Lesson Study

Lesson Study is a methodology that comes from Japan in which teachers do not work individually they work together in order to create, implement, review, refine, design and assess lessons to their students. When one group of teachers finishes creating and organizing a lesson for a specific topic they share their work to other groups of teacher in order to review them and give feedback to improve the lessons before given to their students. 

This methodology is innovative in order to give students high-quality tasks and lessons. Also I think it will help teachers to develop social skills because they share their knowledge, ideas and beliefs in order to create and refine original lessons to make the teaching learning process more effective. 

REFERENCES:

• Hiebert,  J. and Stigler, J. W. (2000) A Proposal for Improving Classroom Teaching: Lessons from the TIMSS Video. The Elementary School Journal 101(1), 3-20. 
• Tsui, A. B.M. and Law, D.Y.K., (2007) Learning as boundary-crossing . Teaching and Teacher Education 23, 1289–1301

Bloom's Taxonomy for writing lesson objectives

Bloom’s Taxonomy was created by Benjamin Bloom to stablish and set and write objectives correctly. Many students and teachers have troubles at writing objectives for their lessons so, it is necessary to learn how to classify levels of learning but in a way that we can measure them.

For teachers it is crucial to set objectives to plan their lessons and make them meaningful for students. By making lesson plans with clear objectives teachers and students can have an organized class in which tasks and learning outcomes will be stablish in a correct way. According to Bloom’s Taxonomy objectives must be stablish according to learning outcome teachers want students to achieve at the end of each lesson. 

Thus, it is necessary to apply Bloom’s Taxonomy at writing objectives in order to create a good lesson plan, stablish meaningful tasks that help students to develop fluency and accuracy when using the language to communicate . 

REFERENCES: 

·         Cambridge dictionary. Retrieved from http://dictionary.cambridge.org/

·         Mary Spratt, A. P. (2011). The TKT Teaching Knowledge Test Course Modules 1, 2 and 3. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press

     Anderson and Krathwohl. (2001) Bloom's Taxonomy 

 

 

Speaking

Speaking is a productive skill, it involves producing  language but to produce language in spoken way we need to consider some aspects in order to make the communication effective.

When speaking we must consider and use proper intonation and register according to each situation for example a conversation, speech, interviews.   Speaking involves subskills like vocabulary and functions, register in order to speak appropriately with the correct level of formality. Features of connected speech like intonation accurate individual sounds and linking and contractions .  

• For speaking activities it is good idea to introduce the topic of the lesson 
• Practice activities in which students have the opportunity to use the language to convey something for example students can perform speeches, conversatios, disscussions, debates 

Therefore to be fluent and accurate when speaking is good to take into consideration the speaking subskills and practice.

REFERENCES: 

Cambridge dictionary. Retrieved from http://dictionary.cambridge.org/

Mary Spratt, A. P. (2011). The TKT Teaching Knowledge Test Course Modules 1, 2 and 3. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press

 How to improve your English speaking Skills. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAU2zx2Ri_M

Listening

Listening is a receptive skill that allows people to receive, interpret and save information from other people. This skill is so important in the communication system. However, we must take into consideration that spoken language is different from written language since when we speak we do not have time to organize our ideas previously, so we say things as they come to our minds. When listening we must consider the text types like conversations, stories, songs, lectures and instructions. Also we must consider the features of connected speech as speed of delivery and accent. 

Subskills depend on the purpose of the listening so they could be listen for gist , specific information it means getting dates, numbers and places. Listen for detail or to infer attitude it means listening to notice the attitude the speaker is expressing. 

When a teacher is making students practice listening in class it is necessary to follow a process 

• Pre-listening: Teacher can give students tasks like teaching new vocabulary or make them guess what the recording will be about by given them the title. 
• During listening: teacher can give students a worksheet to complete with true/false questions, taking notes , completing tables in order to check understanding and given them a purpose to listen.
• After listening it is good to ask students to talk about the topic they heard. 

Therefore, to listen information we must pay attention and hear what the speakers are saying, considering word stress, and intonation in order to avoid misunderstandings 

REFERENCES:

• Listening skills. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8EJVcRJSXo
• Mary Spratt, A. P. (2011). The TKT Teaching Knowledge Test Course Modules 1, 2 and 3. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press

Aspects to consider when writing

 

Writing is a productive skill  that allows people to communicate their message. However, writing is not a simple process it  involves many aspects to consider, for example: text types it means what genre the writer is going to use according to his or her purpose and these could be essays, articles, stories, letters, emails, or poems, and depending on the text types writers must consider the register, degrees of formality and vocabulary they are going to use to make the product intelligible and to make that the product fixes a situation properly. Another important aspect to consider when writing is cohesion and it make it possible it is necessary to use linkers  to connect ideas, sentences and paragraphs. 

Furthermore, it is necessary to follow a process in order to write correctly.

• First, developing ideas or brainstorming. 
• Then it is necessary to organize or plan the ideas
• After that the firts draft comes.
• Editing what you have written will allow yo to correct any mistake and improve the content.
• Proofreading allows you to correct errors in accuracy. 
• Finally re-drafting in this step you write your final version.

Writing needs a process to follow and many aspects to consider to get a good product but it is also a manner of practice, and reading is an excellent tool that will help you to improve your writing skills. 

REFERENCES:

• Mary Spratt, A. P. (2011). The TKT Teaching Knowledge Test Course Modules 1, 2 and 3. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press
• The writing process. Rertieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71Y2uIyJM4g

How to encourage extensive reading?

