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Developing and Using Resources for the Primary ESL Classroom

Topic Content Page

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Teaching and Learning materials for the classroom

1. Types

2. Purpose

3. Strengths and weaknesses

2 - 6

2 Factors in Selection and Evaluation

1. Level

2. Content – Cultural, knowledge

3. Clarity

4. Accessibility

5. Versatility

6. Cost effectiveness

7. Durability

8. Impact

9. Authenticity

8 - 15

3 Evaluation and exploitation of course books and

multimedia materials

instruments

criteria

16 - 20

4 Selection and Adaptation

Factors for selection

Principles of adaptation

21 - 26

5 Technical skills and knowledge for producing materials eg. Boards, charts, puppets, 'Big' books, masks, slides, audio.

Selection of raw materials

Assembling of raw materials

Appropriacy ( size, colour, audion-visual quality)

Evaluation

27 - 50

6 Developing Resources for Teaching

Listening and Speaking Skills

Reading Skills

Writing Skills

Language Skills

Grammar

Vocabulary

51 - 104

7 Exploting Teaching Learning Materials

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TOPIC 1 TEACHING AND LEARNING MATERIALS FOR THE

CLASSROOM

Synopsis

Teaching and learning materials are very important to English language

teachers. The uses of teaching and learning materials are the best teaching aids

which can help our pupils to understand what we are teaching. The lesson will

be more effectives and interesting to the learners. In this topic, you will be

exposed to the various types of English Language Teaching (ELT) materials and

resources.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this topic, you should be able to:

4. Identify various types of teaching and learning materials;

5. Select appropriate teaching and learning materials;

6. Produce simple teaching and learning materials;

7. Organize activities based on the teaching and learning material;

Conceptual Framework of the Topic

Teaching and Learning Materials for the Classroom

Types of teaching materials

Purposes of producing teaching

materials

Strengths and weaknesses of

teaching materials

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1.0 Introduction

Learning resources exist in many formats. Each format provides access to information to meet learners’ various needs and learning styles. Resources are sources of input for language learning – that is, instances of language which present the learner with material to develop learning. They are many ways of exposing learners to different modalities of language use; spoken, written, technologically mediated; to different registers; and to input beyond that provided by the teacher (Retrieved from http://www.tllg.unisa.edu.au/contacts.html).

1.1 Types of Material and Resources

One of the major sources of materials for school pupils is textbook. Textbooks provide you with several advantages in the classroom:

Textbooks are especially helpful for beginning teachers. The material to

be covered and the design of each lesson are carefully spelled out in detail.

Textbooks provide organized units of work. A textbook gives you all the plans and lessons you need to cover a topic in some detail.

A textbook series provides you with a balanced, chronological presentation of information.

Textbooks are a detailed sequence of teaching procedures that tell you what to do and when to do it. There are no surprises—everything is carefully spelled out.

Textbooks provide administrators and teachers with a complete program. The series is typically based on the latest research and teaching strategies.

Good textbooks are excellent teaching aids. They're a resource for both teachers and students.

(Accessed from http://www.teachervision.fen.com/curriculum-planning /new-teacher/48347.html

1.2 Other types of Teaching Learning Materials:

1. Resource centre 2. Language games 3. Language lab 4. NITE (Newspaper in Teaching English) 5. Blackboard Sketches 6. Use of Radios, T.V. for teaching English 7. Internet for Teaching English 8. Use of ICT for Teaching English

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1.3 Purpose of the Teaching and Learning Materials

1 Resources are sources of input for language learning – that is, instances of language which present the learner with material to develop learning. They are a way of exposing learners to different modalities of language use; spoken, written, technologically mediated; to different registers; and to input beyond that provided by the teacher. Traditionally, the main resource for input has been the textbook, and this may be supplemented by authentic texts from a range of sources: written texts, video or audio texts, music, multimedia, etc.

2 Resources may also be used as ways of promoting output, either spoken

or written. Such resources form a starting point for language use and may be linguistic or non-linguistic in form to prompt discussion, description, etc. Such resources include oral or written texts, artefacts, games, websites, etc. More recently, there have been a number of new technological resources which provide opportunities for both input and output by permitting interaction.

3 Resources can also be used to provide scaffolding for learning. Such

resources may provide models to guide learners’ language use. These may be exemplars of a particular spoken or written text type, or they may be frameworks for developing a text which provide partial structures to speaking or writing.

4 Resources used as input can become resources for scaffolding either

through modification or through different ways of using the text to focus beyond surface elements of grammar and vocabulary.

5 Resources can be used to stimulate reflection. This is different from

using a text simply to generate language use in that the latter may be descriptive or narrative while reflective work is deeper and introspective. Again, such resources do not need to be different from the resources used for input. It is rather a case of using resources differently by developing questions and activities around them to stimulate deeper thought, affective response and analysis of feelings, conclusions and interpretations.

6 There is not a neat mapping between purposes and resources. Rather

resources can be used in multiple ways. The key is to have resources which open up multiple possible uses and allow for flexibility and creativity in teaching and learning. The process of resourcing language learning involves much more than selecting the resource. Effective teaching involves being a critical user of all resources and using resources flexibly to enhance learning opportunities. Any resource is only an instance of possible representations of language, culture and learning and there will always be other possibilities not found in the particular resource.

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(Source: Scarino, A. & Liddicoat, A.J., 2009, Teaching and Learning Languages: A Guide. Retrieved from http://www.tllg.unisa.edu.au/lib_guide/ gllt.pdf)

1.4 The advantages and disadvantages of using Teaching and Learning Materials for ELT classroom.

Jack C Richards in his official website provided some information on the advantages and disadvantages on using instructional materials in teaching ESL.

“In deciding on teaching materials there are a number of options:

Choosing a suitable published course Adapting a published course to match the needs of the course Using teacher-made materials and authentic materials as the basis

for the course.

There are a number of advantages to using institutionally derived or teacher derived materials for a course:

Relevance: Materials can be produced that are directly relevant to

students’ and institutional needs and that reflect local content, issues, and concerns. Develop expertise: Developing materials can help develop expertise among staff, giving them a greater understanding of the characteristics of effective materials.

Reputation: Institutionally prepared materials may enhance the

reputation of the institution by demonstrating its commitment to providing materials specifically for its students.

Flexibility: Materials produced within the institution can be revised or

adapted as needed, giving them greater flexibility than a commercial course book.

However there are also potential disadvantages:

Cost: Quality materials take time to produce and adequate staff time as

well as resources need to be allocated. Quality: Teacher-made materials will not normally have the same

standard of design and production as commercial materials and hence may not present the same image as commercial materials.

Training: To prepare teachers for materials writing projects, adequate

training is necessary. Materials writing is a specialized skill and not all teachers area capable of writing good materials.”

(Taken from http://www.professorjackrichards.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-using-instructional-materials-in-teaching-esl/)

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Online resources require educators to ensure that children and students are afforded the same appropriate freedoms, guidance and protection as relate to other teaching and learning materials. The Internet service for South Australian government preschools and schools, is supported by information materialsupplied to all sites. There are risks for users of online services. These include:

• exposure to inappropriate material of a sexual or violent nature. • encountering e-mail or bulletin board messages that are harassing or

demeaning. • while online, providing information or arranging an encounter that could

risk the person’s safety. In a few cases, paedophiles have used online services and bulletin boards to gain a child’s confidence and then arrange a face-to-face meeting.

1.4 Strengths and Weaknesses of Teaching Materials Weakness Student Difficulty Ways of overcoming Problem

The textbook is designed as a the sole source of information.

Students only see one perspective on a concept or issue.

Provide students with lots of information sources such as trade books, CD-ROMS, websites, encyclopedias, etc.

Textbook is old or outdated.

Information shared with students is not current or relevant.

Use textbook sparingly or supplement with other materials.

Textbook questions tend to be low level or fact-based. Read more on

Students assume that learning is simply a collection of facts and figures.

Ask higher-level questions and provide creative thinking and problem-solving activities.

Textbook doesn't take students' background knowledge into account.

Teacher does not tailor lessons to the specific attributes and interests of students.

Discover what students know about a topic prior to teaching. Design the lesson based on that knowledge.

Reading level of the textbook is too difficult. Read more on

Students cannot read or understand important concepts.

Use lots of supplemental materials such as library books, Internet, CD-ROMs, etc.

The textbook has all the answer to all the questions.

Students tend to see learning as an accumulation of correct answers.

Involve students in problem-solving activities, higher-level thinking questions, and extending activitis.

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RUJUKAN

McDonough, J. & Shaw, C. (2003). Materials and Methods in ELT: A teacher's guide (2nd ed). Maiden, MA: Blackwell Publishers.

McGrath, I. (2002). Materials evaluation and design for languageteaching. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Scarino, A. & Liddicoat, A.J., 2009, Teaching and Learning

Languages: A Guide. Retrieved from http://www.tllg.unisa.edu.au/lib_guide/ gllt.pdf

Richards, J. C. (2012). Advantages and Disadvantages of Using

Instructional Materials in Teaching ESL. Retrieved from http://www.professorjackrichards.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-using-instructional-materials-in-teaching-esl/

Websites: http://www.professorjackrichards.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-using-instructional-materials-in-teaching-esl/ http://www.teachervision.fen.com/curriculum-planning /new-teacher/48347.html http://www.tllg.unisa.edu.au/contacts.html

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Topic 2 Factors in Selection and Evaluation

Synopsis There are various factors to consider in selecting the ELT materials and resources. In this topic, we will look at how you can effectively use the materials and resources selected by planning appropriate activities. Remember that teaching aids can be incorporated into any stage of the lesson, not just the presentation stage. Before selecting and evaluating the ELT teaching and learning materials, this factors should be considered:

Level Content Clarity Accessibility Practicality Versatility Cost effectiveness Durability Impact Authenticity

Learning Outcomes By the end of this topic, you should be able to; 8. Select appropriate materials and resources for use in the English Language

class.

9. Evaluate the ELT teaching and learning materials.

3. Use appropriate and suitable ELT materials in accordance with the pupils level.

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Factors in selection and Evaluation

Level

Content

Clarity

Accessibility

Practicality

Versatility

Sample Guidelines in Selecting and Evaluating

Cost effectiveness

Durability

Impact

Authenticity

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2.0 Introduction

The provision and effective use of high-quality learning resources facilitates students’ construction of understanding through inquiry so they are better able to explore, question, identify, organize, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information. These processes and skills enhance deeper understanding of the subject matter and promote information literacy and lifelong learning (Saskatchwan Ministry of Education, p. 1). In accordance with the guidelines provided by The State of South Australia, Department of Education and Children’s Services (2004), teaching and learning materials, whether purchased or donated, should be selected and accessed in ways which ensure they:

• are directly related to school curriculum policy and program, based on

the department’s framework of standards and accountability, and include, where relevant, support for the recreational needs of children and students

• support an inclusive curriculum, thus helping children and students to

gain an awareness of ourpluralistic society and the importance of respectful relations with others

• encourage understanding of the many important contributions by people

from diverse cultural and linguistic groups, people with disabilities and minority groups

• motivate children, students and educators to examine their own attitudes

and behaviour and to comprehend their duties, responsibilities, rights and privileges as citizens in our society

• are relevant for the age of the children or students for whom they are

selected and for their emotional, intellectual, social and cultural development. This includes the assurance that children and students will not be exposed to offensive materials; that is, materials which describe, depict, express or otherwise deal with matters of nudity, sexual activity, sex, drug misuse or addiction, crime, cruelty, violence or revolting or abhorrent phenomena in a manner that a reasonable adult would generally regard as unsuitable for minors of the age of the relevant children and students

• provide opportunities for children and students to find, use, evaluate and

present information and to develop the critical capacities to make discerning choices, so that they are prepared for exercising their freedom of access, with discrimination, asinformed and skilled adults

• represent a range of views on all issues. (p. 10)

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2.1 One sample guidelines in selecting and evaluating materials

Prince Edward Island Department of Education (2008) has provided a set of guidelines which focusses on four main headings: Content, Instructional Design, Technical Design, and Social Considerations. In terms of content, it should be current, accurate (without outdated information, factual errors, improper use of statistics, inaccurate graphs or displays, invalid or oversimplified models, examples, or simulations and errors in spelling or grammar). Apart from that, the content needs to support the curriculum with the the scope and depths of topics appropriate to students needs. In addition, the level of difficulty in relation to concepts, visuals, vocabulary and internal structure should be appropriate developmentallyappropriate and are meaningful for the intended audience. And finally, the content needs to support the integration of personal, familiar, and cultural contexts of society for many students. The experience of the individual student should form the context for learning.

(pp. 19-20)

Evaluation of the instructional design of the resource involves an examination of its goals, objectives, teaching strategies, and assessment provisions. In general, some of the consideration suggested are as follow:

1 Instructional goals and learner objectives should be clearly stated. 2 Concepts should be clearly introduced, developed, summarized and

support integration across curriculum subjects. 3 Materials are well organized and structured. 4 Resources/methodology should be suitable to :

encourage the use of a wide range of learning/teaching styles

promote student engagement

encourage group interaction

encourage student creativity

allow student to work independently

promote active learning

promote development of communication skills

5 Non-technical vocabulary use should be appropriate. As for technical terms use, explanation and introduction of these terms should be consistently provided.

6 Pedagogy should be innovative and adequate/appropriate pre-teaching

and follow-up activities as well as asasessment tools should be provided.

(pp. 20-23)

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In terms of technical design, the materials should:

1 have interesting/effective visual design and illustrations 2 have appropriate character size/typeface 3 have consistent and logical layout 4 be easily employed and understood by both the teacher and students.

(pp. 24-26)

As for social consideration, materials should emphasize positive traits and role models. Some of the points to consider are:

1 the suitability of the materials depending upon the intended audience

(including maturity), subject area, and teaching/learning context. 2 the geographic location/physical setting, time period, and political and

social context. 3 the author’s tone toward the subject matter and audience tend to

influence all aspects of the resource. (p. 27)

2.2 Brief Explanation on Factors in Selection and Evaluation

How to decide which materials to use in any situation? With time constraints and limited funds, a lot of time we find ourselves just using whatever is available, not when the opportunity arises to purchase or create materials, we need to know how to recognise something worthwhile. Here are some factors to consider: 1 Level

The age of the students and their interests need to be considered as well as their ability. For example, stories and books that are written for the interest of native English speaker teenagers would probably be too difficult for second language speaker teenagers. However stories that are at their ability level are likely to be too babyish for them to be interested. When considering the suitable level of materials we need to think about, for example, how much new vocabulary is included, and what grammar structures predominate, and how adult the topics and content are.

2 Content cultural, knowledge

A lot of written material, even ESL material, is designed for learners in countries like the USA and the UK. The topics and content are related to seasons and festivals in those countries and not only use related vocabulary but also make assumptions about students understandings

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of and even interest in these topics. While it is good for our students to learn about other cultures, too much of these materials can be boring for them and even in some cases offensive.

3 Clarity

The material needs to be clear to see (visual) or hear (audio). Blurry pictures, videos or texts, and mumbled soundtracks have little value. Also the meaning of the text should be clear, not overwhelmed with idiomatic expressions etc. Font size can be an important factor especially for younger learners who dont have the concentration span to keep staring at the text and work their way through it. Some students may also have poor eyesight.

4 Accessibility

The material is needs to be well organised, so that students can find their way around the contents of the book easily. They can see how much progress they are making and can use the material easily with or without the teacher watching.

5 Practicality

Consider whether the construction or use of the material is physically possible? Sometimes teachers dream up wonderful ways to teach material, but it really is too difficult to complete. Sometimes the text includes something like a recipe clearly beautiful but not practically possible, and very discouraging for the students. Activities that are included need to be usable in a classroom situation.

6 Versatility

We should consider whether the material could be used in more than one situation. Can it be varied to suit the students or the situation? In the Malaysian school situation where you are teachingseveral classes possibly at different levels can you use and adapt the materials for each situation without too much difficulty?

7 Cost Effectiveness

Consider whether you or the school can afford these materials. Sometimes materials are quite expensive initially, but in the long term they are worth the cost. Something that may be cheaper may end up being expensive with many units being needed, or maintenance and repairs being necessary. This applies to equipment as well as books. Photocopiable resources, or books that contain photocopiable pages can be very worthwhile, or sometimes websites charge a small annual fee for access to all of their worksheets and materials.

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8 Durability Impact

Young learners are particularly rough on materials, testing everything to its limit. Materials need to be strong enough to last the distance. We need to consider whether to make something cheap and consumable, constantly being replaced, or durable by laminating or using sturdy materials. There are advantages for both, for example if the materials are to be consumed, then the children can keep their own copy and decorate it and make it their own.

9 Authenticity

Using authentic materials simply means using examples of language produced for some real purpose of their own (for example a newspaper) rather than using language produced and designed solely for the classroom. This is also important for listening materials. Materials produced by second language speakers often contain grammatical errors you need to be especially careful when creating your own.

