Chapter 3 Question 1 What are the four key elements of teacher presence in the classroom? Briefly describe each.
The four elements of teacher presence are a. proximity b. appropriacy c. movement d. Awareness
a. Proximity refers to the general distance that the teacher maintains with the students. Appropriate distances depend on the cultures you are in and the specific teaching details.
b. Appropriacy refers to the general distance and positions that the teacher maintains in the classroom. Is the teacher crouching, leaning on the wall, standing behind a lectern or sitting while teaching? All of these establish a relationship with the students. Culturally, various positions may be more appropriate or may be more effective.
c. Movement refers to the degree to which a teacher is still and in the same place during the teaching preiod. The extremes are not generally very effective. Don't stand in one place and don't move around too much. Movement also depends on the activities that the students are performing.
d. Awareness refers to the degree to which the teacher is actively scanning the class for the energy studens are putting out. Is the lesson successful? Are there some with conflicts? What are their faces communicating? What are their voices or lack of voices communicating? Are you able to get a feel for the vibes and respond accordingly with flexibility to best serve the students?
Chapter 1: Question #7: What is the plateau effect?
Answer: pg. 18
Once students have already achieved a decent amount, it is hard for them to recognize their continuing daily progress. To them it may seem that they are not improving much or fast anymore.
(It is then the teacher's job to show their progress, and what they still have to learn.)
List the key differences between the broad language levels (beginner, intermediate, and advanced).
beginner: Beginners are those who do not know any English. Success is easy to see at this level, and easy for the teacher to arrange.
Intermediate: those students at the intermediate level have a basic competence in speaking and writing and an ability to comprehend fairly straightforward listening and reading. Success is less obvious at this level. The students have already learned a lot but they are less likely to be able to recognize an almost daily process. This is called the plateau effect which will be explained by the student who answers the next question in the book.
Advanced: Advanced students are those whose level of English is competent, allowing them to read unsimplified factual and fictional texts and communicate fluently. At this level we have to encourage students to take more and more responsibility for their own learning.
S1 Chapter 1: Learners (Page 424 of Training Manual) Question #5: Name two differences among adults, adolescents, and children as learners. Answers: • Language acquiring capability Children’ learning of a new language is faster than that of adults who have lots of previous learning experience, but children forget them faster, too. Adolescents’ learning acquiring capability is between that of children and adults. • Way of thinking Children are good at intuitive thinking and usually respond well to activities. Adolescents have developed a greater capacity for abstract thinking. Adults can do intuitive thinking and have a strongest ability of abstract thinking.
Chapter 3-Question 3 A. Describe three different classroom seating arrangements. 1. Orderly rows-Students sit in rows. Allows for full eye contact between the teacher and students. This arrangement is especially necessary for large class sizes. 2. Circles and horseshoes-This arrangement is often used in smaller classes. The circle arrangement is more likely to establish an atmosphere of equality between teacher and all students. Horseshoe arrangement allows the teacher to maintain a more authoritative presence, but is still less rigid than the orderly row arrangement. Circle and Horseshoe arrangements allow for easier eye contact and more intimacy between students than the orderly row arrangement. 3. Separate tables- Students are seated in small groups at tables. More informal than above arrangements. This arrangement is beneficial for mixed-ability classes where each group may have different tasks. This arrangement is also useful if students are working on collaborative writing or other projects.
B. Which do you think you would prefer in a classroom and why? I would prefer to use all three methods if possible depending on the situation. Rows for lecture centered lessons or testing; circle or horseshoe for lessons where more intimacy is needed such as discussions; and separate tables or desks arranged like a separate table for group activity.
What is the difference between acquisition and learning?
Acquisition is the concept of "getting" a language with little to no effort. Exposure becomes the vital role in this concept. Children seem to acquire language both commonly and easily with this method, however, they tend to forget just the same. Simple phrases, everyday phrases are fall into this category of acquisition, the commonly heard expressions are most remembered. Grammar and sentence structure are not made through conscious efforts where learning is the opposite.
Learning is making the conscious effort to learn the ins and outs of sentence structure, grammar, the proper formations of the language is learned. However, it is also noted that because of the amount of structure learned, this learned language can get in the way of the spontaneous conversation that would typically occur with the acquisition conversation.
I guess think of acquisition as having everyday conversations with close friends, you would be talking freely and without any reservation. Now imagine talking to someone of a higher status, such as a diplomat, leader of a nation, royalty...you get the idea. This conversation with someone other than friends would take more thought, you might not say the first thing that pops into your head. You are conscious of your words and the ways in which they are heard.
What are the three lesson sequences presented (pgs 54-57)? Which do you think you would be most comfortable using to present the classroom lessons and why?
