Notes from Linda Yael's session yesterday
Why use poem
Linda Yael
Authentic content
Encourage students' personal reactions
Trigger students' own writing
General educational value
Deal with values
Give insights unto other cultures while increasing awareness if own
Use both sides of the brain
Motivating and enjoyable
Characteristics of poems
Focus on language eg vocabulary, intonation, stress， collocation
Can be dealt with one lesson and can be tied in with topics in syllabus
Deal w universal themes students can identify with
Poems by Wendy Cope
Robin Thurston
For young learners, use pictures. Eg lions are ___
The Veggie Lion (Spike Milligan)
I'm a vegetarian lion...
Students can work in pairs
Oh homework, oh homework
I hate you! You stink! ( a teacher from Poland)
- long version on presenter's ppt
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Notes on Richard Cauldwell's presentation on accent and identity
Notes on Richard Cauldwell's presentation on Accent and Identity: Prejudice and insecurity
Sonocent audio note taker
Outline:
Definitions
Prejudices
Accents, identity, change, variation
Insecurity and self-worth
Thriving with
Prejudice: OALD, 8, an unreasonable dislike
Prejudice league table
Best- received pronunciation (RP)
Worst- Birmingham
Prestige accent: BBC type of worry (A Lloyd James)
It is spoken by those who properly called the best people
If you want clarity- go to non standard accent
Prejudices: self-loathing, poor self-worth
Foreign language syndrome. Accent can change dramatically if you've got a stroke. 'losing accent. Losing identity.'
People change, accents change
Multiple accents, vary depending on who they're talking to
Prestige accent: embarrassment
John Wells's blog, BrE
Attainment Models? Target pronunciation? Richard's argument
Typical learner's problem: leave
Thriving in English
English as a lingua Franca (Jennifer Jenkins)
English is not ours
Reference models are very useful, but they are not what people speak
ELF movement can help us identify attainment model
ELF can remove the sense of poor self-worth
Final thoughts:
No such thing ad good accent
People are multi-accented
We are surrounded by voices od people who not speak the reference model- they thrive.
Use prestige accent ad a reference model, not model/achievement target
Not as a measure of professional expertise
Sonocent audio note taker
Outline:
Definitions
Prejudices
Accents, identity, change, variation
Insecurity and self-worth
Thriving with
Prejudice: OALD, 8, an unreasonable dislike
Prejudice league table
Best- received pronunciation (RP)
Worst- Birmingham
Prestige accent: BBC type of worry (A Lloyd James)
It is spoken by those who properly called the best people
If you want clarity- go to non standard accent
Prejudices: self-loathing, poor self-worth
Foreign language syndrome. Accent can change dramatically if you've got a stroke. 'losing accent. Losing identity.'
People change, accents change
Multiple accents, vary depending on who they're talking to
Prestige accent: embarrassment
John Wells's blog, BrE
Attainment Models? Target pronunciation? Richard's argument
Typical learner's problem: leave
Thriving in English
English as a lingua Franca (Jennifer Jenkins)
English is not ours
Reference models are very useful, but they are not what people speak
ELF movement can help us identify attainment model
ELF can remove the sense of poor self-worth
Final thoughts:
No such thing ad good accent
People are multi-accented
We are surrounded by voices od people who not speak the reference model- they thrive.
