Monday, October 5, 2015
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Role Plays in the ESL Classroom
SOURCE: http://www.learnenglish.de/teachers/roleplays.html
by Lynne Hand
Instructions to the English teacher
It is not enough merely to provide students with opportunities to speak in English, as teachers we need to encourage students to speak in a variety of different situations, and hence help them to learn to speak with confidence. The ideal would be to travel to different locations and carry out different tasks, the next best thing however is to enact those situations in a classroom.
However, many teachers and students in an ESL class dread the words “role-play”. Even though there is little consensus on the terms used in role-playing literature. Just a few of the terms which are used, often interchangeably, are "simulation," "game," "role-play," "simulation-game," "role-play simulation," and "role-playing game" (Crookall and Oxford, 1990a).
The effective use of role-plays can add variety to the kinds of activities students are asked to perform. It encourages thinking and creativity; lets students develop and practice new language and behavioural skills in a relatively safe setting, and can create the motivation and involvement necessary for real learning to occur.
Effective Role Plays
Unlike skits, role plays shouldn't be scripted out in detail, instead you should give the student a general scenario with different elements and suggested ideas for complications to occur.
Role play cards can be a very useful tool here. For example:-
Student A
You are booking into a hotel.
Elements
Book in to the hotel - you have a reservation.
Complications
|
Student B
You are a hotel receptionist.
Elements
Welcome the guest.
Find them a room. Complications
You can't find their reservation.
You only have a double room with bath available. |
Before asking them to perform a role play you should prepare the students by reviewing key vocabulary and asking questions. The questions should incorporate the major parts of the role play and the vocabulary/idioms involved. After the question answer session the students should be comfortable with what they need to do.
Allow them a few minutes to study the role cards and work out some key sentences. Give help where needed.
Each role play should be performed at least twice with the students changing roles.
In group situations have the stronger students act out the role play to the whole class.
You as the teacher can take one of the roles if you need to.
Avoid making corrections until the role play is finished. (Keep a note pad to remind yourself of anything that crops up, but be discreet - scribbling away furiously might put the students off.)
Don't let things get out of hand. If the role play decends into a slanging match, it might be entertaining, but you really should intervene.
Recording or videoing role plays can be a very useful tool for giving feedback, but only if the students are comfortable with this. (In some circumstances, parental consent may also be required.)
NOTE - Check out this page for role play ideashttp://busyteacher.org/classroom_activities-speaking/roleplays/
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
RESOURCES FOR ALL TEACHERS
As promised, here's a list of resources for all you guys... enjoy!
Cambridge
University Press online International dictionaries, including a useful
dictionary of idioms:
The BBC’s
‘Bitesize’ GCSE site is a good resource for literary notes and also includes a
very useful search engine which can be used to look for more GCSE English
sites:
A very
useful resource for teachers in particular, which has a large number of links
to specific language and literature pages:
Learn
English through the British Council web pages. There is a useful summary of the
various ESL ability levels, and links to good interactive learning sites also:
Learning
English homepage of the BBC’s World Service department. This website is updated
with new activities regularly and is particularly useful for extending
vocabulary:
The
National Association of Teaching English (NATE) homepage – will keep you
up-to-date with UK curricular developments. It contains some useful resources
too:
V2 3Y11
Cambridge IGCSE English as a Second Language (0510 and 0511) – from 2015 7
A list of
synonyms or antonyms. Thesaurus.com may be able to help you and your learners
out:
The ESL
webring is a good place to start a search for specific ESL sites. There’s a
regularly updated ring of over 100 ESL sites which are generally useful and
reliable:
An ESL
website for learners and teachers containing useful resources and relevant
links. Online Writing Lab at:
A site with
some useful free downloads, though you have to pay for greater access. Although
aimed at first language learners, the worksheets can be adapted:
An English
as a Second Langauge (ESL) website with links to useful materials and ideas:
The Times
Educational Supplement website is aimed primarily at First language learners
and teachers, but there are some ESL materials, and many of the ideas and
resources can be adapted for Second language learners:
A site
offering ideas and materials and support for English teachers. There is a
section for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) learners:
Part of the
British Council website, this site offers materials, resources and ideas for
learners of different ages:
This site
is produced by the BBC and British Council. It offers support and forums as
well as links to the Learn English, Learn English Teens and Learn English Kids
sections:
A site with
downloadable materials aimed at English as a Second/Foreign (ESL and EFL)
Language learners:
A website
with some free downloadable materials, though you have to pay for greater access:
A website
for teachers of English as a Second Language (ESL) around the world. Some
good ideas and support:
“Learners learn best
when they understand what they are learning and what is expected of them.”
·
Make
the learning intention clear and link it to the big picture.
·
Sharing
the learning intention and success criteria is a very powerful tool that can
reach out to all learners.