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Self-Directed Task: • Choose one teaching material you would use in your

class • Discuss the factors you would consider before using

that teaching learning material using a mind map. • Justify your choice of your teaching material.

References:

McDonough, J., Shaw, C. & Masuhara, H.(2013). Materials and Methods in ELT. A Teacher’s Guide (3rd edition). Wiley-Blackwell.

Student Portfolio: All the tasks and materials provided as well as collected must be compiled in your student portfolio. You are required to submit the portfolio at the end of the semester.

Group Presentation and Discussion: Get into groups of 4 and present the findings based on the self-directed task above. The group members may add or even ask for rationales for selecting the factors intended.

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Topic 3 Evaluation and Exploitation of course books and

multimedia materials

Synopsis In effective teaching and learning processes for the pupils, it is the responsibility of various stakeholders including school boards/district, administrators, teacher-librarians,teachers to provide an instructional program and learning resources that promote the enjoyment for the pupils to learn. This may enable the pupils to become critical and creative thinkers as well as effective users of information in all formats and media. This is best achieved through resource-based learning and a collaboration among all members of the school community. The purpose of this topic is to expand upon the general criteria for selection of learning resources as well as to expound upon specific selection criteria which teachers in different teaching and learning contexts may have to evaluate their teaching and learning resources.

Learning Outcomes: By the end of the course, the students should be able to:

1. To identify the instruments to evaluate and exploit the teaching materials (1.2, 1.3)

2. To state the ways in which the instruments can evaluate teaching materials (1.4, 1.5 4.1)

3. To analyse the criteria to evaluate teaching materials.(2.4) 4. To state and justify additional criteria to evaluate teaching materials (1.4,

1.5, 3.2)

Conceptual Framework of this topic:

Evaluation and Exploitation of course books and multimedia

materials

General Criteria in

Choosing Textbooks

Textbook Evaluation

General Material Selection and Exploitation

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3.0 Introduction

There are various criteria are used when evaluating resources. Not all of the criteria, however, can be met by every learning resource and impossible to find suitable resources on particular topics. According to Brown (2007), the process of reviewing potential textbooks, materials and resources, is one that ideally takes place “in concert with conceptualising the syllabus” (p. 157). There are many different ways of approaching the process of reviewing textbooks. , Richards (2001, p. 258), citing Cunningsworth (1995), suggests the following criteria as a set of guidelines: 1 They should correspond to learners’ needs. They should match the

aims and objectives of the language program. 2 They should reflect the uses (present or future) that learners will make

of the language and to ensure that the materials may help equip students to use language effectively for their own purposes.

3 They should take account of students’ needs as learners abd should

facilitate their learning processes without being too rigid. 4 They should have a clear role as a support for learning especailly in

mediating between the target language and the learner.

3.1 General Criteria in Choosing Textbooks Brown (1995, p. 161) lists five major categories to consider in choosing a textbook: (a) author’s and publisher’s reputation; (b) fit to the curriculum (meeting needs, goals, etc.); (c) physical characteristics (layout, organisation, etc.); (d) logistical factors (price, auxiliary aids, workbooks); and (e) teachability (especially the usefulness of a teacher’s edition)

3.2 Textbook Evaluation Robinett (1978) has provided an abridged evaluation form that can be a practical set of criteria for: (a) choosing a textbook for a course, or (b) evaluating the textbook you are using. This checklist can be used as a guideline for teachers especially to create an evaluation checklist for textbook or coursebook and the criteria are provided below:

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1 Goals of the course (Will the textbook help to accomplish the course goals?)

2 Background of the students (Does the book fit the students’

background?) 3 Approach (Does the theoretical approach reflected in the book reflect

a philosophy that you and your institution and your students can easily identify with?

4 Language skills (Does the book integrate the “four skills”? Is there a

balanced approach toward the skills? Does the textbook emphasize skills which the curriculum also emphasizes?)

5 General content (Does the book refelct what is now known about

language and language learning?) 6 Quality of practice materials (in terms of variety tasks, clarity of

directions, active participation of students, grammatical and other linguistic explanation and review materials.)

7 Sequencing (How is the book sequenced?) 8 Vocabulary (Does the book pay sufficient attention to wards and word

study?) 9 General sociolinguistic factors (in terms of variety of English and

cultural content) 10 Format (Is the book attractive, usable, and usable?) 11 Accompanying materials (Are there useful supplementary

materials?) 12 Teacher’s guide (Is it useful?)

(Taken and adapted from Robinett, 1978, cited in Brown, 2007, p. 192) Brown (2007) suggested referring to Skierso (1991) for a comprehensive textbook evaluation checklist and the complete reference of the text is provided in the reference list at the end of this topic. Brown (2007) extended the criteria to teacher-made materials (additional activities and exercises, handouts, charts, review sheets, etc.). He commented that personalization of a curriculum is highly recommended so that the materials can be specifically gauged for the particular audience which could be a motivating factor for teacher and students (p. 158).

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3.3 General Material Selection and Exploitation Based on the information assessed from http://www.tllg.unisa.edu.au/contacts.html, the process of selecting any resource is one form of evaluation and evaluations need to be made against our teaching stance and particular purposes. Hence, it is crucial to develop a critical awareness of resources and questions such as the following can be considered: • What does the resource contribute to developing meaning-making and

interpretation, awareness of language and cultures and their relationship?

• What opportunities to explore language and culture does the resource

provide? • How does the resource allow learners to make connections between

their own lives and experiences and the target language and its speakers?

• What opportunities for exploration does the resource afford students? • How does the resource connect to other resources, or how do the

components of a resource connect with each other? • What sort of learning will the resource enable? What will it build on and

what could be done next? • What more will be needed to use the resource to its fullest effect?

(p. 59)

3.4 Conclusion There are a number of instruments that teachers especially can refer to. These instruments are incorporating pertinent criteria in selecting and evaluating learning resources to ensure effective implementation of teaching and learning processes in the classroom. Nevertheless, due to the factors on contextualisation and personalisation, different set of criteria may be adopted to fit the different nature of each school. Therefore, the criteria and information provided in this topic may serve as guidelines for teachers especially to create their own instruments which may be more relevant to the contexts they are in. Some samples instruments can be assessed from the websites stated below: http://www.ifets.info/journals/10_2/5.pdf http://www.vuw.ac.nz/staff/alastair_smith/evaln/evaln.htm

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Individual Task: Personalizing of a curriculum is recommended. Suggest at least five criteria which you think should be included in evaluation of materials and teaching aids. Then, justify the inclusion of these critieria based on the context of your own school. Group work: Get into groups of four and share the criteria and justification with the rest of the group members. Interaction and exchanging of opinion should be carried out during presentation.

References: Richards, J (2001). Curriculum development in Language

Teaching. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Brown, J. D. (1995). The elements of language

curriculum: A systematic approach to program development. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.

Brown, H. D. (2007). Teaching by Principles: An

Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy. White Plains, NY: Pearson Education.

Student Portfolio: All the tasks and materials provided as well as collected must be compiled in your student portfolio. You are required to submit the portfolio at the end of the semester.

websites: http://www.tllg.unisa.edu.au/contacts.html http://www.ifets.info/journals/10_2/5.pdf http://www.vuw.ac.nz/staff/alastair_smith/evaln/evaln.htm

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Topic 4 Selection and Adaptation

Synopsis The selection of teaching and learning materials is an integral part of curriculum planning and delivery in schools. Children and students come into contact with a vast array of print, visual and multimedia materials in their daily lives. Educators have a duty of care to ensure that the teaching and learning materials with which children and students are presented, or towards which they are directed, are appropriate to their developmental growth and relevant to the achievement of appropriate learning outcomes (Department of Education and Children’s Services, 2004).

Learning Outcomes By the end of this topic, you should be able to:

Keyword Selection means choosing, from the available resources, those materials considered to be the best, most appropriate and/or most suitable for the particular learning activity, and rejecting what is inferior, inappropriate, unsuitable or unacceptable. Conceptual Framework of this topic:

Selection and

Adaptation

Forms of Adaptation

Factors Involved in Adaptation of

Materials

Others Factors in Selection and

Adaptation

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4.0 Introduction

In many situations textbooks form the basis of the curriculum in language programs. Provided there is a good degree of fit between the textbook and the teaching context teachers use textbooks to provide the major source of input and direction to their teaching. Thus does not necessarily mean that the teacher plays a secondary role in the teaching process since teachers normally improvise around their teaching materials, moving back and forth between book-based input and teacher-initiated input. Hence even though a teacher may teach the same lesson from a textbook many times, each time he or she teaches it becomes a different lesson due to the improvisations the teacher initiates during teaching. These may result from on-the-spot decisions relating to timing, affective factors, and responses to learner difficulties. Experienced teachers hence use textbooks flexibly as a teaching resource.

4.1 Forms of Adaptation

Sometimes however adaptation may be required to reflect the needs of a specific teaching context. Various forms of adaptation are possible:

Adding material to address an examination requirement: sometimes

supplementary material may need to be added to address the requirements of a specific institutional or other exam. For example the reading component of an institutional text may make use of multiple-choice questions rather than the kinds of comprehension tasks found in a course book, so extra material to practice using multiple-choice questions may be needed.

Extending to provide additional practice: a book unit has a limited number of pages and at times the teacher may feel additional practice of grammar, vocabulary or skills is required and sources additional materials to supplement the book.

Localizing: an activity in the book may be more effective if it is modified to reflect local issues and content rather than the content that is discussed in the coursebook Localization also involves adapting or supplementing an activity to address the specific needs of a group of learners. For example pronunciation problems might reflect interference form the students’ first language and these might not be covered in the book. Additional activities can be added to address problems specific to the learners.

Modifying content: Content may need to be changed because it does not suit the target learners, perhaps because of the learners’ age, gender, social background, occupation, religion or cultural background.

Reorganizing content: A teacher may decide to reorganize the syllabus of the book, and arrange the units in what she or he considers a more

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suitable order. Or within a unit the teacher may decide not to follow the sequence of activities in the unit but to reorganize them for a particular reason.

Modifying tasks: Exercises and activities may need to be changed to give them an additional focus. For example, a listening activity may focus only on listening for information, so it adapted so that students listen a second or third time for a different purpose. An activity may be extended to provide opportunities for more personalized practice. Or some exercises within a sequence may be dropped.

While in many cases a book may work perfectly well without the need for much adaptation, in some cases different levels of adaptation may be needed. Through the process of adaptation the teacher personalize the text, making it a better teaching resource, and individualizes it for a particular group of learners. Normally this process takes place gradually as the teacher becomes more familiar with the book because the dimensions of the text that need adaptation may not be apparent until the book is tried out in the classroom.

4.2 Factors Involved in Adaptation of Materials

Contextual factors Learners it is possible to identify a number of important learners characteristic or `variables’ which as we have suggested, influence planning decisions and the specification of goals. The relative importance of these variables, and their effect on programme design, obviously depend to a certain extent on some of the situational factors to be discussed in the next section. For example, a pupil's mother tongue may be more, or less, significant depending on whether more than one native language is represented in the classroom, or perhaps on the educational philosophy of that particular environment.

For the moment we can list here the key characteristics of 'the learner', indicating how they might affect planning and noting that they form part of our common frame of reference as language teachers, wherever we work. Some of these are characteristics of whole groups or subgroups of learners; others are individual and less open to generalization. Again, some can be known in advance and incorporated at the initial planning stage, in principle at least. Others are more appropriately assessed in the classroom environment itself, and as such are more obviously susceptible to teacher reaction and influence.

We consider the learner's ;

Age: This will particularly affect topics chosen and types of learning activity, such as the suitability of games or role play.

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Interests: As with age, this may help in the specification of topics and learning activities.

Level of proficiency in English: Teachers will wish to know this even where their classes are based on a 'mixed proficiency'' principle rather than streamed according to level.

Aptitude: This can most usefully be thought of as a specific talent, in this case for language learning, as something that learners might show themselves to be 'good at', perhaps in contrast to other subjects in a school curriculum. (It can be measured by formal aptitude tests, although they are not very frequently used.) The relationship between aptitude and intelligence is not clear, and is certainly not direct.

Mother tongue: This may affect, for instance, the treatment of errors or the selection of syllabus items - areas of grammar or vocabulary and so on.

Academic and educational level: which help to determine intellectual content, breadth of topic choice or depth to which material may be studied.

Attitudes to learning, to teachers, to the institution, to the target language itself and to its speakers. This is directly related to the following point.

Motivation, at least in so far as it can be anticipated. Obviously a whole range of factors will affect this.

Reasons for learning, if it is possible to state them. With school-age pupils this may be less significant than with many adult learners, where it is often possible to carry out quite a detailed analysis of needs.

Preferred learning styles: which will help in the evaluation of the suitability of different methods, for instance, whether problem-solving activities could be used, or whether pupils are more used to 'rote learning', where material is learned by heart

Personality: which can affect methodological choices such as a willing acceptance of role play and an interactive classroom environment.

Setting

That aspect of the context that we refer to as setting is to be understood here as the whole teaching and learning environment, in a wide sense: it is

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the factors falling under this heading that needs and characteristics, are actually feasible and realistic. In certain situations, the setting itself may be so significant that it provides the foundation specification of aims. This might be the case, for instance, in a country with a single political or religious ideological base, where the education system is primarily an expression of that ideology. In the majority of systems, however, the setting is more likely to condition the way in which goals are carried out, and indeed the extent to which they can be.

4.3 Others Factors in Selection and Adaptation

Therefore, the following factors, in some combination and with varying degrees of significance, will influence course planning, syllabus design, the selection of materials and resources, and the appropriateness of methods:

1 The role of English in the country: whether it is a regular means of

communication or primarily a subject taught in the school curriculum, where, in turn, it may or may not be the first foreign language. This relates to the linguistic environment, and to whether English is outside class in the community or alternatively never heard.

2 The role of English in the school, and its place in the curriculum.

3 The teachers: their status, both at national and institutional levels, their

training, mother tongue, attitudes to their job, experience, expectations (for a discussion of teachers' needs and wants, see Masuhara, 2011). This topic will be taken up in detail in the final chapter of this book

4 Management and administration: who is responsible for what level of

decision, particularly which are the control points for employment of staff, budgets, resource allocation and so on. Additionally, the position of teachers in the overall system needs to be understood, as does the nature of the hierarchy in any particular institution.

5 Resources available: books and paper, audio-visual material (hardware

and software for cassette and video), laboratories, computers, reprographic facilities and so on. Design and choice of teaching materials will be particularly affected by resource availability as will the capacity to teach effectively across a range of language skills. Support personnel: administrators, secretaries and technicians, and their specific roles in relation to the teaching staff.

6 The number of pupils to be taught and the size of classes. Overall

numbers may affect the total number of teaching hours available, and the large class problem is a very familiar one in many settings worldwide.

7 Time available for the programme, both over a working year

(longitudinally), and in any one week or term (intensive or extensive).

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Many teachers would also consider that time of day is a significant factor.

8 Physical environment: the nature of the building, noise factors,

flexibility of tables and chairs, size of room in relation to size of class, heat and cold, and so on.

9 The socio-cultural environment: this can often determine the suitability

of both materials and methods. For example, some textbooks contain topics inappropriate to the setting, and some classroom methods require an unacceptable set of teacher and learner roles.

10 The types of tests used, and ways in which students are evaluated:

assessment procedures may, for example, be formal or informal and subjective. They may also be external, in the form of a public or national examination, or internal to the institution and the course.

11 Procedures (if any) for monitoring and evaluating the language

teaching programme itself. This kind of evaluation may be imposed by 'senior management', or alternatively agreed between teachers as colleagues.

Student Portfolio: All the tasks and materials provided as well as collected must be compiled in your student portfolio. You are required to submit the portfolio at the end of the semester.

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Topic 5 Technical skills and knowledge for producing materials

5.0 SYNOPSIS Topic 5 provides you with technical skills and knowledge for producing materials which covers selection of raw materials, assembling of raw materials, appropriacy and evaluation.

5.1 LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of Topic 5, you will be able to:

list the strengths and limitations of using raw materials;

explain the technical skills and knowledge for the selection of raw materials;

discuss the implication for developing own resources;

discuss how to assemble raw materials for developing own resources;

discuss the implication for producing own resources;

discuss the appropriacy of resources developed;

explain the evaluation of the resources developed;

devise instruments to evaluate the resources developed. 5.2 FRAMEWORK FO TOPICS

Technical Skills & Knowledge in

Materials

Selection of Raw Materials

Evaluation

Assembling the Materials

Appropriacy

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5.1 Selection of Raw Materials

Introduction Teaching materials form an important part of most English teaching programmes. From textbooks, videotapes and pictures to the Internet, teachers rely heavily on a diverse range of materials to support their teaching and their students’ learning. However, despite the current rich array of English language teaching materials commercially available, many teachers continue to produce their own materials for classroom use. Indeed, most teachers spend considerable time finding, selecting, evaluating, adapting and making materials to use in their teaching.

