The communicative classroom

Most present-day practitioners would probably like to think that their classes are "communicative" in the widest sense of the word. Their lessons probably contain activities where learners communicate and where tasks are completed by means of interaction with other learners. To this end... [more]

Rings a bell, doesn't it? Right now, when we happen to be discussing the challenges of communicative language teaching at college, Tim Bowen (via Macmillan) shares a most interesting article on the issue. Definitely an opportunity not to be missed!


I invite you to enjoy Bowen's article (just follow the link!) and come back here to share your reactions:
1. What idea has caught your attention the most?
2. What relationships can you establish between Bowen's ideas and the ones discussed so far either in class or by the authors you've been reading?
3. Would you describe your own teaching as communicative? Why (not)?

That's all for today...
Have a nice weekend!

Gladys

You plan what you are

Great teacher Alistair writes:

When we plan our courses, the syllabuses we draw up reflect the ideas we have about teaching. If we think that grammar is one of the most useful tools, then there will be lots of grammar in the plan. If we think that functional work is the way to go then this will dominate. Likewise with skills, if we feel that the development of language skills rather than language is the road to success, we might take a more task-based approach…

(you can read more about this, and even subscribe to his free newsletter here)

As we are right in the middle of our discussion on lesson planning, I couldn't help but think this idea perfectly applied to the aims you set for your lesson plans... Do you agree? And how much do you like the image of yourself your lesson aims show?

See you next Fri!
Gladys

How do teens perceive their academic self?

We read in Mid-March '10 Edition of Dr Kathie Nunley's Educator's Newsletter:

High School students' academic self-concept is influenced not only by the achievement levels of other students in their class (so called, "frame of reference" effect) but also by the prestige or standings of the school they attend (so called,"reflected glory" effect). In a large study, researchers found that among equally achieving students, those placed in high-achieving learning groups had lower academic self-concepts than their peers. But, the negative effects of being placed in high-achieving learning groups were weaker for high-achieving students. For both groups, academic self-concept was positively influenced by their perceived school standings in the community. Trautwein, U., et al. (2009). Within-school social comparison: How students perceive the standing of their class predicts academic self-concept.

Journal of Educational Psychology, 101(4), 853-866.

Interesting, don't you think?

Gladys

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A CLIL lesson plan

Just before classes at TTC start once again, why not have a look at...

... Carol Read's Amazing world of animals?

In this six-lesson CLIL project children build up their language skills and learn about different aspects of animal life in order to create a magazine/e-zine.

Have you ever implemented any CLIL lessons yourself? Would you try something similar with teen learners or adults? Or do you think such an approach would only work with young learners?

Gladys