Catedra de Limba si Literatura englez ELT Methodology 2011

PUPILS, TEACHER AND SCHOOL

Establishing a productive learning environment is a big challenge for teachers. For beginning teachers, it may be the primary concern. Studies show that nearly half of the teachers who leave the profession during the first three years do so because of problems with managing pupils and their learning. This unit and the next will help you establish and maintain a productive and orderly learning environment, i.e. a classroom that is safe, orderly and focussed on learning. Such an environment will enable your pupils to feel safe and to learn as much as possible. Their shared classroom routines, values, expectations, learning experiences, rules and procedures will increase their engagement and their sense of autonomy, and will enhance the use of the instructional time. All this will result in their improved achievement and motivation and in your job satisfaction. After you have completed the study of this unit, you should be able to: explain how you can enable your pupils to learn English more happily and effectively describe how the class atmosphere can assist language learning identify the qualities of a good learner of English identify essential teaching skills that help promote learning identify the talents and skills of a good teacher of English explain how creating and teaching rules can eliminate management problems

Key Concepts: productive and orderly learning environment, formal classroom learning, teaching vs. learning, characteristics of classroom activities, motivation, good English learner profile, building a good atmosphere, means for including all pupils in the activities, types of knowledge and skills needed by the teacher, types of classroom time, essential teaching skills, language ability, practical classroom skills, factors affecting learning, guidelines for beginning the school year, establishing classroom rules. 1 Learning English inside and outside the classroom
Many people think that school and learning only mean a teacher standing at the front of the class teaching and the pupils sitting in rows listening and learning. This kind of perception is based on several assumptions. One assumption is that most of the learning takes place in the classroom. Another assumption is that the teacher is the knower and has the task of passing over this knowledge to the pupils. This is sometimes characterised as jug and mug the knowledge being poured from one receptacle into another empty one. There seems to be yet another assumption here: having something explained or demonstrated will automatically lead to learning. After the explanations, the pupils will do practice exercises to test whether they have understood what they have been told. Throughout the lesson the teacher keeps control of the subject matter, makes decisions about the work that needs to be done and orchestrates what the students do. In such a classroom, the teacher does most of the talking and is the most active person. In many circumstances teacher lecture or explanation may be an efficient method of informing the pupils about a topic. However, when the teacher is teaching, it is unclear how much learning is taking place. In fact, teaching and learning need to be clearly
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distinguished. It is quite possible for a teacher to put great effort in to his/her teaching and for no learning to take place; similarly, a teacher could apparently be doing nothing, but the students be learning a great deal. Actually, what happens is that each pupil will receive his/her own lesson: Im not involved at all Im tired of sitting on this chair I havent said anything for hours. Long explanations are so dull I just turn off. I dont understand and now shes talking about something else. Id rather do something different. Shes going too fast. Its not an interesting subject. Im not doing anything myself. Teaching is only one factor in what is learned. As a teacher, one cannot learn for her/his students. Only they can do that. What the teacher can do is to help create the conditions in which they might be able to learn. This means involving the students, enabling them to work at their own speed, by not giving long explanations, by encouraging them to participate, talk, interact, etc. And yet, formal classroom learning may suit better some kinds of learners. These prefer that the responsibility of learning be taken away from them. In the classroom, frequency, pace and order of exposure to English is determined by a syllabus and/or a coursebook, and the teacher determines the learning activities. The control by the teacher of the organization of the classroom provides support to the learners lacking in motivation or confidence. Nevertheless, the same control may be a source of frustration to other learners, who know both what and how they want to learn. However, throughout the world, the majority of English language learning takes place outside the classroom. Learners are exposed to English in the course of their everyday life: they interact with other English speakers, listen to the radio and TV, read newspapers, write letters, socialize, etc., in a word, they do things with English. This process of learning often involves five steps: (1) doing something; (2) recalling what happened; (3) reflecting on that; (4) drawing conclusions; (5) using those conclusions to inform and prepare for future practical experience: do prepare recall

conclude

reflect
The experiential learning circle

It is important to distinguish between learning and teaching. Information, guidance and support from other people may come in at any of the five steps of the cycle (the experiential learning cycle), but the essential learning experience is in doing the thing yourself. As an English teacher, you must bear in mind that you are responsible for the learning of all pupils within the classroom. You must also train them in good strategies to enable them to continue learning outside the classroom. You must develop in your pupils habits of independence and autonomy, preparing them to organise their own learning and to exploit other sources of language outside the classroom.
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2 The classroom: a complex environment

