Discussing the Amount of TTT and the Use of L1 and L2 in the Classroom

                                           Discussing the Amount of TTT and the Use of L1 and L2 in the Classroom

TTT should definitely be reduced if we are to maximize STT. In English language courses, there are few hours to be with students in class, therefore we as teachers need to provide them with as much opportunities to speak as possible. Moreover, it can be very boring to listen to teachers lecturing and have students sitting passively. I understand that teachers can also work as authentic listening material and he / she can serve as model to be followed, however; TTT should not dominate the class but rather, enhance it. That is when Teaching Talking Quality comes in. Asking students questions to trigger them into starting a discussion or being a prompter, provoking them, instigating their creativity.
When it comes to use L1 in class, I see it as a very controversial topic. For many students, mainly adults, they still have the belief that you learn a language through translation and there is no other way around it. So when they come to an English classroom and they see that Portuguese is forbidden, they get crazy. Many of them do not understand the reason why we try to speak only in English, they see it as being silly or awkward. English only zone tries to provide an environment where students can learn the language like they learned their mother tongue, but they feel really uncomfortable with that situation and more than often rely on Portuguese.
I can understand that it can be more difficult for students to understand and follow the teacher commands during a lesson in a language that they are just beginning to learn and they lack enough vocabulary or grammar knowledge but they have to make an effort. They have to become independent and students have to learn to feel comfortable in uncomfortable situations. Bear in mind that it is also harder for the teacher to teach in the target language. It requires a great amount of preparation to come to a class and teach without using students’ mother tongue, especially with beginners.
I understand the importance of maximizing the use of L2 in the classroom, however; I do believe that sometimes, speaking Portuguese is unavoidable. In my opinion, with beginners is more acceptable than with higher levels. Switching to Portuguese can help lower students’ anxiety and it can work out their affective filter in a more positive way.
As Isabela pointed out in her blog, we must make clear that there is a difference between using translation as a method and using the L1 as a reference for students, a facilitator. Teachers have to create a balance and that can be difficult because once you use Portuguese, students feel comfortable and they will want to keep being comfortable by resorting to L1 every time they go about understanding L2, but students have to understand that getting out of your comfort zone is crucial when learning a second language.
Although I agree that the use of L1 in class is sometimes necessary I fear, just as Isabela does, that these arguments become an overgeneralization for any use of L1 at any time, both by the teacher and the students.

COVER LETTER

CASA THOMAS JEFFERSON
TDC 3 – PRINCIPLES OF LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TEACHING
TEACHER: LUELI CERUTI

http://www.destructoid.com/namco-announces-body-and-brain-connection-for-kinect-184098.phtml

TDC 3 has been fascinating, starting from brain-based learning through educational psychology. It has really struck me the things I have learned this semester, such as how the brain learns, how the cycles are and what we can do to engage the brain into a full cycle therefore promoting learning. It was also a great journey, going through behaviorist, innatist, cognitivist and socialcultural school of thought. All these studies and theories, provides the teacher with a very solid ground in which to build on. It makes you self-analyze better your class in every angle. It also makes you see that whenever something goes wrong in class there is a great chance that it is your fault since there is a lot a teacher can do to enhance students’ learning. Before knowing all these different concepts I could not see what went on in my classes, why this happens? Why that doesn’t happen? What can I do about it? Now I can at least see and identify what is going on. I can say that my eyes have been open. Not that I know what to do and I have control over everything that goes around the classroom now, but I can find the root of the problem and as time goes by I will hope to develop and find effective ways to tackle the problems. I think that recognizing that problems in class can more than often be your fault is a step forward in every teacher’s professional career.

http://uwithelpdesk.wordpress.com/2011/02/17/the-next-generation-of-classroom-technology-tablets-smart-phones/

TDC 3 – Class Observation

http://allthingslearning.wordpress.com/2011/11/18/getting-classroom-observation-right/

I observed a class of about 10 students at intermediate level. The purpose was to see what types of corrective feedback are mostly used by English teachers, the focus of instruction, type of activities and some other aspects of English language teaching.
Although is quite obvious that the teacher had an immense expertise in the area and great experience, this particularly class wasn’t the best one to observe because it did not provide enough opportunity for the teacher to vary the activity, the approach, techniques ,etc,.. since the class was a review before the test which was going to be given on that day.
There were few genuine questions as the main focus of the teacher was to correct the exercises and review the grammar points before the test that they were about to take but genuine question took place often when the teacher tried to provide some space for interaction and communication. Metalinguistic feedback was the most used type of corrective feedback in this lesson since grammar was the main focus ( the teacher tried to make it as communicative as possible tough). There were some clarification too when students were practicing and you could see how nice it was to see students stop and think about what they did wrong and reformulate the sentence again in the correct form on their own. It was most teacher-centered and it was necessary to be that way because the time was very limited. They had a written assessment afterwards but the teacher very well managed to review the contents but also provide some opportunities for communicative practicing , thus making the content real for the students. I was curious to see the outcomes of the assessment, but given the well elaborated review they had before it, and the level of the oral production that had taken place I could fearlessly bet that they did well.