Strength Discussions about the strengths and limitation of teacher-designed materials usually center on a comparison with using text or course books. Rather than focusing on course books, we have turned our focus to teacher-produced materials and consider that the limitation of using course books can become strength for teacher-produced materials. The key reasons why teachers may wish to produce their own teaching materials can be linked to four themes distilled from recent literature on this topic (e.g., Altan, 1995; Block, 1991; Harmer, 2001; Podromous, 2002; Thornbury & Meddings, 2001, 2002).

An important strength of teacher-produced materials is contextualization (Block, 1991). A key criticism of commercial materials, particularly those produced for the world –wide EFL market is that they are necessarily generic and not aimed at any specific group of learners or any particular cultural or educational context. The possible lack of ‘fit’ between teaching context and course book has been expected thus: “Our modern course book are full of speech acts and functions based on situations which most foreign-language students will never encounter...’Globally’ designed course books have continued to be stubbornly Anglo-centric. Appealing to the world market as they do, they cannot by definition draw on local varieties of English and have not gone very far in recognizing English as an international language, either.” (Alton,1995, p.59). For many teachers, designing or adapting their own teaching materials, enables them to take into account their particular learning environment and to overcome the lack of ‘fit’ of the course book.

Another aspect of context is the resources available. Some teaching contexts will be rich in resources such as course books, supplementary texts, readers, computers, audio-visual equipment and consumables such as paper, pens and so on. Other contexts may be extremely impoverished, with little more than an old blackboard and a few pieces of chalk. a lack of commercial materials forces teachers to fall back on their own resources and designing their own teaching materials can enable them to make best use of the resources available in their teaching context.

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A further aspect that is not often mentioned in the literature is the cost of commercially produced resources. For many schools, teacher-produced materials can be the best option in terms of both school and student budget.

A second area in which teacher-designed materials are an advantage is that of individual needs. Modern teaching methodology increasingly emphasis the importance of identifying and teaching to the individual needs of learners. English language classrooms are diverse places not only in terms of where they are situated, but also in terms of the individual learners within each context. teacher-designed materials can be responsive to the heterogeneity inherent in the classroom. This approach encompasses the learners’ first languages and cultures, their learning needs and their experiences. Few course books deliberately incorporate opportunities for learners to build on the first language skills already acquired, despite research suggesting that bilingual approaches are most successful in developing second language competence (Thomas & Collier, 1997). A teacher can develop materials that incorporate elements of the learners’ first language and culture, or at least provide opportunities for acknowledgement and use alongside English. In addition, teacher-prepared materials provide the opportunity to select texts and activities at exactly the right level for particular learners, to ensure appropriate challenge and levels of success.

I designing their own materials teachers can also make decisions about the most appropriate organizing principle or focus for the materials and activities. And this can be changed over the course of the programme if necessary. Most course books remains organized around grammar elements and the PPP (presentation, practice, production) model of teaching. Often with an “unrelenting format” which can be “deeply unsnagging” (Harmer, 2001, p.6). By taking more control over materials production, teachers can choose from the range of possibilities, including topics, situations, notions, functions, skills etc., or a combination of these principles, as starting points to develop a variety of materials that focus on the developing needs of their particular group of learners.

Personalization is another strength of teacher-designed materials. In his 1991 article, Block argues in favour of ‘home-made’ materials saying that they add a personal touch to teaching that students appreciate. Tapping into the interests and taking account of the learning styles of students is likely to increase motivation and engagement in learning. Podromou (2002) further suggests that there is also greater choice freedom and scope for spontaneity when teachers develop their own materials.

A further strength of teacher-designed materials is timeliness (Block, 1991). Teachers designing their own materials can respond to local and international events with up-to-date, relevant and high interest topics and tasks. The teachable moment can be more readily seized.

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In conclusion, the advantages of teacher-designed materials can be summed up in the idea that they avoid the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach of most commercial materials.

Implication for Developing Own Materials There are a number of potential pitfalls for teachers who would be materials designers. These can be considered under three headings, the first of which is organisation. Course books are usually organized around an identifiable principle and follow a discernible pattern throughout. While this can be rather dull and boring (or ‘unrelenting’) it does provide both teachers and students with some security and a “coherent body of work to remember and revise from” (Harmer, 2001, p.7). In contrast, teacher-designed materials may lack overall coherence and a clear progression. Without some overall organizing principle, materials may be piecemeal and can result in poorly focused activities lacking clear direction. This is frustrating and confusing for learners who may not be able to see how their English is developing.

A further aspect of organization relates to the physical organization and storage of materials. Without a clearly thought through and well-organized system, teacher-produced materials may be difficult to locate for ongoing use, or may end up damaged or with parts missing.

Possibly the most common criticism leveled against teacher-made materials is to do with their quality. At the surface level, teacher-made materials may “seem ragged and unprofessional next to those produced by professionals.” (Block, 1991 p.212, emphasis in original). They may contain errors, be poorly constructed, lack clarity in layout and print and lack durability. Harmer probably speaks for many when he says, “If the alternative is a collection of scruffy photocopies, give me a well-produced course book any time.” (2001, p.7). In addition, a lack of experience and understanding on the part of the teacher may result in important elements being left out or inadequately covered. Teacher-made materials may be produced to take advantage of authentic text. However, if not guided by clear criteria and some experience, teachers may make inconsistent or poor choices of texts. A further problem may be a lack of clear instructions about how to make effective use of the materials – particularly instructions designed for students. Yet another disadvantage of teacher-made materials, and perhaps the key factor inhibiting many teachers from producing their own teaching materials, is time. However passionately one may believe in the advantages of teacher-designed materials, the reality is that for many teachers, it is simply not viable – at least not all the time.

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Limitations of Using Raw Materials We turn now to consider six key factors that teachers need to take into account when embarking on the design of materials for their learners. These relate to, and refer back to some of the advantages and disadvantages. Some will also be expanded further in the guidelines which follow. The first and most important factor to be considered is the learners. If the point of teacher-created materials is relevance, interest, motivation and meeting specific individual needs, then clearly teachers must ensure they must ensure they know their learners well. Any consideration of syllabus or materials design must begin with a needs analysis. This should reveal learning needs with regard to English Language skills in listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary knowledge and grammar; as well as individual student’s learning preferences. It is not just learning needs that are relevant to the teacher as materials designer, however. Equally important is knowledge about students’ experiences (life and educational), their first language and levels of literacy in it, their aspirations, their interests and their purposes for learning English. The curriculum and the context are variables that will significantly impact on decisions about teaching materials. Many teachers are bound by a mandated curriculum defining the content, skills and values to be taught. Whether imposed at school or state level, a curriculum outlines the goals and objectives for the learners and the course of study. Whatever the curriculum, it is the teacher’s responsibility to ensure that the goals and objectives of the overarching curriculum are kept close at hand when designing materials (Nunan, 1988). As noted earlier, the context in which the teaching and learning occurs will impact on the types of materials that may need to be designed. For example, a primary-level mainstream, English-speaking setting, with a set curriculum and access to native speakers may require materials that facilitate interaction about subject content, and develop cognitive academic language proficiency. However, refugee adults may need teaching materials that focus on meeting immediate survival needs and gaining employment. The resources and facilities available to the teacher-designer are also mentioned above as an element of context. Clearly teachers must be realistic about what they can achieve in terms of materials design and production within the limitations of available resources and facilities. Access to resources such as computers (with or without Internet access), a video player and TV, radio, cassette recorder, CD player, photocopier, language lab, digital camera, whiteboard, OHP, scissors, cardboard, laminator etc will impact on decisions in materials design. Hadfield and Hadfield (2003) offer some useful suggestions for ‘resourceless’ teaching which address the impoverished reality of some teaching contexts.

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Personal confidence and competence are factors that will determine an individual teacher’s willingness to embark on materials development. This will be influenced by the teacher’s level of teaching experience and his or her perceived creativity or artistic skills and overall understanding of the principles of materials design and production. In reality, most teachers undertake materials design to modify, adapt or supplement a course book, rather than starting from scratch, and this is probably the most realistic option for most teachers. Decisions available to teachers include the following (adapted from Harmer, 2001 and Lamie, 1999);

1. Add activities to those already suggested. 2. Leave out activities that do not meet your learners’ needs. 3. Replace or adapt activities or materials with:

- supplementary materials from other commercial texts - authentic materials (newspapers, radio reports, film etc.) - teacher-created supplementary materials

4. Change the organization structure of the activities, for example, pairs, small groups or whole class.

Modern technology provides teachers with access to tools that enable professional results in materials production. Computers with Clipart, Internet access and digital pictures offer unprecedented means for publishing high quality teaching materials.

A less exciting, but nevertheless important factor to consider in designing materials is copyright compliance. Teachers need to be aware of the restrictions that copyright laws place on the copying of authentic materials, published materials and materials downloaded from the Internet for use in the classroom. This is particularly important when creating course materials that will be used by a large number of classes over time. Copyright law has implications when creating materials that include excerpts from published works. an example of this would be creating a worksheet that uses a picture or exercise from a commercial text, alongside teacher-created activities. While an idea cannot be copyright, the expression of the idea can be mindful of this. Time was discussed earlier as a disadvantage for teachers who wish to design their own materials. It is thus, important to consider ways to make this aspect manageable. Block (1991) suggests a number of ways in which teachers can heighten the load, including sharing materials with other teachers, working in a team to take turns to design and produce materials, and organizing central storage so materials are available to everyone. Principles Underlying the Choice of Materials Teaching materials are any resources (traditional, electronic or digital) used for language learning and teaching purposes, including course

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books, newspapers, recordings and videos. The following principles underlie the selection of materials. Materials selected:

are appropriate to pupils' interests, experiences and knowledge

provide opportunities for meaningful communication

enrich pupils' general knowledge

expand pupils' world knowledge by exposing them to relevant and current events

are compatible with pupils' level of proficiency

serve as resources for projects

stimulate pupils to seek further information

are presented in a variety of text types and media and are used for different purposes

provide opportunities for contextual language use and practice

Principles Underlying the Choice of Content The following principles underlie the selection of the content of materials. The content of materials:

is unbiased, unprejudiced, inoffensive and non-stereotypical

caters to the variety of backgrounds - religious, cultural and ethnic - and varying interests of Israeli pupils

stimulates pupils' interest in extensive reading, in the pleasures of literature and in out-of-class usefulness of English

Importance of Instructional Material Instructional materials are essential tools in the English language classroom. They allow students to interact with words, images, and ideas in ways that develop their abilities in reading, listening, viewing, thinking, speaking, writing, and using media and technology. Because instructional materials are a primary resource for English language teachers, they must be selected wisely. The cornerstone of consistent, pedagogically sound selection practices is a clear, written policy for the selection of materials in the English language program. Such a policy not only helps teachers to achieve program goals, but also helps schools protect the integrity of programs increasingly under pressure from censors, propagandists, and commercial interests.

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Because selection policies should reflect local interests and issues and should be consistent with other locally developed policies and curriculum documents, it is strongly recommend that English language teachers and school boards use the following guidelines to develop or review policies for inclusion of materials in English language arts programs. Scope of the Policy for Selection of Instructional Materials What do we mean by "instructional materials"? At the beginning of this century, the answer might have been simply textbooks and workbooks. Today, however, the range has broadened considerably, including paperback novels, magazines, computer software, videotapes, and much more. The focus of this document, then, is not on selection in the narrow sense of textbook adoption, but on curriculum and program planning that entails selection of a wide range of materials that can be used in whole-class study, small-group work, and by individual students in extensive reading. As schools clarify the scope of the policy, they should consider not only purchased materials, but also materials that are provided free or on loan and those generated by the teacher and even the students (e.g., student writings discussed in class or small groups). Also, the scope of the policy should not unwittingly stifle spontaneity and creativity in teachers by requiring a formal selection process for all materials used for instructional purposes. Sometimes the most effective learning experiences are those that make use of unanticipated instructional materials: a letter to the editor in the local newspaper, for instance, or a newly released video version of a literary work read by the class. It is important, too, to distinguish between selection of materials and retention of materials. Selection of instructional materials is part of sound program planning. Consideration of retention of materials can be part of normal program review, or it can result from a parent's or citizen's protest of materials in use. Needless to say, careful selection is a powerful buffer against protests because it assures that the program planning process was thoughtful and not haphazard. Criteria Each school should develop its own criteria for selecting materials for inclusion in English language arts programs, but virtually all criteria relate to two general requirements for selections: materials must (1) have a clear connection to established educational objectives and (2) address the needs of the students for whom they are intended. Connection to Educational Objectives Instructional materials in the English language program should align with the general philosophy of the school or district, the curriculum goals and

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objectives of the English language program, and the learning outcomes of the particular course or grade level. For instance, some materials may be included because they reflect the school's philosophy of encouraging critical thinking in relation to controversial situations and points of view. Or materials may be included because they meet the curriculum objective of presenting articulate voices from different eras or diverse cultures. Or they may be included to address specific learner outcomes, such as understanding how imagery can underscore theme. Richard Wright's Native Son may serve all of these purposes while John Knowles' A Separate Peace may serve only some of them. However, because both of these high quality works have a clear connection to educational objectives of the school, both might be included in the English language program. Policies should also reflect the understanding that an English language program is not one instructional resource, but many; not one curriculum objective, but several. Therefore, English language policies should seek to build a collection of instructional materials that as a whole create balance and emphasis in the curriculum. Clearly, no single textbook or small set of instructional materials will meet the curricular goals of presenting various points of view, situations, and styles; addressing diverse ability levels; and representing the contributions of people of diverse religions, ages, races, ethnicity, abilities, and cultures. Nonetheless, the collection of materials in the English language arts program as a whole should address all of these concerns and should emphasize those which teachers, as informed professionals working within the district's philosophical framework, find particularly important. Finally, materials must be selected with an eye toward coordinating instruction within and between grade levels, courses, and disciplines. Students who read or watch Bernard Malamud's The Natural in social studies, English, and health are getting too much of a good thing. So are the students who reported studying Frost's "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening" every year in grades 7-10. By contrast, teachers of junior English cannot draw on students' shared literary background if teachers at earlier levels have used a potpourri of unarticulated works. This is not an argument for a fixed, lock-step curriculum but for a collegial sharing of goals and ideas for instructional materials as teachers engage in the process of selecting materials. Relevance to Student Needs Materials should be examined for level of difficulty. They must be readable if they are to be truly accessible to students. Because readability formulas tend to be simplistic measures, such formulas should be used cautiously, if at all. Teachers' judgments about the difficulty of a work are more soundly based on complexity of plot, organization, abstractness of the language, familiarity of vocabulary, and clarity of syntax. Also, because the average classroom includes children reading at several levels of proficiency, materials judged as inappropriate for whole-class instruction

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might be suitable for small-group use or individual book reviews by the more capable readers. Reading materials which draw upon students' backgrounds are desirable. Both comprehension and motivation are often enhanced when students can activate relevant background knowledge as they read, connecting their personal experiences with vicarious experiences. This does not deny the value of reading about the unfamiliar and even the fantastic. But the relevance of a work to students' daily lives or to the lives of their imaginations is worthy of consideration in the selection process. "Age-appropriateness" alone is never sufficient reason to include particular materials in the English language program; nevertheless, materials should be suited to the maturity level of the students for whom they are intended. Evaluating "age-appropriateness" can be problematic, but legal decisions have provided some guidance in this area. Generally, when courts evaluate the age-appropriateness of material, they do not consider it in isolation. They weigh the value of the material as a whole, particularly its relevance to educational objectives, against the likelihood of a negative impact on the students for whom it is intended. That likelihood is lessened by the exposure the typical student has had to the controversial subject or manner of presentation. A negative impact is also less likely if the typical student of that age is sufficiently mature to view the subject or manner of presentation within the context of the overall purpose of the work. When these mitigating factors exist and the material serves a legitimate pedagogical purpose, courts consider the material age-appropriate. For instance, one court found the overall merit of a particular magazine article to outweigh the potentially negative impact of the author's repeated use of a profane expression (Keefe v. Geankos, 1969). The court noted that seniors in high school were "not devoid of all discrimination or resistance" and doubted that students of that age had been or could be protected from exposure to such expression. Procedures for Selection of Instructional Materials Good schools, recognizing the importance of support from parents and the community, operate within a framework for democratic decision-making. Materials selection and retention policies are important parts of that framework. Well-established procedures for selecting instructional material ensure public involvement and professional guidance. Therefore, it is essential that materials selection policies clearly describe the steps involved in the selection process and the personnel responsible for each step. Responsibility for Selection Selecting materials requires in-depth knowledge: not just of students' backgrounds and learning experiences, but also of their abilities, interests, and learning styles; not just of educational objectives, but of the best

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practices and range and quality of materials for meeting them; not just of the particular work being considered, but of its place within the medium, genre, epoch, etc., it represents. In short, responsible selection demands not only the experience and education needed to make sound choices but also the ability to defend the choices made. This level of expertise can be found only in the English language arts professional. Therefore, although administrators and school boards are often legally charged with the responsibility of selecting instructional materials, this responsibility should be delegated to English language arts professionals. Selection Procedures Selection procedures may vary in terms of the size of the group, nonteacher participants, and schedules, but certain elements are important. In general, selection is most appropriately done by the English language teachers who are closest to the students--that is, by teachers at the building level. The group's charge must be clearly specified and understood by all. The process should be part of the school's annual schedule, and adequate time must be set aside for the work at hand. As part of its evaluation process, the selection group should discuss every work under consideration for inclusion, giving extended attention to works that are likely to be assigned for whole-class reading or viewing. However, good English language programs typically involve classroom paperback book libraries and extensive reading lists that individualize and expand student choices. Consequently, selection often makes use of published reviews of materials and opinions of informed peers, including district language arts coordinators, librarians, and leaders in professional associations. All selections, including the acceptance of donated and loaned materials, should be made on the basis of the materials' strengths in terms of the selection criteria. Once selections are made, the selection group should be encouraged to maintain a file of written rationales, if only in the form of meeting notes, which explain how selections meet the selection criteria. The selection criteria should be made public in written form. The actual materials selected will become known in due time through course syllabi, booklists circulated to students and parents, and various assignments. But the list of materials can be made available for comments by students, parents, and the public at any time, with the understanding that further informal selection and changes are sometimes made as teachers perceive numerous opportunities during the course of the year to better meet students' needs through other materials.

