Year
6
Number 137
6500
SHARERS
are reading this issue of SHARE this week
__________________________________________________________
Thousands of
candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not
be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being
SHARED
__________________________________________________________
Dear
SHARERS,
This will, in
all likelihood, be our last issue of 2004. With the school year coming to an
end, with exams almost over and the nightmare of “planillas and libretas”
luckily gone with the heat, we are all almost ready for what is, at least for
many of us, one of the best times of the year: the Christmas celebrations and
those long awaited and well-deserved (sorry for the clichés, but one cannot be
original all the time) holidays which are just a couple of weeks away.
Professionally
speaking, this year has been a great year for
The coming year
will not be without challenges (and surprises!). We will be honoured to sponsor
Celia Zubiri´s Third Annual Conference on Applied Drama to be held in February
and in our
capacity as members of the Academic Commitee, we are collaborating with Asociación de Profesores de Inglés de
Rosario in the organization of the Eleventh National Congress of Teachers and
Students of English to be held on July 8th and 9th in
Rosario. This year with national and international top-notch speakers and more
than 50 presentations (Do you want to read all about it? Just follow this link:
http://www.shareeducation.com.ar/XI%20Congreso/Pres.htm
).
SHARE is
getting older too (we are all getting older, anyway). We enter our sixth year of
publication (Do not worry! We are not going to tell you the story of SHARE again
this year) and we thought it was a good opportunity to express our gratitude to
all of you, our faithful dear SHARERS. To all of you a big hug from the
heart.
Love
Omar and Marina
______________________________________________________________________
In SHARE
137
1.-
Promoting Self-directed Learning (Part 1).
2.- The Teaching of Grammar: Revisiting
PPP.
3.- Using Songs for Effective
Language Learning.
4.-
Política Educativa: El Fin de la
EGB 3 en la Provincia de Buenos Aires.
5.- The
Fifth San Luis English Teachers Conference.
6.- Advice
Summer Seminar.
7.- Third
Annual Conference on Applied Drama.
8.-
Creando Líderes en Valores.
9.-
Your cooperation required.
10.- ALL Training in February.
11.- Electronic Village 2005.
12.- XIX
Foreign
13.- CASOC´s 30th
Anniversary.
14.- Educación, Lenguaje y Sociedad.
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1.- PROMOTING
SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING – PART 1
Our dear SHARER and friend
Douglas Town has sent us this article together with his best wishes for a great
2005 for all SHARERS.
Promoting self-directed learning (1)
Introduction
In the first of two articles
based on my workshop “Promoting
self-directed learning: A strategic approach”, presented at the Tenth National Congress of Teachers and
Students of English in Bahía Blanca in July, I shall argue that teachers
wishing to promote self-directed learning need to examine their beliefs about language, learning and
management –particularly time management - in order to help students to set
their own goals for learning within the constraints of the school curriculum. I
shall also argue that students can learn to manage their time and make decisions
about their learning through the use of a learning diary. The second article
will deal with the interrelated issues of motivation, self-esteem and strategy
training.
The management of
learning
The management of learning is a
complex affair. Whether we are concerned with course management in general or
classroom management in particular, success will depend largely on our ability
to see language, learning and management as a continuum. Teachers who believe,
for example, that language is a social phenomenon and that learners develop
communicative competence chiefly by negotiating meaning are unlikely to achieve
their goals if their own style of classroom management is teacher-centred and
authoritarian. However, as Everard and Morris (1990:4) have pointed out: “people
sometimes do not behave in accordance with principles which should be obvious to
them”.
There are many reasons why
teachers may feel unsure about their role in the classroom. Firstly, ideas about
the nature of language and learning have, in recent years, undergone several
paradigmatic changes, leaving many confused about the nature and role of
instruction in second-language acquisition. In the 1980´s Krashen (1981, 1982,
1985) argued that communicative competence could not be learned through formal
study, only acquired through natural communication. In the 1990’s, the
instructed acquisition view gained ground again (see Johnstone, 1992). Then came
the Lexical Approach (Lewis, 1993, 1997), which downplayed the importance of
grammar, followed by the Task-Based Approach, which placed instruction at the
back end of the learning process. However, as Skehan (1994:190) warned "Requiring learners to engage in task-based
learning, if not balanced by other activities...” may mean that “... short-term
communicative gain assumes greater importance than longer-term grammatical
development”, once again emphasising a focus on form.
Secondly, as regards management,
Everard and Morris (1990:xi) remarked more than a decade ago that “the notion
that teachers can and should be taught to manage is still quite young” and that
many teachers were, indeed, reluctant to see themselves as managers at all.
Little seems to have changed since then. But teachers that lack a solid
theoretical framework for what they do in the classroom may, unwittingly,
regress to a more traditional, text-book driven style of teaching – and this is
particularly true of teachers who are overworked, under-resourced or forced to
implement overambitious syllabuses with large classes of (often uncooperative)
teenagers. In such conditions, the pressure to reduce the syllabus to ‘so many
units of the course book per term plus songs on Friday afternoons’ is great
indeed. However, as Harmer (1983:219) points out, “textbooks tend to concentrate
on the introduction of new language and controlled work, both of which were
features of the more traditional classroom.
Language, Learning and
Management
Although writers such as
Hutchinson and Waters (1987:52) claim that there is no link between language
description and language learning, the truth is that certain views of language
tend, in practice, to be associated, consciously or unconsciously, with certain
methods of teaching. At one end of the continuum, theories of language can be
classified in two broad categories: synthetic and analytical. Synthetic theories
see language as a stock of discrete elements that stand for already existing
phenomena in the “real” world. In this view, “people do not mean something by
words, rather words themselves have meanings” (Moore and Carling 1982:150). This
view corresponds closely to what Saussure called “langue” (language as an
abstract, conventional system). In contrast, analytical theories stress the fact
that each individual’s perception of “reality” is somewhat different (otherwise
there would be no need for language at all) and that individuals negotiate
meaning through what Saussure called “parole” (actual instances of communication
involving motivation and thinking).
At the other end of the continuum
lie theories of management. All managers have to plan, organise, direct and
control at least one of the following resources: human, material and financial.
Human resources are by far the most difficult to handle, so it essential for
teachers to have clear ideas regarding the nature of work, motivation and
leadership. Douglas McGregor (1960) identified two types of manager
corresponding to two conflicting assumptions about the nature of work: “Theory
X” and “Theory Y” (Everard and Morris, 1990). In the context of teaching, it is
fair to say that “Theory X” teachers tend to prefer a focus on “langue” and an
impersonal, strictly cognitive approach to learning (perhaps seasoned with a few
“rewards” like Friday afternoon songs), whereas “Theory Y” teachers tend to
emphasise the more personal and social aspects of language and a broader view of
the term” cognitive” (see Table 1 below). Understandably, many “Theory X”
teachers are so because, with classes of potentially disruptive adolescents,
anything else feels “too risky”, as one teacher told me recently in a workshop.
The first point to emphasise
about this continuum is that both views of language are complementary - there could
be no actual instances of communication without a common code, and vice-versa –
and the association of one or other of these views with a particular teaching methodology is something that
every teacher should question. For example, traditional classroom activities
such as dictation, summary and translation are common in business and nobody
would claim that, in this context, they are not communicative or meaningful.
Yet, I have met many company managers from so-called bilingual schools who can
do none of these things very well. True bilinguals are a different matter: they
nearly always act as informal interpreters from childhood (Harding and Riley,
1986).
Of course, I am not advocating a
return to the grammar translation method. But there are ways to make these
activities meaningful in the classroom. For example, a communicative variation
on the traditional classroom dictation is to get students to do short dictations
from part of a tapescript in pairs, underlining each other’s possible
pronunciation and intonation mistakes and checking afterwards with the tape,
rather than focusing exclusively on spelling. This is meaningful because, in
real life, misunderstandings are often the speaker’s fault and, in this way,
both students have something to correct. Similarly, evaluating alternative
translations or summaries of a text in pairs or small groups can be a valuable
awareness-raising and communicative activity. Such activities “[make] salient the less
obvious aspects of the input, so that it is the learner who does the extraction
and focusing, but as a function of how he or she has been prepared.” (Skehan
1998: 49)
Conversely, teachers should be
aware that pairwork and groupwork do not automatically lead to “negotiation of
meaning” and independent learning. All too often, adolescents only work with
friends whose opinions they already know, making many ‘opinion gap’ activities
about fashion, music, school discipline etc (the type often found in ELT
textbooks) almost meaningless. In many cases, group dynamics actively discourage
students – especially boys - from ‘trying too hard’. Without the chance to set individual
learning goals and reflect on their learning (for example, in a guided learning
diary) and without the chance to show individual achievement (for example, in a
learning portfolio), students may well find their individuality submerged in the
group.
