunity to experiment with language and find out how successful their communication is. Pair and group work give the opportunity for interaction, as do problem-solving activities and project work. When they try to communicate, learners will often make mistakes. When classmates don't understand these, the learners will be forced to paraphrase what they have said, which is a valuable learning process.

Learners can benefit from opportunities to focus on forms of language, teachers should consider learners' age, learning experience and learning styles when deciding how to teach. For example, focusing on form by asking learners to highlight conjunctions in a text may be much more effective with older learners than with younger learners. Correction may be the most suitable way to focus on form with younger learners, but some older learners may dislike being corrected in front of classmates.

Class activities/lessons plans

Writing an essay

Proofreading and correction of drafts

All of the grammar exercises

Correction mistakes in the text

Listen to recordings, songs, stories

Reading articles and books

Surfing in foreign sites

Using materials of one level higher

Group projects

Presenting target language

Highlight proper forms (verbs for example) in the text

Useful unit vocabulary

First language - native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth.

Acquisition - is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language (in other words, gain the ability to be aware of language and to understand it), as well as to produce and use words and sentences to communicate.

Silent period - s the idea that when a language is learned, there should be a period in which the learner is not expected to actively produce any language. This is based on observations of a listening period in infants when they learn a first language.

Exercise example - Discovery (1) Elementary communication games by Jill Hadfield. It may be used for practicing interaction – one of the form of acquisition.

“Computer dating”

The point of the game is to create cards for the whole group (from six to fifteen students) with something they may like/dislike in their future partners. They have to find a person from the group that will suit him/her

I think it’s a really interesting activity for students that can be possible to use for example after taking new vocabulary that will be similar with these cards. So, according to my opinion, it’s a great way to acquire learners.

Unit 11 plan.

The role of error

Teacher’s tips

It is important for teachers to think hard about whether, when and how to correct

learners.

We can't expect instant or immediate learning. Learning is gradual, and errors will occur.
It's useful to think about what kind of mistake the learner is making - a slip or an error. If the mistake is a slip, the learner can correct him/herself, maybe with a little prompting from the teacher or another learner. Or, there may be no point in correcting a slip.

Sometimes, particularly in fluency activities, it is better not to pay attention to learners' mistakes, so that the learners have an opportunity to develop their confidence and their fluency, and to experiment and make mistakes with language.

Some errors may be more important to correct than others. Errors which prevent communication are more important than those which do not, e.g. missing the
final’s off the third person singular of a present simple tense verb doesn't prevent communication. But using the present simple tense instead of the past simple tense sometimes does.

Some learners within the same class may need to be corrected, while others may not, depending on their stage of learning, learning style and level of confidence. They may also need to be corrected in different ways.
Learners, particularly older ones, may find it useful to know that they make interference errors, and to be told which they are. Knowing about interference errors can help learners avoid them, especially in writing.

Learners can react well to being told what their fossilised errors are, their danger areas! In this way, they become conscious of them and can try to avoid them, particularly in writing.

Class activities/lessons plans

-  exposing them to lots of language that is just beyond their level of linguistic ability through reading or listening. This provides an unconscious challenge to learners' language learning processes and helps fit the pieces of the jigsaw into place.

-  giving them opportunities to focus on the form of language, e.g. through exercises, reformulation (when the teacher corrects what the student has said by repeating their words correctly, but without drawing the learner's attention to their mistake) or correction.

- providing them with time in class to use language to communicate and interact and see if they can do so successfully.

-all group activities with an opportunity to correct each other

-creating drafts

Useful unit vocabulary

Prompting - is a piece of text inserted in the input examples, so that the original task can be formulated as a (masked) language modeling.

Developmental error - error that is natural part of learning process.

Overgeneralisation - is a phenomenon in which language learners—first, second, or additional—apply a rule or a pattern in a situation where it does not apply in the target language, resulting in a nonconventional form.

Fossilisation - refers to the process in which incorrect language becomes a habit and cannot easily be corrected.

Exercise example

In terms, use the time expression to make sentences

• Yet

• Still

• Already

• Before

• Ago

• Today

• Now

• At the moment

• For a long time

• Since

Learners made a lot of developmental errors, because they didn’t practice grammar rules and don’t remember how it is built even if they can understand what is the time using these key-words.

Unit 12 plan.

Differences between Ll and L2 learning

Teacher’s tips

How we teach learners language will depend a lot on what age they are. The younger they are the more they benefit from learning language in the same ways as Ll learners learn, i.e. through exposure, interaction and learning through doing. Older learners with more developed cognitive abilities are able to and can sometimes benefit from also focusing on the form of language in a more abstract (less specific, not concrete) or general way.

Motivation is necessary for successful language learning, but learners may not be very motivated, so teachers can make use of strategies to motivate their students.

Learners are different from one another (in learning style, age, personality, etc.). Some may like to analyse language, for example; some may hate doing that. Some may love to take risks and communicate; others may prefer not to make mistakes. It is useful for teachers to find out about their learners' learning styles, learning needs and expectations, and match their teaching to them. Teachers can do this by varying their teaching style, approaches, materials, topics, method of correction, ete.

Some learners may find a silent period useful but some learners, especially adults, may not, as they expect to use the language straight away.

Exposure to language is important for learning. We can encourage learners to use English as much as possible in their out-oI-class time. They could, for example, listen to radio programmes or songs, read books or magazines, use websites, download podcasts, make English-speaking friends, talk to tourists, write emails to English-speaking penfriends, ete.

Interaction is a way of learning. Pair and group work or class presentations are a way of encouraging interaction.

We can try to simplify our language to a level that learners can learn from, and avoid correcting them too much. They need to build up their fluency, motivation and confidence, and have opportunities to pick up language and experiment with it.

In the classroom, praising learners can be very motivating. Younger learners, especially, respond well to praise. We can also try to give learners as much individual attention as possible and interact with them on a small group or individual level.

Class activities/lessons plans

Use textbooks and materials for a specific language level

Move from one language level to another slowly

Conduct language level test

Differentiate students into groups depending on their level and give different tasks

Useful unit vocabulary

Contorolled practice - is a stage in a lesson where learners practise new language in a limited form. It can be compared to free practice, which involves learners producing language using the target content freely. The teacher has shown the learners the form and use of the past passive form.

Reformulate - to change a plan or idea so that you have a slightly different one.

Exercise example

Portfolio: work in pairs. Imagine you are organizing a ‘Clean, Green, Neighbourhood’ day. Plan the day’s events and activities (for example, tree-planting 9-11 am) Present your ideas to the class

It is connected with an interaction, motivation and exposure as well.

Unit 13 plan.

Learner characteristic

Teacher’s tips

Use the rule of 6c: Choices, Collaboration, Creativity, Communication, Critical thinking and Caring

Different learners use different strategies. Experts think that the strategies that learners use most successfully depend on their character and learning style. This means there are no best strategies. But research shows that using strategies definitely makes learning more successful and that learners can be trained to use strategies.

Of course, every learner is different, so anyone learner may not fit exactly into these descriptions. The descriptions are generalisations that show likely, but not fixed, characteristics. But from looking at these differences we can see that each age group generally needs to be taught in different ways.

It can be useful for teachers to become aware of -their own learning styles, past learning experience and learning strategies, and to compare these with how they teach. Teachers sometimes teach in the same style in which they themselves like to learn. This is unlikely to be the same style as all their learners prefer.

Some learner characteristics, such as past language learning experience and learning strategies, are more relevant to teaching teenagers and adults than to teaching children.
We can find out what our learners' characteristics are by e.g. asking them, observing them, giving them questionnaires, asking at the end of a lesson whether they liked the activities done in class and why, and in what different ways they might like to work.