The three lesson sequences are straight arrow, boomerang, and patchwork. Each employs 'engage', 'study', 'activate' in a different order. I feel that I would be most comfortable using straight arrow to present classroom lessons because it allows an introduction of the lesson which engages the students and gets them interested, then study and activate. Being a beginner teacher, I feel like this is the most direct approach to getting the students excited about the lesson, then having them learn it, then confirming what they learned. I think once the level of the students is established, it would be important to switch up the sequence using boomerang and patchwork so there wasn't an expected cadence to the class each day.
S2 Chapter 2 Question #2: What is rough-tuning? Give an example of when rough tuning is used.
Rough-tuning is the process of adapting your communication to the lower comprehension level of someone you are speaking to, or you might say, "dumbing down" your speech. Rough-tuning is often used by parents when they speak to their young children, often adding gestures, such as rubbing their belly to indicate hunger.
I just called the Hampton Inn to ask them about parking. They said there is no free parking nearby, but there is a $2 lot on Spruce Street. Looking at the map. I see Spruce Street intersects with High Street just south of the Hampton Inn. See you all manana!
S1 Chapter 1 Question#1 1. Why do students learn English? list reasons covered in how to teach English and brainstorm three new ideas. there are different reasons students learn English.some learn because it is on the curriculum at primary or secondary level. Many people learn English because they have moved in to target-language community and they want need to be able to operate successfully with in that community some need English for specific purposes(ESP)may need to learn legal language tourism banking or nursing. some other reasons students may learn English include to get a job where English is required. to make friends through out the world(social networking) to lift his/her status in the community
ESA stands for ‘Elements for successful language learning’. Principled eclecticism is the primary idea behind ESA, this where the teacher uses the best elements from various teaching methods and incorporates them into their lessons. Knowing that all students learn differently, teachers can expose them to different methods of teaching taking note that some students will respond more positively to certain stimuli than others. ESA can be broken into three main elements; Engage, Study and Activate.
Engage captures not just the students mind but provides them with a means to truly want to learn with their hearts. Things such as games, music and skits can inspire the students to learn with both their minds and hearts making the things learned not just empty memories to be dumped into a future test but help to carve a new groove of knowledge that the students willingly tap into.
Study activities focus more on the construction of the items being learned. The ways it can be used, how it sounds or the way it looks. Grammar, correct pronunciation, real world uses are all things incorporated into the ‘study’ element.
Activate is the last element which includes the activities that are created to motivate the students to take what they’ve learned and use it outside the classroom as frequent and as often as possible. Activation is much more than reading and writing the language within the classroom setting. These activities seek to create the desire within the student to use the language during his or her ‘free’ time. Reading a book printed in the new language or listening to music mentally translating what is being sang… these are examples of activating activities.
The method that I prefer out of all five would be Task-Based Learning, which is where students are given a task to complete using the language written or orally. This method seems to be the most hands-on and the students are able to go out, try the language in a real-life setting, and then go back and correct any mistakes that were made. I believe that in order to learn a language, one must be put in the most natural setting. This will help the student to absorb the language more easily.
S8 Chapter 8: Teaching Writing (Page 430 of Training Manual) Question #1: How does writing provide reinforcement of language learned? Answers: For example, the class learned a certain structure or five of the new words/phrases. The students were asked to write five sentences using this given structure or using the five new words/phrases. In this situation, writing is used as an aid-memorial or practice tool to help students to practice and work with language that they have been studying. Writing activities like this give reinforcement to the students’ language learning.
Also, there is a job opening in Nanchang for next February, 2012.
Company Name: Nanchang Hangkong University (A public university) Location: Nanchang city (in the Southern China) Monthly Salary: 4500 CNY Accommodations: One bedroom with a kitchen and a bathroom Benefits: Health Insurance included Monthly Utility Allowance: 400 CNY Airfare: A round trip tickets per year Contact: Ms. Li at 001 - 791 - 83863840 Email: waibniat@yahoo.com
If there is any question about it, you can contact me or contact Ms. Li directly.
It was great meeting you all this weekend! Have a great week!
ReplyDelete~Kate
Chapter 1: Learners Question #3 What is the philosophy behind self-access centres?
ReplyDeleteAnswer: (page 22, 1st paragraph, last sentence)
The goal of a self-access centre is that students take responsibility for their own learning and make decisions accordingly.
The publishers are from the UK which is why the question and answer read "centre" and not center ***
ReplyDeleteChapter 3 Question 1
ReplyDeleteWhat are the four key elements of teacher presence in the classroom?
Briefly describe each.