The second point to emphasise
about this continuum is that although language description need not drive
teaching methodology, the way that teachers – consciously or unconsciously -
perceive their managerial role certainly will. This is why I have preferred to
use the terms “ langue” and “ parole”
rather than the more widely used distinction between “ Syllabus A” and
“Syllabus B”. “Theory X” teachers may not be able to change much towards a more
student-centred approach; but “Theory Y” teachers should remember that accuracy
has its place in the real world.
|
“Langue” 1.
Emphasis on tradition: Language as a finished product Words
have fixed– i.e. dictionary – meanings that reflect
“reality” 2.
Emphasis on form and accuracy: Language is either right or wrong – e.g.
as in FCE Paper 3 (Use of English), Paper 4 (Listening)
Grammar translation method; audio-lingual method; early Council of
3.
Objective needs Emphasis on “generally useful” language for academic, work or
social purposes. Emphasis on institutional needs and conforming to
these 4.
Individual learning Grammar translation method: learners expected to “think for
themselves”. Audio-lingual method: exposure to mistakes is
“dangerous” Early
Council of 5.
Teaching and conscious learning – deductive
approach Emphasis on explanations, translation, models, exercises,
drills... 6.
Sequential learning Mostly
left-brain learning. Favours students with Practical and Conceptual learning
styles Lockstep procedure; linear methods 7.
Teachers as “Theory X” classroom managers Authoritarian. Believe that most people are uncreative,
irresponsible and need to be directed. Motivation, activities, materials and evaluation are best left to
the teacher Impersonal, strictly “cognitive” approach to
learning. Fixed
furniture and seating plan; Teacher talking time is high. 8.
Pre-packaged materials The
textbook and the publisher set the syllabus. The teacher “goes by the
book”. 9.
Norm-referenced assessment “Objective” tests – multiple
choice, matching, true-false, etc. – with one correct answer.
Numerical scores; being “right”. Head
and teacher final reports - mainly for the school and other institutions
and for parents |
“Parole” 1.
Emphasis on innovation: Language as a creative, on-going
process People
mean things by words and create their own reality through words -
2.
Emphasis on content and fluency: Language is more or less appropriate - e.g. as in FCE Paper 2
(Writing), Paper 5 (Speaking)
Direct
method; total immersion; process-based syllabuses; task-based
syllabuses 3.
Subjective needs Emphasis on personal interests, experience and self-expression.
Emphasis on people’s uniqueness. 4.
Social learning Pair
and group work Learning through “negotiation of meaning” – i.e. through making
mistakes Learner-initiated topics and activities that involve learners’
emotions 5.
Unconscious acquisition – inductive
approach Emphasis on extended reading and listening, social interaction,
tasks... 6.
Holistic learning Mostly
right-brain learning. Favours students with Adventurous and Social learning
styles Pairwork and small group work, recursive
methods 7.
Teachers as “Theory Y” classroom managers Democratic. Believe that people can be self-directed if properly
led. Trust
in their learners’ potential for independent learning and self-evaluation
Personal and social aspects of language and language learning.
Broader view of “cognitive” Flexible furniture and seating plan; Student talking time is high. 8.
Student-produced materials Realia
- not written for ELT classroom – plus student internet pages, class
magazines, videos, wall posters. .... 9.
Criterion ref’d assessment Emphasis on motivation, process, cooperation,
originality. Criteria negotiated with the students.
Ongoing assessment. Peer and self-assessment. Emphasis on
feedback. |
Fig. 1 - A Language, Learning and
Management Continuum
Self management and learning
diaries
The first people that teachers
must learn to manage are – of course - themselves.
Students, too, can learn to plan
and manage their learning better by using a learning diary. However, if students
are to keep a learning diary and write it up after each activity, time must be
set aside in each class for doing this – at least until students can be trusted
to do this outside the class (generally speaking, any new learning strategy
takes seven to eight weeks to ‘sink in’ and should not be rushed). Similarly,
the teacher must have enough time to check these diaries regularly and give
students feedback. With a class of thirty students taking lessons four hours per
week, this will mean seeing eight students in each lesson in order to give
individual feedback to every student once a week. So, decisions will have to
made about when to collect the diaries, when to see the students, what to
prioritise in the short time available, etc.
Because of time pressure, I would
suggest a structured approach to diary-keeping rather than the open-ended type
of diary recommended by Wenden (1998:102). The diary could be written on
photocopied sheets of A4. Each sheet would contain the following questions with
spaces for answers, as well as the date, the student’s name and the teacher’s
comments:
Once completed, the diary page
would be kept in the student’s folder for assessment together with any completed
work and consulted the next time the student had to complete a similar task. The
main point to remember is that enough time should be scheduled for these learner
training activities before any
decisions about specific lessons are taken.
Giving choices to students
In order to promote self-directed
learning, it is obvious that students must –at least occasionally - have a
choice of activities. Of course, this does not mean making radical changes
overnight or giving students more responsibility than they (or the teacher) can
comfortably handle. Learner training should be seen a process, like ‘democratic’
parenting, which respects the learners’ freedom within clearly defined and
enforced limits and with high expectations of performance. Although there is no
recipe or formula that can be applied to every class, teachers can begin to
reflect on how to offer students more choices by (say) taking their class
timetable for the last four weeks, noting down all the activities done with one
particular class (including negotiations, assessment and homework) and coding
the activities according to the following classification:
|
CORE
SYLLABUS 1.
Textbook / tapes with NO choice
of activities 2.
Textbook / tapes with choice of
activities
OPTIONAL SYLLABUS 3.
Teacher-driven (e.g. songs, games – if chosen by the
teacher) 4.
Student-driven - group / individual (e.g. self-access work, small-scale
project work) 5.
Student-driven - whole class (e.g. large-scale project work, school play,
social evening) |
Fig. 2 – A Continuum of Choice
The next step would be to decide
how the timetable could be modified to include an optional syllabus (if there is
none) and to give more responsibility to the students, e.g. by moving – at least
sometimes - from 1 to 2 or, if this change has already been consolidated, from 3
to 4, remembering to allow time in this schedule for diary writing and
individual feedback.
References
Everard, B and Morris, G. (1990).
Haring, E. and Riley, P (1986).
The Bilingual Family.
CUP.
Harmer, J. (1983) The Practice of English Language
Teaching. Longman.
Hutchinson, A. and Waters, T.
(1987) English for Specific Purposes.
CUP.
Lewis, M. (1993). The Lexical Approach, LTP.
Lewis, M. (1997). Implementing the Lexical Approach.
LTP.
Rogers, C. (1983). Freedom to Learn in the 80’s. Charles
E.Merrill Publishing Company.
Saussure, F. de (1915, 1978). Course in General Linguistics.
Skehan, P. (1994). "Second
Language Acquisition Strategies, Interlanguage Development and Task-based
Learning" in Bygate et al.
Skehan, P. (1998). A Cognitive Approach to Language
Learning. OUP.
Wenden, A. (1998). Learner Strategies for Learner Autonomy.
Prentice Hall.
© Douglas Andrew Town, 2004
Training materials may be used if source is cited.
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2.- THE TEACHING OF GRAMMAR: REVISITING PPP.
Our dear SHARER and respected specialist Costas Gabrielatos wants to SHARE this article with all of us.
Minding our Ps
A
framework for grammar teaching
The article was published in Current Issues 3, December 1994 and is
uploaded with some minor corrections by its author.
1. The aim of the article
In this article I take a critical
look at the content and format of the grammar lesson as currently favoured by
teachers and materials designers alike in the field of TEFL; namely the Presentation-Practice-Production (PPP)
structure. In the discussion of the merits and shortcomings/limitations of this
format I will draw on (a) current
views on TEFL methodology, (b)
relevant theoretical assumptions and empirical findings in the field of Second
Language Acquisition (SLA), and (c)
two theoretical models in cognitive psychology relevant to
SLA.1
2. The content of the ‘grammar
lesson’
While it is essential for
learners to be able to manipulate grammatical form, it is not sufficient.
Learners also need to understand the concept(s) expressed and the function(s)
performed by a particular grammatical element (Harmer, 1987: 9-11 & 17;
Littlewood, 1984: 1; Widdowson, 1990: 95, 97 & 166).2 Studies
have also shown that a combination of formal instruction and meaning-focused
treatment is more effective than mere “formal presentation of grammatical rules”
(e.g. Doughty, 1991 in Fotos, 1993: 324).