We can train learners to become aware of and use different learning strategies. This is part of learner training. We can, for example, give learners a list of strategies for remembering words and ask them which they prefer and why; or we can ask them how they arrived at a solution to a problem to raise their awareness of useful learning strategies.

Teachers may need to discuss their methods with learners who are unhappy with new methods. They may need to introduce the new methods gradually and explain the reasons for them. This is also part of learner training, i.e. helping learners adapt their own ways of learning. Teachers may also need to change their teaching to make the learners more comfortable and confident in their learning, if they see that learners can't or won't change their learning style.
Teachers can build into their lessons activities which match different learning
styles, e.g. a listening activity followed by a reading activity followed by group work followed by a mingle (an activity which involves learners walking round the class talking to other students), followed by an exercise.

Class activities/lessons plans

• repeating new words in your head until you remember them

• experimenting / taking risks by using just-learnt language in conversations

• asking give you feedback on your language use

• deciding to use the foreign language as much as possible, e.g. by talking to tourists

• recording yourself speaking, then judging and correcting your pronunciation

• asking a speaker to repeat what he/she has said

• deciding what area of vocabulary you need to learn and then learning it

• thinking about how to memorise (remember) all the new words you meet in each lesson

• deciding to write each new vocabulary item on a separate card and display it on your fridge paraphrasing.

Useful unit vocabulary

Learning skills - is a term that describes the tasks involved in learning, including time management, note-taking, reading effectively, study skills, and writing tests.

Learning strategies - is an individual's way of organizing and using a particular set of skills in order to learn content or accomplish other tasks more effectively and efficiently in school as well as in non-academic settings.

Attention span -is the amount of time spent concentrating on a task before becoming distracted.

Mingle - is a short activity where learners walk around the classroom and talk to each other.

Exercise example (learning styles) - First student has kinaesthetic learning style. He always writes all of the rules to understand and examples and lectures to remember the information. 
He controls and plan his every actions.
When I ask him to do a task spontaneously, he always makes slips because it’s hard for him to concentrate and realise how to “build” this connection. 
Second student has one hundred per cents visual and also group learning styles. He learns best through watching and looking and working with others. She can do everything pretty fast and make others lead her. 
She is not afraid of making mistakes and taking risks.
But huge and complicated tasks confuse her. She starts to feel tired and lose a motivation.

Unit 14 plan.

Learner needs

Teacher’s tips

Adults or older teenagers with specific professional general or academic goals for learning English need courses that meet their needs. Here, for example, are some different kinds of professional general and academic English courses. Notice the differences between them

You can see that to meet the future needs of learners these courses vary in length, frequency, class size, language skill focused on, type of English, teaching methods and activities.

Learners at primary or secondary school may not yet have professional or academic needs, but they do have personal and learning needs. Primary age learners, for example, have a particular need for praise and for play, teenage learners may have a need for more autonomy and recognition of their individuality. Learners may also have special needs such as dealing with dyslexia.

Teachers can find out about learners' needs through observation, questionnaires or through discussing them with students.
Some choices the teacher can make to help to address learners' personal and learning needs

Meeting learners' professional needs is especially relevant to older learners who may be going to study at an English-medium university, get a new job or start new job duties. All these areas have their own uses of language. There are many books and websites available that have materials and activities for these kinds of needs, and that will help teachers understand what the language and skills characteristics of these areas are.
Teachers cannot meet all their learners' needs all the time. Making use of variety within or across lessons can help though: for example, using different kinds of activities, different interaction patterns, different teaching approaches.

Class activities/lessons plans

• A 3-day intensive course on exam strategies for students taking a university entrance exam.

• A series of one-to-one lessons over eight weeks on business presentation skills.

• A six-month course for future tourists focusing on social and daily survival English.

• A year-long course on writing academic essays and reading academic books and articles.

• A short summer course in an English-speaking country for teenagers, involving lots of sports, trips to tourist sites and chatting with English teenagers.

• A once-a-week course for a small group of accountants focusing on English for accountancy, and held in the learners' company, a large accountancy firm.

• A four-week online course on writing business letters in English.

Useful unit vocabulary

Learner autonomy - is when students take control and responsibility for their own learning, both in terms of what they learn and how they learn.

Interactions patterns - are the different ways learners and the teacher can interact in the class with each other.

Assessment - is a measure of the proficiency a language user has in any given language. It could be a first or second language. Tests are one form of language assessment and there are many others. They fall into two categories: summative and formative.

Exercise example (learning needs) – First student has a personal learning need to get feedback. (Comments on learning) For him it’s okay to get it in the front of the whole class, but it’s better to be gentle and focus on something positive to keep him motivated.

Second student has a personal learning need to pace (Speed of lessons) and interaction with a group. It means that she gets everything faster and becomes bored of lessons and process of waiting others. She likes to do all of the activities in a group and be leader, generate ideas as fast as it possible and implement it.

Unit 15 plan.

Approaches to language teaching

Teacher’s tips

Use and mix PPP (presentation, production and practice), TPR (total physical response) and TBL (task-based learning)

Create lesson using stages – warm up, presentation, production, practice and wrap up or pre-task, task preparation, during task activities, post tasks.

Many teachers want to know which approach to teaching is best. But in fact it is difficult to say that one approach is better than another. For example, for a group of motivated upper-intermediate I8-year-olds who are learning English for their future jobs in the tourist industry, a communicative approach may well be very useful. However, for another group of I8-year-olds taking a grammar exam to get into university a Structural Approach might be more suitable.

The best approach to use depends on who your learners are and what your teaching conditions are. Consider learners' age, level of English, motivation to learn, expectations of learning, previous learning experience. Think, too, about the aims of the course your learners are on, what resources are available to the classroom, class size and number of hours of English in the course.

Some people believe in an eclectic approach which uses classroom practices from
a variety of approaches/methods. This can be a successful approach, but it needs
to be used carefully. If you are constantly changing your methods and approaches, your learners may become confused and begin to think that you are not very sure of your teaching style. It is important to mix techniques in a way which is coherent, so that all activities develop well out of one another and work towards the lesson's aims.

Class activities/lessons plans

Warm up (quiz, brainstorming)

Lead-in (personalization)

Ice-breakers

Pre-teaching (activities to predict a material)

Mingling (learners ask questions to each other)

Presentation (rules, vocabulary)

Wrap up (exchanging material, making conclusions – summarize, review, plans for next lessons)

Mind maps

Interaction activities as projects

Create ideas using new lexis with the help of different tables

During task activities – making notes, get rid of questions and problems

Key-structure activities

Useful unit vocabulary

Guided conditions - study is used to answer a research question based purely on what the researcher observes.

Information-gap - efers to when students don't have all the information they need to complete a task or activity. Information gap activities require students to speak and to practice teamwork, working with their classmates to acquire the missing information.

Lexical approach - is a way of analysing and teaching language based on the idea that it is made up of lexical units rather than grammatical structures.

Functional approach - is considered to be the second paradigm of psychology. This idea focuses on the function of the mental processes which involves consciousnesses. 

Communicative approach - is based on the idea that learning language successfully comes through having to communicate real meaning.

Authentic approach - is a management style in which leaders are genuine, self-aware, and transparent.

Grammar-translation method - is a method of teaching foreign languages derived from the classical method of teaching Greek and Latin. In grammar-translation classes, students learn grammatical rules and then apply those rules by translating sentences between the target language and the native language.

Content-based learning - is a study of both language acquisition and subject matter. Instead of teaching language in isolation, the target language becomes the medium in which important information can be learned.