Reading is a receptive skill that help people to learn more about the world, and for English learners reading is a excellent way to improve vocabulary and develop fluency in speaking and coherence and cohesion in writing. In addition reading help students to develop critical thinking and creativity. Despite of all these benefits students do not like to read, beacuse of that it is necessary to encourage students to practice extensive reading it means reading for pleasure, and how to do that?

• First it will be great to let students to choose the book they want to read  according to their interest but helping them to choose a book according to their level. 
• Before reading the book make students predict what the text will be about by looking the cover page. 
• Ask students to read outside the classroom in their favorite place.
• Then ask students to give a summary or dramatize the part of the text they like the most if is a story to check comprehension. 
• Present to students videos about the great benefits of reading

Thus, students will be more engaged and interested in reading and then they will prove that reading is the base to develop the other skills (listening, speaking and writing) and the base to improve their English. 

REFERENCES: 

• Mary Spratt, A. P. (2011). The TKT Teaching Knowledge Test Course Modules 1, 2 and 3. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press
• The benefits of extensive reading. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHNagtIfV9Y

Appropriacy

Depending on the situation people use language, it means people choose phrases, sentences and words according to the situation they are facing. It is not the same to talk with friends and talk with authorities from an institution. The register changes to talk with friends or family people tend to use informal language. People talk using colloquial phrases and they feel comfortable and relaxed. However, when people stablish a conversation with people who do not know the register changes into formal language. People use polite phrases to communicate. 

Also, there is a neutral register which does not show to much casulness and  it is not too polite. Thus, the process to choose the correct register that matches a situation is appropriacy. 

Many times it could be difficult to choose the correct register at speaking or writing in English. However teachers in the classroom can help students to recognize and apply the approprite level of language according to each situation, for example:

- Make students to watch videos with different register levels.

- Give students chunks and make them recognize in what  register  level they are  and when to use them. 

• Could you do me a favor?
• Please do me a favor.
• Do me a  favor. 

Therefore, it is necessary to know the levels of formality in language to communicate with others propperly and manage the different situations correctly. 

REFERENCES: 

•  Cambridge dictionary. Retrieved from http://dictionary.cambridge.org/
• Mary Spratt, A. P. (2011). The TKT Teaching Knowledge Test Course Modules 1, 2 and 3. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press

Teaching Intonation

Intonation is essential in communication, when we speak our intonation patterns change according to the language function. Intonation is one way that help us to convey our feelings, emmotions, ideas and thoughts easily. Through it we can show interest, agreement o disagrement. It gives emphasis to what we are saying to others, but for people who are learning English as a foreing language is difficult to apply the correct intonation and stress patterns at the moment of speaking, for example many foreing people say that it is difficult to notice when Ecuadorian people is asking a question because we tend to apply the same intonation and stress patterns for everything. 

• In classes teachers can provide the students with models, they can listen to recordings in which native speakers are talking. 
• Another important activity is to make students to watch movies or videos in which they could notice sentences streess .
• Students can practice by performing role plays and speeches, they can record them and notice they errors in order to improve  them. 

To conclude it is crucial for students to learn the correct intonation in this case of the English language, it is necessary to know when we have to use falling and raising intonatition. If we do not use a proper intonation people could misunderstand what we are saying. 

REFERENCES: 

• Mary Spratt, A. P. (2011). The TKT Teaching Knowledge Test Course Modules 1, 2 and 3. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press
• Marta J. Sabbadini, British Council, Cameroon. Retrieved from https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/intonation
• Introduction to Intonation. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzh3Owutf5Y

Collocations

Collocations are words that always go together. Collocations are common used among native speakers. However, for people who are learning English as a foreign language is difficult to apply them in written and spoken English as well. 

Learn collocations is crucial since they will help students to sound more natural and to be accurate at writing and speaking. 

• Teachers can help students to practice collocations in classes by using flashcards and make students to join the flash cards to firm the correct collocation. 
• · Another thing that teachers can advise students to do to learn collocations is to read a lot it could be intensive or extensive reading. this is a good way to learn when and how to use collocations depending on the context. 

Therefore, collocations are essential ways which can help students to sound more natural and ways to enrich our vocabulary. 

References:

• Mary Spratt, A. P. (2011). The TKT Teaching Knowledge Test Course Modules 1, 2 and 3. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press
• Learn English.  Retrieved from https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/collocations.htm

Affixes

Affixes are morphemes added at the end (suffixes) or at the beginning of a word base in order to modify its meaning and also change its part of speech. 

Prefixes and suffixes are a good way to learn new vocabulary by forming word families adding those to a word. Sometimes it is difficult to many students to get the meaning of new words when they are reading a text or listening to a conversation and it is no easy to learn new vocabulary However, teaching affixation in class can change this fact and help students to recognize, learn and form new words.   According to Hatch (1983) affixes are organized in the human mind differently from lexical items, therefore it is a good way to teach vocabulary to students in class. For example, we can use a word base like: 

·         comfort is a noun but by adding the suffix "able" uncomfortable it changes into an adjective

·         by adding a prefix "un" uncomfortable" it changes it meaning in to a negative connotation. 

Thus, students can learn a great deal of vocabulary easily and not only they can understand the meaning of the words in reading and listening but also they can form new words at the moment of speaking and writing and improve their accuracy and fluency 

References 

• Hatch, E. (1983). Simplified input and second language acquisition. (pp. 64–88). Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
•  Cambridge dictionary. Retrieved from http://dictionary.cambridge.org/