3. TEFL methodology
Current TEFL methodology seems to
essentially advocate a two-stage grammar lesson: presentation and practice (Byrne, 1986: 2, Celce-Murcia
& Hilles, 1988: 27-28, Ellis, 1992: 101).3
The content of the presentation
stage is not clearly defined and views on it are not consistent. For example,
Harmer (1987: 24-27 & 29) presents awareness tasks as an alternative to
presentation and incorporates controlled practice (drills) in it; Ellis (1992: 235) states that
presentation “may involve an inductive or deductive treatment of the structure”,
Celce-Murcia & Hilles (1988: 30) incorporate both in the presentation stage;
Ur (1988: 7) treats “isolation and explanation” as a distinct stage following
presentation.
The practice stage comprises a
sequence of activities which can be seen as progressing on a control cline. At
the controlled end the focus is
solely on form; at the free end (the
production stage) the focus is only
on meaning (Harmer, 1987: 18-30; Littlewood, 1981: 8-15; Spratt, 1985: 6-16; Ur,
1988: 6-9). Ellis (1992: 102) makes a finer distinction between free practice, when learners are
“concerned with learning”, and communicative use, when learners are
“concerned with conveying a real message”. Nevertheless, he goes on to admit
that learners can be engaged in both simultaneously, and coins the term unfocused performance to include both
(see 5.3 for a different view regarding the focus of practice procedures). The production stage is also seen as
providing the teacher with essential feedback regarding the outcome of
instruction (Littlewood, 1981: 19; Spratt, 1985: 12-13) (see 5.4 for a
caveat).
4. Relevant theory and research
in
4.1 Input - Intake
A distinction has been made
between input, that is “potentially
processible language data which are made available to the language learner”, and
intake, that is “that part of input
that has actually been processed ... and turned to knowledge of some kind”
(Sharwood Smith, 1993: 167). Sharwood Smith (1986: 242 & 253) suggests that
input should be “meaningful, interesting, and largely comprehensible”. What is
meant by potentially processible and
comprehensible is that learners
should be able to interpret the input either “directly by means of [their]
existing IL [interlanguage] knowledge”, or “by means of interfering procedures”
(Haastrup, 1991: 25). Sharwood-Smith (1986: 242 & 253) argues for a “rich
communicative environment, that is one which permits linguistic input to be
analysed together with many other kinds of information”, but also recognises
that input can be “selectively manipulated to facilitate acquisition”. He makes
the distinction between “natural occurring salience” and “salience that has been
deliberately engineered” for pedagogical purposes (Sharwood-Smith, 1991:
121). The above are of great
relevance to the nature and content of the presentation stage.
4.2 Practice, consciousness-raising and the
role of meaning
The instructional procedures
helping learners to turn input into intake have been the focus of much debate.
Proponents of instruction focusing on the production of the newly introduced
linguistic form (i.e. practice) claim that through the learners’ overcoming
communication difficulties while producing “output that is precise, coherent,
and situationally appropriate” the new grammatical features become salient and
the learners’ grammatical competence is advanced (Long, 1983; also Swain, 1985 in Fotos & Ellis,
1991: 609-610). Faerch & Kasper (1986: 270) present “occasions for
rehearsal” as one of the factors promoting learning. Ellis (1992: 120) adds the
caveat that “practice may only facilitate acquisition directly if it is
communicative, i.e. meaning-focused in nature”.
The effectiveness of practice has been challenged, and
procedures have been proposed which do not require any immediate learner L2
output, but direct “the learner's attention to specific aspects of the input”
(Sharwood Smith, 1993: 175-176). Schmidt (1990: 139&149) argues that
consciously noticing the form is
critical for its subsequent processing. Similarly, Fotos (1993: 387) sees
noticing as an interface between explicit and implicit knowledge. Sharwood-Smith
(1991: 121) adds that merely noticing the form is not enough, but “what is
desired is ... acting on it, that is, learning something from it”. Fotos (1993:
387), Sharwood Smith (1986: 242), Van Patten (1985, 1987 in Schmidt, 1990: 144),
and Van Patten & Cadierno (1993: 227) suggest that noticing the form is
facilitated when the input is meaningful to the learner. Still, tasks directing
the learners’ attention to the form are needed since “they may have processed
the utterance simply for meaning and not noticed and stored the ... structure
manifest in the input” (Sharwood-Smith, 1993: 168).
Schmidt (1990: 143-144) argues
that learners are constrained regarding what and when they notice. Relevant determinants
are the frequency with which an item appears in the input (see 5.1 for a
caveat), task demands, and the perceptual salience of the grammatical form (e.g.
contracted forms are not easily perceived by children).
Regarding practice focusing only
on meaning (i.e. production), Faerch
& Kasper (1986: 270) state that it is unlikely that learners are able to
attend to their interlocutor's message while at the same time “consciously
perceiving formal characteristics of the input and comparing them to current IL
[interlanguage] rules”, a view shared by Van Patten (1989, 1990 in Tomlin &
Villa, 1994: 186). Lightbown & Spada (1994: 573) report research evidence
that in “mostly meaning-based instructional environments [learners] seems to
reach a plateau in the formal accuracy of their language use while their
communicative effectiveness continues to grow”. That is, when focus on form is
of secondary consideration the learners’ development to more advanced levels may
be impeded (see also Lightbown
& Spada 1993: 91-92).
4.3 Combining practice and
consciousness-raising
Since evidence for/against
practice and consciousness-raising is inconclusive and contradictory (e.g.
Ellis, 1992: 107-116 & 235-237; Fotos & Ellis, 1991; Nobuyoshi &
Ellis, 1993; Van Patten & Cadierno, 1993; White et al., 1991) TEFL
methodology would be wise to cater for both. Van Patten & Cadierno (1993:
239), and Fotos & Ellis (1991: 609) concluded that both
consciousness-raising and communicative practice are essential to grammar
teaching.
There are also two theoretical
frameworks which seem to call for their combination:
4.3.1
According to this model “language
generation is similar in character to other cognitive activities and its
structure is basically a problem-solving one” (Anderson, 1983: 267). ACT*
distinguishes between “declarative” (what) and “procedural” (how) knowledge (op. cit.: 19-23).
Declarative knowledge is
available to consciousness and can be used “as a set of instructions” to “guide
behaviour” through “interpretative”, “problem-solving”, or “analogy-forming”
procedures (op. cit.: 216-218).
Procedural knowledge is not conscious and only comes about by repeated
use of declarative knowledge in “productions”.
According to ACT*, knowledge
starts as declarative (in our case, rule-formation following exposure to a
language sample) (op. cit. 275-276), and gradually becomes procedural through
“strengthening” and “tuning” processes while using combined units of declarative
knowledge in “productions” (op. cit.: 215-217). It can be argued that
noticing/consciousness-raising will bring about declarative knowledge, whereas
practice will lead to, or enhance procedural knowledge.
4.3.2
According to this model
(Bialystok, 1990: 118), there are two aspects of language processing: “analysis
of linguistic knowledge” and “control of linguistic processing”. They are
independent (“specialised for a different aspect of processing”), and
interdependent. Furthermore, their development is “responsive to different kinds
of experience”.
At the level of analysis, the
model distinguishes between implicit
and explicit knowledge - lower and
higher levels of analysis respectively (op. cit.: 119). Implicit knowledge can
guide performance, but cannot be inspected; it also identifies the limits of
such performance (op. cit.: 120). On the other hand, explicit (or “symbolic
representation” of) knowledge “is independent of meaning and accessible to
inspection” (op. cit.: 121). One aspect of the development of language
proficiency is making the implicit knowledge which governs performance explicit
(i.e. analysing it). Analysed representation of knowledge “permit[s] the
relationships between the forms and the meanings and among the language forms
themselves to be examined separately and manipulated for various purposes”
(Bialystok & Bouchard Ryan, 1985: 211).
Control refers to the ability to
intentionally direct “attention to relevant and appropriate information and to
integrate these forms in real time” (Bialystok, 1990: 125). Its development
proceeds separately and responds to different experiences from that of analysis
(Bialystok & Bouchard Ryan, 1985: 216). Control applies to both explicit and
implicit knowledge (loc. cit.).
Consciousness-raising tasks are
expected to facilitate the development of explicit knowledge at the level of
analysis, whereas practice tasks are expected to lead learners to higher levels
of control.
5. A framework for the grammar
lesson
The framework proposed here
consists of the following main stages (not necessarily in that order): presentation, consciousness-raising, and (controlled
to free) practice. I will now briefly
outline the nature and content of each stage.