Exercise example (comparing approaches)

First coursebook is for our French course “Le niveau virage” by Levina and it is all about grammar-translational method and lexical approach. We work with it studying new lexis, then reading text and translating it. After that we do some exercises that are based on new lexis and grammar rules. Our teacher sometimes tries to adopt it and use sentences from exercises for questions for us to discuss and train talking skills.

Second one is also from our French course “VITE ET BIEN” by Claire Gourie. It’s for one hundred per cents about communicative approach. There are a lot of exercises for personal work or for work in group or projects to train us talk and communicate with each other.

Unit 16 plan.

Presentation techniques and introductory activities

Teacher’s tips

Teacher firstly sets up a context for presenting the new language that shows its meaning, then models (provides a model for students to copy) the target language for students to repeat before highlighting the form and use of the language through drills and concept questions / concept checking, which give students the opportunity to notice and focus on these. Then move your lesson on to a practice stage.

Presenting new language focuses directly on both the meaning or use and form of target language and gives students an opportunity to practise language in a safe learning environment where it is difficult to make mistakes. It can therefore be quite a confidence-building approach for students. But it makes students learn language items they may not be interested in or ready to learn, and gives them few opportunities to really use the language for communication. The TBL approach,
on the other hand, allows students to find new language when they want to, and to use language experimentally and creatively for real communication. In this way it
puts second language learners in a situation which is quite similar to the one in which children learn their first language. Some learners may find this approach to language learning exciting and challenging. Others may wish for more guidance and structure to help them.

PPP and TBL are not the only ways of presenting new language. It is also possible, for example, to present new language to learners after they have met it in a reading
or listening text which is first used for comprehension. The teacher could ask students to underline examples of the target language in the text and then work out the meaning or use of that language. This is an example of using guided discovery
to present target language. Another possibility is to do an oral activity such as a discussion on a topic or a task such as designing a new playground for the school, then introduce new language while the discussion or task is happening.

Another way of focusing on new language is t~rough Test-teach-test. In this, the teacher first gives learners a task that requires them to use target language. If this activity shows that the students don't know how to use the target language, the teacher will then present the new language, then give the students another task to practise the new language. If the first task shows that the students already know the target language sufficiently well, the teacher will move on to something else.

Class activities/lessons plans

Contextualising aims

Introductory activities

Warmers (pair/group work, quiz, games)

Lead-in activities with personalization

Pre-teaching

Ice-breakers (mingling survey)

Multiple choices activities

Activities including viewing like CD, DVD, worksheets, pictures

Concept questions

Useful unit vocabulary

Task-based learning - is an approach to language learning where learners are given interactive tasks to complete. In order to do this, they need to communicate. Once the task is complete, then the teacher discusses the language used. The learners plan an itinerary for a guest who is coming to stay with their teacher.

Eliciting - is term which describes a range of techniques which enable the teacher to get learners to provide information rather than giving it to them.

Restricted practice - is a stage in a lesson where learners practise new language in a limited form.

Unit 17 plan.

Practice activities and tasks for language and skills development

Teacher’s tips

Controlled activities give students repeated practice in accuracy and the form
of language, and allow them to make few mistakes.

Free activities, by contrast, allow students to use whatever language they wish in order to complete a task. In free activities, the teacher may not be able to predict what language the students will use, and so can't use these activities to give practice
in specific language. These activities focus on fluency, giving students practice in recalling and joining together the language they know and giving them opportunities to try to interact and communicate.

A teacher could put students in pairs and ask them to reproduce a dialogue they have just heard on a recording. This would be a controlled activity. At the end of a lesson on asking
for and giving personal information, students could do a role-play in which they meet a new person at a party and have to find out about them. As the students would be very likely to use the language they had just learnt, this would be a freer activity. Imagine now a reading text which discusses the advantages and disadvantages of social networking websites. After the students have done language and comprehension work on the text, the teacher asks one group of students to list ideas in favour of social networking sites and the other group to list all the arguments against. The teacher then pairs students from the different groups and asks them to argue in their roles about the advantages and disadvantages. This would be an example of a free role-play, as we don't know what language the students would use.

Class activities/lessons plans

Controlled activities: copying words or sentences, jazz chants, and drills

Free activities: discussions, sharing and comparing ideas, rank-ordering, prioritising, writing emails, stories, letters, invitations or compositions

Problem-solving activities

Role-playing

Information-gap activities

Gap-fills

Surveys

Sentence completions

Dialogues and post-comprehension

Activities developing listening and reading subskills

Useful unit vocabulary

Subskills - a skill that is part of and necessary to another more complex skill Objective tests of writing subskills do not measure the ability to compose.

Unit 18 plan.

Assessment types and tasks

Teacher’s tips

1 At the beginning of a course we might give them a test to find out (diagnose)
what they know and don't know. This is called a diagnostic test.

2 When learners go to a language school or evening classes, the school may want
to know what level the learners are at, so they give them a test. This is called a placement test

After we have finished teaching a part of a course, we may want to find out how well learners have learnt it. A test for this purpose is called a progress test. A progress test looks back over a recent block of the syllabus, e.g. a unit from the coursebook, to see how well the learners have learnt what it cleverness. We use
the information from the test to decide if we need to do more work on this area of the syllabus or not, and perhaps to give learners feedback on their strengths and difficulties in this area. Using information from assessment to feed into our teaching and maybe give learners feedback is called formative assessment.

Some teachers prefer not to assess their learners' progress in Cl term through
tests but through pieces of work given throughout the term. They might set a composition in week 2, for instance, a presentation in week 4, an essay in week 6, etc., then base the learner's final mark on the average mark for the pieces of work. Some teachers think that this method of assessment (continuous assessment) gives a truer picture of how well the learner has learnt and is less threatening and more formative than an end-of-course exam. In young learner classes this form of assessment is sometimes called classroom-based assessment.

Another way of assessing learners' work throughout the term is through a portfolio. This is a collection of learners' work done during the course, which the learner puts together during or at the end a course and then presents to the teacher.

At the end of a term or course, we may give learners a test to see how well they have learnt the contents of the whole course. This kind of assessment is called an achievement test or a summative test. Learners usually receive a score or mark from this kind of testing.

6 Sometimes learners take tests to see how good they are at language. This kind of test is called a proficiency test. The contents of the test are not based on a course or syllabus that the learner has followed. The test measures the learner's general skill or ability in the language as a whole (e.g. the IELTS test) or a use of it (e.g. English for nurses).

Class activities/lessons plans

Diagnostic, placement, progress, summative and proficiency tests are all examples of formal testing

Multiple-choice questions, interviews, gap-fill (filling in gaps in sentences or texts), table completion for listening, or reading for specific information

Multiple-choice, true/false, gap-fills and matching tasks are all examples of objective tasks.

Examples of subjective tasks are role-plays, essays, interviews, group discussions, compositions

Peer assessment

Self-assessment

In general, all of the activities to check learners’ level and needs – listening, reading, speaking and writing tasks

Useful unit vocabulary

Self-assessment - is where learners assess their language proficiency, rather than a teacher doing it

Portfolio - is a compilation of materials that exemplifies your beliefs, skills, qualifications, education, training and experiences. It provides insight into your personality and work ethic.

Assessment criteria - the clear and transparent expression of requirements against which the students' performance is assessed, as derived from the learning outcomes.

Unit 19 plan.

Identifying and selecting aims

Teacher’s tips

In order to identify and select the most appropriate aims for a particular group of learners, we need to consider what will help them to take the next step in their learning. This may be new language, further practice of language they already know, skills development or practice, or revision of language they have met in the past but are not using confidently or accurately.

