APPROACH
o
A set of
assumptions dealing with the nature of language, learning, and teaching.
o
Theoretically
well-informed positions and beliefs about the nature of language, the nature of
language of learning, and the applicability of both to pedagogical settings.
METHOD
o
Described as an
overall plan for systematic presentation of language based upon a selected
approach.
o
A generalized
set of classroom specifications for accomplishing linguistic objectives.
o
Tend to be
concerned primarily with teacher and
student roles and behaviours and secondarily with such features as linguistic
and subject-matter objectives, sequencing, and materials.
o
An approach is
axiomatic, a method is procedural.
TECHNIQUE
o
Implementational
– that which actually takes place in a classroom. It is particular trick,
stratagem, or contrivance used to accomplish an immediate objective.
o
Must be
consistent with a method, and therefore in harmony with an approach as well.
STRATEGY
o
Specific methods of approaching a problem or
task, modes of operation for achieving a particular end, or planned design for
controlling and manipulating certain information.
METHODOLOGY
o
Pedagogical practices
in general (including theoretical under-pinnings and related research)
o
How to teach.
Lesson Planning and Classroom Management
A. Lesson
Planning
Most teachers engage in yearly, term, unit, weekly, and daily lesson
planning (Yinger, 1980).
> Yearly and term planning usually involve listing the objectives for
a particular program.
> A unit plan is a series of related lessons around a specific theme
such as “The Family.”
> Planning daily lessons is the end result of a complex planning
process that includes the yearly, term, and unit plans.
Richards (1998) stresses the importance of lesson planning for English
language teachers: “The success with which a teacher conducts a lesson is often
thought to depend on the effectiveness with which the lesson was planned”.
Why Plan?
Language teachers may ask themselves why should they bother writing
plans for every lesson. Some teachers write down elaborate daily plans; others
do the planning inside their heads. Preservice teachers say they write
daily lesson plans only because a supervisor, cooperating teacher, or school
administrator requires them to do so.
Lesson plans are systematic records of a teacher’s thoughts about what
will be covered during a lesson.
There are also internal and external reasons for planning lessons
(McCutcheon, 1980).
Teachers plan for internal reasons in order to
> feel more confident,
> learn the subject matter better,
> enable lessons to run more smoothly, and
> anticipate problems before they happen.
Teachers plan for external reasons in order to
> satisfy the expectations of the principal or supervisor and
> guide a substitute teacher in case the class needs one.
Lesson planning is especially important for preservice teachers
because they may feel more of need to be in control before the lesson begins.
Daily lesson planning can benefit English teachers in the following
ways:
- A plan can help the teacher think about content: materials, sequencing, timing, and activities.
- A plan provides security (in the form of a map) in the sometimes unpredictable atmosphere of a classroom.
- A plan is a log of what has been taught.
- A plan can help a substitute to smoothly take over a class when the teacher cannot teach.(purgason, 1991)
How To Plan A Lesson
Developing The Plan
An effective lesson plan starts with appropriate and clearly written
objectives. An objective is a description of a learning outcome. Objectives
describe the destination (not the journey) we want our students to reach.
Generic Components Of A Lesson Plan
I. Perspective or opening
II. Stimulation
III. Instruction/participation
IV. Closure
V. Follow-up
Implementing The Plan
Implementing the lesson plan is the most important (and difficult) phase
of daily lesson planning cycle.
When implementing their lesson plan, teachers might try to monitor two
important issues, namely, lesson variety and lesson pacing. Variation in lesson
delivery and choice of activity will keep the class lively and interested. To
vary a lesson, teachers should frequently change the tempo of activities from
fast-moving to slow.
Pace is linked to the speed at which a lesson progresses, as well as to
lesson timing. In order for teachers to develop a sense of pace, Brown (1994)
suggests the following guidelines:
(1)
activities
should not be too long or too short;
(2)
various
techniques for delivering the activities should “flow” together;
(3)
there should be
clear transitions between each activity.
Evaluating The Plan
The following questions may also be useful for teachers to reflect on
after conducting a lesson (answers can be used as a basis for future lesson
planning):
- What do you think the students actually learned?
- What tasks were most successful? Least successful? Why?