5.1 Presentation
In this stage the learners
receive input concerning a certain language phenomenon. Through various
presentation techniques the teacher leads the learners to notice the language
form in focus. Given the multi-dimensional relationship between form, concept
and function, as well as the time constraints and the limitations of human
memory, processing capacity and attention span (see Tomlin & Villa, 1994:
188) the aim of a grammar lesson should be limited to dealing with a single
form-concept-function combination (see Harmer, 1987: 9-11 & 17), or, if
appropriate, tackle contextually related functions. This combination should be
demonstrated clearly through an appropriate context (Garrod, 1986: 236;
Sharwood-Smith, 1993: 167; Widdowson, 1990: 95). Spratt (1985: 6-7)
distinguishes between situational and
linguistic context. She argues that
the former should be relevant to the learners’ experience, whereas the latter
should be “free from unnecessary language items”. As I see it, ‘unnecessary’
should be understood as relating more to the level of difficulty of the language
used, and less to the amount of it. The issue is not only to help learners
notice the target structure, but also to do so within a rich, realistic context.
To that purpose, I would suggest that when a reading/listening text is used as a
vehicle for the presentation of the target structure, a skills development stage
can precede presentation per se.4 Focusing learner attention on meaning
before shifting their attention to form achieves three goals. First, the concept
becomes clear; second, noticing is facilitated as learners have familiarised
themselves with the co-text; third, noticing is achieved within a “rich
communicative environment” (Sharwood-Smith, 1986: 242, 251). Nevertheless,
Spratt’s second point advises the use of non-linguistic clues to context (e.g.
pictures, drawings) even for more advanced learners.
The arguments for selective
manipulation and engineered salience discussed in 4.1 can be regarded as
advising against the use of specially created presentation texts in which the
target structure occurs in unnatural frequency (compared to corresponding
authentic texts). Issues of authenticity aside, what is needed, it is argued, is
not quantity but quality (i.e. salience). That is, appropriate teaching
techniques which will help learners to notice (i.e. focus their attention on) a
particular language item.
Care should be taken on the part
of the teacher to tackle alternative concepts/functions related to the same
form, or alternative forms related to the same concept/function in subsequent
lessons. This is because “a learner assumes each meaning to be encoded by a
single morphological form or structure, unless the language provides evidence to
the contrary” (Pinker, 1984 in Yip, 1994: 132). The teacher should, therefore,
make certain to provide such ‘language evidence’. Furthermore, such treatment of
structural elements will help learners “to see a particular feature ... not
merely as an isolated item but as part of an evolving system of
interrelationships which should become increasingly differentiated as it grows”
(Stern, 1992: 145).
5.2 Consciousness-raising
We will be concerned here with
what Ellis (1992: 239) terms inductive awareness-raising tasks5.
Learners carry out tasks which guide them to focus on the form (as opposed to
meaning). Such tasks enable learners to formulate a rule regarding the
concept-form combination within the restrictions of the particular context,
through “hypothesis testing and inferencing” (Rutherford & Sharwood-Smith,
1988 in Loschky & Bley-Vroman, 1993: 123). Such restrictions are necessary
since devising a comprehensive pedagogical generalisation (i.e. one that
incorporates all possible concept-form combinations in different contexts) is a
demanding enterprise even for grammarians, let alone learners (see Westney,
1994: 76-83).
Learners are not expected to
produce the target structure at this stage (Ellis, 1992: 235; Fotos, 1994: 326).
Since the aim is primarily “to call learner attention to grammatical features,
raising their consciousness of them” (Fotos, loc. cit.) non-linguistic
responses, or use of L1 (particularly for lower levels) should be acceptable.
Higher-level learners can be presented with “grammatical problems to solve
interactively” (Fotos, 1994: 325); that is, they focus on form, while at the
same time “they are also engaged in meaning-focused use of the target language”
(loc. cit.). Poor performance in such tasks will have to lead to more input,
either as “further data” or as “description/explanation” (Ellis, 1992: 234) -
the latter will, of course, invalidate the aims of this stage. Guidance and
feedback on the part of the teacher regarding salient features of the form will
facilitate the effectiveness of consciousness-raising tasks.
Consciousness-raising tasks are
at an advantage compared to practice ones in the case of beginners, as such
tasks require either L1, non-verbal, or minimal L2 responses. Teachers who feel
that their learners’ low level would make free practice a risky enterprise (as
failure and long silences are very probable, and may lead to frustration) can
focus more on awareness-raising tasks.6 They can use their learners’
performance during less controlled activities as an indicator of the success of
the lesson, and as feedback on which to base the planning of subsequent lessons
(but see 5.4 for reservations).
5.3 From controlled to free
practice
At the controlled end of the practice cline the
focus is only on form. The teacher has full control over which structure(s) will
be used by the learners in oral drills and exercises.7
Activities situated around the
middle of the practice cline retain focus on correct production, but also ensure
that learner production “sounds more communicatively authentic” (Littlewood,
1981: 10-11). Here learners are led to “recognise the communicative function” of
the linguistic form (op. cit.). Harmer (1987: 17) adds that such tasks should be
personalised (i.e. relevant to the learners’ experience). Here again the teacher exercises
considerable control, that is he/she leads learners “along a predetermined path
and towards a predetermined goal” (Kumaravadivelu, 1993: 80). Nevertheless,
there is some (albeit limited) room for learner ‘improvisation’.
At the production end of the
cline learners are expected to communicate; that is, the focus is (or appears to
be) only on meaning.8 This is when learners are given the opportunity
to experiment with the new form and incorporate it in their own production
(Cook, 1989: 82-83, Littlewood, 1981: 87-88). To ensure this, tasks have to
provide a context-purpose environment which will optimise the chances of the
particular form arising ‘naturally’. That is learners are led “along an
open-ended path, but towards a predetermined goal” (Kumaravadivelu, 1993: 80).
Byrne (1986: 2) offers a further merit of this stage, namely student motivation
through awareness “that they have learned something useful to them personally”.
5.4 Learner and teacher
feedback
During controlled practice
on-the-spot correction is advisable. Although the facilitative effect of
corrective feedback on the development of language proficiency has not been
positively substantiated (e.g. Ellis, 1994: 583-586 & 639-641; Schwartz,
1993: 160; White, 1991: 158; White et al, 1991: 418) there is a psychological
reason for its use, namely promotion of learner confidence. That is, learners
will feel that they receive helpful guidance and support, provided, of course,
that non-threatening correction techniques are employed, and the teacher
restricts correction to the structure in focus. For less controlled activities
and production tasks, corrective feedback should be delayed so as not to impede
communication between learners. It can either be given in the form of
consciousness-raising tasks (i.e. learners are presented with their own
inaccurate utterances and asked to comment and improve on them), or be the focus
of remedial lessons.
As regards teacher feedback,
learner output does not constitute concrete evidence of the learners’
(un)successful internalisation of a particular linguistic phenomenon (Sharwood
Smith, 1986: 249). What is more, expecting learners to internalise the new form
within a single lesson, or even a series of lessons, seems rather too optimistic
(to say the least). I would not go so far as to suggest that teachers do not
take learner output into consideration when planning subsequent lessons; what I
would suggest is that teachers keep in mind that language learning does not
follow a straight line of development. As a result, learner output may not show
evidence of learning, or may even suggest regression of some sort. It cannot be
stressed too emphatically that EFL teachers should afford time for gradual
development to take place.
Notes
1.
1. We will be concerned here with
the question of ‘how’ grammar can be taught more effectively. Therefore,
2.
2. Grammar lessons lend themselves
to integrating matters of pronucniation; nevertheless, pronunciation instruction
relevant to grammatical forms will not be tackled here since it falls outside
the scope of this article.
3.
3. Altering the sequence of stages,
as in a deep end type of lesson, i.e.
production è
identification of weak areas è
presentation è
practice (Byrne, 1986: 3; Johnson, 1981: 192-193) has no relevance to our
discussion since the only difference between a rigid and flexible sequencing
lies in the procedures for determining the structure(s) to be presented. What is
more, in both sequences presentation precedes practice.
4.
4. Such staging is, in fact,
preferable when the time available is longer than the usual 50-60 minutes. It is
particularly advisable for grammar consolidation and extension lessons at
intermediate and advanced levels.
5.
5. Good examples of
consciousness-raising tasks can be found in Bolitho & Tomlinson (1980).
Although the book is intended for language development of EFL teachers and
advanced students, the tasks can be adapted for learners of all
levels.
6.
6. Teachers should, of course, at
the same time proceed with gradually familiarising their students with
production tasks.
7.
7. I will adopt the classification
of classroom procedures presented in Kumaravadivelou (1993: 80), namely
“structural exercises”, “communicative activities” and “pedagogical tasks”.
These procedures correspond to the activities employed in the controlled,
semi-controlled and free practice stages respectively.
8.
8. The teacher will be monitoring
for correctness of form, as well as for other aspects of (un)successful
communication. Feedback will ideally be on both aspects as well.
References
Anderson, J. R. 1983. The Architecture of Cognition.
Bolitho, R. & Tomlinson, B.
1980. Discover English.
Heinemann.
