Strategy Share
Thursday, December 11, 2003
#3
This was an activity used at a study abroad school I attended two summers ago in Kassel, Germany. It is a great practice of the present tense. Students can work at their own pace and practice basic vocabulary. I would recommend this for second semester first year students.
Strategy Eyewitness descriptions: Students pair up and remove all items from their desks except a paper and pencil. The teacher then hands out an envelope per pair with a picture of a stick figure person inside. One student looks at the picture while another asks questions about the picture. The student asking the questions then sketches his/her rendition of the picture (or how they think the person looks according to the answers given by their partner. This activity can be modified or demonstrated by the teacher having a picture and students playing the role of the partner asking questions.
Rationale:
· According to the acquisition hypothesis, students will pick up nuances of the language from repeated hearing and use.
· The affective filter will be lowered through pairing off of the students. The teacher can monitor students’ progress and note any problems students may be having.
· Through repetition of certain types of grammar structures in questioning and answering, students become more familiar with the L2 (cognitive theory).
· Activity can be modified to apply to varying levels of competency. Example: One student could have the picture and describe it while the other student sketches what the other describes.
· Students interact with each other and can correct one another as needed. Teacher can monitor progress by perusing the classroom and analyzing the final product.
#2
This technique may seem a little bit overdone, but I will state later why I think it is so effective in teaching literacy and writing development. This lesson would be meant for upper level students who have a larger base vocabulary, although it could be fitted for beginning students with an easier text with pictures and more vocabulary review.
Strategy question and answer: I give the students a sheet with a list of vocabulary words (about a dozen) for the reading along with the title of the story across the top of the page. I help students review the definitions of these new words and ask them what they might think the story will be about based on the title. Students then read through the story silently. The class goes through the story and clears up any problems in understanding. Students then answer questions about the text in groups (more advanced students can help slower students in understanding and formulating responses). Depending on the type of text students can then write a mock interview for someone involved in the story, act out a section of the story, or …
Rationale:
· From the learning hypothesis, students study a formal list of vocabulary, which they are expected to eventually be able to incorporate into their general repertoire.
· From the monitor hypothesis, students are allowed to answer general questions that merely require them to recall what happened in the given text. Students can begin learning grammar by manipulating the structure present in the written sample.
· Using the input hypothesis, students formulate a new scenario from the information they have at their disposal: students write mock-interview scripts.
· To lower the affective filter, students get to act out scenarios that they have created with their group members.
· Taking the variable competence theory into account, students are allowed to work in groups and answer questions (testing understanding) as well as create new texts/dialogues in the target language (testing performance).
· Through interaction with the teacher, students learn through the interaction model and “teacherese”.
#1
This method of review is applicable to all levels of language learners. Subjects that can be tested include numbers, alphabet, days of the week, months, etc. Be sure there are no fragile items in the class that could be knocked over. Koosh balls and beanbags (or any other soft, throwable item) can be used in this activity. This activity is recommended either as a warm up or wrap up for the day (preferably the latter—as students may get out of hand and need to be calmed down afterward). You may want to lay down rules as you see fit (i.e.—no tossing the ball all the way across the room or intentionally pummeling someone). Perhaps allow students to skip answering once (in case they draw a blank) to make the task a little less daunting for students who may have missed a class.
Strategy Hackeysack review: Students remove all items from their desks. The teacher pulls out a hackeysack and explains what will be reviewed this time. Teacher begins the review by stating the first item and then tossing the hackeysack to the next student…
Rationale:
· From the learning hypothesis, students study a formal list of vocabulary, which is then tested through this review and eventually incorporated into their conversational speech.
· Approaching this review as a game will help students by lowering the affective filter.
· According to cognitive theory, the conjugation of the verbs, counting, alphabet, etc. becomes an automatic response. This can help students become more confident in their use of the language.
· Students interact with each other, teacher mainly stays out of the game, but may encourage students to not move on the next word until the correct answer has been reached.
Monday, December 08, 2003
