SUBJECT TITLE: THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH IN THE ELEMENTARY GRADES

WEEK I: THE Foundation of Literacy, a Thumbnail Sketch of Reading Methods

WEEK 2: Some Methodological Experiments, the Meaning Systems of Language, Four

Different Learner Types

WEEK 3: Content-based Instruction, Functions of Language

WEEK 4: Guidelines for Language Classroom Instruction

WEEK 5: Possible Activities Under the Focus/Working Phase, Possible Activities under
the Transfer/Application Phase, Facilitation

THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH IN THE ELEMENTARY GRADES

WEEK I: The Foundation of Literacy, a Thumbnail Sketch of Reading Methods

OBJECTIVES:

1. Define literacy in own words.

2. Discuss/explain each of the basic set of considerations on “literacy;”
3. Differentiate the paired reading methods.

THE FOUNDATION OF LITERACY

LITERACY

 is “learning to read and write”. It ought to be one of the most joyful and successful of
human undertakings. But, notoriously, it is not so.
 Even in the most advanced societies schools have failed to achieve a dream of a
universally literate society. If we continue to make literacy a criterion for basic human
dignity in our society, we cannot tolerate the failure. The present status of the problem
suggests that no assumption should be sacrosanct (very sacred, holy, inviolable) in the
attempts to understand the matter.

A basic set of considerations would include the following:

A. LITERACY Is A MATTER OF LANGUAGE - There is a traditional error of thinking

about reading and writing, that they are isolated from the world of language and spoken
culture and schools teach them as if reading and writing had no relationship to listening
 and speaking. The habit of regarding reading, writing, spelling and written expression as
separate subjects is so deeply entrenched that they continue to be taught in little
relationship to each other or to oral language.

In language acquisition, these are three branches that must be studied:

1. SEMANTICS - the study of meaning in language;
2. GRAMMAR – the study of syntax and morphology;
3. PHONOLOGY – the study of sound systems of language.

B. LITERACY HAS MANY HUMAN DIMENSIONS

 Language is the most complex of human activities. In carrying out any language
activity, the human organism is engaged globally (entire being), and
malfunctioning in any area may seriously impair learning. We tend to teach as if
the child should have conscious control of every response, which is impossible.
Furthermore, by constantly intervening in corrective ways, we tend to inhibit the
development of those systems which sustain healthy functioning.
 Full human status in our society cannot be attained in the absence of functional
literacy. Experience of failure or inadequacy in language even for short periods
during learning, may undermine personal confidence and well-being in
frightening ways. Remedial intervention poses such risks to self- esteem, that it is
difficult to implement a remedial programme without predominantly negative
effects- even in learning. An effective learning environment for the acquisition of
literacy should be alive with activity which is felt to be deeply purposeful in all the
ways of human meaning.
C. LITERACY IS DEVELOPMENTAL
 Teaching literacy skills is the peculiar function of schools but, because of their
distance from the real activities of living, because of their institutional framework,
schools find it difficult to provide the conditions for developmental learning.
Literacy has always rated of prime educational importance, and all the
techniques of formal, institutional instruction have been focused on it. But
paradoxically, when the school meticulously leaves no stone unturned to teach
literacy skills thoroughly, it leaves no room for children to learn those skills with
 the same efficient use of their faculties as they bring to bear on comparable tasks
outside the school.
 Developmental learning is highly individual and non-competitive; it is self-
regulated rather than adult-regulated; it goes hand in hand with the fulfillment of
real life purposes; it emulates the behavior of people who model the skill in
natural use. It raises some uncomfortable questions on the teachers, such as,
“How do we go about “modelling reading and writing in natural use’ in the
classroom?”