Classroom activities have characteristics that make them complex and demanding: o Several activities and tasks occur at the same time. When you teach a classroom, you need to maintain order, attract and keep your pupils attention, and keep them involved in a learning activity (individual, whole class, small groups, pairs). You may also have to deal with discipline problems. o Events occur rapidly. Things happen quickly and you need to make many of the decisions right now. This need to make quick decisions can be almost overwhelming, particularly for beginning teachers. o Events often take unexpected turns. You must always plan your classroom activity, and try to anticipate as much as you can of what will happen. And yet it is impossible to plan for all of your pupils responses. Pupils and classroom activity are often unpredictable, but experienced teachers get used to expecting the unexpected. The unpredictable nature of classrooms increases their complexity and challenge. o You teach in front of people. In a sense, you are on a stage and your successes and mistakes occur in the public space. The pupils (and possibly other observers) perceptions of your actions can have unintended consequences. Moreover, few classrooms are ideal. They may be too small or too large, too dim or too bright, storage space may be limited, maps may cover the board, etc. Rearranging desks is sometimes impossible, but if it is possible, try to experiment with different arrangements to see what works best for you. (Do not forget to consider the room arrangement in your planning.) In most cases, you have to accept the room(s) you are allocated for your work. In the schools where there are fixed rooms for English or language labs, you will have the opportunity to create an appropriate environment (with wall-charts, posters photos, pupils work, and the like) so that everyone coming in knows immediately that English is the focus of attention there. But if you must move from class to class, you can still do quite a lot to ensure that the environment in which your classes are held is as encouraging as possible. How would you describe the ideal room in which you would love to teach?

Remember also that are contexts in which pupils/students learn English only for the purposes of listening and reading, without any need to interact in speech or writing. On the other hand, when you need to give your pupils opportunities to talk, there may be constraints such as large, multilevel classes with fixed furniture, traditions of learning, an examination-oriented curriculum, and difficulty in accessing resouces. Managing with scarce resources is a challenge, but rather than abandoning the idea of using resources, teachers often find ways around the problems. Before planning rules and activities, you must consider both the characteristics of your pupils and the physical environment of your classrooms. The relationship among these factors is illustrated below.

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Pupil characteristics

Planning for effective management

The physical environment

Procedures and rules

(after Paul Eggen and Don Kauchak. 2004. Educational Psychology, Pearson)

2.1 Getting to know your pupils and your context

To plan a learning activity or a sequence means to be able to predict as much of the unpredictable as possible: you need to know your pupils and to build up a wide repertoire of skills and techniques. All these will enable you to develop useful structures and a personal style of teaching. You will then maximize both your pupils potential and your own in the limited time and with the limited resources of the school. In an ideal classroom, class management is invisible. The atmosphere is calm, movement and interaction are comfortable, and pupils work quietly. The teacher gives few directions and reprimands pupils infrequently. However, in the real world, some classes are tough to manage. And yet, in most instances, a teacher can create an orderly classroom. Doing so requires good knowledge of the pupils and careful planning. It also requires the existence of a clearly understood and consistently monitored set of rules and procedures that prevents management problems before they occur. The complexity of a teachers activity is especially apparent in the large classes of the primary and secondary schools, where the number of pupils and their immaturity combine to put to constant test the teachers classroom managerial skills. In such a context, knowing your pupils and knowing how to approach them is crucial. You know that pupils think, act and feel differently at different stages of development. What are the general characteristics affecting classroom management of the primary school pupils (grades 2 to 4) compared to those of the lower secondary school pupils (grades 5 to 8)? Whether you teach younger or older children, your way of approaching them, especially in the early stages of the classroom activity, will be a major factor that affects your pupils confidence. Learners of all ages should be treated with care and respect. Knowing your pupils by name, knowing their backgrounds and interests, knowing about their previous language-learning experiences and their attitudes to English will enable you to help them learn more happily and effectively. Before you start teaching a new group, you will want to find out what your pupils have already learnt. Being able to address your pupils by name has considerable advantages both for you and for them. It avoids confusion which might arise in identifying which pupil should be responding. Also, it is the natural way to attract somebodys attention; it speeds up the organising of pair and group work; it generates a friendly relationship with the pupils and among them, and it produces a secure atmosphere.
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What can you do if you have large classes and you are not good at remembering pupils names?

A language class gives you more opportunities to discover details about your pupils lives than most other classes. Very often you may find yourself wondering what you can ask and what is better to be left unasked. A good principle is never to ask your pupils anything that you yourself would not wish to be asked. Your pupils will find their English lessons more stimulating if some of their work is concerned with things that interest them. You will want then to find out what these things are. Almost any hobby which a pupil has can be incorporated into an English lesson. Think First! Before continuing to read this text, think where you can find information about your pupils previous experience of learning English.

There is always an official syllabus (programa) of what needs to be taught at each level, which you can consult. You can also ask your pupils to bring you the coursebook(s) and notebook(s) they used. Sometimes, you can talk to the previous teacher(s). This kind of discussion is very important as you may be able to find out what your pupils strengths and weaknesses are. Both the pupils and the previous teacher may also tell you what kinds of learning experience they had. Sometimes, however, you will find that the class is different from what you would have expected. This may simply mean that the class, or individual pupils within it, have changed. Think First! Before continuing to read this lecture, think of what you can do to find out what your pupils really know.