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Opportunity for Informal Selection Creative teachers take advantage of opportunities to use materials which do not lend themselves to the formal selection process e.g., current newscasts, television programs, articles, student writing samples, or materials for short-term projects. Such supplemental materials may be selected by the appropriate instructor; but again they must meet the general selection criteria of educational relevance and ability to meet student needs.

Principles of material design identified by Nunan (1988):

o Materials should be clearly linked to the curriculum they serve;

o Materials should be authentic in terms of text and task;

o Materials should stimulate interaction;

o Materials should encourage learners to focus on formal aspects of the language;

o Materials should encourage learners to develop skills, and skills in learning;

o Materials should encourage learners to apply their developing skills to the

world beyond the classroom Hall

(cited in Hidalgo et al., 1995), Tomlinson (1995, p. 110) Group Task: Discuss the four theoretical principles which underpin writing of the planning and writing of materials. 5.2 EVALUATING ELT MATERIALS

Introduction Evaluation of the resources developed are divided into a brief overview of the materials from the outside (cover, introduction, table of contents), which is then followed by a closer and more detailed internal evaluation. We cannot be absolutely certain as to what criteria and constrains are

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actually operational in ELT contexts worldwide and some teachers might argue that textbook criteria often are very local. We may cite examples of teacher who are involved in the evaluation process. One teacher from a secondary school in Europe is able to ‘trial’ a course book with her students for two weeks before officially adopting it. Some secondary school teachers in Japan team-teach their classes with native speakers and are able to evaluate materials jointly with them. However, as we pointed out earlier, we are attempting to look at areas where our professional frame work shares similar interests and concerns, and with this in mind, the criteria that we shall examine here will be as comprehensive as possible for the majority of ELT situations on a worldwide basis. Of course the evaluation process is never static; when materials are deemed appropriate for a particular course after a preliminary evaluation, their ultimate success of failure may only be determined after a certain amount of classroom use (while – and post – use evaluation ).

Tutorial task

1. Looked at the educational framework in which we all work. With references to this, you might like to think about who actually evaluates materials in your educational system; that is, what is the role of published materials and therefore the of evaluation? Do teachers do it (by themselves, jointly with other teacher/students?), or does the Ministry of Education choose or write the materials for you?

2. You might also like to think about the criteria you used to select the ELT materials you are using at the moment. Or, if you did not select the materials, think about the criteria you would use. Discuss your answer with a colleague if at all possible. Did you select the same criteria? Note down your answers because we shall refer to them again at the end of this chapter to see how far the criteria you mention overlap with ours.

The External Evaluation

In this central stage of the model we have included criteria that will provide a comprehensive, external overview of how the materials have been organized. Our aim is basically that of examining the organization of the materials as stated explicitly by the author/ publisher by looking at

The ‘blurb’ or the claims made on the cover of the teacher’s / students ‘ book

The introduction and table of contents.

That should enable the evaluator to assess what Tomlinson (2003c: 16) calls analysis in that ‘it ask learners to do ‘(Littlejohn, 2011 makes a similar distinction). We also find it useful to scan the table of contents page in that it often represents a ‘bridge’ between the external claim made for the materials and what will actually be presented ‘inside’ the materials

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themselves. At this stage we need to consider why the materials have been produced. Presumably because the author/publisher feels that there is a gap in the existing market that these materials are intended to fill: so we shall have to investigate this further to see whether the objectives have been clearly spelt out. To illustrate what we mean, here is an example of one such ‘blurb’ taken from well-known EFL textbook published in 2012. .....an integrated skills series which is designed to offer flexibility with different teaching and learning styles. Fun for learners to use and easy for teachers to adapt...

Fully integrated grammar, skills and lexical syllabuses provide a balanced learning experience

Engaging topics motivate students and offer greater personalization

A wide range of approaches exploit different styles

Clearly structured grammar presentations are reinforced with extensive practice

Contextualized vocabulary focuses on authentic real-world language.

A variety of listening and speaking activities develop learning fluency

Learner training throughout the student’s Book and Workbook maximizes skills development.

It appears that this textbook is aimed at intermediate level students with different learning styles and different levels of motivation who will benefit from learner to training. This textbook also seems to be designed for flexible use and to offer an integrated learning experience covering grammar, lexis and skills. Later, when the evaluator investigates the organization of the materials she will have to ascertain whether or not his is really the case . Let us see the types of claim that can be made for materials in the introduction. The following example is part of the introduction taken from a recent EFL series. We have italicized certain terms and key concepts that we feel need further investigation:

Task and activities are designed to have a real communicate purpose rather than simply being an excuse to practise specific features.

We have placed a special emphasis on representing an accurate multicultural view of English as it is spoken today. Many courses still represent the English – Speaking world as being largely UK- and US- based. Considering the fact that there are now more non-native English speakers than native, we have also included a variety of accents from a wide range of countries and cultures.

Throughout the Student’s Book, learner autonomy is promoted via clear cross-referencing to features in the Workbook and elsewhere. Here students can find all the help and extra practise they need.

We can deduce from this that the claims made for the materials by the author/publisher can be quite strong and will need critical evaluation in

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order to see if they can be justified. From the ‘blurb’ and the introduction we can normally expect comments on some/all of the following:

The intended audience. We need to ascertain who the materials are targeted at, be it teenagers aged 13 and upwards or adults, for example. The topics that will motivate one audience will probably not be suitable for another.

The proficiency level. Most materials claim to aim at a particular level, such as false beginner or lower intermediate. This will obviously require investigation as it could vary widely depending on the educational context.

The context in which the materials are to be used. We need to establish whether the materials are for teaching general learners or perhaps for teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP). If the later what degree of specialist subject knowledge is assumed in the materials?

How the languages has been presented and organized into teachable units/ lessons. The materials will contain a number of units / lessons and their respective lengths need to be borne in mind when deciding how and if they will fit into a given educational programme. Some materials will provide guidelines here such as ‘contain 15 units, providing material for 90 – 120 hours of teaching’. In other words, the author expects that between 6 and 8 hours will be required to cover the material.

The author’s views on language and methodology and the relationship between the language, the learning process and the learner.

Tutorial task Look at the ‘blurb’ and the introduction to the materials you typically use. What kinds of information do they give you? To give an overview of some typical ‘blurbs’, we have selected a range of examples taken from EFL course books. We may notice how certain ‘Key” words and expression come up time and time again. As you are reading them, note down some of the claims that are made for the materials that you would want to investigate further in the next (internal evaluation) stage.

1. ‘It enables you to learn English as it is used in our globalized world, to

learn through English using information – rich topics and texts, and to learn about English as an international languages’.

2. ‘...offers a comprehensive range of interactive digital components for use in class, out of class and even on the move. These include extra listening, video material and online practice’.

3. ‘Natural, real-world grammar and vocabulary help students to succeed in social, professional and academic settings’.

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4. ‘... is a goals-based course for adults, which prepares learners to use English independently for global communication’.

When evaluating materials, it is useful to keep a note of these claims, which we can then refer back to later in the process. Other factors to take into account at his external stage are as follows:

Are the materials to be used as the main ‘core’ course or to be supplementary to it? This will help to evaluate their effectiveness in a given context as well as the total cost. It may be that sheer economics will dissuade the evaluator from selecting these particular materials, especially if they are not going to be the core part of the course.

Is a teacher’s book in print and locally available? It is also worth considering whether it is sufficiently clear for non-native speaker teachers to use. Some teacher’s books offer general teaching hints while others have very prescribed programmes of how to teach the materials including lesson plans. Non-availability of the teacher’s book may make the student edition difficult to work with.

Is a vocabulary list/index included? Having these included in the materials may prove to be very useful for learners in some contexts, particularly where the learner might be doing a lot of individualized and/or out-of class work. Some material explicitly state that they are offering this : ‘student’s book with an introductory unit, 40 double-page units, 4 self-check units, .... an interaction appendix, a vocabulary appendix with phonetic spelling, a list of irregular verbs, and a listening appendix’, and the claims made are worthy of investigation. The table of content may sometimes be seen as a ‘bridge’ between the external and internal stages of the evaluation and can be often reveal useful information about the organization of the materials, giving information about vocabulary study, skill to covered, additional interactive digital materials and so on, possibly with some indication as to how much class time the author thinks should be devoted to a particular unit. Consequently, it is often useful to see how explicit it is.

What visual material does the book contain (photographs, charts, diagrams ) and is it there for cosmetic value only or is it integrated into the text? Glossy prints in the published materials seem to make the book appear more attractive. It is worth examining if the visual material serves any learning purpose (see Hill, 2003 for an example of an evaluation of visual materials); that is, in the case of a photograph or a diagram, is it incorporated into a task so that the learner has to comment on it / interpret it in some way?

Is the layout and presentation clear or cluttered? Some textbooks are researched and written well, but are so cluttered with information on every page that teachers/learners find them practically unusable. Hence a judicious balance between the two needs to be found. Tomlinson (2003c) suggest that we also include clarity of instructions and stipulate which activity goes with which instruction as part of the overall concept of the layout of the materials. The potential durability of the materials is another important factor in teaching contexts where

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materials may be selected for several groups over a period of years. Factors such as paper quality and binding need to be assessed.

Is the material too culturally biased or specific?

Do the materials represent minority groups and / or women in negative way? do they present a ‘balanced’ picture of a particular country / society? It is possible that he content of some materials will cause offence to some learners. The investigation by Bao (2006) into teaching materials shows how textbooks may be ‘biased’ in subtle, and in some cases not so subtle, ways in their representation of ethnic background.

What is the cost of the inclusion of digital materials (e.g. CD, DVD, interactive games, quizzes and downloadable materials from the web?) how essential are they to ensure language acquisition and development?

The inclusion of tests in the teaching materials (diagnostic, progress, achievement); would they be useful for your particular learner?

During this external evaluation stage we have examined the claims made for the materials by the author/publisher with respect to the intended audience, the proficiency level, the context and presentation of language items, whether the materials are to be core or supplementary, the role and availability of a teacher’s book, the inclusion of a vocabulary list/index, the table of contents, the use of visuals and presentation, the cultural specificity of the materials, the provision of digital materials and inclusion of tests. After completing this external evaluation, and having funds and a potential group of learner in mind, we can arrive at a decision as to the materials appropriacy for adoption/ selection purposes. If our evaluation shows the materials to be potentially appropriate and worthy of a more detailed inspection, then we can continue with our internal or more detailed evaluation. If not, then we can ‘exit’ at this stage and start to evaluate other materials if we so wish, as figure 2.1 illustrates.

Macro-Evaluation inappropriate/potentially appropriate

(external)

Exit

Macro-Evaluation inappropriate/appropriate adopt / select

(external)

Exit

Figure 2.1 An overview of the materials evaluation process.

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The Internal Evaluation We now continue to the next stage of our evaluation procedure by performing an in-depth investigation into the materials. The essential issue at this stage is for us to analyse the extent to which the aforementioned factors in the external evaluation stage match up with the internal consistency and organization of the materials as stated by the author/publisher – for, as we saw in the previous section, strong claims are often made for these materials. In order to perform an effective internal inspection of the materials, we need to examine at least two units (preferably more) of a book or set of materials to investigate the following factors:

The presentation of the skills in the materials. We may want to investigate if all the language skills are covered, in what proportion, and if this proportion is appropriate to the context in which we are working. Are the skills treated discretely or in an integrated way? The author’s presentation and treatment of the skills are presented too much in isolation. For example if they are integrated, is this integration natural?

The grading and sequencing of the materials. This criterion is an important one and merits some investigation as it is not always patently clear what the principle is. Some materials are quite ‘steeply’ graded while other claims to have no grading at all.

In this example the materials are based on a lexical frequency count: ‘The course is in three levels, each covering about 100 hours of classwork, and each level is complete in itself. Together they cover the most useful patterns of 2500 of the most frequently used words in English. Book 1 covers the first 700 of these.. ‘sometimes the grading of the materials will be within the unit, other materials will be graded across units allowing a progression of difficulty in a linear fashion. Other materials claim to be modular by grouping a set of units at approximately the same level. In cases where there is virtually no grading at all – ‘Most of the units do not have to be taught in any particular order..” – we have to investigate the extent to which we think this is true, and how such a book would suit our learners.

Where reading/ ‘discourse’ skills are involved, is there much in the way of appropriate text beyond the sentences? As teachers we sometimes find that materials provide too much emphasis on skills development and not enough opportunity for students to learn to use those skills on extended reading passages.

Where listening skill are involved, are recordings ‘authentic’ or artificial? We need to ascertain whether or not dialogues have been specially written, thereby missing the essential features of spontaneous speech.

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Do speaking materials incorporate what we know about the nature of real interaction or are artificial dialogues offered instead?

The relationship of tests and exercises to (1) learner needs and (2) what is taught by the course material. Where these are included as part of the materials, we need to see if they are appropriate in context.

Do you feel that the material is suitable for different learning style? Is a claim and provision made for self-study and is such a claim justified? With the growth of interest in independent learning and learner autonomy, many materials will claim that ‘self-study mode’ is also possible. From the knowledge that we have of our learners, we will need to asses this particular claim.

Are the materials engaging to motivate both student and teachers alike, or would you foresee a student/teacher mismatch? Some materials may seem attractive for the teacher but would not be very motivating for the learners. A balance therefore has to be sought. At this stage it is also useful to consider how the materials may guide and ‘frame’ teacher-learner interaction and the teacher-learner relationship. Rubdy (2003: 45) proposes three broad categories that are essential for evaluation: 1. The learners’ needs, goals and pedagogical requirements 2. The teacher’s skills, abilities, theories and beliefs 3. The thinking underlying the materials writer’s presentation of the

content and approach to teaching and learning respectively.

In the internal evaluation stage we have suggested that as evaluators we need to examine the following criteria : the treatment and presentation of the skills, the sequencing and grading of the materials, the type of reading, listening, speaking and writing materials contained in the materials, appropriacy of tests and exercises, self-study provision and teacher-learner ‘balance’ in use of the materials.

The Overall Evaluation At this stage we hope that we may now make an overall assessment as to the suitability of the materials by considering the following parameters:

1. The usability factor. How far the materials could be integrated into a

particular syllabus as ‘core’ or supplementary. For example, we may need to select materials that suit a particular syllabus or set of objectives that we have to work to. The materials may or may not be able to do this.

2. The generalizability factors. Is there a restricted use of ‘core’ features that make the materials more generally useful? Perhaps not all the material will be useful for a given individual or group but some parts might be. This factor can in turn lead us to consider the next point.

3. The adaptability factor. Can parts be added/extracted/ used in another context/modified for local circumstances? There may be judged the listening material or the reading passage to be unsuitable and in need

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of modification. If we think that adaption is feasible, we may choose to do this.

4. The flexibility factor. How rigid is the sequencing and grading? Can the materials be entered at different points or used in different ways? In some cases, materials that are not so steeply graded offer a measure of flexibility that permits them to be integrated easily into various types of syllabus.