Use prestige accent ad a reference model, not model/achievement target
Not as a measure of professional expertise
Notes from the AS Hornby Scholars' Presentation
AS Hornby educational Trust presenters
Teacher Development Language Proficiency
A. Confidence and language proficiency
Recognizing reality
A. pre-service
B. In-service
possible suggestions
Teacher training courses
Workshops and seminars
Prof devt courses
B. Teacher Motivation
Low level motivation- or no motivation at all
Poor motivation- leads to attrition
Causes of low motivation
1) Job context
-poor facilities eg no chalks etc
-teachers not considered in educational decision making process
- teachers are nit given professional autonomy
2) Job Content
- teacher and student ratio
-work load eg 36 hours of teaching per week
3) lack of incentives and poor salary
70£ per month
Poor socio economic situation
Realistic solutions
1) creative positive working environment
2) provide opportunities for continuous training
Tpd
Enhance self-esteem
Update their skills
Implications fir teacher training and education
Trainers should be aware of these situations
C. Contextual Factors (Ramzi)
Causes
1. People involved- not aware of contextual realities
2. Objectives- not clear, realistic, and practical
3. Training
A. Content- emphasizing theories, ignoring practical implications
B. Timing- too short to achieve objectives
C. Trainers- not properly trained
d. Evaluation- no learning from previous experience
Effects if ignoring contextual factors
1. Cascade programs- trickle
2. Irrelevance- demotivation
3. Impracticality- lack of administrative support
4. Investment of time, money, and energy- wasted
5. Unrealized national curriculum objectives
Solutions
1. Involve more stake holders in planning- teachers, training
2. Integration of planners and implementers
3. Post-training support
4. Readjustment and fine tuning based on feedback
5. Decentralization/localization
Teacher Development: the Kerala model
Context: Kerala is a small state in India
Focus of the governments- time independence
A. General trend- infrastructure
B. Budget deficit 13.5%
English graduates teach English
A. New legislation in the 21st century
B. English teachers teach only in English
Motivation
A. Secure job
B. Pensions after retirement
C. Salary increment at oar with inflation in addition to annual increment based on the existing scale of pay.
2. Teaching Organizations
3. Regular teacher development workshops
5 day annual workshops
Practicing teachers as resource persons
4. Resource Person development workshops
3-6 months training at Bangalore
Selection
Teachers support offered online- IT@Schoolproject
Eg subsidized laptop
Cluster meetings- teacher share
Avoid backwash from exams- teachers can test what is taught
Caveat of the method
Not perfect
Evolving
Practical issues
Conclusion
Fullan (1991) educational change depends on what teachers do and think. It is as simple and complex as that.