D. LITERACY IS LEARNED
 The most powerful rewards in learning reading and writing are intrinsic and
meaning-centered, and that self-regulation in actual reading and writing is more
important than extrinsically applied contingencies- or even than instruction of any
kind. A learning theory says that “ if literacy is taught in an environment in which
competition decide the nature and levels of individual rewards for learning, an
over-reinforced elite will excel and a large minority subjected to intensive punitive
feed back will fail (with appalling effects on mental health).
 Learning is using confidently what is learned; for example, if in oral reading, a
child reads and in his attempt to try to do the right thing, is punished, the
punishment is likely to make him avoid oral reading because any response may
be unsafe. The first responsibility is to observe with proper humility and open-
mindedness how children making healthy development in literacy actually
operate, and to what extent basic insights about learning apply to the acquisition
of language and of literacy.
E. LITERACY IS A CULTURAL MATTER
 When children go to school, they bring with them the culture of their home and
community. The school represents a special sub-culture, embodying attitudes
and values, and even a special type of language, whom they have not
encountered yet.
 The alienation felt by many children in confrontation with the subculture of the
school presents many problems for which there are no easy answers, and this
presents a special problem for literacy learning. Becoming literate is greatly
facilitated by a natural familiarity with and love of book language. The formal
 dialect used in school may create fear in children, and such fear constitute a
barrier between them and the dialect of the school.

F. LITERACY IS A COMPLEX MATTER

 The processes of literacy are complex; the acquisition of literacy skills entails the
most complex forms of learning; the institution of schooling presents complex
impediments to learning; and thee cultural determinants of literacy in school and
community are complex. We should therefore, not expect simple answers to the
questions we encounter; we should prepare ourselves for the complexities that
lie ahead.

A THUMBNAIL SKETCH OF READING METHODS

A. ALPHABETIC versus PHONETIC

 In the alphabetic approach, children are taught to recognize the letters and be
able to name them. When a child comes upon a word which he doesn’t
recognize, he is required to spell out the word letter by letter and then attempts to
pronounce it. An advantage of this approach is that the reader is given the
opportunity for some sort of processing -he has a second or two to consider
before committing himself to a response. During that valuable time, he is required
to observe all the letter detail and to do so in a strict left-to-right order. Two
valuable things stand out: the helpfulness of having a vocabulary with which to
identify and talk about letters; and the importance of allowing processing -time for
problem-solving in word recognition.
 In the phonetic approach, children are taught the sound associations of the
letters. On meeting a strange word the reader is expected to ‘sound out’ the
letters and ‘blend’ them in such a way as to approximate to the sound of the
word. Later he is expected to apply the rules of syllabication. It is obvious that
the possible letter-sound associations of a word can be helpful and vital clues in
efficient word-recognition. It is necessary for children to have a grasp of both
 Letter-names and possible sound-representations if they are to make sense of
instruction in reading.
B. PHONETIC versus WHOLE WORD or ‘LOOK -and- SAY’
 The look-and-say approach emphasizes the teaching of whole words, or at least
insists that whole words should be taught to beginning readers and only later
 should any form of word analysis be introduced. However, two unfortunate
practices are: new words are taught in isolation from meaningful context before
reading takes place; and the concept of ‘controlled vocabulary’ changes the
character of books for reading instruction thereby influences publishers of books
to produce ‘readers’ which lack literary worth or interest, and destroy natural
language-use.
C. WHOLE WORD versus SENTENCE
 The smallest meaningful unit of language is the sentence; real reading must
begin there, since only when meaning has been created that reading occurs. It
stresses the importance of context clues in word-solving and help to reorient
learning towards natural language processes. There is, however, the underlying
assumption that the real test of reading is whether or not a child could recognize
word items out of context.
D. BOOK APPROACHES versus LANGUAGE-EXPERIENCE
 In the past, readers have been used to reading natural stories which have not
been mangled to serve some instructional purpose. Language-experience
methods arise from the realization that the beginning reader must be that written
language is talk written down. By developing reading materials from the
children’s own language about matters of which they have real experience it is
hoped that a bridge would be built between familiar language and printed
symbols. This approach brings reading and the production of written language
together in natural and helpful ways.
 Oral language tends to occur in, and be supported by, the sensory and social
situation in which it takes place, and by voice intonation. Written language lacks
this situational support and has therefore, developed conventions to avoid
ambiguity. Conversational language tends to deal with the trivial and the
ordinary and usually lacks memorable content. Written language, on the other
hand, is difficult and expensive to produce, and normally records memorable
matters in as memorable a way possible.
E. THE ECLECTIC APPROACH
 As limitations of different methods are apparent and as research indicates that
different methods tend to suit different children, sensible people began to avoid
dependence on a single method and use a combination of approaches. Such
practice is called “Eclectic Approach,” meaning that practices are borrowed freely
 from a number of different sources. This is an attempt to create balanced
programmes to meet differing individual needs.