The best way to establish what your pupils already know is to start with a diagnostic test to discover what they can and cannot do. However, when you give them such a test, you must make sure that your pupils understand that the test is given only to help you decide what gaps they have in their knowledge, so that you can help them to fill these gaps. In most cases, the young pupils attitude to English is more influenced by you than by their wants or needs. Your enthusiasm and skills have an enormous effect on the attitude of your pupils. However, positive attitudes to learning English need to be fostered constantly, as pupils almost always reach a stage when they feel that they are not making any progress. At this point you need to find new ways of motivating them and making their study seem worthwhile by seizing every opportunity to make their learning meaningful.
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Remember that no matter what facilities the school offers, it is the lively, purposeful class atmosphere with plenty to do, which you create, which will maintain your pupils positive attitudes. The most important factor in keeping your pupils motivated is your own skill and enthusiasm.

2.3 The good learners of English

Recent approaches in EFL have acknowledged the importance of the whole person in the learner (as opposed to only their mental processes such as thinking, remembering, analysing, etc.) The pupils bring to the classroom a range of less visible things such as their needs, their wishes, their life experience, their home background, their memories, their worries, their dreams, their anger, their toothache, their fears, their moods, etc. Given the opportunities, they will make decisions for themselves and their learning and they will move forward. New learning is constructed over the foundations of earlier learning. The pupils will make use of whatever knowledge and experience they already have in order to help them learn and understand new things. Thus the message taken away from one lesson is quite different for different pupils. Drawing on your experience as learners of English, you could draw the profile of the good learners of English. Consider these features: Perceptual skills: they can perceive new sounds. Analytical skills: they can formulate hypotheses, memorise language items, monitor their own speech and that of others. Motivation: they have a high motivation. Strategy: they concentrate on meaning rather than on form when practising; they look for cues in the context. Study: they can organise their studies and study independently (e.g. they make vocabulary lists and use them). Experiment: they try out their language knowledge and are uninhibited about making mistakes. Sociability: they mix well and work well in groups. They can transfer from Romanian to English communication strategies such as paraphrasing, circumlocution, checking that listeners have understood, etc. Exposure: they seek out every opportunity to come into contact with English, (watching films and TV programmes, reading books and newspapers, etc.) Cultural openess: they are open-minded and open hearted with regard to foreign cultures and individuals. Age: young children do not make good learners of grammar. Adaptability: they learn well despite the method, the teacher, and the school. Think First! What fundamental skill is hidden behind most of the features listed above?

It would be difficult to imagine that all your pupils show all the above mentioned features and are all good learners of English. However, you should be able to show your pupils how to be good, which clearly involves helping them to become independent. Independence is a quality which seems to cut across most of the features listed above, and is the result of having acquired learning strategies.
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Learning strategies Rebecca Oxford (1990) differentiates learning strategies into the following categories: Affective. These strategies serve to regulate emotions, attitudes, and motivation. They include anxiety reduction through laughter and meditation, selfencouragement through affirmations, and self-reward through praise. Social. These refer to actions learners take to interact with users of the language. They include asking questions, cooperating with native speakers of language, and becoming culturally aware. Metacognitive. This type of strategies deal with the planning, monitoring, and evaluation of language learning activities. They include paying attention, consciously searching for practice opportunities, planning for language tasks, selfevaluating progress, and monitoring errors. Memory-related. These strategies include grouping, imagery, rhyming, analysing, moving physically, and structured reviewing. General cognitive. These involve reasoning, analysing, summarising and practising with the result of identification, retention, and retrieval of language elements. Compensatory. These strategies make up for limited knowledge. They include guessing meaning from context, using synonyms and gestures to convey meaning.

All these strategies should be trained and form an integral part of the classroom events. Moreover, pupils should be taught how to identify and analyse their preferred learning strategies.

2.4 Class atmosphere

The general atmosphere in the class can assist learning. Both your behaviour and language and those of the pupils can contribute to this atmosphere. Think First! What factors are the most important, in your opinion, for building a good atmosphere in your classes? Put in order the following suggestions according to how important they are for you and the pupils you are teaching.

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addressing pupils by name encouraging the whole class to use first names always being polite to your pupils expecting your pupils to be polite to each other as well as to you always being punctual to classes encouraging your pupils to arrive to classes on time encouraging pupils to apologise for late coming making sure you do not show favouritism towards any particular pupil planning clearly what you are going to do in each lesson allowing valid questions and interruptions telling your pupils from the beginning what you want to achieve in the lesson saying, at the end of the lesson, how successful you think it has been including, if possible, every pupil in some way during each lesson not letting one or two pupils monopolise the class
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 providing opportunities for the pupils to talk and listen to each other reducing communication between you and your pupils to an
optimum amount

saying what you mean and meaning what you say: being firm in
approving or disapproving doing the things which you have told your pupils you will do treating all your pupils alike.

