UNIT 18 ASSESSMENT TYPES AND TASKS

ASSESSMENT TYPES AND TASKS

One way to check students' understanding about the language or the topic they have learned, teachers use assessment to judge learners'performance. there are two ways to assess a student like formal through test and informal through observation when they are on their performance. There are some and each of the have different purposes depending on what we want to have at the end of the test, maybe a dignostic to know prior knowledge, placement to place students in the right course, progress to check how they progress into the syllabus. Teachers have to take into consideration that each test either formal or informal, at the end students will have a feedback on what they have done good or bad. Test are developed in an objective way with multiple choice and just one answer is correct or subjective where teachers use rubrics to grade students' thoughts.

This web page is useful for you to check the types of assessment

  Lepi, K., Lepi, K., Dunn, J., Dunn, J., Carey, J., & Lepi, K. et al. (2014). The 6 Types Of Assessments (And How They're Changing) | Edudemic . Edudemic.com. Retrieved 6 December 2014, from http://www.edudemic.com/the-6-types-of-assessments-and-how-theyre-changing/ 

UNIT 17 PRACTICE ACTIVITIES AND TASKS FOR LANGUAGE AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

PRACTICE ACTIVITIES AND TASKS FOR LANGUAGE AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

Activities beyond the book are useful for students because they will reinforce what they have learned with exercises, tasks in order to use their language and produce new vocabulary through the subskills of the main ones. Teacehrs shouls start with controlled activities and little by little let students to produce free the language. Where controlled activities will help to practice on accuracy and form, like in choral, individual, substitutions and transformation drills. Inthe ither hand we have free activities that let students to have different interaction patterns such as dialogues, role-plays, interviews. So teachers have  to use a lot of tasks and activities to have a practice time in students instead of be so bored with the book.  

In the following link you will have the difference in controlled, semi-controlled and free activities:

User, S. (2014). Heads Up English | ESL Lessons - Controlled to Free Activities.Headsupenglish.com. Retrieved 6 December 2014, from http://www.headsupenglish.com/index.php/esl-articles/esl-lesson-structure/310-controlled-to-free-activities

Slideshare.net,. (2014). Intermediate German Blending Project. Retrieved 6 December 2014, from http://www.slideshare.net/kraemera/intermediate-german-blending-project

UNIT 16 PRESENTATION TECHNIQUES AND INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITIES

PRESENTATION TECHNIQUES AND INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITIES

In order to get student's attention , teacher should use some techniques like introductory activities that help us to introduce the new topic where students will focus on meaning instead of form. there are two ways to present a topic, PPP where teacher follos a process and presents a situational presentations rather than sentence isolated, so students will have a meaningful learning through student centered in eliciting, and also controlled practice like in choral drill. in the other hand, there is Task-based learning in which students have to complete a tasks from teacher's situation, and students will have a comprenhension about the topic and fell comfortable to produce the language. At the end it will be a confidence-building approach through activities like realia, viasul aids, and so on. Teachers should not forget to start the class with a warm-up to wake up students and raise up energy and also lead in to introduce the topic.    

To do not forget about the use of warm-up, review the next web page wher you sill find some of them to apply in class:

Scoop.it,. (2014). English Language Teaching in Practice. Retrieved 6 December 2014, from http://www.scoop.it/t/english-language-teaching-in-practice

See this video of how you can Introduce class and warm-up activities:

YouTube,. (2014). Introducing class and warm-up activities. Retrieved 6 December 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKVc3w6HICg

UNIT 14 LEARNERS NEEDS

LEARNER NEEDS

The learner needs depends basically on the age because between adults, teenagers and children differ on their goals, expectations and also have different learning styles at the moment of learning a language. Teachers need to pay attention to the learner needs because all of them can affect to students in the classroom. So teachers have to be careful when they choose an strategy or a topic to teach, because it must be according with the level of students and cover different interaction patterns to share their ideas among the class and the pace should be suitable to the level. If teachers focus their attention in the learner needs they could develop a variety of activities where students integrate their four skills. the best strategy here is CLIL (Content and Language Integrate Learning) because teacher has to prioritaze relevant information for students and through motivation they can get the students'attention. We as professionals can cover personal, professional and learning needs, if we use the right approach to teaching. 

First, at the beginning of the class, teacher should ask what are the expectations for the course and from that, teacher should plan the following classes. Second, teacher should try to role-plays, and interview to have interaction patterns and see how students develop in some situations.

