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LEVEL CONSIDERATIONS

 

UNIT 7: LEVEL CONSIDERATIONS

 

1. Basic TEFL terminology

 

* When I read teachers’ forums there are some words and concepts that most of them use. I’d say it’s a bit pretentious, right? We could probably do without, but that’s the issue of being part of a community; jargon makes so much of a difference, and sometimes I don’t understand what they’re saying because of that. What exactly do they mean?

 

When approaching teaching beginners there are some key TEFL terms that should be understood:

Cognates

 

An example of cognates between English and Castilian is the word ACCIDENT in English and ACCIDENTE in Spanish. Also ENERGY in English, ENERGIA in Spanish. IDENTIFICATION in English, INDENTIFICACION in Spanish. INDEPENDENCE in English, INDEPENDENCIA in Spanish. In general, Many words ending in –tion in English end in –ción in Spanish.

 

You can see that these words are very similar in the two languages, so Cognates are words with shared etymological origins in two or more languages.

 

Other examples are MANIPULATION, TRANSPARENT in French and English.

 

Cognates can enable learners to expand their vocabulary and gain fluency because they see that many words are very similar in their native language and certain patterns can be followed to enable them to articulate themselves.

We use cognates to teach beginners all the time. Even an apparently complex sentence can appear very easy to understand if we base most of the message on cognates. Take a look at the examples:

 

- What is your SINCERE OPINION on the POLITICAL and ECONOMICAL SITUATION in Spain? 

- Have you VISITED the MONUMENTS of the CAPITAL of France, or you PREFERRED VISITING MUSEUMS?

- What is your FAVOURITE FILM?

 

Yes, there are tenses and inverted order for questions, but the message conveyed using cognates, makes it much easier for the beginner learner, so that they don’t get discouraged.

 

Contextualisation

 

Contextualisation is putting language items into a meaningful and real context rather than being treated as isolated items of language to be memorized or used to practice a particular structure.

 

For example, when teaching stationary vocabulary, instead of giving a list of words for students to memorize and giving them a vocabulary test, the teacher could contextualize the language by creating a role play in which students order stationary items from a supplier. A tangible context for the language is thereby created.

 

Contextualisation is a natural way of introducing language, as learners automatically use strategies such as deducing meaning from the context and later recalling the language more easily because of the real context in which they heard it and the greater communicative value that it has as a result.

Drills

 

A drill is a classroom technique used to practice new language. It involves the teacher modeling a word or a sentence and the learners repeating it. There are different kinds of drilling, such as choral drill, which involves the whole class, and substitution drill, where the teacher changes the cue words after each repetition.

 

The following sequence is an example of a substitution drill:

Teacher: I like cheese

Learners: I like it

Teacher: I like apples

Learners: I like them

Teacher: I like Sue, etc

 

Although this is not a communicative method, it can be useful when working on pronunciation and accuracy.

Controlled practice

 

Controlled practice is a stage in a lesson where learners practice new language in a limited form. It can be compared to free practice, which involves learners producing language using the target content freely.

 

Controlled practice may be limiting for the student as they are using the language in a restricted, somewhat artificial way, but it can be used to ensure that a student understands and can use a new or complex point accurately without the added complications of differing contexts or tenses.

Graded language

 

Graded language is classroom language and materials that are adapted to the level of the learners in some way, often simplified. It can be compared with authentic language, which is not changed in any way and includes all the complexity and colloquialism of native speech and writing.

 

Graded language aids with students’ comprehension and allows them to progress and gradually increase their level. A teacher using ungraded speech and materials will have difficulties in making themselves understood and in achieving class objectives.

Pace

 

Pace refers to the speed of the class. It is a subjective judgment, connected with how it feels for the learner to go through the sequence of activities in a class.

 

Factors that can affect the pace of a class are: differences in students’ abilities, activity type, and teacher’s control of pace.

 

Teachers should aim to achieve a pace that ensures that students feel that they have been allowed enough time to grasp key concepts and practice them but also that the class has energy and momentum to promote students’ interest and motivation.

Prior knowledge

 

Prior knowledge is the knowledge the learner already has before they meet new information. A learner’s understanding of a text can be improved by activating their prior knowledge before dealing with the text.

Example:

A group of young learners are going to read about dolphins. First they talk about what they already know in a brainstorm activity.

 

Pre-task activities are a good way to explore and share prior knowledge. Making predictions about content, answering true or false questions, agree on ‘5 things you know about…’ and class or group brainstorming are all effective tools.

Realia

 

Realia are real things that are brought to the class and used as a resource.

Example:

The learners are learning to describe clothes. In turn, they describe someone in the class for others to identify.

 

In the classroom:

Realia can include the learners themselves, the classroom, furniture, the school, published material such as advertisements and menus, the contents of learners’ pockets and bags, and the view outside the window.

 

Using Realia creates strong links between objects and the language that describes them. It can help to avoid translation and long explanations as the object is used to demonstrate and explain a word. It is a dynamic and memorable way to introduce and revise language points.

Modeling

 

Modeling language means to demonstrate a structure for students before then prompting them to produce a similar or identical

structure.

Example:

When teaching complete beginners, the teacher might model structures such as:

“My name is Katie.

What is your name?”

Recycling

 

Recycling is practicing language that learners have seen previously. The recycled language will be re-introduced in a different context, or through a different skill. This helps the student extend their range of use of the new item.

 

Example:

In the last class, the learners were introduced to language relating to greetings and introductions. Now they do a quick ‘networking’ activity where they recycle this language.