The four elements of teacher presence are
a. proximity
b. appropriacy
c. movement
d. Awareness
a. Proximity refers to the general distance that the teacher
maintains with the students. Appropriate distances depend on the
cultures you are in and the specific teaching details.
b. Appropriacy refers to the general distance and positions that the
teacher maintains in the classroom. Is the teacher crouching, leaning
on the wall, standing behind a lectern or sitting while teaching? All
of these establish a relationship with the students. Culturally,
various positions may be more appropriate or may be more effective.
c. Movement refers to the degree to which a teacher is still and in
the same place during the teaching preiod. The extremes are not
generally very effective. Don't stand in one place and don't move
around too much. Movement also depends on the activities that the
students are performing.
d. Awareness refers to the degree to which the teacher is actively
scanning the class for the energy studens are putting out. Is the
lesson successful? Are there some with conflicts? What are their
faces communicating? What are their voices or lack of voices
communicating? Are you able to get a feel for the vibes and respond
accordingly with flexibility to best serve the students?
This is Brock Lawley's question and answer.
ReplyDeleteChapter 1: Learners Question #2 Name one of the main tasks for teachers. How can teachers accomplish that task?
Answer: page 28
Effective teachers are well prepared.
Thinking and planning in advance for what we will be teaching.
Chapter 1: Question #7:
ReplyDeleteWhat is the plateau effect?
Answer: pg. 18
Once students have already achieved a decent amount, it is hard for them to recognize their continuing daily progress. To them it may seem that they are not improving much or fast anymore.
(It is then the teacher's job to show their progress, and what they still have to learn.)
Question 1:6
ReplyDeleteList the key differences between the broad language levels (beginner, intermediate, and advanced).
beginner: Beginners are those who do not know any English. Success is easy to see at this level, and easy for the teacher to arrange.
Intermediate: those students at the intermediate level have a basic competence in speaking and writing and an ability to comprehend fairly straightforward listening and reading. Success is less obvious at this level. The students have already learned a lot but they are less likely to be able to recognize an almost daily process. This is called the plateau effect which will be explained by the student who answers the next question in the book.
Advanced: Advanced students are those whose level of English is competent, allowing them to read unsimplified factual and fictional texts and communicate fluently. At this level we have to encourage students to take more and more responsibility for their own learning.
S1 Chapter 1: Learners (Page 424 of Training Manual)
ReplyDeleteQuestion #5: Name two differences among adults, adolescents, and children as learners.
Answers:
• Language acquiring capability
Children’ learning of a new language is faster than that of adults who have lots of previous learning experience, but children forget them faster, too. Adolescents’ learning acquiring capability is between that of children and adults.
• Way of thinking
Children are good at intuitive thinking and usually respond well to activities. Adolescents have developed a greater capacity for abstract thinking. Adults can do intuitive thinking and have a strongest ability of abstract thinking.
Chapter 3-Question 3
ReplyDeleteA. Describe three different classroom seating arrangements.
1. Orderly rows-Students sit in rows. Allows for full eye contact between the teacher and students. This arrangement is especially necessary for large class sizes.
2. Circles and horseshoes-This arrangement is often used in smaller classes. The circle arrangement is more likely to establish an atmosphere of equality between teacher and all students. Horseshoe arrangement allows the teacher to maintain a more authoritative presence, but is still less rigid than the orderly row arrangement. Circle and Horseshoe arrangements allow for easier eye contact and more intimacy between students than the orderly row arrangement.
3. Separate tables- Students are seated in small groups at tables. More informal than above arrangements. This arrangement is beneficial for mixed-ability classes where each group may have different tasks. This arrangement is also useful if students are working on collaborative writing or other projects.
B. Which do you think you would prefer in a classroom and why?
I would prefer to use all three methods if possible depending on the situation. Rows for lecture centered lessons or testing; circle or horseshoe for lessons where more intimacy is needed such as discussions; and separate tables or desks arranged like a separate table for group activity.
S4: Chapter 4. Q:1
ReplyDeleteWhat is the difference between acquisition and learning?
Acquisition is the concept of "getting" a language with little to no effort. Exposure becomes the vital role in this concept. Children seem to acquire language both commonly and easily with this method, however, they tend to forget just the same. Simple phrases, everyday phrases are fall into this category of acquisition, the commonly heard expressions are most remembered. Grammar and sentence structure are not made through conscious efforts where learning is the opposite.
Learning is making the conscious effort to learn the ins and outs of sentence structure, grammar, the proper formations of the language is learned. However, it is also noted that because of the amount of structure learned, this learned language can get in the way of the spontaneous conversation that would typically occur with the acquisition conversation.
I guess think of acquisition as having everyday conversations with close friends, you would be talking freely and without any reservation. Now imagine talking to someone of a higher status, such as a diplomat, leader of a nation, royalty...you get the idea. This conversation with someone other than friends would take more thought, you might not say the first thing that pops into your head. You are conscious of your words and the ways in which they are heard.
