Part 1: Proposal for Change

1. 1 Teaching/learning context

My context is teaching ‘English for Specific Purposes’ (ESP) in a bilingual program in a biology

class attached to a public secondary school in Indonesia. English is not the students’ language. The

students’ aims are to master biology-related English skills to be able to learn biology. This is a regular

semester class consisting of three hours and 20 minutes of lessons per week divided into two

meetings per week, one is 80 minutes, and the other 120 minutes. I am the only teacher to teach in

the bilingual biology program. Thus, I cover 10 hours for three classes per week.

My approach is focusing on teaching particular content in an English-medium, ‘Content-Based

Instruction’ (CBI) and the model used is a type of ‘instructional scaffolding’; that of ‘bridging’.

‘Bridging’ makes it easier for students to learn a new concept because it provides a link to their prior

knowledge. This model allows them to see that their life experiences are relevant and important to

what they learn in the classroom. This reduces their worries and allows them to become confident in

the topic taught. As a result, it gives positive effect to their academic progress (Walqui, 2008).

At the present time, the instruction, the resources and the activities in the biology class, are

presented and written using biology-related English terms (e.g., ‘concentration gradient’, ‘hypotonic’

and ‘neurotransmitter’). Furthermore, the class provides opportunities for the students to practise

all language skills: reading, listening, speaking, and writing. However, although, the primary of the

class is to achieve the required standard in the biology examinations, the learning outcomes will

provide meaningful contexts for language learning.

Though, there is no a standard textbook for the bilingual biology class, teachers are allowed

to choose and design their own material. As a result, teachers (will) have in-depth understanding of

the material and can respond to learners’ demands and enthusiasm. The topics selected are relevant

(related) to students lives and experience as well as meeting learning objectives.

 The methodological approach subscribed (applied) to is ‘inquiry’. ‘Inquiry’ puts emphasis on

learning “with understanding and, at the same time, engag[ing] in a process of constructing

knowledge by doing science” (Tobin, 1990, as cited in Hofstein & Lunetta, 2003, p. 32).

1. 2 Advantages of my teaching strategy.

The teaching strategy I have chosen is the anticipatory guide, one type of recommended

strategy within the ‘bridging’ approach.

The teaching strategy I have chosen is the anticipatory (anticipation) guide, one type of

recommended strategy within the ‘bridging’ approach. An anticipation/anticipatory guide is "a

teacher-prepared list of statements that connects to a passage of a text (Fisher & Frey, 2008, p.45).

Fisher and Frey point out that many of the statements in the anticipatory guide are not explicitly

written, but students can find it in different places in the reading. Some statements are ‘think and

search’ questions that provide students opportunities to expand their answers more than one

sentence; other statements need both pieces of information from the text and students’ daily life

experiences that allow them creating more elaborate explanations. According to Fisher and Frey,

Three steps are needed to create a simple anticipatory guide. The first step is to pinpoint the primary

concepts in the text. The second is to acknowledge the student’s prior knowledge, and the third is to

write 5 to 10 statements referring to the text (reading).

The aim of using anticipatory guide is to stimulate prior learning recognition, to spur

guessing, and to trigger curiosity about the material (Fisher & Frey, 2008). Fisher and Frey note that

the anticipatory guide is commonly for use with the passages that are questionable and frequently

misunderstood, such as the life of shark, slavery or the ethical issues on genetic engineering. As a

result, the advantages for language learners of using the anticipatory guide are that they encourage

learners to improve all language skills. It is because they

 The advantages for language learners of using anticipatory guides are that they provide

opportunities for students to improve all language skills. (link to autonomy in zpd)

According to Fisher and Frey (2008), another advantage of anticipatory guides is that they

are inevitable to spur discussions in the classrooms. This is because they can boost debate and

increase the necessary demands to examine other supporting resource. For example, the students

are confused about the right answer to the statements in the anticipatory guide and desire to find

the right answer from some relevant sources.

1. Activate students’ prior knowledge

2. Build curiosity about a new topic

Before reading, students listen to or read several statements about key concepts presented in

the text; they're often structured as a series of statements with which the students can choose

to agree or disagree. Anticipation guides stimulate students' interest in a topic and set a

purpose for reading.

Why use anticipation guides?

 Anticipation guides stimulate students' interest in a topic and set a purpose for
reading.
  They teach students to make predictions, anticipate the text, and verify their
predictions.
 They connect new information to prior knowledge and build curiosity about a new
topic.

Differentiated instruction
For second language learners, students of varying reading skill, students with
learning disabilities, and younger learners

 Anticipation guides can be completed orally.

 The number of statements can be modified to suit learner's needs.
 Teachers may assign different reading passages about the same topic based upon
reading skills.
 Color code columns so that the child can clearly tell the difference between the
"before" and "after" column.
 Use simple sentences so that the student focuses on the content, rather than
understanding the sentence. Example: "Ringworm and athlete's foot are caused by
fungi" to "Fungi causes ringworm and athlete's foot."

http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/printouts/anticipation-guide-30578.html#ideas

http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/anticipation_guide

http://teachingadolescents.weebly.com/anticipatory-strategies.html

This comprehension strategy activates students' prior knowledge, builds curiosity about a new topic
before learning about it, and then checks for understanding after the topic is presented.  Before
beginning the lesson, students listen to or read several statements about key concepts within the
new content and choose whether they agree or disagree. After the lesson presentation, students
revisit the Anticipation Guide and see if they still agree with their initial decisions.

http://www.theteachertoolkit.com/index.php/tool/anticipation-guide

https://www.google.com/search?q=anticipation%2Fanticipatory+guide&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8