Watch this video to know five general needs for students

  YouTube,. (2014). 5 Student Needs. Retrieved 6 December 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoyQh1VJbCY

Analize this graphic organizer about students' needs.

Nwlink.com,. (2014). Learning and Training Needs Assessments in Instructional Design. Retrieved 6 December 2014, from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/isd/assessment.html

UNIT 13 LEARNER CHARACTERISTICS

LEARNERS CHARACTERISTICS

The learners have different characteristics that influences at the moment of learning the language and the teacher need to focus on them in order to have students'attention. Each student have a particular learning style that identify the way they learn, maybe they are visual (need pictures), auditory (need explanations) and so on. So teacher should apply various strategies in the class to develop all fo them for students, and don't think that the learning style that the teacher has should be applied in the classroom whitout taking into account the students'needs. Also the class should be developed according to the maturity of students based on age, if they are children, you should try to do a lot of activities because of their short attention span, if they are teenagers they pay attention to the form and meaning instead of experiences as children and adults their motivation is councious a diffrence with children and teens. Using motivation, maturity and learning styles, the class will be interesting and students will learn easily because they are learning the language through comfortable activities and students will feel confident.

For more information see on:

YouTube,. (2014). Learning Styles. Retrieved 6 December 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXb0Bj97yDU

Other way to recaognize the learning style of your students is through a survey, so check this link
Odessa.edu,. (2014). Retrieved 6 December 2014, from 

http://www.odessa.edu/dept/govt/dille/brian/courses/1100orientation/learningstyleinventory_survey.pdf 



    

UNIT 15 APPROACHES TO LANGUAGE TEACHING

APPROACHES TO LANGUAGE TEACHING

There are many approches that teachers can use in the classroom depending on what they are going to teach and the type of students they have. We have different communicative approaches that suit students within the classroom in order to get the language through communicative activities based on speaking and fluency. Within all the approaches we see many characteristics that represents each of them, like in structural approah where language are structures, in Task-based learning where there ir students center because they develop language to solve problems, PPP (presentation,practice,production) where grammar structures and functions are basic for learning trhough drills, miming; lexical approach in which students learn vocabulary with individual words or in chunks, collocations. Also we have Functional approach where the function is the main purpose, TPR(Total Physical Response) based on grammar structures and vocab mainly following instructions. the oldest one that is Grammar translation that wants students memorize the rules and use tranlation. It is difficult to choose an approach and sometimes we use elictis approach that help us to combine the best part of each approach that fit in the classroom to have positive results. Finally, we can get students interested in the classroom or lose them if we dont choose the correct strategy.

Check this page to know about Current approaches and teaching methods; and Bilingual
programmes.
Www4.ujaen.es,. (2014). Retrieved 6 December 2014, from http://www4.ujaen.es/~gluque/Chapter4HANDBOOKDEFINITIVO.pdf

Also here you have a video about approaches to guide you about communicative approaches

• YouTube,. (2014). CELTA - Different approaches to teaching language -PPP to TBL. Retrieved 6 December 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r-DRmN42fE
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Unit 12 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN L1 AND L2 LEARNING

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN L1 AND L2 LEARNING

          The L1 that is the first language is easier to learn than L2 for everyone because, the language is part of our natural enviroment, it is talked at home with our family and at school through academic writings, while the L2 is taught  at school, highschool and sometimes in the adulthood but this is esporadically. L1 is learned by exposure and we pick up the language uncounciously while L2 needs intructions from a teacher or tutor who can give us grammar structures in order to learn. Here is important the motivation that students have because with L1 they dont feel frustated because they can interact with people around them but in L2 they feel desmotivated because there are moments where they can not express what they want, so they feel stress.
          To overcome the difficulty of learning L2, teachers should expose students to the language as much as possible and pay attention on the form of grammar structures but reformulating what students say in a right way in order that they dont feel bad, so they are motivated and have confidence at the moment of producing the language. Teacher has to provide situations in the classroom where students feel comfortable and they are interested in, because they could produce an answer and a conversation. Students feel familiar with the topics and they talk more and develop their L2 as L1.


Read the following page in order to solve the Problem of L1 vs. L2 in the Immersion Classroom
Carla.acad.umn.edu,. (2014). Retrieved 26 November 2014, from http://www.carla.acad.umn.edu/immersion/acie/v

In this video you have some tips to reduce the use of L1 in the L2 class, so they have more opportunities to produce L2.

YouTube,. (2014). Reducing L1 in the L2 Classroom. Retrieved 26 November 2014, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRg-LEIzw0w