WEEK 1: The Foundation of Literacy, a Thumbnail Sketch of Reading Methods

ACTIVITY 1:

1. To you, what are the initial signs you see/ observe in a truly literate person?
2. Give one example of an activity in class using each of the reading methods
given.
3. What are some human dimensions involved when a student exhibits his/her
being literate?
4. In a paragraph of not less than five sentences, explain the line “Literacy is
developmental.”

WEEK 2: Some Methodological Experiments, the Meaning Systems of Language,

Four Different Learner Types

OBJECTIVES:

1. Comment on each of the methodological experiments by the four authorities in

education;
2. Based on understanding, rationalize why the three meaning systems of language
interact to form meaningful sentences in English;
3. Give possible strengths and weaknesses of each of the four types of learners.

SOME IMPORTANT METHODOLOGICAL EXPERIMENTS

A. The organic vocabulary (Sylvia Ashton-Warner)

 Her insight was that reading should be motivated by the deepest springs of
meaning in the human heart. She provided her pupils with those words which
most powerfully engaged them, words from the centre of their deepest fantasies-
kiss, fight, beer, hit, Mum, airplane. These are once-seen-never-forgotten words
which established an initial vocabulary for both reading and writing.
B. Reading through writing (Grace Fernald)
 She explored the latent powers of sensory channels other than the visual,
pioneering the use of tactile and kinaesthetic modes in literacy learning. She
 realized that perception is a matter of meanings seeking expression through any
sensory channel that is open. For the first time in educational settings, language
began to appear as the multi-sensory, multi-functional activity. Sound practice in
ordinary classrooms now encompasses the use of tactile and kinaesthetic
procedures in the teaching of reading and spelling.
C. Individualized reading (Jeanette Veatch)
 Her approach to learning to read was the first clear statement of developmental
principles in reading growth. She made a crusade to suggest that children could
learn to read using a wide range of trade books which they selected for
themselves and read at their own pace. She pioneered the techniques of
individualized reading. She said that individualized reading procedures provide
a practical starting point in a developmental approach to literacy learning.
D. The initial teaching alphabet (Sir James Pitman)
 He devised an alphabet for the initial teaching of literacy, the I.T.A. (Initial
Teaching Alphabet) which could be used to spell words in a phonetically
consistent way without markedly altering the shape.

THE MEANING SYSTEMS OF LANGUAGE

Meaningful sentences of English are produced by a combination and interaction of the following
sub-systems:

 The lexical system – Words are the smallest semantic units in the language, yet they
operate meaningfully only in sentences. (Words are formed by semantic units known as
‘morphemes’)
Two kinds of morphemes: free morphemes are words that can receive additional
morphemes. Ex. Smallest (small + est); bound morphemes are words that can
independently function in a sentence. Ex. (small). Therefore,in the word smallest there
are two morphemes: small and est.
(Words are constructed from a small set of speech sounds known as ‘phonemes’.)
Phonemes have no meaning in themselves-their role is to comprise words. The
phonemic system is not a semantic system.
  The grammatical system – words are put together in systematic, rule-abiding ways
which give them relational or grammatical significance within sentences. Such syntactic
patterns are established by – word order and function words.
 The intonation system – Patterns of rising and falling pitch, strong and weak stresses,
or emphasis, or accent, juncture, variations in range of pitch, and variations in tempo.

FOUR DIFFERENT LEARNER TYPES AS BASIS FOR PLANNING ACTIVITIES IN A

LANGUAGE CLASS

 Concrete Learners: These learners prefer learning by games, pictures, films and video,
talking in pairs, learning through the use of gadgets and going on excursions.
 Analytical Learners: These learners like studying grammar, studying English books,
studying alone, finding their own mistakes, having problems to work on, and learning
through reading printed materials.
 Communicative Learners: This group like to learn by observing and listening to native
speakers, talking to friends in English, watching English movies on television, using
English in shops, etc., learning English words by hearing them, and learning by
conversations in English.
 Authority-oriented learners: These students like the teacher to explain everything,
writing everything in a notebook, having their own notebook, learning to read, studying
grammar, and learning English words by seeing them.