The following remarks illustrate the types of comment that teachers have made us regarding the suitability of certain published ELT materials for their teaching situations: There is a wide variety of reading and listening material available but the speaking material is not very good and is too accuracy based. I would therefore have to add something in terms of fluency. The book is usable and could be adapted, but given the cost factor I would prefer to look for something else. The materials are very good. I was looking for something that would present the skills in an integrated way and would make a connection with the real lives of my students. I checked the ‘blurb’, the table of contents and made a detailed inspection of several units. On the whole the author’s claims are realized in the materials. Consequently, I could use this as a core course with very few adaptations. Thus, when all the criteria that we have discussed have been analysed, we can then reach our own conclusions regarding the suitability of the materials for specified groups or individuals, as the aim of this final stage is intended to enable the evaluator to decide the extent to which the materials have realized their stated objectives. Even after the internal evaluation we still have the option of not selecting the materials if we so wish. (Refer back to figure 2.1). This is usually avoided, however, if we undertake a through internal inspection of the material outline above. But once materials have been deemed appropriate for use on a particular course, we must bear in mind that their ultimate success or failure can only be determined after trying them in the classroom with real learners. Tomlinson (2003c) discusses the often overlooked areas of while and post-use evaluation. While-use evaluation involves trying to evaluate the value of materials while using them through teaching them and /or observing them being taught. Jolly and Bolitho (2011), describe case studies in which students’ feedback during lesson provided useful evaluation of materials and led to improvements of the materials during and after the lessons. Tomlinson (2003C) suggest various while- and post-use evaluation questions. Post-use evaluation in the least explored but is potentially the most informative as it can provide information on not only the short-term effects but also those of durable learning. Such while- and post-use evaluation would also have the advantage of enabling teacher to reflect on their practice, which links very closely with the small-scale action research notion that has gained wide currency in the last decade.

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1. At the beginning of the chapter we asked you to note down some criteria you would use to evaluate materials. Now refer back to those criteria. How far do they match the ones we have mentioned? Are any different?

2. Now take a course book or set of ELT materials unfamiliar to you and put into operation the criteria we have examined in this chapter.

Conclusion In this topic we have suggested that materials evaluation can be carried out in two complementary stages, which we have called the external and internal stages. We then outlined and commented upon the essential criteria necessary to make pertinent judgements with reference to ELT material in order to make a preliminary selection. We suggested that this particular model should be flexible enough to be used in ELT contexts worldwide, as it avoids long checklists of data and can be operate according to the purpose the evaluator has in evaluating the materials in the first place. We also suggested that the materials evaluation is one part of a complex process and those materials, once selected, can only be judge successful after classroom implementation and feedback.

References

McGrath, I. (2002): Materials Evaluation and Design for Language Teaching.

Mukundan, J. & Ahour, T. (2010). A review of textbook evaluation

checklist across four decades. Tomlinson, B. (2003). Material evaluation.

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Topic 6 Developing Resources for Teaching

Topic 7 Exploiting Teaching Learning Materials

Aim According to the English Language Curriculum for Primary Schools aims to equip pupils with basic language skills to enable them to communicate effectively in a variety of contents that’s appropriate to the pupils’ level of development. Learning Outcomes: By the end of the Year 6, pupils should be able to:

Synopsis

The content of the Developing Resources for Teaching in this modul consists of six components.

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1. LISTENING AND SPEAKING SKILL

The listening and speaking skill is crucial for communication at home, at school,

as well as in the community. However, this skill is often neglected or given

minimal emphasis during English language lessons. In order to develop this skill,

teachers have to provide their pupils with various opportunities to listen and to

talk about a range of subjects which may include topics on personal interests,

school work and even current affairs. It is hoped that the learning standards will

offer teachers some ideas on how they could provide opportunities for pupils to

engage in various listening and speaking activities.

1.1 Listening – Listen to a story / song if possible

Prepare the learners before they listen to anything. (either a story from

audio or teacher reads)

Show them pictures of characters from the story.

1.1.1 Teacher reads the story / play the tape

Use actions/gestures/body language as much as possible to accompany

story so that the children can participate. This will help build their

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confidence, increase their enjoyment and give them extra clues as to the

meaning of the words they are listening to.

They should predict, ‘imagine’, what they are going to hear. Again, sticking

with the teddy bears, ask them if they think the teddy bear is happy or sad.

When they are listening they should always have something to do. They

need a reason for listening. You could allocate part of the story to a small

cluster of children so they have to listen out for their part and talk about

that part only. (a baby bear, mother bear, father bear) Example of

activities that can be done by the children while listening.

Worksheet 1

Listen to the story on the tape/read by the teacher. There are five blanks. Choose the appropriate answers for the blanks.

"This _________ is too hot!" she exclaimed.

So, she tasted the porridge from the ________ bowl.

"This porridge is too _______ ," she said.

So, she tasted the last _______ of porridge.

"Ahhh, this porridge is just right," she said

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happily and she _____ it all up.

Worksheet 2

Tick the picture while listening to the story.

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The Story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Once upon a time, there was a little girl named

Goldilocks. She went for a walk in the forest.

Pretty soon, she came upon a house. She

knocked and, when no one answered, she walked

right in. At the table in the kitchen, there were three

bowls of porridge. Goldilocks was hungry. She tasted the porridge from the first bowl.

"This porridge is too hot!" she exclaimed.

So, she tasted the porridge from the second bowl.

"This porridge is too cold," she said.

So, she tasted the last bowl of porridge.

"Ahhh, this porridge is just right," she said

happily and she ate it all up.

After she'd eaten the three bears' breakfasts she decided she was feeling a little

tired.

So, she walked into the living room where she saw three chairs. Goldilocks sat in the

first

chair to rest her feet.

"This chair is too big!" she exclaimed.

So she sat in the second chair.

"This chair is too big, too!" she whined.

So she tried the last and smallest chair.

"Ahhh, this chair is just right," she sighed.

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But just as she settled down into the chair to rest,

it broke into pieces!

Goldilocks was very tired by this time,

so she went upstairs to the bedroom.

She laid down in the first bed,

but it was too hard. Then she laid

in the second bed, but it was too soft.

Then she laid down in the third bed and it was just right.

Goldilocks felt asleep. As she was sleeping,

the three bears came home.

"Someone's been eating my porridge,"

growled the Papa bear.

"Someone's been eating my porridge,"

said the Mama bear.

"Someone's been eating my porridge and they ate it all up!"

cried the Baby bear.

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"Someone's been sitting in my chair,"

growled the Papa bear.

"Someone's been sitting in my chair,"

said the Mama bear.

"Someone's been sitting in my chair and they've

broken it all to pieces," cried the Baby bear.

They decided to look around some more and when they got upstairs to the bedroom, Papa

bear growled, "Someone's been sleeping in my bed,"

"Someone's been sleeping in my bed, too"

said the Mama bear

"Someone's been sleeping in my bed

and she's still there!" exclaimed Baby bear.

Just then, Goldilocks woke up and saw the three bears. She screamed, "Help!" And she

jumped up and ran out of the room.

Goldilocks ran down the stairs, opened the door,

and ran away into the forest.

And she never returned to the home

of the three bears.

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1.2 Speaking Skills

Use the same story again and again to teach the speaking skills to the

children.

1.2.1 Activity 1. Role plays (divide students in a group of four)

Using role plays in class gives the children a chance to listen to the

dialogue and reproduce the language they hear. While they doing the

plays let them use the face masks of Goldilocks and the three bears. They

are working on the pronouns,sounds, and intonation.

Activity 2 Using Puppets If the teddy bears and Goldilocks talk/speak sections of the story then use them as puppets and make them actually speak.

Remember when you speak keep it simple but very importantly, natural so that when they copy what you say they can have a chance of sounding natural.

To make one activity suit all levels ask them to practice saying between five and ten sentences from the dialogue. This way the quick finishers have more to do and the weaker pupils still feel they have achieved the task if they have practised only a few sentences.

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http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/language-assistant/primary-tips/teaching-speaking-listening-skillshttp://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/language-assistant/primary-tips/teaching-speaking-listening-skills

Links

http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/music/pdfs/3teddybear.pdf - teddy bear song

http://www.songs4teachers.com/ - lots of free downloadable song lyrics http://www.songs4teachers.com/kindergartensongs.pdf - a welcome song

for the start of class.

2. THE READING SKILLS At the end of primary education, pupils should be able to apply knowledge of sounds of letters to recognise words in order to begin reading and then move on to the more complex skill using a range of strategies to construct meaning from the text read. The ultimate goal of the reading component in primary school is to produce pupils who will be able to read independently for information and enjoyment. 2.1 Jigsaw Reading. Students rearrange the jumbled sentences in the correct order. They can also be asked to justify the order. The purposes of using jigsaw reading are:

1 Predicting the plot of the story as in pre-reading activity.

2 Practising sequencing of events as in while-reading activity.

3 Practising scanning of relevant information from the text.

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Activity 1. Rearrange the sentences in the correct order.

• She went for a walk in theforest.

• Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Goldilocks.

• Pretty soon, she came upon a house.

• She knocked and, when no one answered, she walked right in.

• She tasted the porridge from the first bowl.

• At the table in the kitchen, there were three bowls of porridge.

• Goldilocks was hungry.

Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Goldilocks.

________________________________________

________________________________________

She knocked and, when no one answered, she walked right in.

________________________________________

______________________

____________________________________

Reference : Mukundan J, Ting Sue Hie, Ali Abdul Ghani (1998), Class readers, Theory & Practice.

3.0 Vocabulary

3.1 Visual aides, realia, maps, pictures, multimedia:

Visual aides and the like are effective in that they can provide students with a better grasp of the concept than any other word. "This is the object that matches the word." No matter what level the student is, they can understand the relationship between the two and easily grasp the new word or concept. In addition, these sorts of techniques spice up the classroom and keep things interesting. It is easy for a language class to become dull with repetition and writing. But, by implementing the use of various visual and audio aides the class can remain focused, but also entertained.

These strategic examples can be used as an introduction to vocabulary terms, concepts, teaching places (names/locations), teaching specific behaviours (cultural). Additionally, teaching parts of speech can be done using these media as visual aides for actions, colors, etc. Multimedia can also be used to show

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language in practical use, dialog, or visual or audio to materials read. Audio samples can also be used in teaching sounds of letters or words.

The learning outcome of this is that students will gain a better understanding of materials presented, and it can provide a second way of learning (visually). Students also have examples of the materials presented and a visual to put to the word.

One of the activity to teach vocabulary is using a picture chart. Ask the children to identify what they see in the picture. Draw an arrow and point to the picture, then wrte doen the name of the picture. Children can write as many words. Then ask them to say, spell and say the words. Example given below.

Activity 1.

Distribute picture to the children. Ask them to identify what they can in the picture. Write down the words in the space below.

_________ ____________

_________

________

__________

_________

________

__________ _________ __________ ________

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List down the words in the box.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Activity 2. Name the picture.

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Activity 3

Rearrange the letters.

Dydda bera

oldilGocks

hsirca

olbw

spinglee

rridpoge

tingsit

byba rabe

thermo rabe

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Activity 4. Fill in the blanks with the correct answer.

porridge, bedroom, bed, hard, sleeping , Goldilocks, growled, three bears, broken,

Goldilocks was very tired by this time, so she went upstairs to the _______ .

She laid down in the first ___, but it was too ____.

Then she laid in the second bed, but it was too soft.

Then she laid down in the third bed and it was just right.

___________ felt asleep.

As she was _________, the three bears came home.

"Someone's been eating my porridge," growled the Papa bear.

"Someone's been eating my porridge," said the Mama bear.

"Someone's been eating my ________ and they ate it all

up!"

cried the Baby bear.

"Someone's been sitting in my chair," ________ the Papa bear.

"Someone's been sitting in my chair," said the Mama bear.

"Someone's been sitting in my chair and they've ______

it all to pieces," cried the Baby bear.

They decided to look around some more and when they got upstairs to the

bedroom,

Papa bear growled, "Someone's been sleeping in my bed,"

"Someone's been sleeping in my bed, too"

said the Mama bear"

Someone's been sleeping in

my bed and she's still there!"

exclaimed Baby bear. Just then,

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Goldilocks woke up and saw the ______ ______. She screamed, "Help!"

And she jumped up and ran out of the room.

Goldilocks ran down the stairs, opened the door, and ran away into the forest.

And

she never returned to the home of the three bears.

Suggested answers.

2.0 Reading Activity 1

Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Goldilocks.

She went for a walk in theforest.

Pretty soon, she came upon a house.

She knocked and, when no one answered, she walked right in.

At the table in the kitchen, there were three bowls of porridge.

Goldilocks was hungry.

She tasted the porridge from the first bowl.

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3.0 Vocabulary 1. mother bear 2. father bear 3. baby bear 4. Goldilocks 5. bed 6. bowl 7. pictures 8. windows 9. floor 10. chair Activity 2 1. father bear 2. mother bear 3. baby bear 4. bowl 5. Goldilocks 6. bed 7. pictures 8. windows 9. chairs Activity 3 1. Daddy bear 2. Goldilocks 3. chairs 4. bowl 5. sleeping 6. porridge 7. sitting 8. baby bear 9. mother bear Activity 4 bedroom hard Goldilocks Sleeping porridge growled broken three bears

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4.0 Writing

4.1 Introduction

Writing is a system for interpersonal communication using visible sign where

it is a mind’s work of delivering ideas, thinking about how to communicate

them and to develop them into statements and paragraphs that will be

comprehensible to the reader. In writing simple compositions, learners are

taught the various steps involved in writing such as planning, drafting,

revising and editing. This is because the focus on developing students’

writing ability beginning at the word and phrase levels and progressing to

the sentence and paragraphs levels.

4.2 Point and Support in writing

Practicing the traditional college essay which is a paper of about five

hundreds words that typically consists of an introductory paragraph, two to

four supporting paragraphs and a concluding paragraph is an excellent way

to learn how to write clearly and logically.

Writing in college often takes the form of persuasion—convincing others that

you have an interesting, logical point of view on the subject you are

studying. Persuasion is a skill you practice regularly in your daily life. You

persuade your roommate to clean up, your parents to let you borrow the car,

your friend to vote for your favourite candidate or policy. In college, course

assignments often ask you to make a persuasive case in writing. You are

asked to convince your reader of your point of view. This form of

persuasion, often called academic argument, follows a predictable pattern in

writing. After a brief introduction of your topic, you state your point of view

on the topic directly and often in one sentence. This sentence is the central

ideas, or point, developed in any essay is called a thesis statement (rather

than, as in a paragraph, a topic sentence. The thesis appears in the

introductory paragraph, and the specific support for the thesis appears in

the paragraph that follows. The supporting paragraphs allow for a fuller

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treatment of the evidence that backs up the central point than would be

possible on a single- paragraph paper.

A thesis statement / central idea:

tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion.

is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper.

directly answers the question asked of you. A thesis is an interpretation of a question or subject, not the subject itself. The subject, or topic, of an essay might be Learning English is Fun; a thesis must then offer a way to understand English easily.

makes a claim that others might dispute.

is usually a single sentence somewhere in your first paragraph that presents your argument to the reader. The rest of the paper, the body of the essay, gathers and organizes evidence that will persuade the reader of the logic of your interpretation.

What is the difference between a Topic Sentence and a Central Idea? A central idea is the main idea of the whole essay. Meanwhile, a topic sentence is the main idea of a paragraph.

Examples: Text 1

The Astronomers use three basic types of telescope to explore the vastness of space. The refractor telescope uses two lenses – one to collect light from a distant object and bring it into focus, and another in the eyepiece to magnify the image. Second, there is the reflector telescope which makes use a concave mirror instead of a lens to reflect light rays to the upper end of the telescope. Last, and perhaps most important in terms of studying phenomena outside the earth’s atmosphere, is the radio telescope, which gathers waves with a wire antenna serving as a parabolic reflecting surface. The discovery of mysterious quasars and pulsars was made possible by this kind of telescope.

Central Idea: The discovery of mysterious quasars and pulsars was made possible by this kind of telescope Topic Sentence : Astronomers use three basic types of telescopes to explore the vastness of space. Supporting Sentences: 1. The refractor telescope uses two lenses.

2. Second, there is the reflector telescope which makes use of a concave

mirror.

3. The radio telescope gathers waves with a wire antenna serving as a

parabolic reflecting surface.

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Text 2

One of the things I do to improve my English is to watch television. This is no doubt one of the popular techniques that all learners use. I find the situations like comedies and detective stories help me improve my listening skills the most because the actors speak very rapidly. Documentaries and news programs help me build my vocabulary because they contain material that interests me. All of the shows help me improve my speaking skills because I consciously try to imitate the way the actors speak, especially the newscasters because they enunciate each words so well.

Topic Sentence : One of the things I do to improve my English is to watch television. Supporting Sentences: 1. I find the situations like comedies and detective stories help me improve

my listening skills the most because the actors speak very rapidly.

2. Documentaries and news programs help me build my vocabulary

because they contain material that interests me.

3. All of the shows help me improve my speaking skills because I

consciously try to imitate the way the actors speak, especially the

newscasters because they enunciate each words so well.

