Unit 3 Instructor's Notes

Unit 3 Reading
Teaching Productive Skills
Teaching Speaking
There is more to a good speaking lesson than just chatting. Many teachers
say, “When I don’t want students to talk, I can’t get them to be quiet. But when I
want a discussion, there is silence. At other times, only one or two of the most
confident students talk, and everyone else looks down at their books.” Here are
a few techniques that lead to successful discussions in the classroom.

1) Avoid discussions with the whole group. Use pairs or small

groups. Only the most confident students will quickly answer questions
in front of many people. A simple, quick technique is to say, “Turn to your
partner and talk with him about the question for two minutes.” After this
step, more students will be ready to contribute. Even better, in most
situations, is to use pairs or small groups for speaking activities. Another
important reason to avoid whole group discussions is that the teacher
often dominates them. Scrivener (2005) calls this “the ‘talk-talk loop’, in
which you (the teacher) say something, but because there is no
response from the learners, you say something else, and again with no
response you add something else, etc.” (p. 146).

2) Find ways to balance the talking so a few students cannot dominate

the discussion. Every class has a talker, and that person can be helpful
in starting discussions. However, it is the teacher’s responsibility to find
ways to involve quieter students. One suggestion: During monitoring of
the pair work, you hear good points. Then begin your follow-up by
saying, “Marta, Maria was telling you a funny story about her cousin’s
dog. What was that?” Asking people to report what their partners have
 told them encourages active listening and makes shyer students more
comfortable.

3) Avoid closed, boring, or vague questions.

Closed question 1:“Do you like dogs?” Answer: “Yes.” (Done)

Closed question 2: “Which is better, dogs or cats?” “Dogs.” (Done)

Try a more open question: “What kind of person has a dog for a pet?
What kind of person has a cat for a pet? Which are you?”

Boring question: “Talk to your partner about animals you find in the
desert.” Unstated response: “Why? Who cares?”

Try a more interesting question: “Imagine you were lost in the desert.
What animals would you eat? How would you catch them?”

Vague question: “Are animals important?” Unstated response: “What

are you talking about?”

Try a clearer question: “With your partner, list three animals that do
something for people. Describe the jobs they do for us.”

4) Plan time limits for discussions. Change them in interesting

ways. Most discussion topics have time limits. For beginners, that might
be only a few minutes. Then the teacher should change the question or
the partners. Repetition can be very helpful in speaking exercises. It is
often a good idea to ask students to discuss the same question with a
new partner. If the question is quite short, ask all the students to stand
and ask three to five people for an answer. (We call this a mingle.)
Another choice is to change the question after a set period of time. For
example, after intermediate students discuss the last question about
animals’ jobs for seven minutes, you might write this question on the
board: “If animals don’t do a job for humans (penguins, flies) is it
important to preserve them? Why or why not?”

Scrivener (2005) provides this quick plan for speaking lessons: (p. 147)
 Planning it
You need: A relevant topic; an initial cue; follow-on cues
Teaching it
Techniques: Open questions
Monitor participation levels
Invite people in
Avoid the ‘Talk-talk’ loop
Listen more than talk
Play devil’s advocate when appropriate
Commented [DT1]: Stages for a speaking lesson
Here is a basic structure that I have used successfully: 1) Create interest
2) Pre-teach OR MODEL helpful phrases
* Create interest in the topic. This could be as simple as writing a 3) Allow time to think
4) Begin discussions – teacher monitors
provocative topic on the board or showing some pictures or a 5) Change pairs, groups – meanwhile gather few
responses
news video clip. 6) Provide a brief error correction slot – not during the
speaking fluency exercise
* Pre-teach or model some helpful phrases, if needed. Keep this
brief. This step only exists to support the following discussion.

* Allow students a little time to think about the question.

* Begin discussion (or other type of speaking task) in pairs. The

teacher monitors.

* Change the grouping: pairs become groups of four or students

change partners.

* Close the discussion by briefly gathering a few responses from the

group.

* Provide a brief error correction slot (perhaps “Find the incorrect

sentence on the board”) at the end of a speaking activity. This
reminds students that you were listening and that they were
working on language. Do not offer error correction during the
speaking fluency exercise.

Teaching Writing
 What is involved in learning to write in a new language? Before
planning writing lessons, teachers need to consider their learners, their
languages, and their needs in English. There have been trends in the
teaching of writing in English. Historically, writing translations was a key method
of language learning. Over the past 100 years, learning strategies have been
developed based on speaking. These techniques met their goals of increasing
communicative skills, but they sometimes failed to address the writing needs of
students.