WEEK 2: Some Methodological Experiments, the Meaning Systems of

Language, Four Different Learner Types

ACTIVITY 1:

1. Give a one-statement comment on each of the four methodological experiments

by answering the given question.
a. What human dimension is involved in the first experiment?
b. What senses are especially involved in the learning process (2 nd)?
c. What learning material is identified to be used in literacy learning (3 rd)?
d. What item is mentioned to help much in the learning process(4 th)?
2. Give one creative classroom activity that makes use simultaneously of the three
systems of forming meaningful sentences.
3. What lessons/ contents/topics can best be taken up with each type of learners?

WEEK 3: Content-based Instruction, Functions of Language

OBJECTIVES:

1. Pick out key words that make up the definition of “content-based instruction;”
2. Create expressions demonstrating the linguistic functions of language;
3. Describe a content-based instructional program.

CONTENT-BASED LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION

Content-based language instruction is an integrated approach to language instruction

drawing topics, texts and tasks from content or subject matter classes, but focusing on the
cognitive, academic language skills required to participate actively in content instruction.

Content-based instructional programs are designed to help students achieve language

proficiency beyond development of social language skills and the knowledge of the forms of
language.

Attributes of a content-based instructional program:

1. Instructional objectives are drawn from language, academic content, and thinking or
study skills.
2. Schema or background knowledge must be developed in the language. This is usually
accomplished through oral language activities, which precede extensive reading and
writing activities – such as interactive writing like dialogue journals- as means of
developing and activating schema at the same time developing academic language.
3. Both content-obligatory and content-compatible language can be included. That is,
while the teaching of magnetism necessarily includes teaching such terms a to attract, to
repel, magnetic properties, magnetic fields, it also provides an opportunity for developing
vocabulary of variety of items, as well as descriptive language and rhetorical skills which
are important in the learning of a target language.
4. Paired and small group interactions are used to develop and to demonstrate proficiency
in the academic language. Activities are specifically developed to encourage student
interaction with the content material and negotiation of meaning.
5. A wide range of materials is used in the classroom. Traditionally, language classes
focused on two kinds of texts: extended discourse, such as that found in textbooks or
novels; and dialogues, such as those found in plays or only in other language textbooks.
However, broader and deeper uses of the language require that students be able to
interact with and produce a variety of texts: maps, charts, graphs, tables, lists, diagrams
and other forms and documents.
6. Multiple media and a variety of presentation techniques are used in the classes to
reduce the reliance on language as the sole means of conveying information or
demonstrating meaning. Although oral and written language are employed, they are
supported by many other sources of information for the students.
7. Experiential, discovery, and hands-on learning are also used to encourage students to
develop concepts and interact with each other, placing language learning into relevant,
meaningful frames.
8. Writing is included both as a means of thinking and learning and as a means of helping
students to demonstrate what they ae learning. Language experience stories, students
as authors, dialogue journals, learning log, and other writing activities are used. Even
asking students to draw pictures or diagrams and labelling these can be helpful as can
developing stories sequences which reflect activities in which students have been
engaged. Both provide opportunities for students to develop sequencing skills at the
same time as language skills.

FUNCTIONS OF LANGUAGE

Language is ‘defined’ for the child by its uses; it is something that serves a set of needs.
For the child, all language is doing something; in other words, it has meaning. Language
may even provide pure sensory pleasure, like in the enjoyment of the sound features of an
unintelligible nursery rhyme. It may also be multiple in function as in the appreciation of a
story or poem on which thought, feeling, sound, and bodily sensation sustain each other in
an integrated experience of aesthetic pleasure.