Smoking cigarettes can be an expensive habit. Considering that the average price per pack is RM5, people who smoke two packs of cigarettes spend RM10 per day on their habit. At the end of one year these smokers have spent at least RM3650. But the price of cigarettes is not only the expense cigarette smokers incur. Since cigarettes smoke has an offensive odour that permeates clothing, stuffed furniture, and carpet, smokers often find that these items must be cleaned more frequently than non-smokers do. Although it is difficult to estimate the cost of this additional expense, one can see that this hidden expense does contribute making an expensive habit.

Topic Sentence : ____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

EXERCISE 1

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Supporting Sentences:

1. _________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

3. _________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

4. _________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

4.3 Diagram of an Essay The following diagram shows the different parts of a standard college essay, also known as a one-three-one essay. This diagram will serve as a helpful guide when writing or evaluating essays.

Title of the Essay

Opening remarks to catch reader’s interest. Thesis statement Plan of development ( optional ) Topic sentence 1 (supporting point 1) Specific evidence Topic sentence 2 (supporting point 2) Specific evidence Topic sentence 3 (supporting point 3) Specific evidence Summary (optional) General closing remarks (Or both)

Introduction

Body

Conclusion

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Parts of an Essay Introductory Paragraph The introductory paragraph of an essay should start with several sentences that attract the reader’s interest. It should then advance the central idea, or thesis, that will be developed in the essay. The thesis often includes a plan of development – a preview of the major points that will support the thesis. These supporting points should be listed in the order in which they will appear in the essay. In some cases, the plan of development is presented in a sentence separate from the thesis; in other cases, it is omitted. Body: Supporting Paragraphs Most essays have three supporting points, developed of length over three separate paragraphs. Each of the supporting paragraphs should begin with a topic sentence that states the point to be detailed in that paragraph. Just as a thesis provides a focus for an entire essay, a topic sentence provides a focus for supporting paragraphs. Concluding Paragraph The concluding paragraph often summarizes the essay by briefly restating the thesis and, at times, the main supporting points. In addition, the writer often presents a concluding thought about the subject of the paper. Example: A Model Essay

The Hazards of Movie going I am movie fanatic. My friends count on me to know movie trivia and to remember every big Oscar awarded since I was in primary school. My friends, though, have stopped asking me if I want to go out to the movies. While I love movies as much as ever, the inconvenience of going out, the temptations of the concession stand, and the behaviour of some patrons are reasons for me to wait and rent the video disc.

To begin with, I just do not enjoy the general hassle of the evening. Since small local movie theatres are a thing of the past, I have to drive for fifteen minutes to get to the nearest mall. The parking lot is shared with several restaurants and a supermarket, so it’s always jammed. I have to drive around at a snail’s pace until I spot another driver backing out. Then it’s time to stand in an endless line, the constant threat that tickets for the show I want will sell out. If we do get the tickets, the theatre will be so crowded that I won’t be able to sit with my friends, or we’ll have to sit in a front row gaping up at a giant screen. I have to shell out a ridiculous amount of money for a ticket. That entitles me to sit while my shoes seal themselves to a sticky floor coated with spilled drinks, bubble gum and crushed Raisinets.

Introduction

part

First Supporting Paragraph

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Second, the theatre offers tempting snacks that I really don’t need. Like most of us, I have to battle an expanding waistline. At home I do pretty well by simply not buying stuff that is bad for me. I can make do with snacks like celery and carrot sticks because there is no ice cream in the freezer. Going to the theatre, however, is like spending my evening in a 7-Eleven that’s been equipped with a movie screen and comfortable seats. As i try to persuade myself to just have a Diet Coke, the smell of fresh popcorn dripping with butter soon overcomes bars the size of small automobiles seen to jump into my hands. I risk pulling out my fillings as I chew enormous mouthfuls of Milk Duds. By the time I leave the theatre, I feel disgusted with myself.

Many of the other patrons are even more of a problem than the concession stand. Little kids race up and down the aisles, usually in giggling packs. Teenagers try to impress their friends by talking back to the screen, whistling, and making what they consider to be hilarious noises. Adults act as if they were at home in their own living room. They comment loudly on the ages of the stars and reveal plot twists that are supposed to be a secret until the film’s end. And people of all ages create distractions. They crinkle candy wrappers, stick gum on their seats and drop popcorn tubs or cups of crushed ice and drinks on the floor. They also cough and burp, squirm endlessly in their seats., file out for repeated trips to the restrooms or concession stands and elbow me out of the armrest on either side of my seat.

After arriving home from the movies one night, I decided that I was not going to be a moviegoer anymore. I was tired of the problems involved in getting to the theatre, resisting unhealthy snacks, and dealing with the patrons. The next day, I arranged to have premium movie channels added to my cable TV service, and I also got The Golden Cinema membership. I may now see movies a bit later than other people, but I’ll be more relaxed watching box office hits in the comfort of my own living room.

Introductory Paragraph

1. In ‘The Hazards of Movie going’, which sentence or sentences are used to attract the reader’s interest?

a. First sentence b. First two sentences c. First three sentences

Second Supporting Paragraph

Third Supporting Paragraph

Concluding Paragraph

EXERCISE 2

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2. In which sentence is the thesis of the essay presented? _________________________________________________________

3. Does the thesis is include a plan of development? _________________________________________________________

4. Write the words in the thesis that announce the three major supporting points in the essay;

a) ________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

b) ________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

c) ________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Body : Supporting Paragraphs

1. What is the topic sentence for the first supporting paragraph of the model essay? _______________________________________________________________

2. The first topic sentence is then supported by the following details (fill in

the messing details):

a) Have to drive fifteen minutes

b) _____________________________________________________

c) Endless ticket line

d) _____________________________________________________

e) _____________________________________________________

f) Sticky floor

3. What is the topic sentence for the second supporting paragraph of the

essay?

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

4. The second topic sentence is then supported by the following details:

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a) At home, only snacks are celery and carrot sticks.

b) Theatre is like a 7-Eleven with seats.

i. Fresh popcorn

ii. __________________________________

iii. __________________________________

5. What is the topic sentence for the third supporting paragraph of the

essay?

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

6. The third topic sentence is then supported by the following details:

a) ________________________________________________________

b) ________________________________________________________

c) Adults talk loudly and reveal plot twists.

d) People of all ages create distractions.

Concluding Paragraph

The concluding paragraph often summarizes the essay by briefly restating the thesis and, at times, the main supporting points. In addition, the writer often presents a concluding thought about the subject of the paper. 1. Which two sentences in the concluding paragraph restate the thesis and

supporting points of the essay? a. First and second b. Second and third c. Third and fourth

2. Which sentence in the concluding paragraph contains the final thought of

the essay? a. Second b. Third c. Fourth

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4.4 Writing as a skill

People often fear they are the only ones for whom writing is unbearably difficult. A realistic attitude about writing must build on the idea that writing is a skill, not a ‘natural gift’. Extensive practice needed to develop the writing skills. They believe that everyone else finds writing essay or at least tolerable. Such people typically say, “I’m not any good at writing,” or “English was not one of my good subjects.” They imply that they simply do not have a talent for writing. Often, the result of this attitude is that people try to avoid writing, and when they do write, they don’t try their best. Their attitude becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy; their writing fails chiefly because they have brainwashed themselves into thinking that they don’t have the “natural talent” needed to write. Because writing is a skill, it makes sense that the more practicing to write the better writing comes up. One excellent way to get [practice in writing is to keep a daily or almost daily journal. Writing in a journal will help the writer to develop the habit of thinking on paper and will show how ideas can be discovered in the process of writing. It cannot be denied that many people find writing is difficult to the intense, active thinking that clear writing demands. It is frustrating to discover how much of a challenge it is to transfer thoughts and feelings from one’s head onto the page. However, the good news is that the skill of writing can be mastered and the learners ready to work, they will learn what they need to know. This is because people must constantly adjust their speech to suit their purpose and audience in order to communicate effectively. This same idea is true for writing. The ability to adjust the writing to suit the purpose of the writer and the reader will serve the writer well.

Learning how to write an essay doesn't have to involve so much trial and error.

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In your own words, explain what it means to say that writing is often a zigzag journey rather than a straight-line journey. ________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Notes

These simple steps will guide you through the essay writing process:

Decide on your topic.

Prepare an outline or diagram of your ideas.

Write your thesis statement.

Write the body.

o Write the main points.

o Write the sub points.

o Elaborate on the sub points.

Write the introduction.

Write the conclusion.

Reflection

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4.5 The Writing Process

Writing is a process that involves at least four distinct steps: prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing. It is known as a recursive process. While you are revising, you might have to return to the prewriting step to develop and expand your ideas. Prewriting Prewriting is anything you do before you write a draft of your document. It includes thinking, taking notes, talking to others, brainstorming, outlining, and gathering information (e.g., interviewing people, researching in the library, assessing data). Although prewriting is the first activity you engage in, generating ideas is an activity that occurs throughout the writing process. Drafting Drafting or free writing occurs when you put your ideas into sentences and paragraphs. Free writing means jotting down in rough sentences or phrases everything that comes to mind about possible topic. Here you concentrate upon explaining and supporting your ideas fully. Here you also begin to connect your ideas. Regardless of how much thinking and planning you do, the process of putting your ideas in words changes them; often the very words you select evoke additional Free writing or drafting will limber up your writing muscles and make your familiar with the act of writing. It is a way to break through mental blocks about writing. The initial ideas and impressions will often become clearer after you have gotten them down on paper, and they may lead to other impressions and ideas. Through continued practice in free writing, it will develop the habit of thinking.

Revising Revising is as mush a stage it the writing process as prewriting, outlining and doing on the first draft. Revising means rewriting an essay, building on what has already been done, to make it stronger. Therefore, revision is the key to effective documents. Here you think more deeply about your readers' needs and expectations. The document becomes reader-centred. How much support will each idea need to convince your readers? Which terms should be defined for these particular readers? Is your organization effective? Do readers need to know X before they can understand Y? At this stage you also refine your prose, making each sentence as concise and accurate as possible. Make connections between ideas explicit and clear.

Editing After revised the written essay for content and style, then it is ready for editing. Check for and correct errors in grammar, mechanics, punctuation, and spelling. Students often find it hard to edit their writing carefully. They have put so much, or so little, work into their writing that it’s almost painful for them to look at the essay one more time. Remember that eliminating sentence-skill mistakes will improve an average essay and help ensure a

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strong grade on a good essay. Further, as get into the habit of checking the writing, it will also get into the habit of using the sentence skills consistently. They are an integral part of clear and effective writing.

You now have a good overview of the writing process, from prewriting to first draft to revising to editing. To reinforce the information about the writing process that you have learned in this topic, you can now work through the following activities:

Taking a writing inventory

Prewriting

Outlining

Revising

Activity : Taking a Writing Inventory Answer the questions below to evaluate your approach to the writing process. This activity is not a test, so try to be as honest as possible. Becoming aware your writing habits will help you realize changes that may be helpful.

1. When you start work on essay, do you typically do any prewriting? ______yes _____ sometimes _____no 2. If so, which prewriting technique do you see?

--------- Free writing

Review Activities

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----------Questioning] ----------List-making ----------Diagramming ----------Scratch outline ----------Other (please describe)

3. Which prewriting technique or techniques work best for you, or which

do you think will work best for you? 4. What (if any) information has this chapter given you about prewriting,

revising and editing that you will try to apply in your writing? 4.6 Types of writing

Narration The main purpose of a narrative essay is to make a point by telling your audience a story. Colourful details and interesting events that build up to a point of some kind make narrative essays enjoyable for readers and writers alike. Also keep in mind that story should deal with an event or a topic that will appeal to the audience. A group of young children, for example, would probably be bored by a narrative essay about the first experience of job interview. They might, however, be very interested if you wrote about a time you were chased by a pack of mean dogs or monsters. In general, narrative essays that involve human conflict – internal and external- are entertaining to readers of all ages.

Process The purpose of a process essay is to explain the steps involved in a particular action, process or event. Some process essays focus on giving readers actual instructions, while others concentrate on giving readers information. The type of essay depends on the specific topic and purpose chosen. A process essay requires the writer to think through the steps involved in an activity. For example, the writer wants the audience to know how to make the ultimate chocolate chip cookie; the process essay would include directions telling readers exactly what to do and how to do it. On the other hand, if the writer wants the audience to know the steps involved in the process of digesting a chocolate chip cookie, the writer instead detail the events that happen in the body as it turns food into energy. In this second instance, the writer not be giving directions; but giving information.

Cause and effect What is a cause and effect essay? Cause and effect essays are concerned with why things happen (causes) and what happens as a result (effects). Cause and effect is a common

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method of organising and discussing ideas. Follow these steps when writing a cause and effect essay; Distinguish between cause and effect. To determine causes, ask, “why did this happen?” to identity effects, ask, “What happened because of this?’ The following is an example of one cause producing one effect:

Cause Effect

You are out of petrol. Your car won’t start.

Sometimes, many causes contribute to a single effect or many effects may result from a single cause. The following are examples:

Causes effect

liked business in high school

choose to major in accounting salaries in this field are high

have an aunt who is an accountant

am good with numbers

Cause Effects

reduce work hours

less income

employer is irritated

more time to study

more time for family and friends

However, most situations are more complicated. The following is an example of a chain reaction; Example:

Thinking about friend forgot to fill in gas tank car wouldn’t start

missed English paper failed English course

Example: Feel tired and weak

Lack of Vitamin C joints swell

Teeth fall out

Comparison Comparison and contrast come easily to mind and is one of the best ways to make the writing interesting and informative. Comparison shows similarities between person, places, things, ideas or situations. Contrast does just the opposite; it points out the differences between person, laces, things, ideas or situations. Whether you organize material for comparison or for contrast, however, the methods are essentially the same.

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There are two basic ways in which the information in a comparison –and-contrast essay is organized; First Method. If you let A and B stand for the two things being compared, then you can compare them point by point. Every time you say something about A, you also say something about B- either in the same sentence or in the sentence immediately following. Second Method. If you let A and B stand for the two things being compared, then you can use the block method, which your first tell all about A and then tell all about B. Thus, you discuss A in a block and B in a block.

Keep in mind that these two patterns need not always be followed rigidly, but they do provide the clearest ways to develop a comparison or contrast. Compare And Contrast Essay Sample Most of the people find it difficult to differentiate a frog from a toad. They normally mix them up. Although they seem so similar in appearance, they certainly have numerous dissimilarities too. Frogs are found in many different shapes, sizes, colours, and textures. Frogs have smooth, wet skin. They live most of the time in or near water. They have different eye colours including brown, silver, green, gold and red along with different shapes and sizes of pupil. Some of the frogs have sticky padding on their feet while others have webbed feet. It is obvious that not even all the frogs have same qualities. Toads too have numerous shapes, sizes, and texture, but they don’t have much variety in colour. Toads are chubby and have warty skin. They do spend of their time in water, but they live in moist places like woods, fields and gardens. Their pupils do have different shapes, sizes, and colours, but generally they are egg-shaped, small and black. Usually they have webbed feet.

Topic Sentence

Body :

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

AAAAAABBBBBBBBBBBBBBB

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB

BBBBBBBBBBBBBB__________

___________________

Conclusion

Topic Sentence

Body:

ABABABABABABABABABAB

ABABABABABABABABABAB

ABABABABABABABABABAB

ABABABABABABABABABAB

ABABABABABABABABABAB

Conclusion

Block Method Point by Point Method

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Toads and frogs have the same way to catch and eat food. Both of them use their tongue to and gulp down the prey. But a frog has a crest of very small cone teeth around the upper jaw edge to seize the food, but a toad doesn’t have any teeth at all. They eat almost same foods as frogs like bugs insects, fish, etc. To sum up, frogs and toads do seem similar but they have several different qualities regarding shape, size, colour, and texture. So it is crystal clear that people mistake while figuring out the difference between a frog and toad. It is needed that one should learn how a frog differs from a toad. Argument An argument essay, the writer is attempting to persuade readers to accept the writer’s viewpoint. It is important, therefore, not to anger them by referring to them or their opinions in rude or belittling terms. Stay away from sweeping statements like “Everybody knows that...” or “People with any intelligence agree that...”. Also, keep the focus on the issue you are discussing, not on the people involved in the debate. Don’t write, “My opponents say that orphanages cost less than foster care.” Instead, write, “Supporters of orphanages say that orphanages cost less than foster care.” Terms like my opponents imply that the argument is between you and anyone who disagrees with you. By contrast, a term such as supporters of orphanages suggests that those who don’t agree with you are nevertheless reasonable people who are willing to consider differing opinions.

1. Write an essay describing a person. First, decide on your dominant

impression of the person, and then use only those details that will add to it. Here are some examples of interesting types of people you might want to write about:

Campus character

Employer

Movie celebrity

Close friend

Rival

Teacher

Child

Relative

Exercise

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2. Write an essay narrating an experience in which a certain emotion was predominant. The emotion might be disappointment, embarrassment, happiness, frustration, any of the following, or some other;

Fear

Pride

Jealously

Sadness

Terror

Love

Nostalgia

Surprise

Happiness

Use the following points to write a cause and effect paragrapgh on smoking.