If the main aim is to teach new language, the lesson plan should also include an example of the target language we are planning to teach.

Stating both main and subsidiary aims is a good way of making sure that our lesson plan focuses on what we want our learners to learn, or to be able to do. It enables us to see how the lesson should develop, from one stage (or part) to the next, building up our learners' knowledge or skills in the best possible order.

By identifying a separate aim for each stage of the lesson we can be sure that there is a clear purpose for each activity that we plan, which contributes to the main aim of the whole lesson. Individual stage aims also help us to check that the activities in the lesson are relevant to our main aim and that they are arranged in the best possible sequence. Looking through a sequence of stage aims is a very good way to understand the learning progression of a lesson.

Identifying and selecting main and subsidiary aims are the first steps in planning
a lesson. Once we have decided on these aims, we can design or select the most appropriate stage aims and activities, put them in the best order and choose the most suitable teaching aids and materials. After the lesson, we can look back at this part of the plan to see whether we have achieved our aims, i.e. whether we have succeeded in teaching what we planned to teach. This also helps us to select the most appropriate aims for future lessons.

Like those given in the first table above, these might be about improving the way we handle materials and teaching aids (things we can use to support our teaching in the classroom) or particular teaching techniques, or they might be about our relationship with the learners.

Class activities/lessons plans

Further practice

Revising language, they have recently learnt to improve skills

Target language activities

Pointing out plans of the lessons

Pointing out aims of the lessons

Pay attention to every stage of the lessons

Handling materials

Teaching aids

Writing all of the types of the aids to revise it and improve your/your learners’ results, techniques

Useful unit vocabulary

Subsidiary aim - s the secondary focus of the lesson, less important than the main aim. It could be the language or skills students must be able to use well in order to achieve the main aim of the lesson or a skill or language area which is practised while focusing on the main aim.

Phonetic chart - is a set of symbols that represent all the sounds in spoken English.

Exercise example (comparing aims)

I used a coursebook “Spotlight” by Virginia Evans, Jenny Dooley an etc.

I have created main aims- To practise writing skills in the context of making requests for a job, subsidiary aims - Grammar: to revise modal auxiliary verbs. Functional exponents: Could/Would you ...? Vocabulary: to consolidate lexis for travel, skills, characteristics. Phonology: to focus on intonation. Speaking: to give controlled oral practice by reading essay in the front of the class, asking and answering questions they have created, personal aims – to make relationships with students better by knowing their interests and plans for the future.

Main and subsidiary aims were taken from the coursebook, so, they are the same, but there is a difference in personal aims, I would like to personalize the process of studying to know and motivate my students, that is why I add kind of that activities as much as it possible.

Unit 20 plan.

Identifying the different components of a lesson plan

Teacher’s tips

Create a list of questions for yourself to check it before and during a preparation:

Who are we planning the lesson for

How is the lesson connected to the previous/next one

What do we want learners to learn or to be able to do by the end of the lesson

What else learners be able to do during the lesson to enable them to achieve the main aim of the lesson

What is the purpose of the stage of each lesson

What aspects of our own teaching we want to improve

What do we think learners already know or can already do to related to the aims

What may learners find difficult in the lesson? What may they not be used to doing? What may they not feel confident about?

What action will we take to deal with the anticipated problems?

What should we remember to take to the lesson?

What are the tasks and activities for each stage?

What length of time will we need for each stage?

In which ways will learners work at different stages, i.e. individually, in pairs, in groups, as a whole class?

What further work will learners need to do before the next lesson?

But when we're planning lessons, it's always important to ask ourselves the list of the questions. So all the components together give us a good way of checking that we have thought about our learners and about the lesson, and anticipated any difficulties that might arise.

Class activities/lessons plans

We also need to build in variety, i.e. how we can use different activity types, language skills and interaction patterns. Learners of all ages need variety, but this is especially important for younger learners, who need frequent changes of activity.

A lesson plan can include stages which we can leave out if necessary. We
can also include some different possibilities in a lesson plan, e.g. activities for differentiation or an extra activity to use if learners take less time than expected to complete a task, or if we are not sure how well parts of the plan will work.

Prompts for drilling

A lesson plan can be divided into two parts. These are called background and procedure, and you can see this division in the lesson plan above. The components in the background come from thinking carefully about who our students are, what they need and what our aims are. The answers to these questions provide a context that helps us to write the procedure part of the plan.

Useful unit vocabulary

Summary - are able to express the knowledge in the data that is concise and easily understandable by users.

Timetable fit - classwork (past and future) - what was covered in previous lesson(s), and what will be covered in follow-up lesson(s).

Assumptions - the act of laying claim to or taking possession of something the assumption of power.

Unit 21 plan.

Planning an individual lesson or a sequence of lessons

Teacher’s tips

When we plan an individual lesson, we think about its aims, how to achieve them, the 'shape' of the lesson and the kind of techniques that are most appropriate for a particular group of learners. We also think about the connections between the aims of the lesson and the procedures we use to achieve those aims, as well as answers to the other background components. A sequence of lessons is a number of related lessons that develop language knowledge and/or language skills over a period of time. Sequences may develop a single topic or language area, or may involve topics or language areas that are very closely connected.

When we plan an individual lesson, we ask ourselves a number of questions:

• What is my overall aim?

• Will the topic be interesting and motivating for my learners?

• What are the learning outcomes? (i.e. What do I want the students to have learned by the end of the lesson?)

• Are the activities and teaching materials at the right level for all the learners?

• Have I planned enough for the time available? Do I need any extra material?

• Have I planned too little or too much for the time available?

• Does each step (or stage) in the lesson help to achieve the aim? Are there any stages I can cut if necessary?

• Do the steps/stages develop logically out of one another / make learning easier?

• Have I thought about exactly how to start and end the lesson?

• Are there any aspects of the lesson which I should state as personal aims?

The answers to these questions will help to ensure that our lesson plan is motivating, coherent and at the appropriate level. The questions will also help us to think about important components of the plan, such as materials, stages, timing, and how to start and finish the lesson.

Class activities/lessons plans

Presentation, Practice and Production (PPP) approach or a Task-based Learning (TBL) approach. Skills lessons, too, have regular shapes that we can use to organise lesson plans: for example, for receptive skills, we usually plan tasks or activities for learners to do before, while and after reading or listening; for productive skills, there is usually an introductory stage to set the scene (Le. to explain the context), and maybe input new language, and a feedback stage after the speaking or writing activity.

We also think about the connections between the aims of the lesson and the procedures we use to achieve those aims, as well as answers to the other background components mentioned in Unit 20. The available materials, the length of the lesson and the information we have about our learners all help us to identify possible procedures. But the most important thing is to make sure that the materials, tasks and activities we select are the ones that will help a particular group of learners to achieve the aim we have identified.

Schemes of work are not as detailed as lesson plans. Like any individual lesson, a sequence of lessons should have a logical and learning-friendly progression (where one stage leads to another in a clear order) and a good balance of approaches and activities. Like a lesson plan, a scheme of work helps us to identify our aims and make sure we choose materials and procedures that match those aims.

Useful unit vocabulary

Project work sequence - is a process that requires employees to complete tasks in a specific order. The project has a clear chronology that enables a quality final product.

Supplementary materials - materials used to reinforce, enrich, or extend the basic program of instruction; including ancillary items referenced as, bundles, packages, kits, classroom kits, sets, libraries, and collections.

Unit 22 plan.

Choosing assessment activities

Teacher’s tips

When planning assessment, we need to think first about our reasons for assessing learners. Then we can decide when and how often to assess them, and choose what methods of assessment we are going to use. Every assessment activity has advantages and disadvantages. For this reason, a good formal test includes a variety of assessment activities.

Single-focus activities (e.g. multiple-choice, true/false) are very practical to design and can give us reliable results, but they usually test knowledge about rather than use of language, and so are rather unrealistic, and can have a negative effect on the way we teach. Activities that require learners to produce whole texts or longer samples of spoken language, on the other hand, are far less practical to mark and the results may not be very reliable. But they enable learners to produce language which is very similar to the language they need to produce in the real world.

Single-focus activities are very useful for assessing receptive skills, where we want to check that learners have understood a text. We can best assess productive skills with extended activities (e.g. summary writing, interview). Although these are less practical to mark, they have the advantage of putting learners in a situation where they have to use the language in the same way as in everyday life.

The formal assessment activities discussed above are used to assess learners on
a single occasion, like a photograph. We can use an informal assessment activity, continuous assessment or a portfolio, to assess students over time, more like a
film. A portfolio can contain all of the student's work for a period of time, or just a selection of the work. Sometimes it will also include some kind of evaluation written by the student of his/her own work. By looking at a student's portfolio we can assess their progress over a longer period of time. Portfolios can be used both for assessment by the teacher and for self-assessment.

Class activities/lessons plans

When we use subjective tasks, such as oral interviews, letters and essays, to get information about learners' general ability to use spoken and written language, we can help make the marking of these tests more reliable by using assessment criteria.

When we prepare a class test, it is important to test the main things we have taught, and to include a number of different tasks, so that we get a good picture of our learners' strengths and weaknesses.

For young learners, we need to choose assessment tasks very carefully, making sure that the tasks are familiar and not too difficult, too abstract or too long.

The amount and type of informal assessment we do depend on a number of things: - the size of the class
- the age of the learners (informal assessment is especially useful for young learners for whom formal test tasks are often too abstract)
- the language knowledge, behaviours or skills we want to assess - the frequency of formal tests or examinations. It is important in informal assessment for learners to know that we are assessing them, and to know how and when we are doing it.

To carry out informal assessment of productive skills in larger classes, we probably need to assess small numbers of learners in different lessons. We can observe the class or particular students and record our opinions on a record sheet or fill in
a checklist.

We need to plan informal assessment and think about how we can organise assessment activities as part of our teaching.

We can carry out informal assessment of receptive skills by checking learners' answers to reading or listening tasks, and taking notes on their performance.

We can assess learners' grammatical and lexical knowledge informally by using language games or quizzes, or by monitoring practice activities and making a note of frequent errors. We can then give feedback to individuals or to the whole class, or return to the problems later in a revision lesson.

We may also wish to assess other things such as motivation and effort. We can do this by observation and also by talking to learners about their learning.

It is important to keep records of informal assessment, especially in larger classes, so that we have the information we need to report or give feedback on our learners' progress. These records can be quite simple, with headings (for example) for grammar, vocabulary, language skills, motivation and general progress against each learner's name. When completed, they provide the teacher with a useful learner profile.

Useful unit vocabulary

Monitoring - is the regular observation and recording of activities taking place in a project or programme.

Proficiency test – is a test measures an individual's abilities and skills in a domain or subject to know how well he/she has learned, understood and internalised the related concepts and principles. Such a test in language e.g may assess a student's skills in reading, writing, listening, speaking or vocabulary.

Learner profile - is a document, project, or even conversation that helps teachers learn more about their students. Learner profiles may include information such as: Skills, strengths, and interests. Aspirations and passions.

Exercise example (comparing formal and informal assessment)

I used a coursebook “Spotlight” by Virginia Evans, Jenny Dooley an etc.

There is a unit about cinema and the first part of it are warmers activities.

An example of formal assessment – an exercise with a list of questions:

• Name the types of at lest 7 types of films

• Describe your favorite one

• Describe the features of the rest

• Give examples of named types of films

We may count it as a formal assessment because student has to talk with a teacher and his or her answer must meet certain requirements. Moreover, there are correct answers to give to the teacher. So, this exercise is structured and it is easy to check and make a conclusion about learner’s skills and language level.

An example of informal assessment is the next one – “Discuss your favorite film with your partner, try to find something in common with two your favorite films”

It is informal, because there are no requirements, teacher is just monitoring students and making notes about their skills.

Unit 23 plan.

Consulting reference resources to help in lesson preparation

Teacher’s tips

• Checking the spelling, pronunciation and use oflexical items

• Developing your own understanding of language

• Anticipating learners' difficulties

• Looking for new approaches to teaching lessons and new classroom activities

• Getting advice about particular lessons or teaching materials

Some grammar books and dictionaries may contain clearer explanations or examples. So, when checking a language item, we should try to look at more than one reference resource.
Language changes, as new words appear and people stop using some older words. Grammatical usage, too, changes slowly over time. One way to keep up-to-date is to use the most recently published grammar books and dictionaries.
Dictionaries on CD- or DVD-ROMs have many extra features, such as practice activities, collocation searches and audio recordings of pronunciation

Class activities/lessons plans

Using supplementary materials

Using modern technologies

Visiting lessons of your colleagues to inspire

Checking special literature such articles and journals

Follow your colleagues in social media, maybe from different countries

Useful unit vocabulary

Reference resources – resources that are designed to help you find specific types of information quickly. Use reference sources to: get keywords and names for more effective advanced searching. read a quick overview of a new subject.

Learner awareness – act of being aware of one's language learning styles, strategies, pace, and time.

Exercise example (resources)

Youtube video for teenagers and adults

Netflix series and films (parts) for teenagers and adults

Youtube cartoons for kids

Reverso to check translation, transcription and pronunciation

Quizlet for new lexis

Disadvantages of Youtube - subtitles are created automatedly, so, they are not always correct, of Netflix – it is now blocked, so, I have to use illegal copies.

Unit 24 plan.

Selection and use of coursebook materials

Teacher’s tips

Teachers often base their selection of teaching materials (coursebook or supplementary materials) on a 'needs analysis', i.e. a study of learners' level, language needs and interests, using questionnaires, interviews or diagnostic tests. This information helps to build up a class profile (a description of all the learners in the class) and shows what the learners have in common and how they differ from each other. The teacher's task is then to select the material that best matches this profile.

We may not be able to choose our coursebook, but we can still make choices about what materials in it to use. Decisions about whether - and how - to use the coursebook, or parts of it, will depend on the answers to a number of questions:

Is the material visually attractive? Is it visually clear (e.g. using different colours,

different fonts, headings, etc.)?

Does the visual material help learners to understand context and meaning?

Is the material well organised?

Can you and your learners follow the 'logic' of the

material and find your way quickly and easily around the page or the unit?

Is it culturally appropriate?

Will the context(s) be familiar to learners?

Is it suitable for your learners' age and their needs and interests?

Will the topic(s) be motivating to suit the age, gender, experience and personal

interests of your learners?

Is the material at the right level?

Does it provide a clear enough context and/or explanations for learners to understand new language?

Does it give learners enough opportunities to use the language?

Class activities/lessons plans

To replace the coursebook material with materials with the same focus/aim from

another book or resource, such as a teachers' website or supplementary materials.

To adapt the coursebook material, i.e. change it in some way to make it suitable for our learners.

Personalize all of the material.

Change the rank or pace of activities

Make material more attractive by using mime, acting or realia

Useful unit vocabulary

Methodology – is a body of methods, rules, and postulates employed by a discipline: a particular procedure or set of procedures.

Class profile - is a document and tool for the teacher for a ready reference of the learning preferences, strengths and interests of the class. It is the mapping of the entire class in a nutshell.