Broad Functions of Language:

A. For Aesthetic satisfaction:

1. Communication – Public
2. Expression – Private and Public
3. Thought – Private
 4. Sensory Pleasure – Public and Private (enjoying the sounds or the act of articulating)
B. Linguistic functions:

1. Instrumental The ‘I want’ function Fulfilling needs

2. Regulatory The ‘Don’t do that’ function Controlling
3. Interactional The ‘I love you’ function Relating to others
4. Personal The ‘This is me’ function Defining self
5. Heuristic The ‘What’s that’ function Finding out
6. Imaginative The ‘Let’s pretend’ function Making believe
7. Representational The ‘This is how it is’ function Communicating about content

WEEK 3: Content-based Instruction, Functions of Language

ACTIVITY 1:

1. Draw a table and fill-out the grid with the necessary details. Be guided by the given
example:

Topic Magnetism (from Science)

Vocabulary learned Attract, repel, magnetic field
Using vocabulary in a When two things attract, they come together.
sentence. When two things repel, they stay away from each other.
Formulating/answerin Why are butterflies attracted to flowers?
g questions using Why do water and oil repel each other?
vocabulary learned
(another mode of
meaning)
2. Give an expression representing each of the given linguistic functions of language.
Example: Interactional: I feel happy when I am with you.
3. Write a short paragraph on how you understand “content-based instruction.”

WEEK 4: Guidelines for Language Classroom Instruction

OBJECTIVES:

1. Formulate objectives on a targeted element of language;

2. Pick out two sample activities from each two phases covered and discuss
how they are implemented.
3. Identify a lesson in a language classroom, and tell the modalities that are
compatible with it.
 GUIDELINES FOR LANGUAGE CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION

A. Language Presentation

A.1 Planning for lesson objectives – Which elements of language are undertaken
depends on the objectives a teacher has in mind for the lesson.

A.2 Modalities (Materials, AV) – Teachers need to be aware that they are not in the
classroom to fill up the time with the sound of their own voices, but to arrange matters so that
their students do the talking (or writing, or listening). Class time is so valuable that the teacher
should move on to practice phases of a lesson as soon as possible in a manner consistent with
an adequate presentation of material and the giving of clear instruction for some practice
exercises.

If a certain teaching objective calls for some support in the way of materials, what
then? The major resource is of course the textbook. Here are other teaching aids
which fall into two categories: nontechnical aids and technical aids.

a.) Nontechnical aids- chalkboard, realia, flashcards, magazine pictures, charts

b.) Technical aids – overhead projector, audio and video recordings, internet

Use of aids is usually a matter of individual teacher judgment, supported by general

considerations:

a.) Does their use in a given circumstance aid comprehension?

b.) Do they stimulate more student talk than would have otherwise occurred?
c.) Does their use constitute an efficient use of class time, particularly taking into
account the teacher time required to produce them or the logistics of setting them
up and removing any necessary equipment?

Although the textbook is a generally accepted primary aid in instruction, sole

reliance on textbook is becoming less common in more-resourced schools.
Developments in technology have made the creation and almost immediate use of
in-house materials increasingly possible.

A.3 Rule presentations and explanations – The various communicatively oriented

language teaching methods and prescriptions developed de-emphasized the use of explicit
grammar rule presentation and questioned the use of grammatically-based materials.
 Based on the claims of most theorists that focus on form can be required by learners
or by a given classroom sequence, it is reasonable for teachers to be aware of
options in how to make a rule explicit or not; whether or not to isolate a rule; whether
an explanation involve a deductive or inductive presentation; who should give the
explanation -the teacher, the text, or another student; whether the language is
abstract or not; and whether the explanation is provided orally or in writing.

B. Tasks – This is the next major step in executing classroom lessons. It involves practice
and learning of the material.

B.1 Subsections of a lesson-

The Activity- This refers to classroom procedures that are primarily geared to
practicing the aspect of language presented or targeted, involving students working
with each other to achieve a specific purpose.
For each specific learning point, learners need to develop from more controlled and
mechanical to freer and communicative behaviors.
A list of four activity types are: (Phases of instructional sequencing)
a.) Information and motivation phase- in which learners’ interest, experience, and
relevant language knowledge are aroused.
b.) Input/control – in which learners are involved in deepening their understanding by
close attention to detail.
c.) Focus/working – in which individual linguistic and thematic difficulties can be
isolated and examined in depth.
d.) Transfer/application – in which new knowledge and the learner’s refined
communicative abilities can be put to active use.