2.4.1 Motivating students

Language classrooms depend more than other classes on the climate; in its turn this is influenced by the national and cultural influences on the language being learned, the education system and the immediate classroom environment (M. Lewis in Richards, J. C. and Renandya Willy A., 2002: 40). If the education system or the national curriculum, and the status of the foreign language being learned cannot be influenced by the teacher, the latter can influence the students feel about learning English. Teachers can influence the classroom environment where learning takes place by motivating unmotivated pupils. Unmotivated pupils can be recognised when they fail to take part by sitting in silence, they distract other pupils by talking off the topic, or they provide nonlanguage entertainment. All of these call for teachers management skills. A future English teacher needs to know that teaching a foreign language involves more than her pupils interest, for language is a skill that needs to be applied/used, not just stored in the head. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation Teachers encourage language use through both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Some students have strong intrinsic motivation as they are already aware of the benefits of learning English. Others need to be reminded of the benefits: standing better chances of getting a good job, making travelling more rewarding and enjoyable, access to literature of all kinds in the original, etc. Extrinsic motivation can come through rewards. Some of the activities done in class can be presented as rewards to the pupils: supplying additional reading materials, showing a video, inviting guest speakers, organising games, etc. An ongoing aspect of motivation is dealing with the behaviour of particular students. Teachers build a scale of responses to off-task behaviour, which helps them decide whether to ignore or attend to the problem. Here are a few typical cases of off-task behaviour and possible teacher responses (from M. Lewis, idem: 42 43) 1. The back-row distractor: the pupil who always sits at the back and distracts others: Use eye contact while continuing to speak. Stop mid-sentence and stare until the pupil stops. Talk with the pupil after class to investigate the cause. 2. The nonparticipants: several pupils are not taking part in the assigned activity. Ignore them if they are not distracting others. Walk past their desks and ask if there is a problem. Ask other teachers how the same pupils participate in other classes. 3. The overexuberant pupil: one outgoing student dominates answering most questions, making most comments and filling most of the student talking time. This calls for tact, because such a pupil is often a good language model for the rest of the class. Interrupt with Thanks for that and call on someone else to continue.
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Remind the student that there will be more talking time soon in groups. Talk to the student individually later. In brief, making quick decisions on what to do about a problem depends on answers to questions like: Does the behaviour hinder other students learning? Is this just a single occurrence not worth wasting time on? Is it a whole-class problem or a specific to one or two people?

Remember that if large number of pupils are failing to attend to the lesson, there could be a problem with the lesson itself. The task may be too difficult, or an activity may have continued for too long, or the content may be boring. On the other hand, the problem may not be within the class: a forthcoming event such as a match or even unusual weather can change the mood of the class and signal to the teacher the need for a change of activity.

2.4.2 Involving all the pupils

You should seize every opportunity to give encouragement to those pupils who are making a real effort and not just to those who are being successful. This can be done briefly and frequently, without interrupting the flow of the lesson, by the use of Yes, Good, Thats right and even by a simple nod of the head. Avoid comparing one pupils performance with that of other pupils. It is always more constructive to compare a pupils work with his/her own previous performance as this gives the pupil a sense of ones own progress. Ensure that all the pupils are included in the class activity. In large classes in particular, it is very easy to miss some pupils out. Often teachers tend to focus on one particular section of the class the area where the very good pupils sit, the front of the class, or the area by the window , without realising it. Think First! Before you read the rest of this section, write down the means you can think of used for including all the pupils in the class activity.

Here are some ways of making sure that you involve all the pupils. Use the class register list. Your pupils will know if you are calling on them in the order of the class register list. To avoid this, use every second or third name, or some other pattern, so that they may not realise what order you are using. Avoid looking down at the list (by putting it where you can see it easily). Also, to prevent the switching off of pupils who have just responded, ask one or two for a second response. Think of your class as a set of lines or rows of pupils and address a question to a pupil from each line or row in turn. Set rules. If your pupils tend to shout out the answers before the others have time to try, make a rule that the pupil who has responded once must miss the next three questions before s/he can answer again. This keeps the pupils busy counting, while waiting to join in again. Invite the pupil who answers to name the one who will answer next. If the pupils get used to this system, it can move quite briskly and be successful. However, it can become unpleasant if the pupils see it as a way of victimising their slower classmates
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 Repeat the question and/or prompt. If the pupil you nominated is unable to respond, help him/her by repeating or prompting, while insisting that the rest of the class remains quiet. Sometimes, however, you may wish to pass a factual question to another pupil, or the class in general. Extra-Curricular Activities. Activities conducted outside lesson times can make an important contribution to maintaining a good atmosphere in the classroom. If their knowledge of English opens the way to other interesting activities, the pupils will take a more positive attitude to their studies. By organising a class library or an English club you can provide your pupils with the possibility of extending their knowledge and interests outside the classroom as well as giving them an opportunity for genuine communication. Try to help your pupils set these up and then give them assistance in running them. What advantages or disadvantages can you see in your pupils attending the activity of an English club?

2.4.3 Discipline
Discipline is an important matter. As a teacher, you should be able to solve a number of questions, referring to maintaining order, the amount of noise you can tolerate, what you consider unacceptable behaviour and how you can punish misbehavers. How much freedom do you think you have in dealing with discipline problems?