What are learners’ needs? Some students need academic writing skills.
There are rigorous tests of writing required of foreign students for admission to
most universities in English-speaking countries. Once enrolled, students need
to take notes, write reports, and pass essay exams. People planning to take
advanced English courses in their own countries may also need these skills.
Business people have ever expanding needs to write. In the past, most
business was regional, and communication often took place through letters
dictated to secretaries. In contrast, today’s businesspeople at all levels need to
write quick emails, proposals, and reports to conduct work around the globe.
According to business writing specialist Wilma Davidson (2001), “business
people spend an average of 30 percent of their work time writing” (p. 5). Much
of this writing is in English, which has become the lingua franca of the world.
People who work in jobs without much writing in English, such as call centers,
may still need to complete forms and write brief notes. They need basic skills in
writing. Therefore, assessing the needs of our students and
designing appropriate activities that reflect those needs is quite important in this
Commented [DT2]: Conclusion: I need to know the
skill area. students needs to address them properly in terms of
writing.
Two important terms are product and process writing. While there
are instances in which product writing work is useful (how to complete job
applications correctly, for example), process writing is often our focus in
language classes. We do not want a stack of essays on the teacher's desks that
only one person will ever read. Instead, we want these papers read, discussed,
revised, and passed around our classrooms, because that process supports
and integrates writing with the other language skills. As Barbara Kroll explains,
“What the term (process approach) captures is the fact that student writers
engage in their writing tasks through a cyclical approach rather than through a
single-shot approach. They are not expected to produce and submit complete
and polished responses to their writing assignments without going through
stages of drafting and receiving feedback on their drafts, be it from peers and/or
from the teacher” (p.221). Using process writing formats, students read each
others' work and provide suggestions. Students rewrite their work based on the
review process. The feedback on writing is student-centered, building all
Commented [DT3]: Process x product approach
language skills.
Product approach
References: Most common
Students learn how to write, teacher corrects.
Davidson, W. (2001). Business writing: What works and what won’t Teacher corrects all the exercises
(2nd ed.). NY: St. Martin's Griffin.
Process approach
Harmer, J. (2007). The practice of English language teaching (4th ed.) Essex: Less common
Other students participate in helping their fellow students
Pearson Education. to write better by assessing them, receiving feedback from
one another,
Kroll, B. (2001). Considerations for teaching ESL/EFL writing course. In M. For that it is necessary to use a process writing format.
Celce-Murcia (Ed.), Teaching English as a second or foreign language (pp. Feedback here is student centered and they can use other
language skills to provide review
219-232). Boston: Heinle.
Scrivener, J. (2005). Learning teaching. (2nd ed.) Oxford: Macmillan.
Last modified: Thursday, 30 July 2015, 2:08 PM

Link: https://www.fluentu.com/blog/educator-english/esl-teaching-strategies-styles/

