Welcome to the Course !

Do you consider yourself a good teacher?

​

What is your teaching style?

Professional Development Programmes for Teachers

Creative Methodology - Day 1

What makes a good teacher?

Is it a skill or a talent?

​

‘I feel bound to confess that, as I drifted into English language teaching with no professional training in this area, I have no qualifications whatever for the work that I do. If I applied to myself for a job as research assistant, I’d have to turn myself down’

Michael Swan

​

​

1

Professional Development Programmes for Teachers- Creative Methodology

​

just how important is the

knowledge of methodologies

for professional development?

If it’s a talent,

2

Professional Development Programmes for Teachers- Creative Methodology

'Studies of the effectiveness of specific methods have had a hard time demonstrating that the method itself,

rather than other factors, such as

​

the teacher’s enthusiasm,

or

the novelty of the new method,

​

was the crucial variable'

Professor Jack C.Richards

3

Professional Development Programmes for Teachers- Creative Methodology

If this is the case,

if teachers are not necessarily informed by theory or qualifications,

just how do they develop and grow as professionals?

​

Professional Development Programmes for Teachers- Creative Methodology

4

Problems with methodologies ☹ �sharing experiences

The questions below may look dumb☺☺ an attempt to answer them may make you go ‘hmmm...’

• Do most methodologies address teaching or learning?
• Is it possible that teachers are involved in Professional Development activities for the wrong reasons; they don’t necessarily have their students in mind as the ultimate reason why they want to be better teachers?
• Do you choose/plan activities to demonstrate your knowledge/teaching skills, or do you plan activities with your students in mind?
• Should we be theorising about methods or theorising about learning? Which one should we prioritise: the teaching going on in the teacher, or the learning going on in the learner?
• When planning a lesson do you ever fall victim to the infinite choice of resources? Or do you start with thinking about your learners and what they need? How do you choose your activities knowing that every choice we make has the ‘opportunity cost’ of the myriad of other options not taken?

Professional Development Programmes for Teachers- Creative Methodology

​

5

Task Based Learning

Learner Centred Teaching Approaches

Professional Development Courses for Teachers

Creative Methodology - Day 2

Demo Lesson Observation

1. Identify the stages of the lesson (TBL framework)
2. What language input was provided before the task?
3. When did correction take place?
4. What was the teacher role?Was the teacher ‘teaching’ at any stage?
5. When did you find out what the target language was?
6. What was the learner role? How was learning taking place?
7. What benefits and difficulties do you see with this methodology?

​

​

1

Professional Development Courses for Teachers - Creative Methodology

TASK VS EXERCISE

​

2

Professional Development Courses for Teachers - Creative Methodology

​

Features of a Task

• M______-focused. Message c_________ is the most important thing
• Language required to engage in a communicative activity is not specified
• Focus on m________ skills
• Col__________ and com__________
• Target language knowledge develops through communicative activities
• Target language is always c_____________
• D______ correction
• Relevant to students’ needs
• Provides opportunities for r________ on language use (helps ‘no______’)
• H___ O____ Thinking Skills are promoted

Features of an Exercise

• F___-focused
• Target language knowledge is prerequisite for engaging in a communicative activity
• R__________ focus on a s_____ language element/skill
• Not com__________ or col__________, students typically work in__________
• No reference to a c______
• I________ correction
• G_____ and c_________ by the teacher

TASK VS EXERCISE

​

3

Professional Development Courses for Teachers - Creative Methodology

​

Features of a Task

• Meaning-focused. Message conveyance is the most important thing
• Language required to engage in a communicative activity is not specified
• Focus on multiple skills
• Collaborative and communicative
• Target language knowledge develops through communicative activities
• Target language is always contextualized
• Delayed correction
• Relevant to students’ needs
• Provides opportunities for reflection on language use (helps ‘noticing’)
• High Order Thinking Skills are promoted

Features of an Exercise

• Form-focused
• Target language knowledge is prerequisite for engaging in a communicative activity
• Restrictive focus on a single language element/skill
• Not communicative or collaborative, students typically work individually
• No reference to a context
• Immediate correction
• Guided and controlled by the teacher

4

Examples of Tasks

Professional Development Courses for Teachers - Creative Methodology

• Focused tasks
• Unfocused tasks

​

• Jigsaw tasks
• Problem-solving
• Decision-making
• Opinion exchange
• Dialogues/Role Plays
• Puzzles/Problems
• Creating Posters/ Visual Organisers
• Sorting/Organising/Classifying
• Matching

​

• Information gap
• Reasoning gap
• Opinion gap

(N. Prabhu)

• Cloze Activity
• Gap Fill
• Drill Activity
• Reading Comprehension Passage

5

Professional Development Courses for Teachers - Creative Methodology

Examples of Exercises

• What is a Task ?
• What is the purpose of a task?
• What are the stages in the task-based framework?
• When does correction take place in the task-based framework?
• Where is the focus in the task-based framework: on fluency or accuracy?
• How to decide if the task has worked?

6

Professional Development Courses for Teachers - Creative Methodology

Revision ☺

Which sentence reflects the TBL principles?

7

Professional Development Courses for Teachers - Creative Methodology

We learn to be able to use the language

or

We use the language to be able to learn

​

​

​

​

TBL Approach in a Nutshell

​

• Holistic language experience
• Learners take active part in learning
• Constant exposure to natural language
• Students learn at their own level and pace
• Students use the language they already know to do a task. Focus on specific features of language comes later. Learner moves from language experience to language analysis
• From fluency to accuracy
• More opportunities for free language use
• Students look at the whole language, not just one form
• Mistakes are inevitable, there is no penalty
• Learning by noticing not explaining
• Good approach with mixed-level classes

​

8

Professional Development Courses for Teachers - Creative Methodology

​

​

​

​

PPP Approach in a Nutshell

​

• Encourages habit promotion
• Language produced by students in class is stilted and unnatural, overusing target language
• Getting round target language when students are not ready for it (we can’t predict when students are ready for target language; every student is different)
• Free activities are controlled and students are expected to produce forms specified in advance. All this leads to common complaint that, although they understand the target language, they can’t use it outside the classroom, or use it incorrectly

​

9

Professional Development Courses for Teachers - Creative Methodology

The best thing about Task Based Teaching and Learning

is that....