Byrne, D. 1986 (new ed.) Teaching Oral English.
Longman.
Celce-Murcia, M. & Hilles, S.
1988. Techniques and Resources in
Teaching Grammar.
Cook, G. 1989. Discourse.
Ellis, R. 1992. Second Language Acquisition and Language
Pedagogy. Multilingual Matters.
Faerch, C. & Kasper, G. 1986.
‘The Role of Comprehension in Second-Language Learning.' Applied Linguistics 7/3.
Fotos, S. 1993. ‘Consciousness
Raising and Noticing through Focus on Form: Grammar Task Performance versus
Formal Instruction.' Applied Linguistics
14/4.
Fotos, S. 1994. ‘Integrating
Grammar Instruction and Communicative Language Use Through Grammar
Consciousness-Raising Tasks.' TESOL
Quarterly 28/2.
Fotos, S. & Ellis, R. 1991.
‘Communicating About Grammar: A Task-Based Approach.’ TESOL Quarterly 25/4.
Garrod, S. 1986. ‘Language Comprehension in Context: a
Psychological Perspective.' Applied
Linguistics 7/3.
Harmer, J. 1987. Teaching and Learning Grammar.
Longman.
Johnson, K. 1981. Communicative Syllabus Design and
Methodology. Pergamon Press.
Kumaravadivelu, B. 1993. ‘The
name of the task and the task of naming: Methodological aspects of task-based
pedagogy.’ In Crookes, G. and Gass, S. (eds) Tasks in a Pedagogical Context:
Integrating Theory and Practice. Multilingual Matters.
Lightbown, P.M. & Spada, N.
1993. How Languages are Learned.
Lightbown, P.M. & Spada, N.
1994. ‘An innovative program for primary ESL in
Littlewood, W. 1981.
Communicative Language Teaching.
Long, M. 1983. ‘Does second
language instruction make a difference? A review of the research.’ TESOL
Quarterly 17.
Loschky, L. & Bley-Vroman, R.
1993. ‘Grammar and Task-Based Methodology.' In Crookes, G. & Gass, S.M.
(eds.) Tasks and Language Learning.
Multilingual Matters.
Nobuyoshi, J. & Ellis, R.
1993. ‘Focused communication tasks and second language acquisition.' ELT Journal 47/3.
Schmidt, R. W. 1990. ‘The Role of Consciousness in Second
Language Learning.' Applied Linguistics
11/2.
Schwarz, B. 1993. ‘On explicit
and negative data effecting and affecting competence and linguistic behavior’.
Studies in Second Language Acquisition 15.
Sharwood Smith, M. 1986.
‘Comprehension versus Acquisition:
Sharwood Smith, M. 1991.
‘Speaking to many Minds.' Second Language
Research 7/2.
Sharwood Smith, M. 1993. ‘Input
Enhancement and Instructed Second Language Acquisition.' Studies in Second Language Acquisition
15/2.
Spratt, M. 1985. ‘Presentation',
'Practice', Production'. In Matthews, S. A., Spratt, M. & Dangerfield, L. (eds.)
At the Chalkface. Edward
Arnold.
Stern, H. H. 1992. Issues and Options in Language Teaching.
Tomlin, R. S. & Villa, V.
1994. ‘Attention in Cognitive Science and Language Acquisition.' Studies in Second Language Acquisition
16/2.
Van Patten, B. & Cadierno, T.
1993. ‘Explicit Instruction and Input Processing.' Studies in Second Language Acquisition
15/2.
Westney, P 1994. ‘Rules and
Pedagogical Grammar', in Odlin, T. (ed.) Perspectives on Pedagogical Grammar.
White, L. 1991. ‘Adverb placement in second
language acquisition: Some effects of positive and negative evidence in the
classroom.’ Second Language Research 7.
White, L., Spada, N., Lightbown,
P. M., Ranta, L. 1991. ‘Input
Enhancement and L2 Question Formation.' Applied Linguistics 12/4.
Widdowson, H. G. 1990. Aspects of Language Teaching.
Yip, V. 1994. ‘Grammatical
Consciousness-Raising and Learnability.' In Odlin, T. ed.) Perspectives on Pedagogical Grammar.
Copyright © 1994 by Costas Gabielatos
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.- USING SONGS FOR
EFFECTIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING
Our dear SHARER María del Pilar Martínez
wants to SHARE her experience with music in ELT with all of
us.
Singing along the road to effective
learning
“If you always do what you’ve
always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got…”
[ Music ] allows us to enter alternative worlds in which alternative schemata, including alternative language and text schemata, are used in processing. This is so because we relate to music in ways which are unique to us for [music] compensates for the illogicality, lack of connection and disorder of the real world. (de Beaugrande, 1981).
This article, based on research
on Psychoacoustics (the study of the perception of sound and of our
psychological responses) has as its main aim to prove that song lyrics and
acoustic images are a magic blend for teachers to foster interaction and
compromised opinion making.
These are times that call for
more than just teaching the essentials of grammar; these are times that call for more than
just teaching that there are unique answers for pre-set questions; these are
times that call for a real acceptance of meaningful answers that may, most of
the times, be outside the paradigms of what teachers rank as the right expected
answers. A language is not a scientific fact, it is a heartfelt system and, as
such, it is alive.
Psychoacoustics is the study of
the perception of sound, how we listen, our psychological responses, and the
psychological impact of music and sound on the nervous system.
This work is mainly based on
Psychoacoustics and has as its main aim to prove that song lyrics and acoustic
images are the magic blend teacher should try for they do certainly make the
trick in classrooms, they intensify the sense of self at the same time that they
foster interaction between and among people. Our eyes are blind to the rear half
of the world, our ears have no such limitations.
The music awakes in us a feeling
of identification, a sense of belonging to a community, hence its social value.
A “listening community” shares likes for singers and tunes which are unique to them; the truth is
that its members feel empowered by a sense of membership that equals to reaching
out togetherness. However, this social identification, at some moments, turns
into individual appropriacy, the listeners dive in songs, take to them and from
them and in this voyage from the outside to the inside they get into the “beyondside”. That is the site
where they construe meaning, the place where they fill in the gaps of the song
with their own memories, experiences, with their own knowledge of the world. The
beyondside could be pictured with an image, that of you taking a picture of
yourself in front of a mirror, you want to see yourself but you can’t, all you
get is you behind a camera, what you want is to see the you, you won’t get the
picture of your world inside other worlds, of your reflections, all that you get
is held by a frame which is real. The aim of teachers should be to get to the
unreal frames and make them happen. The beyondside is then the dimension where
learning takes place for. The listeners feel authorship over the music, over the
lyrics, they wish they had composed themselves for the tunes and the words take
them to imaginary realms in which they play the leading roles. These places are
the ones we teachers have to conquer if we really crave for effective learning
to take place. While listening to music, we can always fill in the unknown by
means of our stories/histories, we relate to music/lyrics in ways which are
unique to us. Thanks to our memories and through music we can get to recall and
foresee our whole life.
I believe that the key to
effective learning lies in making students feel that their personal
contributions, namely expressing opinions and voicing their feelings, worries,
and uncertainties, are the core of the class. The “how” is mainly related with
awakening in them the need to voice the way they view the world.
The hypotheses underlying my assumptions are:
Activities
“Singing along the road to effective
learning”
If you always do what you’ve
always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got…
Activity 1
Listen to the Sound Track of the movie Back to the Future and answer the questions:
Vocabulary bank:
|
make
your entrance – burst in – breeze in – barge in – sneak in – force your
way in – break in – troop in
- |
Vocabulary bank:
|
embarrassed – passionate – emotional – uncomfortable – awkward –
sentimental – matter-of-fact – desolate – dynamic – energetic – bright and
breezy – vivacious – lively – engrossed – enthusiastic – sad - miserable –
downcast –
wistful |
Over to you è
How do you feel when you enter a
classroom for the first time?
How do you enter? Do you strut
in? Do you shuffle in?
Activity 2
Listen to the song The Miracle by Queen:
1. -
………………………………………………………………..
2. -
………………………………………………………………..
3. -
………………………………………………………………..
Your definition goes
here:
Over to you è
Have you ever thought that
teaching is a miracle?
We teachers are bound to make
miracles every time we open a classroom door.
Activity 3
Listen to the song What a wonderful world by Louis Armstrong and answer the following questions:
My emotions:
Because of:
Over to you è
Is your classroom a wonderful
world?
If it isn’t, what can you do to
better it?
Have you thought that there are
thousands of worlds waiting for you
behind each classroom
door?
Activity 4
Listen to the song Igual que vos by Ignacio Copani
and complete:
Though /
Despite
I stay in
because
OVER TO YOU è
“Music is emotion specific, it
awakes in us the need to respond to what we hear in different ways. If you awake
this need in students you no longer have passive learners but highly compromised
human beings eager to have their say in class”.