Teacher Development Language Proficiency
A. Confidence and language proficiency
Recognizing reality
A. pre-service
B. In-service
possible suggestions
Teacher training courses
Workshops and seminars
Prof devt courses
B. Teacher Motivation
Low level motivation- or no motivation at all
Poor motivation- leads to attrition
Causes of low motivation
1) Job context
-poor facilities eg no chalks etc
-teachers not considered in educational decision making process
- teachers are nit given professional autonomy
2) Job Content
- teacher and student ratio
-work load eg 36 hours of teaching per week
3) lack of incentives and poor salary
70£ per month
Poor socio economic situation
Realistic solutions
1) creative positive working environment
2) provide opportunities for continuous training
Tpd
Enhance self-esteem
Update their skills
Implications fir teacher training and education
Trainers should be aware of these situations
C. Contextual Factors (Ramzi)
Causes
1. People involved- not aware of contextual realities
2. Objectives- not clear, realistic, and practical
3. Training
A. Content- emphasizing theories, ignoring practical implications
B. Timing- too short to achieve objectives
C. Trainers- not properly trained
d. Evaluation- no learning from previous experience
Effects if ignoring contextual factors
1. Cascade programs- trickle
2. Irrelevance- demotivation
3. Impracticality- lack of administrative support
4. Investment of time, money, and energy- wasted
5. Unrealized national curriculum objectives
Solutions
1. Involve more stake holders in planning- teachers, training
2. Integration of planners and implementers
3. Post-training support
4. Readjustment and fine tuning based on feedback
5. Decentralization/localization
Teacher Development: the Kerala model
Context: Kerala is a small state in India
Focus of the governments- time independence
A. General trend- infrastructure
B. Budget deficit 13.5%
English graduates teach English
A. New legislation in the 21st century
B. English teachers teach only in English
Motivation
A. Secure job
B. Pensions after retirement
C. Salary increment at oar with inflation in addition to annual increment based on the existing scale of pay.
2. Teaching Organizations
3. Regular teacher development workshops
5 day annual workshops
Practicing teachers as resource persons
4. Resource Person development workshops
3-6 months training at Bangalore
Selection
Teachers support offered online- IT@Schoolproject
Eg subsidized laptop
Cluster meetings- teacher share
Avoid backwash from exams- teachers can test what is taught
Caveat of the method
Not perfect
Evolving
Practical issues
Conclusion
Fullan (1991) educational change depends on what teachers do and think. It is as simple and complex as that.
Notes from Peter Grundy's talk, IATEFL Plenary
Peter Grundy Plenary
Maximize content,
Formulaic questions, obvious yes or no answer
What is language?
Communication? Answer to the question what is language for?
To communicate what precisely?
Pragmatics
Meaning comes from the use of language; what we mean by our words; implications
Particularized understanding. Depending on context.
Type of inferences. Token understanding.
Does your boyfriend know you're here? The question asked if folks from Brighton go to a football match. (joke)
Pg: that's a nice pair
Lady: thank you
Pragmatics: contextual and cognitive effects
Inference and metarepresentation
Our thoughts are more precise than our words
Metaphors
Idioms
Hedges: I think, probably, really, by the way
The phenomenon of speaking in the wrong language
What we want our learners to achieve?
Fluency
Accuracy
Complexity
Cognitive mapping?
Methods:
L1-l2 w/o thought is translation
Meaning and humanistic approaches
Pragmatic competence
Receptive learning vs productive learning
Semantics- what words mean
Thought- unspoken though that we intend to communicate
Pedagogical implications if the two
Equivalence
Breadth, depth and context
Corpora and context
Dictionaries and metalinguistic explanations
Anglo-centric
E.g. Chinese writing system, the use of classifiers (fire, fo, huo)
Orientation to the properties of the public word
Utterance is an index for thought
Maximize content,
Formulaic questions, obvious yes or no answer
What is language?
Communication? Answer to the question what is language for?
To communicate what precisely?
Pragmatics
Meaning comes from the use of language; what we mean by our words; implications
Particularized understanding. Depending on context.
Type of inferences. Token understanding.
Does your boyfriend know you're here? The question asked if folks from Brighton go to a football match. (joke)
Pg: that's a nice pair
Lady: thank you
Pragmatics: contextual and cognitive effects
Inference and metarepresentation
Our thoughts are more precise than our words
Metaphors
Idioms
Hedges: I think, probably, really, by the way
The phenomenon of speaking in the wrong language
What we want our learners to achieve?
Fluency
Accuracy
Complexity
Cognitive mapping?
Methods:
L1-l2 w/o thought is translation
Meaning and humanistic approaches
Pragmatic competence
Receptive learning vs productive learning
Semantics- what words mean
Thought- unspoken though that we intend to communicate
Pedagogical implications if the two
Equivalence
Breadth, depth and context
Corpora and context
Dictionaries and metalinguistic explanations
Anglo-centric
E.g. Chinese writing system, the use of classifiers (fire, fo, huo)
Orientation to the properties of the public word
Utterance is an index for thought
Sunday, April 03, 2011
BRIGHTON 2011 CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
Click the link below to view (in PDF file) the IATEFL 2011 in Brighton conference programme. I had to squeeze my limited budget to attend this conference as a full participant- yes, first time ever. And I'd like to make the most out of it.
I'd love to meet colleagues and friends whom I've been interacting with online for the past several years but never had the opportunity to meet f2f. Now here's my chance :-)
Conference Programme: http://bit.ly/ewLPxi
I'd love to meet colleagues and friends whom I've been interacting with online for the past several years but never had the opportunity to meet f2f. Now here's my chance :-)
Conference Programme: http://bit.ly/ewLPxi
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