Diagnostic test - A type of test used to help diagnose a disease or condition. Mammograms and colonoscopies are examples of diagnostic tests. Also called diagnostic procedure.

Unit 25 plan.

Selection and use of supplementary materials

Teacher’s tips

Get to know what supplementary materials are available in your school. Use observation, a questionnaire or interviews for analysis of your learners' needs.

Supplementary language practice materials are not usually accompanied by teacher's books, and the aims of some activities may not be clear. Some materials and activities may look very attractive, but they may not be appropriate for the stage or the level that learners have reached. So, it is always important to think about exactly how supplementary material will replace or improve on material in the coursebook.

It may be useful to use authentic material (which is not designed for a particular level), in order to give students the experience of working with more challenging texts and tasks.

The activities in materials designed to develop individual skills often include the use of other skills, e.g. learners need to read a text before they carry out a listening task, or to do some writing as a follow-up activity after a speaking activity. When selecting materials and activities, it is important for us to think carefully about all the skills that they require learners to use.

Many publishers produce materials for practising separate language skills at different levels. Teacher's resource books, too, usually list tasks and activities according to level. Before we decide to use these materials, however, the first step is to consider how appropriate the level is for our learners, and to think about the language they will need to understand or to produce.

Learners get used to the methodology in their coursebook. If we are using supplementary materials with procedures that are different from those used in the coursebook, we may need to give special attention to instructions.
We can adapt many supplementary materials for use with classes at different levels. The texts used in these materials may not be graded, but we can grade the activities by making the learners' tasks more or less challenging.
Games and extra communicative activities can provide variety and make learning fun. But unless we think carefully about our reasons for using them, our lesson may not have a clear purpose. Older learners especially may want to know why they are doing these activities.
In a mixed ability / mixed level class (Le. one where learners are at different language levels), if the material in the coursebook is too easy or too difficult
for some of our learners, supplementary materials and activities can also help
us to provide appropriate materials for different learners. (This is known
as differentiation.) We can give different tasks to different groups, pairs or individuals which are more suited to their level.
We may need to input new vocabulary or language patterns before we can use supplementary materials or activities. We just need to make sure our students have the language they need to make the best use of the materials or activities.

Class activities/lessons plans

Bamboozle

Wordwall

Fun brain

Super simple

ESL videos

Ello

Randall’s RSYL listening club

Eslflow

English grammars

Teamteacher China

No hands

Quizlet (competition function)

Useful unit vocabulary

Authentic resources - are practical items that children have seen adults use, they are open-ended so can be used in many different ways, and they often reflect diversity or a family's cultural background.

Supplementary materials - are relevant materials that are additional to the main article. It can be anything from tables to presentations, to video and audio files.

Exercise example (supplementary materials)

I used a coursebook “Spotlight” by Virginia Evans, Jenny Dooley an etc.

I think it is possible, even nice to add supplementary materials in every unit, every type of activity and every exercise. Personally, I like to add it in speaking activities, I have learnt it from my teacher of French language course – in order to personalize the process of studying and keep my students motivated. I also like to use supplementary materials such as interactive whiteboard and presentations to present the material – and include modern technologies as much as it possible.

Unit 26 plan.

Selection and use of teaching skills

Teacher’s tips

Think about the best ways to use different aids (e.g. using flashcards to give
quick, clear prompts, or using the overhead projector to show corrections to the whole class or for students to use for presentations). Different aids have different advantages and disadvantages. Make sure you choose the best one for your specific teaching purpose and context.

Aids that you can prepare in advance, like charts, flashcards and transparencies for the overhead projector, will help you to make sure that procedures outlined in lesson plans match your aims. Another advantage is that you can save such aids and re-use them in future lessons.

Make sure that you check any equipment before the lesson. If you use computers or the language laboratory, advance preparation is essential. It is important to plan all your instructions very carefully, as well as the sequence of activities for using the aids.

Learners may also make use of a self-access centre, a place with books, worksheets, computers and CDs, where they can study by themselves.

Class activities/lessons plans

Language laboratory

Recording words and ideas that come up during the lesson

Drawing or displaying pictures

Creating mind maps

Realia

Flashcards

Puppets

Charts

Hand gestures, facial expressions, mime, finger corrections

Useful unit vocabulary

Teaching aims - are what teachers (and learners) want to achieve in a lesson or a course. Activity in a class is planned in order to achieve these aims.

Teaching resources - are materials that are designed to help facilitate learning and knowledge acquisition.

Wallcharts - is a type of large poster often displaying information for educational use or entertainment.

Language laboratory - room where learners can listen to recordings and record themselves)

Unit 27 plan.

Using language appropriately for a range of classroom functions

Teacher’s tips

Getting students’ attention

Instructing

Modelling

Encouraging

Nominating

Prompting

Using target language accompanied with gestures

Using mother language for explanations and situations such as;

problems with discipline, (for example the teacher needs to quickly stop a situation from getting out of control)

possible injury or danger to a learner, (for example the teacher notices that a learner's chair is broken)

looking after a learner, (for example a learner is very upset for personal reasons

repeating instructions in Ll after they have been given in the target language, for

example with a beginner young learner group)

checking understanding of more abstract vocabulary, (for example with an

advanced class.)

Exponents used in the classroom must be appropriate for the classroom function, for the learning context and purpose, and for the level and age of the learners. Examples of when exponents might be inappropriate are: if the language is above the learners' level; if the language is too informal or direct and might seem impolite, for example: 'Sit down and get on with your work' spoken to a learner in a business class.

Language should be graded to suit the language level and age of the learners. Grading language means choosing exponents that are suitable for the language level of the learners. For example, with beginners we use simple words and phrases, but with higher-level learners our language can be more complex. Grading means using language at the right level for the learners to understand.

Language needs to be sequenced appropriately to provide learners with a range of learning opportunities. Sequencing means using language in a logical order. This is particularly important for explanations and instructions, for example: Listen. Work

Learners can learn chunks of language, just by hearing them again and again. So

it is useful to use a fixed range of exponents for classroom functions at the early stages of learning, for example: Open your books and look at page ... Once learners are familiar with a set of exponents, we can extend the range to suit their level. With more advanced learners, we can take the opportunity to expose them to a wide range of language through the functional exponents we use.

Choosing which exponents we're going to use for classroom functions before the lesson is important. If we do not plan or think about what language to use, we might use the Ll, or language which is too complex or too simple, or language which does not respect the learners.

Class activities/lessons plans

Using patterns for stages

Using pair and group activities

Using utterances

Using models with clear instructions

Using free language to feel students more confident

Make pauses and small breaks normal part of your lessons

Useful unit vocabulary

Nominating – to officially ask someone for an answer, position and so on.

Propmting - is when a parent or therapist engages in encouraging the desired response from a learner.

Discourse - is a unit of language longer than a single sentence, referring to spoken or written language in social contexts.

Unit 28 plan.

Identifying the functions of learners’ language

Teacher’s tips

We teach our learners to use exponents which are appropriate for the context in which they are learning and in which they will be using the language, for example in a business situation.

Learners need a range of exponents so that they can interact appropriately with each other and with the teacher. In most classrooms, learners will use exponents which are neutral in style. However, in some learning contexts, for example with business or commercial students, it is useful for learners to learn exponents which are less formal, for example for use in a classroom/social context, or exponents which are more formal, for example for use in business meetings.

Students can learn exponents as language chunks. They don't need to understand the grammar of the utterance. They need to know when to use it and what it means; for example: It's my turn/ /It's your turn.! I'm first! After you'/I've won.
Sets of useful exponents can be displayed on the classroom walls as a reminder for learners.