- Did you finish the lesson on time?
- What changes (if any) will you make in your teaching and why (or why not)?
For further clarification of the success of a lesson, teachers can ask
their students the following four questions at the end of each class; the
answers can assist teachers with future lesson planning:
- What do you think today’s lesson was about?
- What part was easy?
- What part was difficult?
- What changes would you suggest the teacher make?
Format Of A Lesson Plan
1. Goal(s)
- You should be able to identify an overall purpose or goal that you will attempt to accomplish by the end of the class period.
2. Objectives
Objectives are most clearly
captured in terms of stating what students will do. In stating objectives, distinguish between terminal
and enabling objectives. Terminal
objectives are final learning outcomes that you will need to measure
and evaluate. Enabling objectives
are interim steps that build upon each other and lead to a terminal objective.
Consider the following examples:
Terminal lesson objective:
- Students will successfully request information about airplane arrivals and departures.
Enabling objectives:
- Students will comprehend and produce the following ten new vocabulary items.
- Students will read and understand an airline schedule.
- Students will produce questions with when, where, and what time.
- Students will produce appropriate polite forms of requesting.
3. Materials and Equipment
- It may seem a trivial matter to list materials needed, but good planning includes knowing what you need to take with you or to arrange to have in your classroom.
4. Procedures
- As a very general set of guidelines for planning, you might think in terms of making sure your plan includes:
a.
an opening
statement or activity as a warm-up
b.
a set of
activities and techniques in which you have considered appropriate proportion
of time for
I. Whole-class work
II. Small-group and pair work
III. Teacher talk
IV. Student talk
c. closure.
5. Evaluation
- Evaluation is an assessment, formal or informal, that you make after students have sufficient opportunities for learning, and without this component you have no means for (a) assessing the success of your students or (b) making adjustments in your lesson plan for the next day.
6. Extra-Class Work
- Whether you are teaching in EFL or ESL situation, you can almost always find applications or extensions of classroom activity that will help students do some learning beyond the class hour.
B.
Classroom Management
In
a succession of practicalities for the language
classroom is to grapple with what we call Classroom Management.
By understanding what some of the variables are in classroom management, you
can take some important steps to
sharpening your skills as a language teacher.
The Physical Environment of the Classroom
One of the
simplest principles of classroom management centers on the physical environment
for learning: the classroom itself. Consider four categories:
1. Sight,
sound, and comfort
As trivial as it may first appear,
in the face of your decisions to
implement language-teaching principles in an array of clever techniques,
students are indeed profoundly affected by what they see, hear, and feel when
they enter the classroom. If you have any power to control the following, then
it will be worth your time to do so:
Ø The classroom is neat, clean, and orderly in
appearance.
Ø Whiteboards are erased.
Ø Chairs are appropriately arranged.
Ø If the room has bulletin boards and you have the
freedom to use them, can you occasionally take advantage of visuals?
Ø The classroom is as free as from external noises as
possible (machinery outside, street, noise, hallway voices, etc.).
Ø Acoustics within your classroom are at least
tolerable.
Ø Heating or cooling systems (if applicable) are
operating.
2. Seating
arrangements
If
your classroom has moveable desk-chairs, consider patterns of semi-circles,
U-shapes, concentric circles, or—if your class size is small enough—one circle
so that students aren’t all squarely facing the teacher.
3.
Whiteboards use
The whiteboard is one of your greatest
allies. It gives students added visual input along with auditory. It allows you
to illustrate with words and pictures and graphs and charts. It is always there
and it is recyclable! So, take advantage of this instant visual aid by profusely
using the whiteboard. At the same time, try to be neat and orderly in your
whiteboard use, erasing as often as appropriate; a messy, confusing whiteboard
drives students crazy.
4.
Equipment
The “classroom” may be construed to
include any equipment you may be using if you’re using electrical equipment ,
make sure that
- The room has outlets,
- The equipment fits comfortable in the room,
- Everyone can see (and/hear) the visual/auditory stimulus,
- You leave enough time before and after class to get the equipment and return it to its proper place,
- The machine actually words,
- You know how to operate it,
- There is an extra light bulb or battery or whatever else you’ll need if a routine replacement is in order.
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