Appendix:
Lyrics
What a Wonderful
World
as performed by Louis
Armstrong
I see trees of green, red roses
too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world!
I
see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day,
the dark sacred night
And I
think to myself
What a wonderful
world!
The colours of the rainbow
so pretty in the sky
Are also
on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands
saying
How do you do!
They're really
saying I love you!
I hear babies cry, I watch them grow
They'll learn
much more than
I'll ever know
And I think to
myself
What a wonderful world!
Yes I
think to myself
What a wonderful
world!
The Miracle
by Queen
Every drop of rain that falls in
It's a miracle
All God's creations great and small, the Golden
Gate and the Taj
Mahal
That's a miracle
Test tube babies being born, mothers, fathers
dead and gone
It's a miracle
We're having a miracle on earth, mother nature
does it all for us
The wonders of this world go on, the Hanging
Gardens of Babylon
Captain Cook and Cain and Abel, Jimmy Hendrix to the
It's a miracle, it's a miracle, it's a miracle,
it's a miracle
The one thing we're all waiting for, is peace
on Earth – an end to war
It's a miracle we need - the miracle The
miracle we're all waiting for today
If every leaf on every tree, could tell a story
that would be a miracle
If every child on every street, had clothes to
wear and food to eat
That's a miracle
If all God's people could be free, to live in
perfect harmony
It's a miracle, we're having a miracle on
Earth
Mother nature does it all for us the wonders of
this world go on
Open hearts and surgery, Sunday mornings with a
cup of tea
Superpowers always fighting But Mona Lisa just
keeps on smiling
It's a miracle, it's a miracle, it's a
miracle
The wonders of this world go
on
Well it's a miracle, it's a miracle, it's a
miracle, it's a
miracle
The one thing we're all waiting for Is peace on
Earth and an end to war
It's a miracle we need, the miracle, the
miracle
Peace on Earth and end to war
today
That time will come one day you'll see when we
can all be friends.
Igual que
vos
Ignacio Copani
Yo vivo acá, conozco bien cada detalle
del barrio, de esta calle, igual que
vos.
Me enamoré, pasé con diez, zafé con
cuatro
y soy
feliz de a ratos, igual que vos.
Y me han pegado en las costillas y en el alma
y me han robado la cartera y la
ilusión
los mismos monstruos que devoran
tu esperanza y te roban a
vos.
Yo vivo acá, bailando al ritmo de este
tango
Y el veinte sin un mango, igual que
vos.
Un ganador sólo el Domingo si hay
fortuna
Y festeja mi tribuna, igual que
vos.
Y aunque el color de camiseta es
diferente
Y no lo cambie ni aunque me lo pida
Dios
Y en el partido estés en el tablón de
enfrente
Yo soy igual que vos.
Sufro a tu lado, reís conmigo,
Sos mi adversario, mi rival, no mi enemigo.
Yo
vivo acá, más bien diría: sobrevivo,
me empujan pero sigo, igual que
vos.
La misma luz, el mismo barro en las rodillas,
las mismas pesadillas, igual que
vos.
Los mismos sueños de creer que nuestros hijos
serán un día dueños de un país
mejor,
como el que vi, o por lo menos parecido
al que viviste vos.
Yo vivo acá, con una flor, con cien espinas,
me quedo en la Argentina, igual que
vos.
Y por noventa minutitos de
alegría
me
aguanto siete días, igual que vos.
Y aunque los Lunes cuando pierdo me hagan
burla
Y aunque tu ídolo algún día me
amargó
Y aunque no entiendo cómo hinchás por esa
murga
Yo soy igual que vos.
Sufro a tu lado, reís conmigo,
Sos mi adversario, mi rival, no mi enemigo.
© 2003 by H. María del
Pilar Martínez
H. María del Pilar Martínez is a teacher trainer at I.S.F.D N°5 in Pergamino.
She has been a presenter at FAAPI Annual
Conference, Buenos Aires 2001, FAAPI Annual Conference, Salta 2003,IX Congreso
Nacional de Profesores y Estudiantes de Inglés, Buenos Aires 2003 and at X
Congreso Nacional de Profesores y Estudiantes de Inglés, Bahía Blanca 2004.
pilarteacher@hotmail.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
4.- POLÍTICA
EDUCATIVA: EL FIN DE LA EGB 3 EN LA PROVINCIA
DE BUENOS AIRES
Del
artículo publicado en La Nación del
12-12-04
Título: Cambian la EGB, habrá una presecundaria en sus últimos tres
años
A diez
años de la reforma educativa en la provincia de Buenos Aires, el gobierno de
Felipe Solá impulsa una profunda modificación en la enseñanza básica. El
objetivo es que desde el año próximo el tercer ciclo de la educación general
básica (EGB), que reúne a unos 800.000 alumnos, se convierta en una especie de
presecundaria, con matrícula, unidad curricular y autoridades propias.
Así lo
adelantó el director general de Cultura y Educación bonaerense, Mario Oporto.
“La idea es darle una identidad gradual al tercer ciclo de la EGB (7°, 8° y 9°
grados) para transformarlo en una especie de presecundaria”, dijo el
funcionario.[…]
El cambio en la EGB que impulsa el gobierno de Felipe
Solá pone en evidencia las severas fallas de la reforma educativa que en la
provincia fue desarrollada por la actual vicegobernadora, Graciela
Giannettasio.
Por ese motivo, el propio Oporto inició este año una rueda de
consultas entre investigadores, docentes, alumnos y políticos, que coincidieron
en la necesidad urgente de introducir cambios en el sistema educacional
bonaerense.
Precisamente, los cambios se concentrarán en la creación de las
direcciones del tercer ciclo. Es decir, a partir del año próximo cada escuela
tendrá su director de EGB 3. Además, este nivel escolar y el polimodal
compartirán una misma unidad curricular con el mismo tipo de evaluación, de
promoción y de asistencia escolar.
"Vamos a discutir el diseño curricular
durante todo el 2005 para aplicarlo en el 2006. Esto generará cambios en la
formación de los maestros, afianzando la enseñanza por disciplina y no por
áreas", dijo Oporto.
Otros cambios que pretenden introducir las autoridades
educacionales de la provincia es que los alumnos que cursen el tercer ciclo, lo
hagan en el mismo edificio. Y es que hoy muchos de los chicos que asisten a 7°,
8° y 9° grados lo hacen en distintos edificios. Incluso muchos adolescentes de
15 años conviven en una misma escuela con niños de 6 y 7 años.
"Los alumnos
de un colegio que cursan la EGB 3 tiene que estar juntos en el mismo edificio y
tener una autoridad propia reconocida; ser una unidad y separarse un poco del
resto, pues el último nivel de la enseñanza básica es donde ocurre el pasaje de
la niñez a la adolescencia", indicó el director de Escuelas.
El plan también
incluye cambios en la supervisión de las escuelas y en la estructura central del
sistema, que serán anunciados en el transcurso de esta semana.
"Cuando se
revise esta etapa de la historia de la educación nadie podrá negar que gracias
al tercer ciclo instalado en todas las escuelas de todos los barrios se alargó
en dos años la escolaridad de los chicos. Pero ahora es tiempo de cambios que
mejoren la calidad de la educación y que surgieron a raíz de la rueda de
consulta que se realizó este año. Mi objetivo es que todos los chicos extender
la escolaridad hasta el último año del polimodal", comentó Oporto.
Los
cambios en la enseñanza básica también incluirán a las escuelas técnica y
agrarias, que en la provincia suman unas 5000, y que ahora deberán incluir en su
oferta educacional el tercer ciclo de la EGB.
"Queremos formar un técnico
tanto para la industria como para el agro. Para eso es indispensable contar con
un mínimo de seis años de formación. Vamos a rescatar viejos oficios que hoy
vuelven a ser requeridos por un modelo económico de país que comienza a producir
más y a incorporar nuevos oficios vinculados a la innovación tecnológica que
requiere el mundo empresarial", dijo Oporto.
Según el responsable de
Educación bonaerense, hace dos años, con fondos de un crédito internacional, la
provincia destinó un promedio de 30.000 dólares para reequipar y modernizar los
talleres de las escuelas técnicas y agrarias.