Chapter 4 Question 3
ReplyDeleteWhat are the three lesson sequences presented (pgs 54-57)? Which do you think you would be most comfortable using to present the classroom lessons and why?
The three lesson sequences are straight arrow, boomerang, and patchwork. Each employs 'engage', 'study', 'activate' in a different order. I feel that I would be most comfortable using straight arrow to present classroom lessons because it allows an introduction of the lesson which engages the students and gets them interested, then study and activate. Being a beginner teacher, I feel like this is the most direct approach to getting the students excited about the lesson, then having them learn it, then confirming what they learned. I think once the level of the students is established, it would be important to switch up the sequence using boomerang and patchwork so there wasn't an expected cadence to the class each day.
S2 Chapter 2
ReplyDeleteQuestion #2:
What is rough-tuning? Give an example of when rough tuning is used.
Rough-tuning is the process of adapting your communication to the lower comprehension level of someone you are speaking to, or you might say, "dumbing down" your speech. Rough-tuning is often used by parents when they speak to their young children, often adding gestures, such as rubbing their belly to indicate hunger.
I just called the Hampton Inn to ask them about parking. They said there is no free parking nearby, but there is a $2 lot on Spruce Street. Looking at the map. I see Spruce Street intersects with High Street just south of the Hampton Inn. See you all manana!
ReplyDeleteS1 Chapter 1
ReplyDeleteQuestion#1
1. Why do students learn English? list reasons covered in how to teach English and brainstorm three new ideas.
there are different reasons students learn English.some learn because it is on the curriculum at primary or secondary level. Many people learn English because they have moved in to target-language community and they want need to be able to operate successfully with in that community
some need English for specific purposes(ESP)may need to learn legal language tourism banking or nursing.
some other reasons students may learn English include
to get a job where English is required.
to make friends through out the world(social networking)
to lift his/her status in the community
Zachary Young
ReplyDeleteQuestion #2 from Chapter #4
Define and explain ESA.
ESA stands for ‘Elements for successful language learning’. Principled eclecticism is the primary idea behind ESA, this where the teacher uses the best elements from various teaching methods and incorporates them into their lessons. Knowing that all students learn differently, teachers can expose them to different methods of teaching taking note that some students will respond more positively to certain stimuli than others.
ESA can be broken into three main elements; Engage, Study and Activate.
Engage captures not just the students mind but provides them with a means to truly want to learn with their hearts. Things such as games, music and skits can inspire the students to learn with both their minds and hearts making the things learned not just empty memories to be dumped into a future test but help to carve a new groove of knowledge that the students willingly tap into.
Study activities focus more on the construction of the items being learned. The ways it can be used, how it sounds or the way it looks. Grammar, correct pronunciation, real world uses are all things incorporated into the ‘study’ element.
Activate is the last element which includes the activities that are created to motivate the students to take what they’ve learned and use it outside the classroom as frequent and as often as possible. Activation is much more than reading and writing the language within the classroom setting. These activities seek to create the desire within the student to use the language during his or her ‘free’ time. Reading a book printed in the new language or listening to music mentally translating what is being sang… these are examples of activating activities.
S4 Chapter 4
ReplyDeleteQuestion #4:
What are the five main teaching models? Which do you prefer and why?
1. Grammar-translation
2. Audio-lingual
3. PPP (Presentation, Practice, Production)
4. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)
5. Task-Based Learning (TBL)
The method that I prefer out of all five would be Task-Based Learning, which is where students are given a task to complete using the language written or orally. This method seems to be the most hands-on and the students are able to go out, try the language in a real-life setting, and then go back and correct any mistakes that were made. I believe that in order to learn a language, one must be put in the most natural setting. This will help the student to absorb the language more easily.
S8 Chapter 8: Teaching Writing (Page 430 of Training Manual)
ReplyDeleteQuestion #1: How does writing provide reinforcement of language learned?
Answers:
For example, the class learned a certain structure or five of the new words/phrases. The students were asked to write five sentences using this given structure or using the five new words/phrases. In this situation, writing is used as an aid-memorial or practice tool to help students to practice and work with language that they have been studying. Writing activities like this give reinforcement to the students’ language learning.
Hello everyone,
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving to all of you and your family!
Also, there is a job opening in Nanchang for next February, 2012.
Company Name: Nanchang Hangkong University (A public university)
Location: Nanchang city (in the Southern China)
Monthly Salary: 4500 CNY
Accommodations: One bedroom with a kitchen and a bathroom
Benefits: Health Insurance included
Monthly Utility Allowance: 400 CNY
Airfare: A round trip tickets per year
Contact: Ms. Li at 001 - 791 - 83863840
Email: waibniat@yahoo.com
If there is any question about it, you can contact me or contact Ms. Li directly.