It is important to try to be fair, and not to punish misbehaviour severely on one occasion while ignoring it on another. It is always better to avoid situations that may lead to misbehaviour. If you keep your pupils busy and if they believe that what they are doing is worthwhile, they will be less likely to become disruptive. Also, if you are well organized, you are less likely to have problems with discipline.

3 The effective teacher

The experiential learning cycle suggests a number of conclusions for English teachers: The jug and mug approach may be inappropriate if it dominates classroom time. Giving your pupils time to do things themselves may be much more important. You may be a better teacher if you tried to make the enabling of learning your main concern. You need to ensure your pupils practical experience in doing things using language rather than simply listening to explanations about language) Being an over-helpful teacher could get in the way of your pupils learning. The more you do things in the classroom, the less space there will be for the learners to do things.
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 It may be useful to help pupils become more aware of how they are learning. To reflect on this and to explore what procedures, materials, techniques or approaches would help them learn more effectively. It is OK for pupils to make mistakes, to try things out and get things wrong and learn form that. Here are a number of factors in a teacher that might positively affect the learning atmosphere in the classroom. The effective teacher: really listens to her pupils shows respect gives clear, positive feedback has a good sense of humour is patient knows her subject inspires confidence trusts pupils empathises with pupils problems is well-organised paces lessons well does not complicate things unnecessarily is enthusiastic and inspired enthusiasm can be authoritative without being distant is honest is approachable.

Carl Rogers, an American psychologist, suggested that there are three core teacher characteristics that help create an effective learning environment: respect (a positive and non-judgemental regards for another person), empathy (being able to see things from another persons perspective, as if looking through their eyes) and authenticity (being oneself without hiding behind job titles, roles or masks). When a teacher has these three qualities, the relationship within the classroom are likely to be stronger and deeper and communication between people much more open and honest. The climate becomes positive, forward-looking and supportive. The pupils are able to learn with less fear of taking risks or facing challenges. In doing these they increase their own self-esteem and self-understanding, gradually taking more and more of the responsibility for their own learning themselves rather than assuming that it is someone elses job. In order to improve the quality of the relationship teacher pupils, one does not need to learn new techniques but to look closely at what they really want for their pupils, how they really feel about themselves.

3.1. Essential teaching skills

What kind of knowledge does a teacher need to help the pupils learn as much as possible? Knowledge of content. You should know not only English but also be familiar with the concepts used in the lessons. Pedagogical content knowledge. You should be able to illustrate the concepts used (with examples, drawings, charts, etc.) General pedagogical knowledge. You should know how to organise orderly classrooms and use questioning skills that involve your pupils and lead to thorough understanding.
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 Knowledge of learners and learning. You should be able to understand when your pupils need concrete examples and what kind of tasks increase motivation and learning. Positive teacher attitudes are also fundamental to effective teaching as personal teaching efficacy, energy, enthusiasm, caring and high expectations promote pupil motivation. For instance, if you are an elementary school teacher, you can communicate your personal efficacy and caring by calling a pupils parents and soliciting their help as soon as the pupil fails to turn in an assignment or receives an unsatisfactory grade. Besides all the types of knowledge and attitudes, there are basic abilities that all teachers should have to promote order and learning in the classroom. Think first! Before reading the following section, make a list of the skills that are essential, in your opinion, for any teacher.

Classroom time You should know how to increase learning by using time efficiently. Different types of classroom time influence learning in different ways: Type of classroom time Allocated time Instructional time Engaged time Academic learning time Description The amount of time a teacher uses for a content area or topic The amount of time left for teaching after routine management and administrative tasks are completed The amount of time pupils are actively involved in learning activities The amount of time pupils are actively involved in learning activities during which they are successful.

As you move from allocated time to academic learning time, the correlation with learning becomes stronger. Unfortunately, teachers do not always use time effectively. Some teachers seem unaware of the importance of time, viewing it as something to be filled or even killed. In order to increase learning, you should increase instructional, engaged, and academic learning time to make as much use of the allocated time as possible. Organisation determines how efficiently time is used. It includes starting on time, preparing materials in advance, establishing routines, etc. Routines reduce the load of your working effort and memory, save your energy, and create a sense of order and equilibrium in your classroom. Effective communication There is a strong link between effective communication, pupil achievement and pupil satisfaction. The way you interact with pupils influences their motivation and attitudes toward school in general and English in particular. Four aspects of effective communication are especially important: precise terminology, connected discourse, transition signals and emphasis. Precise terminology is language without vague terms, which would leave the pupils with a sense of uncertainty and detract them from learning. Connected discourse is talk that leads to a point. If the point of a lesson is not clear,
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if your talk is sequenced inappropriately, if incidental information is included, discourse becomes disconnected. Keep your lessons on track, minimising time spent on matters unrelated to the topic. Transition signals indicate that one idea or activity is ending and another is beginning (e.g. All right, now well turn to). They alert the pupils that the lesson is making a shift and allow them to adjust and get prepared. Emphasis consists of verbal (e.g. Listen carefully now) and vocal cues (such as raising the voice) and repetition, which alert pupils to important information in a lesson. What practical implications may terminology, connected discourse, transition signals, and emphasis have for teachers?

Introductory focus attracts pupils attention and provides a framework for the lesson. In addition, it can increase motivation by arousing curiosity. In an English lesson you can use concrete objects, pictures, models, materials displayed around the room, information written on the board all meant to maintain pupils attention during learning activities. Use objects, photos, maps, charts, etc. to provide introductory and sensory focus during your lessons. Using questions, you can guide learning rather than simply deliver information. By questioning you can assess pupil background knowledge, cause pupils to rethink their ideas, help them form relationships. You can also involve shy pupils, recapture pupils wandering attention, promote success, and enhance self-esteem. Questioning can also maintain the pace and momentum of a lesson. Effective questioning is frequent is equitably distributed uses prompting allows adequate wait-time

The information pupils receive about the accuracy or appropriateness of their responses and work is crucial in promoting learning. Feedback gives pupils information about the validity of their knowledge or skills. It also helps them to elaborate on their existing understanding. Feedback is also important for motivation because it provides pupils with information about their increasing competence. Effective feedback has four essential characteristics: it is immediate or given soon after a pupil response it is specific it provides corrective information for the learner it has a positive emotional tone The teacher needs to provide feedback throughout all learning experiences. Look at the following teacher pupil dialogue. Which of the characteristics of feedback listed above is not illustrated by this dialogue: Mr. B: What kind of an animal is shown in the picture, Jill? Jill: A panther. Mr. B: Not quite. Help her out, Betty?
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Lessons are more coherent when review and closure are used to summarise and pull ideas together. Review is a summary that helps pupils link what they have already learned to what will follow in the next activity. It emphasizes important points and encourages elaboration. It can occur at any point in a lesson, although it is common at the beginning and end. Closure is a form of review that occurs at the end of a lesson. It pulls content together and signals the end of the lesson. Begin and end each class with a short review. Guide the review with questioning. For instance, say We studied present perfect yesterday. Give me an example that illustrates this, and explain why your example is correct. These skills are interdependent as none is effective alone, but only in combination with the others. Their interaction and integration are crucial. Besides knowledge, attitudes and essential teaching skills that are common to teachers of all subjects, the teachers of English can use successfully a variety of other abilities, skills and talents. Moreover, as a teacher you should be aware of the factors affecting learning. This awareness will help you to enhance your pupils learning. Also, you should be aware of what makes a good learner in order to try to make your pupils good learners. Moreover, you should be aware of what motivates your pupils to learn English and try to bring about factors which increase your pupils motivation. However, some of the factors that affect your pupils leaning either cannot be changed or are difficult to change. What factors cannot be changed and what factors can you influence or change in making your pupils good learners of English?

To check on your organisation and communication skills, you can ask another teacher to visit your class and observe your language and nonverbal communication or to see how many minutes you spend before actually beginning instruction. You can also ask your colleague to see whether you clearly emphasise the important points in the lesson, sequence the presentation logically, communicate changes in topics or the way you give feedback.

3.2 Teachers language ability

Fluency and accuracy in English do not make anyone automatically into a successful teacher of English. Many good teachers of English have a limited command of English. However, these teachers may have the advantage of understanding better their pupils difficulties. The secret lies in being confident about your English without being embarrassed about your lack of greater knowledge. When your pupils will ask you Whats the English for .? and you do not know the answer, it is better to say I dont know, but Ill find out for you rather than to try to avoid answering the question. Do not feel embarrassed that you dont know every word of English. Think how many words of Romanian you dont know! We all continue to learn throughout our lives. What is important is to work on improving the quality of the English you use and want to teach your pupils. And there are lots of ways in which you can develop your language skills.

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Think First! Before reading the following section, answer this question: What ways of improving your classroom English can you think of now?

Here are a few solutions: Make sure that you are familiar with the language in the lesson. The day before the class, prepare the lesson by speaking out the words, phrases, and sentences, so that you can hear how they sound. See if there are words which you have difficulty in pronouncing, and try to get them right. If there is a cassette to be used with the book, listen to the recording too, as this can help with pronunciation. If you can, have regular meetings with other teachers of English to help each other with the preparation of classes, and share with them your difficulties and your successes. You may soon discover that each of you can gain something from the experience of the others. There are also teachers clubs (cercuri) or teachers centres (CCDs) where you may check up on anything you are unsure of by asking colleagues or experts. How big an advantage is, in your opinion, the knowledge of an English-speaking country? Explain why you think this is so.

3.3 Teacher skills and talents

A clear voice, good presentation skills, self-confidence are all big advantages. Or, perhaps, you are good at singing or playing an instrument. If you cannot play or sing well, you can still have a song in your class by playing a tape or a record and singing along with the recording. If you cannot lead the singing yourself, just join in and encourage the pupils to sing. Drawings are often used as a way of presenting new language and explaining new vocabulary. You do not have to be an artist: just make sure that you keep the drawing simple and you draw it big enough to be seen by every pupil in the classroom. Always try it out or prepare it in advance. Use your acting skills if you decide to read out a dialogue or organise a role play activity. You will sound more convincing if you use different voices to indicate changes of speaker. Even if you only change the loudness or speed or pitch of your voice, you will still make the contrast between speakers clear. This will show your pupils what you expect of them and will encourage them to take part in the activity. Otherwise, it is unreasonable to expect your pupils to do things that you are not willing to do yourself. It is always acceptable to say Im not very good at this, but Ill try. Practical classroom skills Your good performance in the classroom will have a significant effect on the way in which the pupils see you and, consequently, on their behaviour.

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Think First! Before reading the next section, think of the practical skills that a good teacher needs.

Here are some necessary practical skills: In the classroom, you should read clearly and loudly, without stumbling over difficult words, with a good intonation and sounding as if you care about what you are reading. Always practise any piece you want to use in the next lesson. Organise your board work well, write legibly and quickly on the board. Write your lines right, and your letters clear and big, so that they can be read easily from the sides and back of the class). Clean the board before you start writing on it. It is important for you to master the equipment. You need to know how to use an overhead projector or a video player. The best way to learn is by hands on experience: have someone explain it and demonstrate it, and then go through the various steps a number of times yourself. Read carefully the instruction manual, if it is available. If you cannot handle the equipment, you will get angry and frustrated, and you may lose the respect of your pupils.

3.5 Teacher and methodology

Jim Scrivener considers that there are three categories of teachers: the explainer, the involver and the enabler. The explainer has limited knowledge of teaching methodology and relies mainly on explaining or lecturing as a way of conveying information to the students. Done with style and enthusiasm, with wit and imagination the lessons can be entertaining, interesting and informative. The pupils are listening, occasionally answering questions and perhaps making notes, but are mostly not being personally involved or challenged. The pupils often receive practice by doing individual exercises after one phase of the presentation has finished. The involver knows well the subject matter (the English language and how it works). However, she is also familiar with teaching methodology; she is able to use appropriate teaching and organizational procedures and techniques to help her students learn about the subject matter. Teacher explanations may be one of these techniques, one option among many that she has at her disposal. She tries to involve the pupils actively and puts effort into finding appropriate and interesting activities that will do this, while still retaining clear control over the classroom and what happens in it. The enabler knows about the subject matter and about methodology, but also has an awareness of how pupils and groups are thinking and feeling within her class. She actively responds to this in her planning and working methods and in building effective working relationships and a good classroom atmosphere. Her own personality and attitude are an active encouragement to learning. This kind of teacher is confident enough to share control with the learners, or to hand it over entirely to them. Decisions in her classroom are often shared or negotiated. She sees herself as someone whose job is to create the conditions that enable the pupils to learn for themselves. Sometimes this will involve her in less traditional teaching; she may become a guide or a counsellor or a resource of information when needed. When autonomous learning is going on, such a teacher may be hardly visible.
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The three descriptions are very broadly painted. There is no way to categorise teaching under three headings. However, this simple categorisation may help you reflect on what kind of teaching you have mostly experienced in your life and may also help you to clarify what kind of teacher you see yourself as being in the future. As a teacher you should be aware of the factors affecting learning. This awareness will help you to enhance your pupils learning. Also, you should be aware of what makes a good learner in order to try to make your pupils good learners. Moreover, you should be aware of what motivates your pupils to learn English and try to bring about factors which increase your pupils motivation. Opportunities for self development By thinking critically about yourself, you may have identified aspects of your professional performance which you want to improve. Opportunities for self-development may be offered by attending refresher courses, classes in art, music or drama, by joining a local library, arranging to work with teacher colleagues, finding out what local organisations exist and asking what they can do to help, reading books about teaching, etc.

6 The school 6.1 Getting a new job

No two schools are alike. Schools may range from very formal, with strict discipline to very casual, where discipline is not considered important. School principals also range from authoritarian to permissive. It is important for you to realise what type of school you are in and to adjust your own behaviour accordingly. While you are new, keep your teaching style rather formal until you learn more about how the other teachers work. It is always easier to become more relaxed with your pupils as time goes on rather than to become more formal with them. It is important to respect the norms of the school in which you are working and not to impose your own system from the beginning. Once you have become accepted by the other members of the staff, you may perhaps suggest ideas which they can consider and possibly adopt. In the beginning, you need to be careful about how much noise your classes make. You may need to try to convince the other teachers and the school principal that in order to learn to speak English and understand the spoken language, your pupils will need to make some noise, that group and pair work cause some noise. School responsibilities are relevant for teachers of all subjects. They are important aspects of school life and affect the status of English in the school. This in turn affects what you can achieve. Understanding the system can save you a lot of time and trouble and leave you to devote more energy to the actual teaching - learning process.

6.2 School routines

The first few days of the school year are crucial to classroom management, because they create lasting impressions and patterns of behaviour for the year are established in these first days. Spend a little time at the beginning of the year explaining how you intend the class to operate, and making it clear what you consider to be acceptable behaviour. This should be done in a friendly but firm manner, without sounding threatening. Your life will be made easier and your class more successful if you establish rules for your lessons which everybody understands and accepts. Here are a few examples of teachers rules:
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Primary school We raise our hands before speaking We leave our seats only when given permission by the teacher

Lower secondary Be in your seat and quiet when the bell rings Raise your hand for permission to speak or to leave your seat

Upper secondary Be in your seat before the bell rings Give your full attention to others in discussion, and wait your turn to speak

What rules would you like to add to the lists in the table above?

Such rules can be worked out together with the pupils. Although involving pupils in rule making does not solve all management problems, it is an important step in gaining their cooperation. Once established, rules create a sense of ownership, and contribute to the development of responsibility and self-regulation in your pupils. Try to find out what the norms there are in your school, and comply with them. For instance, the pupils may be expected to stand (or not) when you come into the room. Homework may be collected by a pupil rather than by you. The board may be always cleaned by the pupil sitting nearest to it or by a pupil on duty. If there are no norms, it is wise for you to establish some of your own. Asking your pupils to put up hands is not always appropriate in a class where everybody must speak. Sometimes you need responses from pupils who do not know them, or who do, but do not put up their hands. Make sure you first ask the question and then name a pupil to answer. Ask a second or a third pupil if the first pupil is unable to answer. Get your pupils to put up their hands before they want to ask a question. This helps to prevent noisy interruptions. However, do not insist on your pupils always raising their hand before asking, as one of the skills they must acquire is that of being able to interrupt and seek clarification. When would you insist on your pupils raising their hands?

Your pupils need to know in advance of the lesson what will need to bring to class. You have to plan this and ask them to bring only what they will use. Then you should be firm in reprimanding those who fail to bring what is needed to the first few lessons, so that it becomes second nature for your pupils to bring the right things. On the other hand, if you ask them to bring something and never ask them to use it, dont be cross if someone fails to bring that thing to the lesson when you finally decide to refer to it. With younger pupils, insist that they do not keep on the desk things which are not to be used during the lesson. Help your pupils establish an organised way of keeping their notes by using the lesson/unit titles of the coursebook and perhaps the exercise/section/activity number as headings. The pupils can then write under these headings and the notebook can be referred to alongside the coursebook. If your pupils buy their own coursebooks, do not forbid them to write in them or mark things they want to remember, or even colour the pictures. If, however, books belong to the school, the notebook must become an essential tool for the pupil.
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There is almost always an established way in which young pupils will address you and you them. With older pupils you may establish the form of address together. However, this will depend largely on school custom and pupils expectations. Make it clear from the outset what your name is and how you like to be addressed. Here are a few guidelines for beginning the school year: Explain requirements and grading systems (particularly with older pupils) Emphasize that learning and classroom order are interdependent Plan with great care during this period Conduct eye-catching and motivating activities Plan structured Assess pupils skills and background knowledge instruction Use large- rather than small-group instruction Minimize transitions from one activity to another Begin teaching rules and procedures the first day Teach rules and Discuss and practise rules and procedures during the first few procedures days Intervene and discuss every infraction of rules Begin Meet the parents or send them a letter, and state your positive communication statements for the year with parents Call or visit parents after the first or second week to nip potential problems in the bud Establish expectations

Summary
This unit presents the complexity of the job of being an English teacher and the many requirements that you need to comply with: you must have a deep understanding of the process of learning and of the characteristics of your pupils, a good understanding of the topics you teach; you should be able to represent the topics in ways that are understandable to pupils, to organize and maintain productive learning environments. As a teacher, you are responsible for classroom learning and should be able to increase it. You should be caring and enthusiastic, a good role model, and have high expectations for your pupils. You should be well organized, know what is going on in your classrooms, use your class time well, and communicate clearly. You should present content in attractive ways, provide clear and informative feedback, and review important ideas. You should use effective questioning strategies, prompt pupils who do not answer successfully, and give pupils time to think about their answers. You should be able to draw, write legibly and speak convincingly, and maybe have other talents, too. You should be able to create a classroom atmosphere conducive to learning and establish rules and routines which enhance the use of classroom learning time.

Further Reading
Cohen, A.D and Weaver, S. J. 1998. Strategies-based instructions for second language learners. In W. A. Renandya & G. M. Jacobs (eds.), Learners and language learning (pp. 1 -25). Singapore: SEAMEO Regional Language Centre. Harmer, Jeremy. 2001. The Practice of English Language Teaching, Longman. Oxford, Rebecca. 1990. Language learning strategies: What every teacher should know. New York: Newbury House. Richards, Jack C. and Renandya Willy A., 2002. Methodology in Language Teaching. Cambridge: CUP. Scrivener, J. 1994. Learning Teaching, Heinemann. Underwood, Mary. 1987. Effective Class management. A Practical Approach, Longman. Ur, Penny. 1996. A Course in Language Teaching. Practice and Theory, Cambridge University Press.
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