 

If language is revised and repeated, students retain it. Also, it’s an advantage that language items are encountered in different contexts and/or practiced in a new way.

Retention

 

Retention is remembering new language rather than forgetting it. Once a word is retained, it can be retrieved and used later. If learners have to work to guess or infer the meaning of a new word, and do so themselves, then retention of that word is more likely.

 

In the classroom:

 

Activities which can help retention of new language include learners deducing meaning from context, recording tools such as mind maps and visualisation, using material relevant to the learners, and a range of approaches to suit learner styles.

 

In general, thinking about other areas aside from language learning, strategies that help learners retain information are repetition, note taking and visual aids.

Vague or generic words

 

Vague or generic words are words with a big communicative potential in the sense that they can stand for a lot of things. ‘Thing’ is an example of a generic word, since it can represent anything, as a: cup, shoe, paper, teddy bear and clothes hanger. If a person forgets or doesn’t know a word she can say: ‘That thing to leave umbrellas when you enter a store’.

Examples of generic words are: this, that, these, those, here, there, object and place.

 

The 4-step system

 

Teaching beginners should follow this simple 4-step system:

STEP 1 – Teach a function: I am, I have, I need, go, live….

STEP 2 – Use the function with generic words: this/that, here/there, thing/object

I HAVE THIS. I LIVE HERE. I GO THERE.

STEP 3 – Substitute the generic with the specific: THIS is A PEN. THESE are CHAIRS.

STEP 4 – Join function and specific nouns in a sentence: I HAVE A PEN.

2. Teaching beginners

What to teach beginners

 

Ask yourself the question: What do students need to express first in the English language? Is it talking about the world economy? No, probably their immediate needs will be to answer a greeting, ask for directions, or express a need.

 

Therefore the contents will go from ‘who I am’, to ‘who you are’, to ‘what I have’, ‘where I go or live’, ‘what I need or take’, ‘what I like or hate’, ‘what I do or make’, etc. For these functions we have to select the most relevant and simple vocabulary, so that every word is considered as necessary and important for communication at that specific stage.

Class Structure

 

The Oxbridge English Teaching System’s S1 course consists of 25 classes. Every class includes a revision of the previous class.

Class 25 is a general revision class of the whole course.

The structure of each class is:

 

For revising previous content we use the same attachments and flashcards as in the previous classes, which helps learning through repetition and consolidation.

How to teach beginners

* Everybody keeps saying that teaching beginners is the most difficult thing. I remember having trouble with Soledad, in her 50s. In an attempt of helping her contextualize I messed things up. She said ‘I study English’ and I corrected her saying ‘I learn English’. Then we couldn’t move on for at least 5 minutes because she wouldn’t let go of wanting to understand the difference between study and learn, and try explaining that to a person that can barely make a five-word sentence. But I’m sure that having the right material and sticking to it is enough, right?

 

The way we communicate with our students in the classroom has nothing to do with the way we do it outside the classroom. Outside the classroom we usually apply courtesy formulas targeted at greeting, small talk and light hearted topics.

 

Inside the classroom, though, we are more focused on giving instructions and explanations and when teaching beginners these have to be very easy. At low levels, the more we repeat, the easier the students follow our guidance. And no matter what you say, never forget your manners and mind your tone of voice; it has to be kind and respectful.

 

DON’T FORGET!

 

Specific teacher talk is especially important for low levels: beginners and elementary level students or S1 and P2 according to the Oxbridge levels. For these students it is imperative that you give short and clear instructions, selecting cognates (words from different languages that have similar pronunciation) as much as possible.

 

Opening a class:

-        Hello. How are you?

-        Are you all right / ok?

-        Nice to see you again!

-        Good to see you again! b

 

Giving instructions for an activity:

-        Please repeat (repeat is a cognate for Spanish and English).

-        Please look at picture …

-        Can you repeat … please?

-        Can you read/write/listen to…

-        Please tell me …

-        What do you see in this picture?

-        What is there in this picture?

 

Concept checking:

-        Can you please explain …

-        Can you repeat, please?

-        Do you remember what … is?

-        What are the ….(e.g. colours, numbers, sense verbs…) in English?

 

Disciplining students:

-        Please, be quiet!

-        Please, don’t talk!

-        Quiet, please!

-        Pay attention, please!

 

Saying goodbye:

-        See you tomorrow/next time/on Monday, Tuesday,…

-        It’s time to go.

-        Thank you very much.

-        See you soon.

 

Whenever you approach teaching beginners you have to be very sensitive towards the problems and issues that students who are learning English for the first time may have. It’s important to bear these issues in mind:

 

-        The age factor. Learning at adult age can be as successful as at young age, but the process is different.

 

-        Other previously studied languages interference. For example, students who have studied French tend to apply the same pronunciation patterns in English and use French words. When they think of a foreign language they think of French in this case, they don’t think in English.

 

-        The interference of L1: constantly present at the initial stages.

 

-        The pace of learning can be different: The learning pace can be faster in some aspects (with words based on Latin for instance) and slower in others (syntax constructions, phonology.)

 

-        Practice time is limited: Realistically many adult learners have less time available for practice and utilising their language outside of the classroom, expectations are also higher.

 

-        Impatience: The rush to learn the language for work or business purposes can make these students impatient.

 

* Isn’t the answer to differences between teaching beginners and advanced students as easy as: talk normally to advanced students and very slowly and dumb things down for beginners?

 

Also, some key points to remember when teaching beginners’ classes are: