Book critique: How can you teach English to young learners?

How can you Teach English to Young Learners?

Los Primeros Pasos en las Lenguas extranjeras: Modalidades de Enseñanza y Aprendizaje is a valuable resource for teachers of English since it encompasses significant information about the process of teaching English to young children.  During the last decades, bilingualism has gradually increased its popularity and therefore English as a Foreign Language (EFL) is established as part of the educational offer at several kindergartens, schools and private institutions.  These new scenarios for teaching EFL have provided teachers with a new context to work that may not have been properly studied in college. Its implications have been developed and analyzed in this book, inviting teachers to read, reflect and reach conclusions about the importance of the first encounters with a new language.

In the first two chapters, Banfi (2010) summarizes general considerations about EFL such as its foundations, purposes, contents and methods.  Especially interesting is the presentation of experiences found and studied in Latin America and Argentina.  Teaching programs at different schools and the gradual inclusion of English in the curricula provide the reader with a relevant and approximate context to reflect upon.  Thus, this information proves useful and exploratory, because it is based on the situation of teaching English in our own country.  It would have been even more interesting if Banfi (2010) would have enlarged this section with samples of projects or critical incidents. In addition, there is not consistent use of in- text citations in her book, what shows high levels of plagiarism.

The third part clearly presents pedagogical and practical ideas on EFL teaching.  A remarkable aspect is the correlation established between learners’ cognitive development and the acquisition of EFL.  Banfi (2010)  asserts that “el nivel inicial plantea ciertas particularidades a tener en cuenta a la hora de seleccionar materiales para la introducción de las lenguas extranjeras.  Es fundamental entre estas cuestiones la etapa de desarrollo evolutivo de los niños y niñas” (p 74).  Therefore, the selection of techniques, activities and materials is properly described as a theoretical choice that cannot be taken for granted or relied on teachers’ preferences or opinions.  Samples of materials and activities are provided to exemplify the interdependent links between cognitive and language development.

Particular important is the section of discussion and debate included in the fourth chapter, which attempts to reproduce the most frequent concerns parents particularly have about their children’s learning.  When are children prepared to study a language? May this process be too demanding or confusing for them?  How long may it take learners to become proficient users of the language?  The author seems to answer all these inquires with theoretical information deriving from studies and investigations, which provides teachers with background knowledge to effectively remove parents’ doubts.  As Banfi (2010) states “son muchos los debates y discusiones que giran en derredor de la enseñanza de las lenguas extranjeras y esto es, sin duda, positivo, porque habla de la vitalidad de la disciplina” (p. 111).

Anne- Marie de Mejía(2010) writes in the prologue of this book that ”Cristina Banfi has produced a publication which is interesting, very well referenced and easily accessible”.  These three outstanding characteristics seem to assure the reliability and usefulness of this material. Although more innovative ideas and a detailed description of the Argentinian context for teaching English could be added, this book fulfils its purpose of describing preschool learning and suggesting appropriate activities and materials.  The fact that it is written in Spanish allows teachers from other areas, school authorities and even parents to get informed of the most relevant issues concerning young learners.  Los Primeros Pasos en las Lenguas Extranjeras(…) is therefore a resource to rely when teaching the little ones.

References

Banfi, C. (2010) Los primeros pasos en las lenguas extranjeras: Modalidades de enseñanza y aprendizaje. Buenos Aires: Centro de Publicaciones Educativas y Material didáctico.

Critical Incident

An Experience to Remember

Last year, when I was a student from TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) college, I had to deliver 6 classes at a private Secondary school.  I had lessons on Fridays from 1:15 to 3:15 in the afternoon in a 5^th year formed by 20 students.  Before being assigned the course, the teacher had suggested not to practise with that group, because they had serious discipline problems, which could lead to a bad and de-motivating experience.  As the timetable was suitable for me, I decided to take it all the same, but with fear and prejudice after the teacher’s suggestion. 

First, I observed some classes delivered by the teacher, which provided me with useful information about the group dynamics. Students tended to misbehave and continually argue with the teacher, who seemed to be tired of dealing with discipline issues. She used to complain that no challenging activities such as games or songs could be performed, since students did not show interest or pay attention.  As Abidin and Kmetz (1997) have explained, “teachers are less apt to have positive interactions with behaviorally challenging students and even avoid contact with these students as stress levels increase” (p. 1).

Consequently, establishing a friendly and positive environment was my first objective when I gave my opening lesson. I was suggested to work on sports vocabulary and modal verbs, both interesting contents to prepare innovative activities as learners were weary of working on exercises from the book.  Therefore, we first worked on a game to know each other, in which they had to write in a separate piece of paper an adjective that described themselves, as well as a sport they liked and one they hated.  Then, I read them aloud and the other students had to guess who the person was.  It was a simple activity but they were really engaged in it, since they wanted to know about each other and win.

After that, I divided them in groups and proposed a memory game with pictures and words about sports.  This was my way of introducing lexical items as well as maintaining their concentration in the class, because they were really involved in solving the task and winning. After posing some questions about sports and brainstorming ideas, we watched some engaging sports commercials on TV, and they were supposed to reflect on the message conveyed, the attributes of the sports and their popularity in our country.  This was a good opportunity to implicitly introduce some modal verbs, expressing prediction, possibility and obligation.

When the class finished, I was really satisfied because students had been engaged in the class, they had actively participated and no behavior problems had emerged.  Therefore, I tried to prepare the following classes in a similar way, focusing on videos, songs and games to apply the language.  My most important feedback was students’ positive reaction, since I had observed how they tended to work before.  I learned a lot from this group, mainly that you should never be influenced by other people’s prejudice.  What really matters is your own image of the group after establishing a relationship with them.   

 

References

Abidin, R. & Kmetz, C. A. (1997). Teacher-student interactions as predicted by teaching stress and perceived quality of the student-teacher relationship. Anaheim, CA.

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Journal entry about critical incidents



Critical Incident Technique (CIT): Common Experiences to Learn

According to Kennedy and Wyrick (1995), critical incidents are personal narratives that focus on a problem depicted through the description of participants, roles, actions, feelings and thoughts.  However, several questions about their further implications in our teaching situation seem to emerge: Is it possible to use these incidents as a source of reflection and analysis?  Can we teachers learn from what other colleagues had faced in their classroom?  May a discourse community be established so as to share experience?

Fernández González, Elórtegui Escartín and Medina Pérez (2003) assert that “en un asesoramiento de Formación y Perfeccionamiento del Profesorado, consideramos de especial interés una preparación para afrontar la problemática que se le suele presentar al profesor en el aula cuando sucede una situación inesperada” (p.  104).  Critical incidents seem to be preparatory instruments because they allow teachers to record, analyze and share experiences in order to resort to them when unexpected situations take place.

 According to Fernández González et al., (2003), critical incidents should be structured as follows:

• Context: general description of the course and the students in terms of age and level.
• Problem: brief account of the incident, retelling it as a sequence of events.
• Possible causes: set of ideas of those factors that could have led to the problem.
• Possible solutions: several alternatives that could solve the problem. 

In this way, colleagues may read all the information above and get a proper insight of the situation.  This will naturally relate to their own experience, providing them with exemplary reactions, feelings, worries and reflections based on the teaching context. As Rahilly and Saroyan (1997) explained,  “(…) CIT shows people’s meaningful experiences up and this, in turn, allows to collect qualitative and quantitative data about classroom teaching and teaching thinking” (p.4).

In conclusion, critical incidents constitute a fruitful tool in the teaching profession because they enhance cooperative work and the analysis of real encountered situations, learning from positive courses of action as well as from mistakes.  What is vital to remember is that knowing the subject matter as well as the teaching techniques does not account for those mayor or minor problems that may occur in the class. Particularly important is the effect this technique has for those recent graduates like me, who need to get experience and advise to successfully approach this challenging profession. 

References

Fernandez González, J., Elórtegui Escartín, N., & Medina Pérez, M. (2003). Los incidentes críticos en la formación y perfeccionamiento del profesorado de secundaria de ciencias de la naturaleza. Revista universitaria de Formación de Profesorado, 17- 001. Zaragoza, España: Universidad de Zaragoza. Retrieved October 2011, from http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/redalyc/src/inicio/ArtPdfRed.jsp?iCve=274 17107

Kennedy, R. L. & Wyruck, A. M. (1995). Teaching as reflective practice. Tennesee. The University of Tennessee.

Rahilly, T. J, & Saroyan, A. (1997). Characterizing poor and exemplary teaching in higher education: Implications for faculty development. Montreal, Quebec: McGill University. 

Building a discourse community

Building a Discourse Community

A definition of what a discourse community theoretically and practically involves has been posed by numerous scholars.  The aim of this paper is to analyze Swales’ (1990) basic criteria as regards the six requirements a discourse community should fulfill. These will be supported by theoretical evidence found in supplementary articles.

Swales (1990) affirmed that having common goals and interests is the first requirement in a discourse community.  Similarly, Ovens (2002) stated that the situated learning discourse community uses reflection when teachers plan and set activities and objectives. This reflection is not only individual, but implicitly claimed and shared within the social community of the school. Therefore, all the participants attempt to achieve a certain set of goals.

The second established criterion involves the participatory mechanisms that allow teachers to share information and obtain feedback (Swales, 1990).  Several scholars (Blanton, Simmons and Warner, 2001) have agreed that “journals or virtual systems of communication can be used to mediate teacher learning so that they recall, share and respond to one another’s experiences” (p.3).  This relates reflection and action in a unique and integrated process, which is suggested to enhance professionalism.

Interaction in the discourse community is another significant criterion since its participants need to communicate and cooperate continually.  The focus is not on the individual per se, but in the relationship he/she can establish with the rest of the community.  This may be assured by the use of a cohort, which involves teachers supporting each other in the process of learning and reflecting (Fullan, 2001).

Community specific genres are Swales’ fourth requirement.  Holquist and Emerson (1991) noted that “a social language is a discourse peculiar to a specific professional or ethnic group at a given time” (as cited in Wertsch, 1991, p. 57).  This language is a determined genre acquired by the community, and may include views on culture, roles, learning, justice and educators. It may take oral or written forms.

The fifth item considered is the highly specialized terminology, carried out by the use of abbreviations and acronyms. In addition, there are words that acquire a particular meaning when used in the discourse community. Such is the case of “open door”, which in this context refers to the possibilities of success given to the participants. (Kelly- Kleese, 2004) 

A high level of expertise is the final requisite highlighted by Swales (1990). A discourse community deals with knowledge continually, since all the participants make their contribution in terms of experiences, practices and theories. As Soltis (1981) pointed out, knowledge and learning are the results of interactions among people, who change and adapt their views when working together.   

In conclusion, Swales’ (1990) depiction of a discourse community has been supported and agreed by several authors. Common goals, participation, interaction, a specific genre, specialized terminology and a high level of expertise seem to be the intertwined elements that enhance teachers’ development as professionals. 

References

Blanton, W.E., Simmons, E., & Warner, M. (2001). The fifth dimension: Application of cultural-historical activity theory, inquiry-based learning, computers, and telecommunications to change prospective teachers' preconceptions. Journal of Educational Computing Research. 24. Retrieved September 2011, from http://faculty.soe.syr.edu/takoszal/IDE800-Adv-ID-and ET/IDE850_sp06/additional_readings/blanton_simon-CHAT.pdf

Fullan, M. G. (2001). Teacher educator as advocate. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association of Teacher Educators . New Orleans.

Kelly-Kleese, C. (2004). UCLA community college review: community college scholarship and discourse. Community College Review. Retrieved September 2011, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HCZ/is_1_32/ai_n6361541

Ovens, A. (2002). Discourse communities and the social construction of reflection in teacher education. Retrieved from September 2011, from http://www.ecu.edu.au/ conferences/herdsa/main/papers/ref/pdf/Ovens.pdf

Soltis, J. F. (1981). Education and the concept of knowledge.  Chicago: National Society for the Study of Education.

Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Wertsch, J.V. (1991). Voices of the mind: A sociocultural approach to mediated action. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Welcome to our discourse community!

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The main purpose of this blog is to share my works with you and reflect on different eduactional issues we are all surely interested in. I hope to receive your feedback, since there is no better way of learning than analyzing and sharing!

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Silvana