7 Learning Styles: An ESL Teaching Strategy That Works

When we think about lesson planning, the saying, “It’s not what you do, it’s how
you do it” rings especially true.
I like to tell teachers and educators, “It’s not the lessons you planned, it’s how
you planned your lessons.”
You may have created a brilliant lesson plan on paper, but if you don’t have a
strategy to actually carry it out in the classroom, you are heading for some
bumpy rides and unpleasant surprises!
Thankfully, a solid ESL teaching strategy remedies all that by giving you a map
and a compass to navigate your ESL classroom.
The students you interact with have different personalities, learning styles and
preferences. A great ESL teaching strategy is one that integrates a variety of
methods and techniques — appealing to this diversity of students — while
allowing you to maintain relative flexibility to adapt to various classroom
situations.
Students are humans, too. They differ from each other in their preferences.
When it comes to learning a new language, each student receives, processes
and stores information differently. Some students may thrive using traditional
papers and pencils, while others prefer collaboration and even hands-on
activities. If their ideal learning styles are not recognized in the classroom,
studying becomes drudgery — and students who have a hard time tend to lose
their motivation.
Luckily, reaching out to different students isn’t guesswork for ESL teachers
anymore.
Differences in student preferences have been loosely categorized into 7 major
learning styles.
The categories are defined broadly, and it’s not uncommon to find students that
fit into more than one. Sure, you may have an oddball who doesn’t seem to fit
into any group — but by appealing to these major learning styles and shaking
up your classroom routine, you will be well on your way to reaching more
students than ever before.
We have included a comprehensive description of the seven learning styles
below. Recommended classroom activities and teaching strategies are also
included as a bonus to help you to be a better, strategic ESL teacher!
1. Visual (spatial)
Pictures, images and spatial understanding are the preferred learning media of
visual learners. These learners love to see lessons come to life, and often sit at
the front of the class to not only get a full view of their teacher’s body language
and facial expressions, but also to avoid potential visual obstructions (and
distractions).
Tips for Teachers:
Visual learners are your detailed note takers. They think in pictures and learn
best from visual displays, slide shows, posters, clips and other visual tools.
Sometimes, simple things like writing an outline of your grammar lesson on the
board will also satisfy your visual learners’ desire to take notes and capture
everything in their own creative and vivid manners.
2. Aural (auditory-musical)
Auditory learners rely primarily on music and sound for their learning.
Information is often best acquired through verbal lectures, discussions and mini-
presentations.
Tips for Teachers:
Auditory learners interpret the underlying meanings of words
through listening to the tone, pitch, speed and other phonological nuances of
your speech. Because written information may have little meaning to these
students, auditory learners enjoy reading text aloud and may even bring a tape
recorder to record your lecture. While your auditory learners are perfectly
content with you giving a 60-minute lecture, strategically integrating audio
books, songs and movies into your lesson will stimulate their brain and wake up
your non-auditory learners.
3. Verbal (linguistic)
These are students who learn best through words regardless of whether they
are communicated in speech or writing. When learning something new,
students who belong to this category prefer hearing a detailed explanation over
viewing a physical, visual demonstration.
Tips for Teachers:
Like the auditory learners, verbal learners thrive in a traditional classroom
lecture. However, they are also very interpersonal and welcome opportunities to
interact with words and sounds through discussions, asking questions and
teaching others. In general, verbal learners make great teacher’s helpers and
thrive in group activities that involve lots of interactions and words.
4. Physical (kinesthetic)
Your hyperactive students may simply be your curious kinesthetic learners who
prefer using their body, hands and sense of touch to explore the world. These
students tend to have trouble sitting for long periods of time, but with the right
strategy you may be able to enthrall these energizer bunnies.
Tips for Teachers:
Kinesthetic students are easily distracted and are often the classroom culprit for
distracting others. Instead of countering them with commands or harsh words,
striking a healthy balance between quiet and hands-on activities will allow these
active learners to touch, feel and experience the fullness of their lessons. In
fact, ESL games such as pantomime and charades are not only great for giving Commented [DT4]: One S says a syllable, the other has to
complete with the word. Good exercise after pre-teaching
your kinesthetic learners an opportunity to redirect their energy, but also for re- vocab
invigorating your half-awake class.
5. Logical (mathematical)
These students prefer using logic, reasoning and systems. You may find them
to have a keen sense for numbers, sequence association and problem solving.
Tips for Teachers:
As a teacher, you can feed your logical students by including classroom
activities that involve multi-step processes, data collection, and mysteries. You
could break things like gender and verb conjugations into tables and charts.
When relevant, create worksheets that incorporate geometry and money so
your logical/mathematical students (along with the rest of the class) can have a
practical ESL experience.
6. Social (interpersonal)
Group learning streamlines the learning experience of social/interpersonal
learners. They are quite verbal and are always anxious to apply what they have
learned in interactive settings.
Tips for Teachers:
Give your social butterfly a chance to spread their wings and fly with meaningful
activities. Teach a lesson on social awareness, etiquette or cultural differences.
Incorporating peer editing, peer teaching and group discussions into the
curriculum will dramatically enrich the learning experience of these happy
talkers.
7. Solitary (intrapersonal)
As the name suggests, these kind of students are your quiet angels who can
work alone with minimal directions from the teacher. Oftentimes mistaken as the
shy ones of the classroom, solitary learners can be quite extroverted when
given the opportunity.
Tips for Teachers:
The desire for self-study keep solitary learners away from active, voluntary
classroom participation. In a group setting, your solitary learner may seem
reserved, inactive or even indifferent. To engage your solitary learners and keep
them from finishing an entire group project on his/her own, teachers are
encouraged to have a more structured group activity that assigns distinctive
tasks and roles to every individual of the group.
Get Students Hooked on Creativity and Fun
It’s not just about learning types, it’s about giving your students a well-rounded
and complete in-class learning experience. Ultimately, by shaking things up and
incorporating different teaching techniques in your classrooms, you students will
walk in never knowing what to expect from that day’s lessons. They will stay
fresh, enthusiastic and motivated when they know that each class will have new
activities and fun learning adventures in store.
This will play out a bit differently in each unique class. No classroom is the
same, and every student is unique. The animated classroom you enjoy for your
morning class may be drastically different from — if not directly at odds with —
your evening class. Because an ESL classroom is always dynamic and
evolving, it’s important for you to develop your ESL teaching strategies around
your students.
Start today by observing, interacting and identifying the learning styles of your
ESL students. Experiment with a myriad of teaching techniques and activities to
get a comprehensive overview of your classroom culture and general learning
preference. And, as always, remember to maintain a flexible ESL teaching
strategy so you and your students can fully enjoy the thrill of English learning,
together!