Possible activities under the Information and Motivation Phase:

 Warm-up: mime, dance, song, jokes, play, etc.; the purpose is to get the
students stimulate, relaxed, motivated, attentive, or engaged and ready for the
lesson; not necessarily related to the target language.
 Setting: Focus is on lesson topic; either verbal or nonverbal evocation of the
context that is relevant to the lesson point; teacher directs attention to the
upcoming topic by questioning, miming, or picture presentation, or possibly a
tape recording.
  Brainstorming: free, undirected contributions by the students and teacher on a
given topic to generate multiple associations without linking them.
 Story telling: oral presentation by the teacher of a story or an event as lengthy
practice; it usually aims at maintaining attention or motivation and is often
entertaining.
 A propos: conversation and other socially oriented interaction/speech by teacher,
students or even visitors on general real-life topics; typically authentic and
genuine.

Possible activities under the Input/Control Phase:

 Organizational: managerial structuring of lesson or class activities; includes

reprimanding of students and other disciplinary, organization of class furniture
and seating.
 Content explanation: explanation of lesson content and grammar or other rules
and points, or whatever is being taught.
 Role play demonstration – use of selected students or the teacher to illustrate the
procedure/s to be applied in the following lesson segment.
 Recognition: students identify a specific form, function, rule, or other lesson-
related item, either from oral or visual data, but without producing language as a
response (e.g. checking off items, drawing symbols, rearranging pictures,
matching utterances with pictures, underlining significant information from a text).
 Language modelling – presentation of new language by the teacher through
isolated sentences with the help of visuals, drawings on blackboard, realia,
miming, recorded materials, etc.; involves students’ participation in the form of
repetition, question-answer display, translation, etc.; it usually aims at checking
correct pronunciation and syntax or meaning comprehension.
 Dialogue/narrative presentation – reading or listening passage in the form of
dialogue, narration, song, etc. for passive reception (students become familiar
with the text without being asked to perform any task related to the content).
 Question-answer display – controlled activity involving prompting of students’
responses by means of display questions (teacher or questioner already knows
the response).
 Review – teacher-led review of previous week/month or other period; a formal
summary and assessment of students’ recall and performance.
WEEK 4: Guidelines for Language Classroom Instruction

ACTIVITY 1:

1. Formulate one objective for each of the given topics:

a. Proper Nouns
b. Common Nouns
c. Prepositions “in” and “on”
2. Choose two activities from the two phases above and discuss how you would go about
them in class.
3. What lessons can be taken up in an English class? List down the materials (nontechnical
and technical)you are going to use in teaching the lesson.

WEEK 5: Possible Activities Under the Focus/Working Phase, Possible Activities

under the Transfer/Application Phase, Facilitation

OBJECTIVES:

1. Pair two activities from the two phases, that could possibly go hand in hand in a
developmental lesson;
2. Explain why the necessity for a teacher to possess an excellent classroom
management skills;
3. Reason out why the traditional teacher-dominated classroom should not be
totally phased out;
4. Exemplify the two question types.

Possible activities under the Focus/Working Phase:

 Translation: student or teacher provides L1 or L2 translations of given text.

 Dictation: students write down orally presented text.
 Copying: students write down visually presented text.
 Reading aloud: student/s read aloud from a given text- distinguished from
dialogue presentation in that the focus is on pronunciation and rhythm.
 Drill: typical language activity involving fixed patterns of students and teacher
responding and prompting, usually with repetition, substitution, and other
mechanical alterations.
  Dialogue/narrative recitation: students recite a passage or dialogue which they
have previously learned or prepared; either in unison or individually.
 Cued narrative/dialogue: students build up a dialogue or a piece of narrative
following cues from miming, cue cards, pictures, flow charts (e. g. filling empty
bubbles, cued dialogues, completing a dialogue or a text, discourse chains, etc.)
 Meaningful drill: language activity involving exchange of a limited number of fixed
patterns of interaction.
 Preparation: students plan the subsequent activity (in pairs, individually, or in
group) by means of rehearsing, making notes, or simply thinking.
 Identification: students pick out and produce/label or identify target form, function,
definition, or other lesson-related item.
 Games: organized language activity that has a particular task or objective and a
set of rules which involve an element of competition between players (e.g. board
games, bingo, etc.); it usually implies entertainment and relaxation.
 Checking: teacher guides the correction of students previous activity or
homework, providing feedback as an activity.
 Wrap-up: brief teacher- or student-produced summary of points or items that
have been practiced or learned.