​

9

Professional Development Courses for Teachers - Creative Methodology

MOTIVATION

Engaging students for success

Professional Development Programmes for Teachers

Creative Methodology - Day 1

​

• How motivated are your students (intrinsically or extrinsically)? What problems with motivation in the classroom have you experienced?
• What are the main motivating, or demotivating factors for your students?
• How to drive student motivation? What advice would you give a colleague whose students lack motivation?
• If your students are not motivated do you tend to blame yourself?

1

Professional Development Programmes for Teachers- Creative Methodology

​

​

Professional Development Programmes for Teachers- Creative Methodology

2

• personalise your lesson
• use material relevant to your students, deviate from the course book
• have students participate
• challenge your students, always keep them on their toes
• use imagination to vary things up (from instructions to feedback)
• make sure that the students see how the big picture fits into day-to-day lessons
• give your students strategies for continuing their education beyond the classroom (Learner Independence)

​

​

​

​

​

Professional Development Programmes for Teachers- Creative Methodology

3

HUMANISTIC LANGUAGE TEACHING

Neuro-Linguistic Programming

Professional Development Programmes for Teachers

Creative Methodology - Day 1

​

Reflect on the statements on the next slide…

�do they change your beliefs as a teacher

1

Professional Development Programmes for Teachers- Creative Methodology

​

​

Professional Development Programmes for Teachers- Creative Methodology

There isn’t a student who can’t learn but there are teachers

who can’t teach

There is no such thing as failure.

There is only feedback

Our ‘successes’ and ‘failures’ are determined by the thought and behaviour patterns we use subconsciously all of the time

By recognising our own patterns, we can change the ones which are not getting us the outcomes we want

2

Break down your teaching habits, reflect and experiment!

​

NLP is concerned with process/method rather than product/content.

How we think and how we process information from the outside are the key problems for NLP

It focuses on recognising patterns as well as recognising the importance of the individual learner

Professional Development Programmes for Teachers- Creative Methodology

3

Key Features of NLP

• Roots in psychology and neurology
• Differences in cognitive styles (VAK)- how does it affect learning and teaching? How do you integrate different learning styles into your lessons?
• Mind and Body are interconnected (warm-ups are essential)
• The importance of motivation in the process of learning (intrinsic and extrinsic)
• Defining goals very clearly- knowing what you want helps you to achieve it (dialogic feedback, assessment for learning, reflective learning, autonomy)
• Learn how to overcome your limiting beliefs and recognise the relationship between beliefs and capabilities

​

​

​

​

​

Professional Development Programmes for Teachers- Creative Methodology

4

​

• Students are motivated by different metaprogrammes (internal self-evaluation or external evaluators; independent or cooperative learners; sameness or difference)
• Learn how to overcome your limiting beliefs and recognise the relationship between beliefs and capabilities
• The importance of the individual learner!!
• Language can create a state (use positive language, praise a lot, don’t tell students that the next activity is difficult, etc)
• Anchors- certain actions and spots bring students into certain states. We establish those states on purpose but without students being aware of it
• Mind maps reflect the way the brain works in a branching not linear fashion

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Professional Development Programmes for Teachers- Creative Methodology

5

1. How do you think you are a practitioner of NLP in your teaching at present? Which activities you regularly do in your classroom draw on NLP?� �2. How do you differentiate within a class of differing abilities, motivations and background knowledge of the target topic? ��3. In what ways do you provide your students with opportunities to develop awareness of strategies and learning? How do you help your students to become independent learners?

6

NLP Proponents and Critics

​

NLP

​

• helps us see things from the other point of view and makes us realise that our own way of speaking and thinking is not necessarily shared by the students in front of us

NLP

​

• is a pseudoscience in education
• makes ‘too good to be true’ claims (e.g NLP can help students learn anything faster and more easily)
• makes vague or hard to test claims
• uses a lot of confusing ‘sciency’ sounding terms
• has little or no scientific credibility
• makes impossible claims
• contrary evidence is ignored by its supporters
• is pigeon-holing students

7

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Professional Development Programmes for Teachers- Creative Methodology

8

Reading lesson developed in line� with NLP

• First draw a map on the board with a picture representing the subject of the reading in the centre and key words surrounding the picture. Have students copy the map on to a piece of paper. (The right brain is artistically stimulated).
• Place an article you want to read on the floor. Have students get up and walk across the room to get the article (in this way the reflex brain is put to work pumping oxygen into the brain thereby making the students more alert).
• Have students quickly read through the article. Make sure they do not stop to look up the new words: a quick scan is all that’s needed. (The left brain works furiously to understand an put things into place).

Professional Development Programmes for Teachers- Creative Methodology

9

• Get students to then fill out the map by writing in all they can remember under the key words. (The limbic system is already investing itself by making a commitment to go back to the article to find out any missing information).
• Have students pair-up and share and discuss their maps (new brain activity as students try to come up with explanations to their maps).
• Have the pairs go back to the article to compare their maps with the information in the article (the limbic system has made an investment and the left brain cannot wait to get back and fill in all the holes).

Professional Development Programmes for Teachers- Creative Methodology

10