Exponents for common language functions should be introduced on a step-by- step basis. If we encourage learners to use these exponents regularly during lessons, they soon get used to using English as the medium of interaction. Many coursebooks or textbooks introduce exponents for classroom functions on a regular basis.

Elementary learners, both adults and children, may not have sufficient English to be able to communicate the range of language functions in a typical lesson in the target language. This means that either they can't communicate as they want to (in English) or that they use Ll. It's important to have a clear policy about use of Ll in class: when learners can use it and how much we let them use.

Exponents can be introduced to learners by teachers modelling them as part of their own classroom language. For example, by using the exponent Do you agree? when eliciting students' opinions, we provide them with an exponent which they can use when eliciting each other's opinions in pair and group work.

Class activities/lessons plans

There are examples of some of the functions

The teacher enters a noisy classroom and asks the learners to be quiet. The teacher greets the learners (e.g. says hello) and they reply_ The teacher quickly checks through the homework with the class before collecting it. - greeting, apologising, explaining, checking answers, accepting a correction, expressing doubt/surprise

The teacher hands out a reading text (a story) and gives learners instructions for the pre- reading discussion task. The learners check the instructions with the teacher and then do the task in pairs before class feedback. - asking for clarification, suggesting, giving reasons, negotiating, checking, repeating

The teacher sets the questions for the reading task. Learners do the task individually, then check in pairs before the teacher checks with the class. - negotiating, confirming answers, agreeing, disagreeing, asking for an opinion, providing information, acknowledging (showing you have noticed)

The teacher asks the learners to retell the story in their own words, checking understanding of vocabulary at the same time. The teacher focuses on pronunciation of new vocabulary. - retelling a story, summarising, explaining, giving a definition, speculating (making a guess using information about the situation), repeating, self-correcting

The teacher sets homework for the following day. The lesson ends. - checking instructions, asking for clarification, confirming information, saying goodbye

Useful unit vocabulary

Negotiating - is a strategic discussion that resolves an issue in a way that both parties find acceptable. Compromise is normally the basis of negotiation. Negotiations can take place between buyers and sellers, an employer and prospective employee, or governments of two or more countries.

Summarizing - is when you take a longer passage, from several sentences to several paragraphs or even more, and restate the essential main ideas in your own words. When you summarize, you end up with considerably less words than the original source.

Functions - are the purposes for which learners use
language in the classroom. These purposes include taking part in tasks and activities, interacting with the teacher and with each other. Learners make use of a wide range of language functions as they take part in different aspects of a lesson, for example greeting, explaining, suggesting, checking instructions, negotiating (having a discussion in order to reach agreement), agreeing, disagreeing, prompting

Exercise example (Functions to complete an activity)

I used a coursebook “Spotlight” by Virginia Evans, Jenny Dooley an etc.

There is a unit about cinema and the first part of it are warmers activities. Interaction activity such as answering question about your favorite film in pairs. Most likely there will be functions: retelling a story, summarising, explaining, giving a definition, speculating (making a guess using information about the situation), self-correcting, asking for description, surprising.

Unit 29 plan.

Categorizing learner’s mistakes

Teacher’s tips

Learners can lose motivation if we correct every mistake they make. They become anxious and more unwilling to take risks and this can have a negative effect on their learning. We need to think carefully about what, how and when we correct.

When correcting learners' written work, it is possible to use a correction code. This uses symbols, for example sp for spelling, which tells learners the type of mistake they have made. This can help learner autonomy because it raises learners' awareness of the types of mistakes they make and encourages them to correct their own mistakes. It's not possible to use a correction code with very young learners, because they are not able to categorise language in this way.

How we identify and categorise mistakes influences the way we correct them. For example, learners may not have learnt the word or the structure yet; they may be using a word or structure from their first language by mistake (Ll interference); they may have great difficulty making certain sounds, which is another kind of Ll interference, or they may need more time to check and edit their writing.

It is important not only to focus on mistakes of accuracy (e.g. grammar and lexis). Mistakes of appropriacy need correcting as well. Mistakes of appropriacy can
often cause more misunderstanding and lack of communication than mistakes of grammar and lexis.

Mistakes can be a very positive aspect of learning. They show us that learning is taking place and that learners are taking risks with the language.

Some mistakes matter more than others. Mistakes that cause a breakdown in communication or cause miscommunication are more significant than those which do not, e.g. leaving off plural s is unlikely to cause a communication breakdown, while using the past instead of going to is likely to.

It is useful to identify and categorise our learners' mistakes. We might identify common mistakes made by many students, or focus on mistakes made by individual students. We can use this information when we plan our lessons to make sure
we focus on the problems that our students have, and help them develop ways to improve.
We can get information on our learners' mistakes and their needs from homework tasks, informal assessments, observation checklists and so on.
Students may also make mistakes in communication, e.g. in speaking, they may not be very fluent or may not have good interactive strategies, and in writing they may not organise their writing according to accepted structures. Learners' mistakes can be in accuracy, appropriacy or communication.

Class activities/lessons plans

Interactive activities

Develop students’ autonomy

Classify mistakes from different types of activities

Classify mistakes from students’ needs and goals

Self-analyzing of mistakes (or in pairs or in groups)

Useful unit vocabulary

Correction code - is an algorithm for expressing a sequence of numbers such that any errors which are introduced can be detected and corrected.

Interactive strategy – combination of methods of interpersonal, intra- and intergroup interaction, which ensure high motivation of students, the strength of knowledge, creativity and imagination.

Slips – are mistakes that are caused by temporary factors such as a learner is tired, nervous, excited or distracted.

Unit 30 plan.

Teacher roles

Teacher’s tips

What we say, how we say it and what we do make our teacher roles clear to learners. When planning lessons, it is useful to first identify the roles we are going to take on during the lesson and then to think about what we are going to say and do to convey that role clearly to the learners.
It takes practice and experience to know which teacher roles are appropriate
with which classes and for which activities. Less experienced teachers may feel comfortable using a limited number of roles at first and then gradually extending their range.
Some problems with classroom discipline, classroom management and facilitating learning are a result of teachers not adopting appropriate teacher roles.

Learners take time to get used to the teacher working in different roles. For example, learners who are more familiar with a teacher in the role of manager might be confused by a teacher who takes on the role of facilitator. It is useful
to provide some learner training and to introduce the new roles slowly so that learners get used to new ways of working.

It is important to be flexible in teacher roles. Sometimes roles need to be changed because of circumstances in the lesson. For example, when we are monitoring a
task and realize that learners have not understood the key language, we take on the role of language resource to clarify the language point so that learners can continue with the task.

It is sometimes necessary to take on roles we do not always feel comfortable with. When learners do not complete homework tasks, for example, teachers have to
be firmer in managing the learners than they usually are. The ability to take on appropriate roles in class is important for establishing class rapport and maintaining a positive and effective learning environment in the classroom.

Class activities/lessons plans

Changing roles according to different stages of lesson

Adopt roles according to learning and teaching context, approaches, aims, type of activity, level, age, attitude of students

Effective classroom management

Include learners not completing homework, monitoring learners during pair and group activities, learners failing to understand instructions, learners chatting during pair or group work and not focusing on the task.

The roles that teachers adopt also depend on the needs of the learners. With young learners, we might take on the role of a parent or a friend when a young student is unwell or unhappy. With teenage or adult learners, two of the key teacher roles are those of motivating students and maintaining discipline. With adult students the teacher's roles are often those of facilitator, language resource and diagnostician.

Useful unit vocabulary

Dominating – act to rule or control by superior power or influence to dominate a group of students in a learning process.