Ø
Use SMART Learning Intentions
·
Small,
measurable, achievable, realistic and time limited.
·
Keep
LI focused on what will be learned by engaging with the task eg- “By the end of
today’s class I will be able to write a mystery story, using mysterious phrases
and suspense”.
Ø
Use friendly Language
·
Keep
the LI clear and meaningful in language that is appropriate for the age and
stage of the learners.
Ø
Use words associated with Learning
·
Clear
Learning Intentions should help students focus not just on the task and
activity but also the learning. Useful LIs must tell students what they…
Will be
able to do
Will know
Will
understand
Ø
Display the Learning Intention for the Visual Learner
·
Ensuring
the LI is on display while students are on task keeps the learning focused. It
reinforces the purpose of the learning and students can easily revisit the LI.
Finally, for more information go to :
http://www.assessmentforlearning.edu.au/professional_learning/learning_intentions/learning_intentions_landing_page.html
http://www.assessmentforlearning.edu.au/professional_learning/learning_intentions/learning_intentions_landing_page.html
ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING OR ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING?
In a country like
Colombia, where the educational system focuses so strongly on summative
assessment, it is imperative to begin to shift paradigms and to focus on the
whole learning process and not just the end results. I am fortunate however, to
work for a school in which goals are achieved through project work, and where a
strong focus on formative assessment is a must. We actually give more
importance to the process itself than to the end result.
Hence, based on the first two readings
and on the thoughts shared in the forum discussions, it becomes clear that
there is a strong need to prioritize specific activities that need to be
carried out if true assessment for learning is to take place. For instance, clarifying and sharing
learning intentions is the first and foremost thing an educator needs to take
into account. How can one expect
learners to achieve their goals if they don’t even know what those goals are in
the first place? However, in order to truly engage learners in setting
objectives, class discussions have to take place as well. Students are more
likely to succeed when they become active protagonists in determining their own
learning goals.
Once objectives have been set and
the process begins, it is extremely important to provide learners with
positive, formative feedback throughout the entire journey. This of course,
provides students with the necessary tools to adjust and improve performance in
such a way that by the end, the final result is almost always outstanding, to
say the least. Furthermore, taking into
account that every learner has his or her own learning rhythm, it also makes
sense to capitalize on those who seem to have less trouble achieving the set
goals by having them help the others through peer coaching and tutoring among,
other activities. Finally, as the students become more involved in their own
continuous self-assessment, motivation will shift from being external to becoming
internal, thus making them owners of their own learning.
However, as mentioned above, this is
no easy task. The greatest difficulty I have encountered as a coordinator lies
in the type of training most teachers have had in Colombia, which is based on a
traditional model in which the end result seems to be the only thing that
counts. But… there is hope; I’ve also experienced that through continuous
training, discussions, feedback, sharing of results and team work, the traditional
view on assessment that many of my teachers so fiercely defended at some point
even though our school policy and pedagogical model dictates otherwise, has actually
changed for the better. The road that lies ahead is still long and challenging,
but we are moving forward.
In conclusion, if we are to help our
learners become more confident, responsible, innovative, and engaged, we need
to move away from the traditional education system and into a 21st
Century curriculum that truly reflects the skills that our students need to
have if they are to succeed and excel in life.
ASSESSMENT OR EVALUATION?
The main issue lies in the confusion that many educators still have
regarding assessment and evaluation.
When we look at the traditional model which many of us were victims of, we realize that it was an exercise of assessment of learning instead of assessment for learning. In other words, while assessment is a process that partners the teacher and the students to continuously and systematically gather evidence of learning with the express goal of improving student achievement, evaluation merely focuses on the end result of the process.
When we look at the traditional model which many of us were victims of, we realize that it was an exercise of assessment of learning instead of assessment for learning. In other words, while assessment is a process that partners the teacher and the students to continuously and systematically gather evidence of learning with the express goal of improving student achievement, evaluation merely focuses on the end result of the process.
Unfortunately, many teachers still rely on the good old quiz and
traditional exam to evaluate whether students have achieved success or not, and
when they don’t, the corrective measures rarely go beyond a makeup test that
may help the student “pass” but will not really constitute a true learning or
formative experience. Sort of like the doctor that watches a patient
deteriorate and does nothing until the illness is too far advanced to do
anything about it.
As far as the key features go, my experience has taught me that
there are six fundamental features of formative assessment which are:
• Shared learning targets and criteria for success
• Feedback that feeds forward
• Student goal setting
• Student self-assessment
• Strategic teacher questioning
• Student engagement in asking effective questions
Finally
it all comes down to three fundamental questions that our students must
constantly ask themselves: Where am I going? Where am I now? What strategy or strategies
can help me get to where I need to go?
Friday, April 11, 2014
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