Smoking

The following transitional words may help you. Accordingly, as a result, consequently, hence, in short, otherwise, then, therefore, thus

Group Task

Cough, shortness of breath, lung

cancer, etc

Second-hand smoking

Smelly breath, clothes, car , office

Waste of money

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5.0 The power of grammar

I wonder if you understand what Mrs Clark meant, or whether any teacher has ever made a similar remark about your work? In this unit we look at some of the factors that contribute to differences between speech and writing and at ways of describing them. However, we shall try to avoid just helping you to get descriptive labels right, though that is important. We want you to discover that grammar is not a boring system for labelling parts of a sentence, but rather that it can give you an insight into how we present ourselves and our view of the world to other people. Our choices within the grammatical system together with our choices of vocabulary are our most powerful ways of putting together the meanings that we want to communicate. An advanced, sophisticated method of communication is what makes human beings so special, so a study of grammar is a way of exploring how these meanings get made. The key terms we are looking at in this unit are listed below. We have highlighted them in bold throughout the text as they are introduced.

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5.1 The importance of grammar Grammar can be defined as the way a language operates and unites words in order to form longer units of meaning. For instance, English, the present form of the verb is in the third person has two distinct forms, one (is) being used with a singular subject, and the other (are) with a plural; and if the plural are is combined with a singular subject, the result is usually unacceptable or ‘ungrammatical’. Thus, a sentence like : This is a bag is grammatical, whereas this are a bag is not. A set of rules dictates how units of meaning may be constructed in any language. Hence, it can be concluded that a learner who knows grammar is one who has acquired the rules and can apply these rules to express him or herself in an accetable language forms. Therefore, we want you to start thinking about what exactly we mean by a term like ‘grammar’ and how and why grammar differs in speech and writing. For some of you this will revise and build on your knowledge of previous study. Activity 1 is a way of raising questions in your mind and you will find some answers or explanations in the rest of the unit. Activity 1 (0 hours 10 minutes) Write down a few sentences which explain what you think grammar is about and why it is important. What do you expect to learn by studying English grammar? We shall come back to this activity again at the end of the unit.

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Discussion ( Sample answer ) In thinking about answers to these questions I have to admit that, in helping to write this unit, I have expanded my own knowledge of the variety of interpretations of grammar and the applications of grammatical analysis. I started off many years ago as a teacher of English in various countries around the world, using a form of grammatical description which highlighted ‘correct’ usage such as knowing when to say I have gone and when to say I went. More recently, in analysing academic writing, I have applied a different model of grammar, one which foregrounds the idea of grammar as choosing forms to express different types of meaning. Also, in working with my Open University colleagues, I have discovered other grammatical systems and applications. You might be surprised to realise how many different areas of life utilise an understanding of grammar. Computer scientists involved in creating voice-recognition software need to understand grammar and the frequency of the likely patterns of the language; police experts need to trace typical language patterns used by individuals if they are to detect lies and forged documents; doctors and specialists in language disorders in children or in patients with head injuries need to know the typical grammar associated with particular contexts in order to understand where disruption or dysfunction is taking place. Of course, knowing grammar is a basic part of language learning and teaching and is also necessary in professions such as translating and lexicography (compiling dictionaries).

Many of the uses to which a knowledge of grammar is put are also starting to rely on the application of computer technology to language analysis. The new computational tools are changing the way we describe and understand language. Some of the activities that you will be trying out are important in writing many dictionaries and textbooks about English. But before we move on to recent approaches to grammar we shall take a short diversion into different types of grammatical description.

5.2 The history of grammatical description Originally, grammar associated with describing ancient Greek, a system of labelling parts of speech developed into a way of laying down rules on the socially correct usage of language. Because of their origin in the ancient languages, prescriptive grammars introduced rules into English which arguably imposed labels and expectations that had not evolved from within the living language. Descriptive grammars in the USA and Europe have a more recent history. Linguists, and particularly grammarians, take examples of language that they have read, heard or invented to work out the rules underpinning our language use. The rules underlying actual practice are the structure or grammar of the language. In order to understand a language it is necessary to understand the contexts in which language is used and the cultural significance of different choices of words and grammar. Words

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and their meanings are not independent of their culture or of the situation in which they are being used.

5.3 Different types of grammatical description

Activity 2 (0 hour 10 minutes) As a way of helping you to consider what we mean by ‘grammar’, look at the following sentences and see how many meanings of the word ‘grammar’ you can identify. 1. It's a really complicated area of grammar. 2. Why don't you look it up in a grammar? 3. Her spelling is good, but her grammar is almost non-existent. 4. Children don't do enough grammar at school. 5. We had to do generative grammar on the course. 6. He needs to work on his grammar and punctuation. 7. Systemic functional grammar is generally associated with the work of

Michael Halliday. 8. I've always had problems with German grammar. 9. It's a grammar for learners of English as a foreign language. 10. Oh no! We're doing grammar again today!

(Based on Hewings and Hewings, 2004)

Discussion There is clearly overlap in these uses, but I have grouped them into five meanings. 1. In 1 and 8, it refers to the way in which words are organised in a

language in order to make correct sentences; here ‘grammar’ is the description of the way in which words combine into larger units, the largest being the sentence.

2. In 2 and 9, it refers to a book in which these organising principles are laid out. Sometimes these are given as a set of rules.

3. In 4 and 10, it refers to the study of these rules. 4. In 3 and 6, it refers to whether a person follows the ‘rules of grammar’. 5. In 5 and 7, it refers to a particular theory of language description.

Different theories of language result in different types of grammatical description based on different premises and with different purposes. The first complementary grammatical description we are going to look at is sometimes referred to as traditional or structural grammar, a grammar that divides language on the basis of parts of speech, units such as nouns, verbs, and adjectives. In looking at parts of speech, or word classes as they are also called, grammarians divide up sentences or smaller units into their constituent parts; for example:

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Don't worry if you are not familiar with terms such as ‘possessive determiner’; you do not need to understand them to work through this unit. In addition to this type of description, grammarians and others can also concentrate on how words combine to make meanings and this gives rise to a functional grammar which uses a different descriptive vocabulary. Functional grammar is another key approach to describing language. In a functional grammar the emphasis is on describing words or groups of words according to the function they are fulfilling in a sentence. Both traditional grammars and functional grammars are largely descriptive grammars, that is, they set out to account for the language we use without necessarily making judgements about its correctness. However, the word ‘grammar’, as we have seen, can be used to indicate what rules exist for combining units together and whether these have been followed correctly. For example, the variety of English I speak has a rule that if you use a number greater than one with a noun, the noun has to be plural (I say ‘three cats’, not ‘three cat’). Books which set out this view of language are prescriptive grammars which aim to tell people how they should speak rather than to describe how they do speak. Prescriptive grammars contain the notion of the ‘correct’ use of language. For example, many people were taught that an English verb in the infinitive form (underlined in the example below) should not be separated from its preceding to. So the introduction to the TV series Star Trek …to boldly go where no man has gone before is criticised on the grounds that to and go should not be separated by the adverb boldly. We are not arguing that one form is better than another. Rather, we are going to analyse examples of English as it has been used and look at the different choices that have been made and the factors that might influence those choices. The final type of grammar is a pedagogic grammar. These grammars are generally based on descriptions of ‘standard’ English and are designed to help people learn English if they are not native speakers of the language. Pedagogic grammars often give some of the ‘rules’ of English and lots of examples and practice material. They thus combine elements from descriptive and prescriptive grammars. Your reference grammar is a

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pedagogic grammar, but it relies on description rather than prescription to explain how English works.

Using grammatical description in context

Malinowski's anthropological work illustrates a more dynamic approach to the study of language which is still influential today, particularly in functional approaches to grammar. Many linguists are exploring ways of grounding their description of language in the cultural, geographical, social and economic conditions stressed by Malinowski. These factors are seen as influencing how language is used in context; that is, how variations in what we are doing, who we are communicating with, whether we are face to face or separated in time and space from our listener/reader and so on affect the grammatical and other language choices we make. This is a wide definition of context, and is sometimes called sociocultural context. This term is to distinguish it from a narrower meaning of context which refers to the words in the immediate textual environment of the word or grammatical feature that you are looking at. So in the following sentence we might be looking at how, for example, the word wide is used. This is a wide definition of context All the words that surround it form its immediate context, as does the whole paragraph. The notion of context and its influence on grammatical choice is important in this unit. You will have opportunities to reflect on how the local textual context affects grammar and how the wider context of the local culture and the particular situation of people communicating influence the variations that you will observe in grammatical choices.

Activity 3 (0 hours 10 minutes) Before you continue reading, think about what the contextual factors are that might be influencing me as I sit here typing this unit. What would be affecting me in the wider sociocultural context and in the immediate textual context surrounding each word I write?

Discussion If we are using context in its broader sense then wider influences on my selection of grammar than simply textual context can be considered. My choices of language would reflect my evaluation of the social relations between myself as writer and you as reader. We are strangers, but I wish to create a feeling of friendliness and dialogue within the text. I am conscious that I am trying to achieve a purpose through writing – helping you to understand more about grammar. I therefore select words and put them together in sentences which I hope will convey the point I am trying to make. I can't refer to things in my immediate environment because you do not share it – we are not communicating face-to-face or even simultaneously. I must make myself clear just by the ordering of the words

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on the page. Such contextual factors can be described and accounted for in a comprehensive description of grammar and such a grammar can also help me to think about how I can make my meanings more clearly.

Grammar and contextual variation

Spoken and written modes: an overview Variations in context that can affect grammatical choice may relate to different modes of communication, such as whether it is speech or writing, telephone or email, and so on. Instead there would be a stream of sounds, some of which would receive greater emphasis than others. The sounds would be broken up with pauses and often I would stop part way through and start to rephrase my thoughts. In this way, the inherent difference of face-to-face communication and written communication creates different contexts which tend to lead people to communicate meanings differently through making different grammatical choices. Language varies for each individual, but it varies in systematic ways in different situations. So the language choices we make when we write will show similarities because the mode is writing and not speech. To start you thinking about what the study of grammar can tell us about these systematic variations, let us consider the following two bits of language which come from some longer texts which you will read shortly. 1. So she piles her in the car and they go off. 2. Since 1840, maximum life expectancies have increased at a rate of

about three months per year.

One of these is spoken and the other is written. You can probably guess that (1) is spoken and (2) is from a written text. What clues are you using to make this judgement? What choices have the speaker in (1) and the writer in (2) made that enable you to identify one as speech and the other as writing? You might say that (2) is more formal and (1) less formal. If you know some grammatical terminology, you might relate this to the long noun phrases likemaximum life expectancy in (2) and the less formal ‘phrasal verbs’ such as pile in and go offin (1). In writing we often consider more carefully the words we use. We have time to plan and revise what we have to say to fit in with the meanings we want to convey and the person or people we are addressing. In speech we often do not consider our words so carefully, particularly in casual conversation. However, we are still making choices about how to express ourselves – just so quickly that we rarely have time to reflect on it. The speaker in (1) probably based her selection of informal-sounding phrasal verbs on the basis that she knew the friend she was talking to well. Or perhaps she thought that those choices would add to the contrast between the everydayness of the activities she was describing and what she was about to say next. Most of our language choices are subconscious choices, but they are nevertheless motivated. There must be a reason why you chose one word

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or expression and not another. One of the factors influencing this choice is whether or not we are in face-to-face contact with the person we are communicating with. While this is a major influence on variation in grammatical choices it is not the only one. There are many factors which influence our choices and this unit will help you to see what some of these are.

Spoken and written modes: a comparison As we have said, one of the most significant factors affecting our grammatical choices is whether we are speaking or writing. We can see these differences if we compare a spoken text and a written text. Text here is not being used in its usual sense to mean a piece of writing. ‘Text’ in language analysis can refer both to speech which has been prepared in a written form that can be analysed and to writing. Activity 4 (0 hours 30 minutes)

Read Texts 1 and 2 below. Which do you think is spoken language and which written? Make a list of the differences between them that indicate to you that one is a written text and one is a spoken text. Don't worry about using grammatical terminology to describe things – just make notes that mean something to you. Text 1 A friend of mine told me this amazing story the other day she a … she'd been shopping and she came back to this multi-storey car park that she's been in and it was kind of deserted … erm … and as she was walking towards her car she saw this figure sitting in the passenger seat … and she thought what's that I've been burgled and as she walked towards the car feeling a bit scared this person got out of the car and it was a little old lady… so she thought oh well probably it's not a burglar and … er … anyway she asked her and the woman said … er … apparently she'd been sitting there waiting for her daughter to arrive and the daughter hadn't turned up and she was feeling a bit giddy and faint and so she went and sat in the car … it seems a very strange thing to do … I mean … apparently she'd been trying all the door handles one was open so she sat in it … so anyway… this friend of mine … erm … said … you know … what are you going to do now … when are you meant to be meeting your daughter and the woman said half an hour ago so she said well … what are you going do now and anyway … finally this woman asked her if … er … she could possibly giver her a lift home because it was freezing and this old lady looked really ill and my friend thought oh … I'd better be nice and it was a bit out of her way but she thought she'd better do the … do the … do the right thing … so she piles her in the car and they go off … and as they're driving along she just happens to look across and sees her hands … and they weren't woman's hands at all … they were man's hands … it's got hairy big hairy hands…

(Brazil, 1995, pp. 24–5)

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Text 2 Industrialized societies throughout the world are greying. Since 1840, maximum life expectancies have increased at a rate of about three months per year and this trend shows no sign of slowing down. The good news is that people are getting healthier. But one downside is the net impact on healthcare. The overall improvement in health is more than countered by the much greater number of individuals reaching ages at which age-related health problems occur. An obvious example is Alzheimer's disease, which was almost unknown a century ago. The same is true of age-related macular degeneration, now the leading cause of blindness. Ageing is bad for us and yet it happens to everyone. So why does it occur at all?

(Partridge and Gems, 2002, p. 921) Discussion There are many differences between these two texts that you might have noted. Let us look at just a few of them. To start with, Text 1 looks very different from language that you normally see written down and this is the first clue to the fact that it was originally spoken not written. It is a transcript, a written version of something that someone has said. This is a very simple transcript, partly because there is only one speaker and partly because of the way it has been transcribed. As you go through the course you will read lots of transcripts and will see that there are many different ways of representing spoken language on a page. In this transcription many of the features that we associate with written language are missing. There are no sentences or paragraphs, for instance. Three full stops (an ellipsis) are used to indicate gaps or pauses, not sentence endings. It is consequently difficult at first to make sense of what is said and to guess how it sounded. The speaker repeats parts of utterances, e.g. she'd better do the … do the … do the right thing and hesitates, e.g. er, erm and pauses. (The word ‘utterance’ is used in preference to ‘sentence’ because, as we shall see, the notion of a sentence does not fit neatly with describing spoken language.) The utterances often seem incomplete or to change direction as they proceed, e.g. anyway she asked her and the woman said … er … apparently she'd been sitting there waiting for her daughter to arrive, and there are changes in verb tenses, e.g. but she thought she'd better do the … do the … do the right thing …so she piles her in the car and they go off. The string of events in the story are linked predominately by and, e.g. …apparently she'd been sitting there waiting for her daughter to arrive and the daughter hadn't turned up and she was feeling a bit giddy and faint and so she went and sat in the car. Many of the features of Text 1 are in direct contrast to Text 2 where the meanings are divided into sentences. Sentences and parts of sentences are linked together not predominately by and, but by other linking words such as but, yet and so which not only link bits of text but give us an idea of the logical unfolding of a text. One of the most significant differences

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between speech and writing is the amount of information that is packed into written texts in relation to the number of words used.

We can demonstrate this through looking at the following sentence from Text 2.

The overall improvement in health is more than countered by the much greater number of individuals reaching ages at which age-related health problems occur.

Imagine how you might convey all that information in speech. If I were in a seminar discussing this I think I might say something like:

There's been an improvement in health generally but at the same time this has led to problems … more people are living into old age and this is when they start to have illness and diseases that are only associated with being old.

But if I were talking to friends it might be more like:

Health's getting better yeah overall … more people are living longer … but but the problem is the problem is they're not as well … they've got lots of diseases and stuff … things that you get when you're old.

In (2) I have used 42 words (I am counting contracted forms such as they're as one word) and in (3) 36 words to say what took 24 words in the written text. How we convey all this information in relatively few words is one of the main grammatical differences between speech and writing, especially between informal conversation and formal writing. Both formality and whether something is spoken or written can affect the choice of grammatical structures and also the choice of vocabulary. For example, the noun improvement in (1) is replaced by a verb and an adverb in (3):'s getting better. Vocabulary differences can also be seen: for example, the wordindividuals in (1) is replaced by people in (2) and (3).

The technical word for vocabulary is lexis, and this is combined with the word grammar in the term lexicogrammar. In this unit our primary focus is on grammar, but it is important to realise that it is often the choices of both lexis and grammar, i.e. lexicogrammar, that convey the meanings we make with language. Features of speech: dialogue

Texts 1 and 2 were both monologues, that is, one person speaking or writing. Speech is more often a dialogue, a communication between two or more speakers and this influences the grammar choices made. We can see this in the dialogue transcribed below.

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A: Oh well she wouldn't be there after the bingo then would she? Probably went to I know that she does go. She there most of the evening and she goes to bingo and

B: Yeah A: Cos they live down round near Tina's but not like Tina's house

before that off Allard Avenue round the back of Allard Sherwood is it?

B: Sherwood, yeah Sherwood Avenue A: Yeah B: Yeah they live up yeah.

This transcript looks different from Text 1 and is even more difficult to make sense of. In natural speech, people often speak at the same time as each other, or complete each other's remarks. There are therefore many utterances that seem incomplete when read on the page. Although transcripts of conversation may seem ‘ungrammatical’ in comparison to text specifically composed to be read, the participants in them have no problem understanding and responding. This indicates that the grammatical choices made in speech are often just different from those we make in writing. The use of the context surrounding the participants means that they do not need to make everything explicit. In fact, they need to do different things in conversation and therefore need different grammatical resources. For example, in the context of a face-to-face conversation we see grammatical features such as question tags (would she? is it?) which invite a response, either verbally or through gestures such as nodding the head, from the other member of the dialogue. This helps to keep all participants in the conversation involved. Missing out words such as personal pronouns is common, e.g.Probably went to, where the pronoun she is omitted. This is allowable in conversation because such words can be inferred from the surrounding text. It also helps to create a feeling of closeness between the participants. They can leave out words because they can rely on their shared understanding to fill in the meanings. Features of speech: interaction Once we start to consider the ongoing interactive nature of speech, many of the differences between speech and writing become explicable. Activity 5 (0 hours 15 minutes) Read the extract below from a conversation among three people. Using your own words, underline and describe things that indicate that this is spontaneous conversation. To get you started, here is an example from the first two lines.

A: I've got [informal everyday expression with contraction] something

[general noun rather than specific] new on the computer [specific reference to a particular computer shows shared context] here

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[reference to specific place that is clear to those in the conversation].

B: What do you got? [questions reflect interactive style: do and got show a lack of concord (agreement) as perhaps the speaker changed his/her mind halfway through the utterance.]

A conversation

A1: I've got something new on the computer here. B1: What do you got? A2: If you turn it on, it turns on here and that turns on the monitor, the

speakers and the uh, printer so now <unclear> shut off my printer. I just put a, a plug strip in here.

B2: oh okay. A3: And there there's another switch inside here that allows me to turn

everything off, the computer, so like when I go away I can hit that and then everything is down.

C1: The one I like is the uh, little console. B3: Yeah. C2: You can, well you know <unclear> A4: Well you know the other thing is though, see I can shut this off.

Discussion Some of the points that you might have noticed were: Avoiding elaborations or specification of meaning, and the use of

general nouns and of pronouns e.g. something new; the other thing. Interactiveness with questions: What do you got? (note the dysfluency

– a term we introduce more fully later). Real-time production by add-on strategy: If you turn it on, it turns on

here and that turns on the monitor, the speakers and the uh, printer so now <unclear> shut off my printer.

Vernacular range of expressions such as contractions (I've), and informal and non-standard usage, e.g. so like when I go away; What do you got?

Repetition and hesitation: I just put a, a plug strip in here. (Based on Biber, 2002b, pp. 100–101)

Many of these features can be put down to the pressures of thinking and translating our thoughts into comprehensible language in the milliseconds available during face-to-face conversation. They also rely on the sharing of immediate physical contexts and often much sociocultural context knowledge as well. They result in the range of features noted above. Easily observable in most conversations is the increased use of pronouns to refer to people and things in the vicinity or recoverable in the wider context of the conversation. Writing, in contrast, usually uses fuller combinations of nouns and adjectives to specify who or what is being referred to.

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Features of speech: ellipsis Another feature of relying on the shared linguistic or sociocultural context is ellipsis. This occurs when some elements of a phrase or other unit of language are not specified because they can be inferred from the context. Ellipsis occurs in both speech and writing, but is more common in speech. The following two-part exchange between myself and my daughter is an illustration. We have a cordless phone which can be used anywhere in the house and my daughter, like many teenagers, is constantly phoning and being phoned by her friends.

MOTHER Suzanne, have you got the phone up there?

SUZANNE No. Dad's using it.

The ellipsis occurs in the first part of Suzanne's response. No could be expanded to ‘No, I haven't got the phone up here’, but this is unnecessary because we both know what she is saying ‘no’ to. Activity 6 (0 hours 10 minutes)

In the examples below there is ellipsis. Try to work out what words have been omitted. The place where they could go has been indicated with the symbol ^. Write a version of each of these sentences with the ellipsed material included.

1. He and his mate both jumped out, he ^ to go to the women, his

mate^ to stop other traffic on the bridge. 2. Perhaps, as the review gathers steam, this can now change. It needs

to ^. 3. A: Have you got an exam on Monday? B: ^ Two exams ^.

(Biber et al., 1999, pp. 156–7) Discussion

Ellipted material is enclosed in 〈 〉.

1. He and his mate both jumped out, he 〈jumped out〉 to go to the

women, his mate 〈jumped out〉 to stop other traffic on the bridge.

2. Perhaps, as the review gathers steam, this can now change. It needs

to 〈change〉.

3. A: Have you got an exam on Monday?

4. B: 〈I've got〉 two exams 〈on Monday〉.

Features of speech: dysfluency Another of the differences between conversation and writing is sometimes referred to as dysfluency. This is the use of hesitators (sounds such as erm, urn), pauses and repetitions which reflect the difficulty of mental planning at speed. We can see all three of these dysfluencies in the next example.

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That's a very good – er very good precaution to take, yes. (Biber et al., 1999, p. 1053) There is a pause after good, a hesitator er and repetition of very good. While such dysfluencies might be considered as random occurrences during unplanned speech, analysis of large amounts of conversational data shows that there are systematic patterns in how they are used. Before you read on, consider when you might use a pause as opposed to a hesitator in conversation. Hesitators are devices for indicating that a speaker has not yet finished their turn, and thus does not want to be interrupted. Hesitators are commonly used at a point when a speaker has not yet finished all they want to say, but they need to give themselves time for forward planning. In contrast, a pause occurs more often at places where a speaker is about to start on a new part of their utterance. They are often followed by words such as okay which signal this new section, as in this example: Mmm I just thought you know I okay it's only a cheque I know This transcript does not have pauses marked. However, when I say it in my head I certainly feel that there would be a pause before okay. Activity 7 (0 hours 5 minutes)

Read the examples below which show uses of repetition. Do you think repetitions function more like hesitators or pauses? 1. I hope that, uh, Audrey sent in that article to the News Press to, to get

back with them 2. Hopefully he'll, er, he'll see the error of his ways.

(Biber et al., 1999, p. 1055)

Discussion The repetition of to and he'll are not at major points in the utterance, rather they are like hesitators, they allow forward planning time and indicate that the speaker has not finished. They can also be used to indicate emphasis. Features of speech: language in real life In the discussion of dysfluency, we specifically avoided the use of the word ‘error’. In the past, because written grammar was used to judge speech, common features of speech were judged as errors because they do not occur in the more planned environment of written text. Thus, what type of data is analysed is crucial to what the grammatical findings are. As discussed earlier, grammar descriptions were increasingly being developed on the basis of examining how language is really used. This is in contrast to methods which rely on introspection; that is, grammarians consider examples of the language that they use or that is published and devise ways of accounting for the word combinations they

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find. This method has two consequences. The first is that it is associated with a particular variety of the language, usually that used by those with higher levels of education. The second is that written rather than spoken language often forms the basis of the description. Nowadays, many authors writing grammar books or books to help learners of English are using large databases of natural language to give them insights into how language is used in real life, not just how we think it is used. We want to show you an example of a grammatical feature which would not have been evident to grammarians using just introspective methods or even those describing actual uses of language based on limited examples. The example comes from a project investigating grammatical patterns in speech. One of the discoveries made by the project team is referred to as ‘heads and tails’. These are items that are placed at the beginning or the end of the main utterance. Example (1) illustrates ‘heads’ (in bold) and (2) exemplifies ‘tails’ (in bold). Paul in this job that he's got now when he goes into the office he'snever quite sure where he's going to be sent. A: I'm going to have Mississippi Mud Pie I am. B: I'm going to have profiteroles. I can't resist them I can't … just too moreish.

(McCarthy, 1998, p. 78)

I think you will agree that it is highly unlikely that such utterances would occur in writing, with the exception perhaps of dialogue in novels. However, they have been found to occur frequently in speech. They must therefore serve a communicative purpose in speech that would not be necessary in writing. It has been suggested that heads play an important role in helping the listener to prepare for what is coming next. In (1), the word Paul is used as a signal by the speaker to the listener that a new topic of conversation is being introduced. It reflects the importance of helping the listener to process incoming information in the short time span typical of face-to-face interaction. In contrast, tails are often used in evaluative contexts where they reinforce a particular point, as in B's remarks which contrast with A's. These are examples of features that are only now being discovered through analysis of authentic, naturally occurring language, particularly in association with computational analysis. To illustrate what I mean about not basing our study on how we think we use language, look at the transcripts below from a television news programme. Earlier, in Activity 4, we contrasted speech and writing, now you are looking at two different types of speech.

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Conclusions

Once we start to look at naturally occurring language we see that there is systematic variation in the choices people make. These choices relate to both the meaning and the context of the communication. Specifically we have looked at differences in mode between grammar in speech, especially conversation, and in writing. You may already be familiar with the idea of variation within a language. For example, there are different varieties of English used in different parts of the world. India, the USA and Australia, for example, all have different varieties of the language we refer to as English. But variety also occurs within countries where different lexical and grammatical choices may be associated with regional dialects. Often people have a choice over whether to use their dialect or to communicate using what has come to be called standard English. Exploring the grammar of English can help us look at a level of variation which is much more subtle – in this unit we have used a very crude distinction between written and spoken modes. Grammar is a tool for adapting our communications in ways which present us and our message in different lights and it is dependent on many contextual factors. In Activity 1 you were asked to note down what you thought grammar was about. Look back at what you wrote down. Have your views changed at all? We hope that in this unit you have begun to see that grammar is not just about labelling parts of speech or judging whether something is right or wrong. Studying grammar opens doors into how we organise our world. Exploring grammar can allow you to see how language is intertwined with both describing a view of the world and interacting with others in it.

References

The Advertiser (2002) ‘Shark attack’, The Advertiser (South Australia), 1 May 2002, Adelaide, South Australia.

‘Alternative Medicine’ (1988) Transcript of an extract from After Dark Series 2,

Channel 4/ITN Archive. Alexander, S. and Beer, M. (1998) Stephanie Alexander & Maggie Beer's Tuscan

Cookbook, Australia, Viking/Penguin Books. Ansen, D. ‘Mild About “Harry”’ in Newsweek (Pacific edn), vol. 140, no. 21, 18

Nov 2002. Biber, D., Conrad, S. and Leech, G. (2002a) Longman Student Grammar of

Spoken and Written English, London, Pearson.

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Biber, D., Conrad, S. and Leech, G. (2002b) Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English Workbook, London, Pearson.

Biber, D., Conrad, S., Johansson, S. and Leech, G. (1999) Longman Grammar of

Spoken and Written English, London, Longman. Brazil, D. (1995) A Grammar of Speech, Oxford, Oxford University Press. Coates, J. (1993) Women, Men and Language, London, Longman. Coulthard, M. and Sinclair, J. (1975) Towards an Analysis of Discourse. Oxford,

Oxford University Press. CTE (1990) Sticks and Stones (Replay, Reinforce, Remember) [video], London,

CTE. Derewianka, B. (1990) Exploring How Texts Work, Sydney, PETA. Eggins, S. E. and Slade, D. (1997) Analysing Casual Conversation, London,

Cassell. Franzen, J. (2002) The Corrections, London, Fourth Estate. Halliday, M. A. K. (1985) Spoken and Written Language, Deakin University,

Geelong, Australia. Halliday, M. and Matthiensen, C. (eds) (2004) An Introduction to Functional

Grammar, 3rd edn, London, Arnold. Hanna, M. (2002) ‘Prague cleans up as threat continues’, CNN.com. Available at

http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/08/16/czech.floods/index.html Hewings, A. and Hewings, M. (2004) Grammar and Context, London, Routledge. Hunston, S. (2002) Corpora in Applied Linguistics, Cambridge, Cambridge

University Press. Irving, J. (1981) The Hotel New Hampshire, London, Jonathan Cape. Keller, H.

(1980) The Art of the Impressionists, London, Phaidon Press. Lupton. D. (2001) ‘Constructing “road rage” as news’, Australian Journal of

Communication, vol. 28(2), 2001. McCarthy, M. (1998) Spoken Language and Applied Linguistics, Cambridge,

Cambridge University Press. The National Institute for the Prevention of Workplace Violence (2000) ‘Road

rage causes fatal accident’. Available at , accessed 20 March 2007

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O'Connor, J. D. and Arnold, G. F. (1961) Intonation of Colloquial English, London, Longman.

Parks, T. (1992) Italian Neighbours, London, Minerva. Partridge, L. and Gems, D. (2002) ‘A lethal side-effect’, Nature, vol. 418, 29

August 2002. Plum, G. (1988) ‘Text and contextual conditioning in spoken English: a genre-

based approach,’ unpublished PhD thesis, University of Sydney, vol. 2, Text 1.6.

Porter, E. H. (1987) Pollyanna, London, Angus and Robertson (first published

1913). Schiermeier, Q. (2002) ‘Central Europe braced for tide of pollution in flood

aftermath’, Nature, vol. 418, 29 August 2002. Sinclair, J. McH. (1990) Collins Cobuild English Grammar, London, Collins. Tench, P. (1996) The Intonation Systems of English, London, Cassell. Upton, D. (2001) ‘Constructing road rage as news: an analysis of two Australian

newspapers’,Australian Journal of Communication, vol. 28, no. 3, pp.23–35.

Webb, A. (1987) Talk About Sound, London, Franklin Watts. Wells, W. H. G. (1986) ‘An experimental approach to the interpretation of focus in

spoken English’ in Johns-Lewis, C. (ed.) Intonation in Discourse, London, Croom Helm.

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References According to Pro Forma TSL3111

Main References

McDonough, J. & Shaw, C. (2003). Materials and Methods in ELT: A teacher's guide (2nd ed). Maiden, MA: Blackwell Publishers.

McGrath, I. (2002). Materials evaluation and design for languageteaching. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Additional References

Brown, H.D. (2001). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy (2nd ed.). New York: Longman.

Roblyer, M.D. (2006). Integrating educational technology into

teaching (4th ed.) Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson. Slattery, M & Willis, J. (2001). English for Primary teachers: A

handbook of activities and classroom language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Smaldino, S.E., Russell, J.D., Heinich, R., and Molenda, M.

(2005). Instructional technology and media for learning (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson.

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PANEL PENULISAN MODUL PROGRAM PENSISWAZAHAN GURU

( TSL3111 Developing and Using Resources for the Primary ESL Classroom )

NAMA KELAYAKAN

DR BRIDGET LIM SUK HAN Pensyarah Jabatan Bahasa Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Tawau Sabah

Kelulusan PhD. (TESOL) USM, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia M.Ed (TESL) UMS, Sabah, Malaysia. B. Ed (Hons.) (TESOL) Heriot-Watt University, Scotland.

SHELEN ADERINA KOK Pensyarah Jabatan Bahasa Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Tawau Sabah

Kelulusan M.Ed TESL (Universiti Malaysia Sabah) B.Ed (Hons) TESL (Universiti Putra Malaysia) Sijil Perguruan Asas (Maktab Perguruan Gaya)

DAISY AK BENEDICT BAMSA Pensyarah Jabatan Bahasa Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Tawau Sabah

Kelulusan M.Ed (Open University Malaysia) B. Ed (Hons) TESL (Universiti Putra Malaysia) Sijil Perguruan Asas (Maktab Perguruan Sandakan)

GEORGE ARIMPUT Pensyarah Jabatan Bahasa Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Tawau Sabah

Kelulusan M.Ed (Educational Management) (Universiti Malaysia Sabah) B.A (Hons)(Communication(Universiti Sains Malaysia) Diploma Pendidikan (Maktab Perguruan Keningau)

CARLMILA FREDDIE J SIMOL Pensyarah Jabatan Bahasa Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Tawau Sabah

Kelulusan MBA (Universiti Teknologi Mara) B.BA(Hons) (Marketing) (Universiti Teknologi Mara) Diploma Pendidikan (Maktab Perguruan Sandakan)