Possible activities under the Transfer/Application Phase:

 Information transfer: students extract information from a text (oral or written)

which they apply to another mode (e.g. visual – written; oral- written, etc.) ; it
implies some transformation of the information by filling out diagrams, graphs,
answering questions, etc. while listening or reading.
 Information exchange: activity that involves one-way or two-way communication
such as information gap exercises, in which one or both parties must obtain
information from the other to achieve a goal.
 Role play: students act out specified roles and functions in a relatively free way.
 Report: prepared oral exposition of students’ previous work (books or stories
read, project work, etc.) and elaborated on according to students’ own
interpretation; it can also be students’ reports on information obtained from
previous activity as long as it can be considered as preparation.
  Narration: students’ lengthy exposition of something which they have seen (film,
video, program, event, etc.) read (news, books, etc.),or experienced (events,
story, etc.); narrated in their own words and without previous preparation.
 Discussion: debate or other form of group discussion of specified topic, with or
without specified sides/positions prearranged.
 Composition: written development of ideas, story, dialogues, or exposition; akin
to ‘report’ but in the written mode.
 Problem solving: students work on an activity in which a problem and some
limitations on means are established; it requires cooperative action on the part of
participants, in small or large groups, in order to reach a solution; only one
outcome- sometimes among other possible solutions – is allowed per group.
 Drama: planned dramatic rendition of play, skit, etc.
 Simulation: activity that involves complex interaction between groups and
individuals based on simulation of real-life actions and experiences.

C. Facilitation - a major role of the teacher is to arrange matters so the material presented
gets used and thereby learned. These considerations must be taken: the overall
organization of the classroom; the nature and dynamics of teacher-student and student-
student interaction; the interface between these matters; the selection of classroom
learning tasks.

C.1 Class organization- the key participants in a classroom organization are the
teacher, the individual student and groupings of students, the class as a whole, the
language presentation materials (e.g., textbook, AV media).
C.1.1 Traditional teacher-dominated classroom (“teacher-fronted”) – is
characterized by the teacher speaking most of the time, leading activities, and constantly
passing judgment on student performance.
C.1.2 Student-centered classroom – students are observed working
individually or in pairs and small groups, each on distinct tasks and projects.
Benefits of learner-centered classroom: greater individualization of learning
objectives, increased student opportunities to perform using the target language,
increased personal sense of relevance and achievement. Students often will pay more
attention and learn better from one another since their performances and processes of
negotiation of meaning are more closely adapted to one another’s level of ability.
 The most appropriate and effective classroom organization is pair and group
work, (Doughty and Pica ). Group work has been shown to result in many advantages:
learners speak more frequently and with longer stretches of speech; they produce more
interactional modifications directed at one another; and they utilize a wider range of
language.

C.2 Aspects of the Teacher-Fronted Class

C.2.1 Question types:

Display questions – the questioner already knows the answer;

Referential questions – the questioner does not already know the answer.
Closed referential questions – questions to which the speaker does not
know the answer, but to which there is either only one or a very limited
set of possible answers;
Open referential questions- questions to which the speaker does not
know the answer and to which a large variety of answers are possible.

C.2.2 Wait – time- refers to the length of the pause which follows a teacher’s
question to an individual student or to the whole class. This lasts until either a student
answers or the teacher adds a comment or poses another question. It can also apply to
the period between one student’s answer to a question and the response of the teacher
or another student.

D. Correction and Feedback- The teacher is expected to be the source of “correcting”

behavior. The feedback should be a natural outcome of the communicative interaction,
often between learners. Even in the most learner-centered instruction, learners need
feedback in order to differentiate between acceptable and unacceptable target language
use.

WEEK 5: Possible Activities Under the Focus/Working Phase, Possible Activities under
the Transfer/Application Phase, Facilitation, Correction and Feedback

ACTIVITY 1:
 1. Make a list of five pairs of activities under the two phases, that could be used hand in
hand in the development of a lesson in class.
2. Despite the popularity of the learner-centered classroom, why is it that the teacher-
fronted class should not be totally phased out? Give your reasons.
3. Discuss how important it is for a teacher to possess good classroom management skills.
4. Give two sample questions for each type: display questions and referential questions.
5. Why is correction and feedback necessary at the end of a lesson?

PREPARED BY: Mrs. Remedios Ng