"Hoy el problema que tienen
esos colegios, como tantos otros, es la falta de insumos y de material
didáctico. Por eso el año que viene vamos a crear una Dirección de Material
Didáctico. Este año invertimos ocho millones de pesos en materiales didáctico y
para el próximo año se le destinarán otros 70 millones, que serán invertidos de
acuerdo a las exigencias de esta nueva dirección", dijo el funcionario.[…]
Despacho informativo
lunes 13 de diciembre de 2004
Secretaría de Extensión Universitaria Cultura y
Comunicación Social
Rectorado - Universidad Tecnológica
Nacional
-----------------------------------------------------------
5.- THE FIFTH SAN LUIS
ENGLISH TEACHERS´CONFERENCE
Our
dear SHARER Laurie Sullivan Invites all SHARERS to his Fifth
Teachers´Conference
Date: 17th, 18th,
19th and 20th February
Place: Merlo, San Luis. Argentina.
Organising Institutions:Sullivan and Associates Teaching Resources
(Villa de Merlo), The William
Shakespeare Institute (San Luis), Instituto Cultural Argentino, (Villa
Mercedes).
Organising
Committee:Laurie Sullivan,
Alicia Carapí, Liliana Cuello, Cecilia Sabattini, Clara Muñiz, Melisa Almirón y
Priscila Fuertes
Plenary Speakers:
Omar Villarreal – Universidad Tecnológica Nacional
“Educating Robustiana” Teaching
English in
Jamie Duncan – Universidad Tecnológica
Nacional
“Juicing up our Lessons”
Caroline Gwatkin – “The Place”
“Colour your
Vocabulary”
Workshop Leaders:
Fernando Armesto - Universidad Tecnológica
Nacional
“Theatre Games”
Laurie Sullivan – Sullivan & Associates
“Big Teacher is watching
you”
Marta Baduy – Universidad Nacional de
Córdoba
“The Teaching of English to Young
Learners”
Julieta de Zavalía
“Peace Education”
H.Maria del Pliar Martinez – Instituto Superior de
Formación Docente Nro 5.
“Singing the way to Effective
Learning”
Registration Fees
Before January 15
After January 15
1
person.........................................$60 ...........................
$70
2 people enrolling together (each
one)........$56 ........................... $62
6 people enrolling together (each
one) .......$47 ........................... $56
8 people enrolling together (each
one) .......$40 ........................... $43
For further information and registration, contact: telephone: (02656) 476380,
e-mail: lstr@merlo-sl.com.ar
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6.- ADVICE
SUMMER SEMINAR
Our
dear SHARERS from Advice Bookshop invite all SHARERS to the 12th
edition of their Summer Seminar:
Advice 12th Summer
Seminar
17-18 February,
2005
Under
the auspices of ASPI- Asociación Santafecina de Profesores de
Inglés
Resolución Ministerial en
trámite
Venue: ADE – Urquiza 3108 Santa
Fé
Nick Beare
The Methodology
Maze
Omar Villarreal
Teaching Pre-Teens
and Teens: Planning for effective learning.
Efrain Davis
New Roles, New Challenges: The Teacher of XXI
Century
Patricia Gomez
Bring Stories to Life! Reading, Telling and
Acting out Stories
Gustavo Gonzalez
Songs to Learn… Lessons to
Enjoy!
Making “Friends”… in American and British
English
Caroline Gwatkin
Teaching English to Adults
Previews of The Performers’ 2005 Productions:
“Excalibur” “Tool Story” and “Romeo and Juliet” at
Teatro Luz y Fuerza
Registration:
Advice
Bookshop- San Martín 3031 Santa
Fé
T.E. 0342-4533392 - 0800-2226657 - Fax:
0342-4532194
E-mail: advice@arnet.com.ar /
advicebook@arnet.com.ar
Fee: ASPI members $35 - Non members $40 - The registration fee
is non-refundable
Vacancies are limited - Handouts of all
lectures are included in the fee
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7-
THIRD ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON APPLIED DRAMA
Our dear SHARER Celia Zubiri has an important
announcement to make:
Dear colleagues and friends,
I am very much pleased to invite
you to the 3RD.
ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON APPLIED
DRAMA that will take place at our headquarters, Teatro Santamaría in the
city of Buenos Aires, on February 21,
22 and 23, 2005.
My first objective in this event
is to make it innovating, useful, practical, stimulating and enjoyable. It might
sound too ambitious but I am truly convinced that through drama you and your students may
develop skills and attitudes that are useful in learning and life. Thus, this
conference is for Coordinators, teachers and teachers-to-be who are willing to
improve not only their day-to-day teaching but their general knowledge about
this "new trend" that paradoxically is as old as Aristotle. It is not a question
of speaking about drama but learning more about it in order to know how to apply
it.
Some topics and top quality
professionals have already been selected .I have added some more sessions due to
teachers’ demand and there is still more to come .
I look forward to seeing you at
this Conference.
Celia Zubiri
Managing Director
The Bs As Players
Registration form, fees,
discounts and deadlines for enrolment, please visit our web site: www.thebsasplayers.com
This event is organized by The Bs. As. Players and sponsored by: Kel Ediciones,
Share e-Magazine, AACI, APIBA, Buenos Aires
Herald
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8- CREANDO LÍDERES EN
VALORES
Our dear SHARER and friend Laura
Szmuch has sent us this invitation:
Taller gratuito: Creando líderes en
valores, con Pilar Quera
Cuando se cuida al otro, éste responde en forma
positiva. El liderazgo es una actitud; es la energía intangible que compartimos
con otros. La forma más común en que un líder sabotea sus capacidades es no
tomar responsabilidad por sí mismo de sus pensamientos, sentimientos y
actitudes. Si un lider culpa a su equipo, pierde
autoridad.
Pilar Quera nos enseñara en un taller de tres
horas, como alcanzar un liderazgo productivo en valores, de forma que seamos
capaces de guiar a través de nuestro propio ejemplo.
Martes 21 de diciembre de 9 a 12
hs.
Taller gratuito- Para más informes e inscripción comunicarse con
Laura Szmuch lauraszmuch@aol.com o con liniers@bkumaris.org.ar 4641-1824, Dr Mario Cavaco
Pilar
Quera
Educadora española, Formadora de
Formadores, diplomada en magisterio, especialidad en filología. Coordinadora
para España e Ibero América del Programa Educativo "Valores para Vivir"
coordinado conjuntamente por el Comité Español del UNICEF-Madrid y la
Organización Brahma Kumaris, apoyado mundialmente por UNESCO, que actualmente
forma parte del movimiento global a favor de una cultura de la paz en el marco
de la Década Internacional para una Cultura de la Paz y la No Violencia para los
niños y niñas del mundo. Ha dictado cursos de formación para educadores,
directivos de escuelas en España, Reino Unido, Brasil, Perú, Chile, Bolivia,
Colombia, Argentina, Costa Rica y ha cooperado en diferentes Ministerios
de Educación sobre la construcción del Currículum en Valores. Escritora,
directora de la colección de libros "Micro-Macro Referencias" relacionados
con la educación, y en particular una de las autoras de dos manuales sobre la
Educación en Valores que dan soporte al programa Valores para Vivir, usado por
educadores de habla hispana en todo el mundo.
By the way, have you already got
a copy of Laura´s excellent book “Aprendiendo Inglés y disfrutando el proceso”?
If you haven´t, contact Laura at lauraszmuch@aol.com
------------------------------------------------------------
9.- YOUR COOPERATION
REQUIRED
Our dear SHARER and friend Susan Hillyard has submitted us the following questionnaire with a note from Alan Maley, OUP editor.
What
IS an Advanced Learner?
Questionnaire please return to: julia.sallabank@oup.com
I am conducting a small research project designed to find out more about the needs of ‘advanced’ learners of English. I would be most grateful if you could spend a few moments answering the questions below. I shall be happy to acknowledge your help if I publish the results. In this case, please add your name to the bottom of the questionnaire. I shall also respect your wishes if you prefer to remain anonymous. I leave the choice to you. Thank you for your help.
Alan Maley.
1. Background information:
What is your first language?
What is your country of residence?
How and where did you learn English?
For how many years?
What qualifications do you hold in English?
How often do you use English, and for what purposes?
2 How would you characterize an advanced learner of English? What are the key characteristics for you?
3. Do you consider yourself to be an advanced learner? If so, why? If not, why not?
4. In which area(s) of language use (in English) do you feel you are most competent? (Vocabulary, syntax, phonology, reading, writing, listening, oral expression, etc)
5. Is there any one area where you less confident of your competence? Is there any special reason for this?
6. Is there any area of language use where you feel you have ‘fossilised’ or ‘plateaued’?
7. If you were to decide to make a conscious effort to improve your level of English, which learning mode would you be most comfortable with? (Self-study? One-to-one with a ‘native speaker’? One-to-one with someone from your own language group? In a small language class?)
8. What kinds of learning activities would you prefer to engage in? For example: making oral presentations, writing academic papers, conducting simulated meetings, interviews etc., doing personal research into items of grammar or vocabulary, doing projects, doing creative writing, working on reading speed, etc. Please feel free to add to this list.