Learner training – encouraging learners to take responsibility for learning and helping them to develop learning strategies and study skills. Most importantly, it asks learners to reflect on how they are learning. The aim of learner training is to produce effective, independent language learners.

Exercise example (Types of mistakes)

1)Most of my learners make errors, but not slips- it means that they try to base English on their mother language or it is just a part of their development process. To talk about the first language basement, it is about pronunciation, but I don’t like to be strict with it and count it as a serious mistake. To talk about development, it is about grammatical, lexical mistakes. I think they forget rules, vocabulary and can’t connect pieces of information with each other.
2)The most common mistake is prononciation. In addition, students use intonation poorly, which makes it difficult to understand emotions in speech and the completeness of phrases. To talk about the first problem, it is based on their mother language, and the second one is more about lack of knowledge, so I can attribute it to developmental mistakes.

Exercise example (teacher’s roles)

As a teacher, I have different roles during lesson’s stages. Most of time I take roles of language resource and rapport builder, I think they are the most effective. But I also like being a planner and assessor. According to my opinion, in general less important roles are manager and observer, but you will take them anyway for special activities during your work with students. To make a conclusion, all of the roles: planner, manager, observer, facilitator, diagnostician, language resource, assessor and rapport builder are important because teacher practices all of them.

Unit 31 plan.

Grouping learners

Teacher’s tips

• It is useful to include a variety of interaction patterns in a lesson to keep the students interested and motivated and to give them different kinds of practice.

• Young learners do not have such fixed learning styles as adults and it is an important aspect of their development for teachers to introduce them to a range of learner groupings.

• All classes are mixed ability: students are at different points in their language learning, have different learning strengths and different intelligences.

• When grouping students in young learner classes, it is important to consider their cognitive and physical development. Young learners of the same age may not be at the same point in these aspects of development.

• Most of the time learners work well together in different groupings, but sometimes individual learner characteristics mean that some learners find it difficult to work together, e.g. one learner is shy and another is quite dominant.

• With a class of between 20 and 30 learners, we can manage a range of interaction patterns quite easily. With classes of more than 30 learners, interaction patterns such as pairs, groups, mingles, teams are possible, but need more careful planning.

• Gradual introduction of pair and group work is important when learners are used to working as a whole class. It is useful to start by doing short, quite structured pairwork activities and gradually introduce longer and more varied groupings.

• Activities do not always have to be done in the same learner groupings. Discussion activities can be done in teams rather than in groups or as a whole class, and role-plays in groups rather than pairs.

• Learners can be absent from class. It is frustrating when we plan groups for an activity and one or more of the learners are absent. So it's important to consider how we will manage, for example, if the predicted class of 20 (5 groups of 4) is a class of 18 on the day.

• Sometimes a student arrives late for class after we have organised the groupings for the activity. You can deal with this by putting the student in a group and have the group explain quickly to him or her what they are doing

Class activities/lessons plans

• Board race

• Two truths and one lie

• Pictionary

• The mime

• Hot seat

• ‘What is my problem’

• Oral storytelling

• Quiz games

• Competitions

• Open and close pairs

• Mingling

Useful unit vocabulary

Mingling – is an activity where a pupil talks to one of his or her classmates then goes on speaking to another classmate.

Feedback – is information about how one is doing in effort to reach a goal. Understanding of how to give feedback and to receive feedback is important in a leadership role.

Group dynamics – the social process by which people interact and behave in a group environment. Involves the influence of personality, power and behaviour on the group process.

Unit 32 plan.

Correcting learners

Teacher’s tips

Stay aware of the range of correction techniques and strategies available in the classroom. We choose the technique appropriate for the teaching approach, the learning purpose, the activity, the learner and the context. Over-correction can result in learners not wanting to say anything in class because they are afraid of making mistakes. So we choose carefully what to correct and what to ignore.

Indicating mistakes and slips to learners so that they can self- or peer-correct will help them become more autonomous in their learning.
We can try to extend our range of correction techniques and strategies. If we use the same technique all the time, for example echo correcting, learners will not have opportunities to correct themselves or become aware of their own errors.

Concept questions can be a way of checking if learners have made an error of use rather than form. For example, the learner says 'I'll go to the beach at the weekend'. This is grammatically correct, but if we think the learner has already planned the trip and should be using the present continuous or going to future, we can use concept questions such as 'When did you decide to go to the beach? Did you decide now or before?' to check.

When several learners make the same significant mistake during one or more lessons it sometimes means that the class needs further practice with that area of language in future lessons. If they are minor errors, this is probably not necessary. If only a few learners make the error, we can provide those learners with individual written or oral practice.

Class activities/lessons plans

• Time lines

• Finger correction

• Gestures and facial expressions

• Phonemic symbols

• Echo correcting

• Analysis of mistakes

• Delayed correction

• Peer and self-correction

• Ignoring errors

• Reformulating

• Recasting

• Give rules with examples

Useful unit vocabulary

Echo correcting – is repeating that students have said with rising your own intonation to correct.

Recasting - rewording student’s utterance and saying back to the learner in improved form.

Concept questions – are questions that are designed to check learners’ understanding of language item.

Unit 33 plan.

Giving feedback

Teacher’s tips

• Wherever possible, feedback should be balanced, focused and helpful. It needs to be balanced so that there is comment on positive aspects of a learner's work as well as areas he/she needs to improve; focused so that the learner knows exactly what the good points are and what the problems are; helpful so that the learner knows what steps to take to improve. This is particularly important for weaker or less confident learners.

• Feedback can be given at different stages of a lesson, for example at the beginning of the lesson when we comment on work we have marked, during an activity, while we monitor learners doing pairwork or group work, at the end of an activity when we tell learners how they did, or correct their common errors at the end of or after the lesson when we are marking some written work.

• During class or individual feedback it is possible to revisit or recycle language that learners are having problems with, by providing learners with written exercises, or by including the language for review in an oral activity in the following lesson.

• Small-group feedback sessions are useful for the teacher and learners to give and receive feedback on classes and on teaching and learning.

• Feedback which is particularly personal or sensitive should be given to learners privately and not in front of the whole class.

• Written or oral feedback can be given to learners after formal assessment in addition to a mark or grade. This feedback should include guidance on how learners can improve their work.

• Learner diaries provide teachers with an opportunity for individual, private two- way feedback (learner to teacher as well as teacher to learner).

• Learners often need guidance to help them provide teachers with feedback. If we say to learners, for example, 'Write some feedback for me about the lesson and about your learning styles in your learner diaries. You have ten minutes: it is likely that learners will not be able to provide much useful feedback because the task is too general. It is better to give learners guidance or a framework to work with. For example, we can review the activities in the lesson, what they did in each activity and the types of interaction. We can then ask learners to write about which activities they preferred and Why. Over a number of lessons we can introduce other elements so that learners become more familiar with reflection and with giving feedback.

Class activities/lessons plans

• Personal comments in student’s notebook

• Comparing students’ works with each other in front of the class

• Positive oral in general feedback in front of the class

• Using statistics in per cents

• Comparing with previous experience

• Telling statistics about proper exercise in the whole world

Useful unit vocabulary

Monitoring – is a type of systematic observation like the monitoring students when they are doing closed pairs activities. In general it means to keep an eye on someone or something often through recording devices.

Assessment – the systematic process of determining educational objectives, gathering, using, and analyzing information about student learning outcomes to make decisions about programs, individual student progress, or accountability.

Peer feedback – is a practice where feedback is given by one student to another. Peer feedback provides students opportunities to learnmore from each other and do team-building activities.