9. If you were to decide consciously to improve your level of English, what would be the main reason for doing so? Personal satisfaction? Professional added-value? Some other reason?
10. Please add any ideas about advanced language learning which may have occurred to you while responding to the above questions. (For example, any ideas based on anecdotes from your own language learning history; views about the importance of ‘sounding like a native speaker’; etc.)
11. If you are (or have been) a teacher of English as a Foreign or Other Language, please answer these additional questions:
· What makes Advanced Learners especially difficult to teach?
· What particular learning problems do they have?
· What techniques / activities have you found most successful in teaching them?
· As a teacher, do you still regard yourself as an Advanced Learner?
· What kinds of published materials do you think would best address the needs of Advanced Learners? (For example: coursebooks, reference material, accessible reading material, Internet resources, self-study guides, etc.)
Name: (optional)
------------------------------------------------------------
10.- ALL TRAINING IN
FEBRUARY
Our
dear SHARER Maria Marta Suarez announces:
Upgrade your teaching and your
income!
Offer your Customers Innovative
Holistic Programmes in 2005
Dear Colleague,
If you would like to join
the international network of holistic schools and teachers and...
Looking forward to hearing from
you,
María Marta
Suárez
mms@allmethod.com
Summer 2005 Teacher Trainings
Courses
ALL English for kids® & ALL English for
pre-school® - February 16 -17 & 18 -
ALL English for Juniors® & ALL English
for Seniors® - February 21-22 & 23 -
ALL English for babies® -
February 21 & 22 -
DISCOUNTS: Enrol by December 30th
and get a 20% discount on the total franchising fee!
FREE: If you stock material, you
and your school staff can be trained for free!
ALL Alternative Language
Learning®
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Phone: (0054) (11) 4821 – 0280 - Fax: (0054)
(11) 4827 - 1396
www.allmethod.com - www.englishforbabies.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
11.-
ELECTRONIC VILLAGE 2005
Our dear SHARERS from
ARTESOL would like to announce
the up-coming pre-TESOL online sessions. For further information, visit : http://www.geocities.com/ehansonsmi/evo2005/announce.html
The
Electronic Village Online 2005
Filming and Editing for the ESL/EFL
Classroom
Nicolas Gromik, Japan
Video and Digital Media Interest Section
(IS)
Becoming a Webhead: A
Hands-on Workshop on How to use Web
Communication Tools for Language
Teaching and Learning
Teresa Almedia d'Éça, Portugal, and Dafne González,
Venezuela
Computer-Assisted Language Learning IS
Effective Techniques
for Teaching English Through Drama
Gary Carkin and Judy Trupin, USA
Drama
E-group
Using Weblogs in ESL/EFL Classes: New Developments, Uses, and
Challenges
Bee Dieu, Brazil, Aaron Campell, Japan
Graham Stanley, Spain,
Sean Smith, Korea
Teacher Education IS
English (EFL) Across the
Curriculum
Michael Morrissey, Germany, and María Jordano del Torre,
Spain
Higher Education IS
Combining Cooperative Learning and Global
Education
George Jacobs, Singapore
TESOLers for Social Reponsibility
Caucus
Creating Online Language Games
Marmo Soemaro, USA and
Japan
Computer-Assisted Language Learning IS
Using Online Templates to
Create Classroom Activities
JoAnn Miller, Mexico
Computer-Assisted
Language Learning IS
Involving Senior Citizen Volunteers in ITA
Programs
Caroline Rosen, Minnesota, USA
International Teaching Assistants
IS
Teaching with VOAnews
Patricia Orsi, Argentina, and Liliana Orsi,
USA
English for Special Purposes IS
Using Moodle with Diverse
Populations
Jaime Lineham Smith, and Sarah McGregor, USA
Intensive English
Programs IS
Strengthening ITA programs in the Face of Budget Cuts and
Falling Enrollment
Barbara Schroeder, USA
International Teaching
Assistants IS
Making the Transition from ESL to ESP
Christine
Parkhurst, USA, and Buthaina Al Othman, Kuwait
English for Special Purposes
IS
Establishing and Maintaining 'Web Presence'
Vance Stevens,
UAE
Computer-Assisted Language Learning IS
--------------------------------------------------------------
12- XIX FOREIGN
Our dear SHARERS from Universidad
de Colima,
XIX Foreign
"Professionalization in Language Teaching”
The University of Colima, through
the Faculty of Foreign Languages invites specialists, researchers and teachers
of languages in Mexico and the world to participate in the XIX Feule Conference
that will be held in Colima, Mexico on March 7, 8, 9 y 10 2005
The following topics will be
discussed:
The forum is open to all languages from an academic perspective. There is no official language. Although this call for papers is presented in three languages (English, Spanish and French), proposals are welcome in any other language as well. More information at
http://digeset.ucol.mx/caal/index.htm
Contact
(52) 312 316 1179
Email cael@ucol.mx
Send your proposals in Word,
Arial 12 font. Don’t forget to include all contact information, such as name,
institution, address, email, telephones, fax, city, state, zip code and country.
Deadline:
In your proposal, include the
full name of speakers as they should appear in the program. The title of your
intervention, which should not exceed 9 words and an abstract of 100 to 200
words. Biodata of speaker or speakers should also accompany your proposal, and
it should be no more than 100 words in length. If your proposal is accepted, you
will be asked to submit a longer version of your work for publication in the
conference memoirs. This should be between 1000 and 4000 words in
length.
Make sure to indicate whether your presentation is a lecture, workshop, roundtable, etc. and how much time you need. Normally presentations do not exceed 60 minutes and workshops 120 minutes.
--------------------------------------------------------------
13.- CASOC´S 30Th
ANNIVERSARY
CASOC Clara Muñiz y Asociados is pleased to
announce its 30 years of uninterrupted work in the business
setting.
Our professionalism and ethical profile has
enabled us to stay for so long in the market.
We greatly thank all those who have helped us
make it possible.
We are also grateful to all our colleagues and
clients who attended the cocktail party held at the Círculo Italiano on October
29th.
We would also like to invite all teachers to
embrace the concept of continuous improvement in our professional life. Check our Web page: www.casocweb.com.ar for upcoming
professional training workshops.
On behalf of all SHARERS: Our heartfelt
congratulations!
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15- EDUCACIÓN, LENGUAJE Y
SOCIEDAD
La revista Educación, Lenguaje
y Sociedad (ISSN
1668-4753) convoca a investigadores y docentes interesados en publicar
artículos y reseñas. Educación, Lenguaje
y Sociedad es una
publicación anual que edita trabajos de investigación originales y acepta
contribuciones sin otra restricción que la evaluación positiva de sus
evaluadores externos.
Los artículos no pueden exceder las 25 páginas
a doble espacio y deben presentarse en versión impresa (papel A4) junto con su
archivo informático (por correo electrónico o diskette). En la página inicial
debe constar el título del artículo, nombre/s del/a/s autor/a/s, afiliación
institucional, dirección postal, teléfono, fax y dirección electrónica. En el
cuerpo del artículo no debe consignarse ningún nombre o referencia de los cuales
pudiere inferirse la autoría del trabajo, ya que será sometido a referato
anónimo externo. El estilo de citas y documentación seguirá las pautas del APA Manual of
Style
Plazos: el plazo para la entrega de los
originales vence el 30 de marzo de 2005
Informes: Instituto para el Estudio de la
Educación, el Lenguaje y la Sociedad. Facultad de Ciencias Humanas. Universidad
Nacional de La Pampa. Centro Universitario. Calles 9 y 110
(6360) General Pico, Argentina TE/FAX
54-2303-421041 E-mail: ieles@humgp.unlpam.edu.ar
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Today we
would like to finish this issue of SHARE with a message that our dear SHARER
Betina
Miretti from Saint Paul´s Institute in Goya sent us:
I said a prayer for you today
And know God must have heard
-
I felt the answer in my heart
Although He spoke no
word.
I didn´t ask for wealth or
fame,
I knew you wouldn´t
mind,
I asked Him to send treasures
Of a far more lasting kind
I asked that He´d be near you
At the start of each new day
To grant you health and blessings
And friends to share your
way.
I asked for happiness for you
In all things great and small
But it was for His loving care
I prayed the most of all
.
HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK
Omar and Marina.
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SHARE is distributed free of charge. All
announcements in this electronic magazine are also absolutely free of charge. We
do not endorse any of the services announced or the views expressed by the
contributors. For more information about the characteristics and
readership of SHARE visit: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/ShareMagazine
VISIT
OUR WEBSITE : http://www.ShareEducation.com.ar
There you can read all past issues of SHARE in the section SHARE ARCHIVES.
------------------------------------------------------------------------