TDC 3 – How should grammar be taught?

http://canlloparot.wordpress.com/

There are endless discussion on how should grammar be presented, deductively or inductively? Should it be explicitly explained or should it used in context. Some even argue if grammar should be taught at all, especially in classroom setting where the focus in on meaning. What about learner’s preference? Should that be taken into account? Yes, it should, but to what extent? On the whole, adults like to be taught grammar in a direct way. Exercises on grammar make them feel they are doing something important towards their learning. On the other hand, young learners couldn’t care less about it and they may get bored to death if a teacher stops the flow of the class to give grammar explanation.
All right then. Following this train of thought it seems that a conclusion has been found. Teach grammar to adults and leave it aside when teaching teens, right? NO! Grammar should be taught, it should be there, otherwise language competence cannot be achieved. When grammar is the focus of a course, studies have shown that students’ motivation is often stifled by an insistence on correctness. Many argue that fluency over accuracy is the way to go but research shows that too much freedom without correction and instruction will lead to fossilization of errors.
Well, as it can be seen, it is not easy to come to a conclusion. But digging into my own experience, both as a learner and teacher, I have seen that even students that like a more structure-based classroom setting are not able to use the forms correctly and get even more confused and other forms are introduced. They really see the language as an object, they calculate it, add, subtract, divide and multiply, and it really makes one feel in a Math class. If you analyze how people learn language, how you learned your first language, it was first focused on meaning, or did your dad sat you on his lap when you were about three to four and said “ Look son, today I am going to teach you the perfect tenses”. I bet he didn’t. But you learned how to use it before you knew what it was. So the “ get it right at the end” ( label given by Patsy Lightbown and Nina Spada) proposal, where the main focus in on meaning but there is a focus on form as well more towards the end of instruction. As Krashen has put out “acquisition should come first, only then learning should come in”. First learners should get the feeling of what is being taught, they have to see it in a meaningful way and it is the teacher’s job to connect with the students on that level. Start from something they already know, give them concrete experience, let them ponder, allow them to test their hypothesis, and finally let them act up on it. By following this cycle you will respect how the brain learns.

TDC 3 – Psychology – Cognitivism according to Piaget and Vygotsky

http://www.pedagogiaaopedaletra.com.br/posts/comparando-teoria-piaget-vygotsky/
Piaget and Vygotsky are the most recognized cognitive psychologists. They both developed theories that addressed cognitive development and learning among children. They share some opinions but there are differences as well.
Piaget claimed that development goes through four stages based on maturation and experience. He believed that biological maturation establishes the condition for cognitive development and that interaction with the physical and social environment is key for cognitive development.

On the other hand, Vygotsky focused more on the role of cultural and social interactions. To Piaget internal factors preponderate over external ones and that there is a natural line of development which is universal, while Vygotysky followed a cultural line of development which is highly variable depending on the child’s cultural experiences to the environment.
Piaget said that thought drives language while Vygotsky believed that language drives thought, you mature because you learn, not the other way around. Vygotsk placed a lot of emphasis on the social side, believing that every child is born to a social environment and develops from there while Piaget thought that a child develops from the individual to the social.
Vygotsky came up with the concept of Zone of Proximal Development which is an imaginary place where a learner can succeed with a little help from a more knowledgeable peer. It gives some insights on how teacher should go about teaching, the contents should be presented in way that they aren’t too easy neither too difficult. Too easy a task might drive the student into boredom while too hard a task might lead students to frustration and therefore, avoidance. According to Piaget, cognitive stages go through equilibrium and disequilibrium. When something unknown is presented to a learner, disequilibrium kicks is and there is a need to get back to equilibrium. When one reaches what Piaget called equilibrium, assimilation and accommodation have occurred to create a new stage of development (Woolfolk, A., 2004).
Besides some divergences between Vygostsky and Piaget, they come together in some aspects. They both agree that development occurs because the child is an active learner. The child actively organizes cognitive schemas to maintain equilibrium and the child is active in providing feedback to the parent/instructor. They also believe that development declines with age and that there is a steady increase of development in childhood, then cognitive development declines. People may have their preferences whether it is for Piaget or Vygotsky’s theory, however; both of them provided some relevant concepts in cognitive development and should be taken into account. Teachers should use whatever he/she considers to be important and regardless of who is right or wrong, what really matters is if learning is being fostered.

TDC3-Brain friendly activity

http://drwalsh.wikispaces.com/Brain+Based

As part of TDC 3 course, we were supposed to analyze two different class from a brain perspective.

The buzzer activity

In the first video, the teacher played a game with the buzzer. Students were split into two groups and one student from each group had to go to the front while the others waited in line. It was a very controlled activity and in my opinion, there was no whole-brain learning whatsoever as student were using only their back cortex and pretty much had to use their memory. There was no meaningful production, student did not create nor manipulate information. There was no use of front cortex. There was also a feeling of excitement and stress and the fear of losing activates the amygdala and when the amygdala is active, it stops students from learning as the brain is only looking for survival, so pressing the buzzer and winning were of utmost importance in this activity leaving actual learning aside. Although games might seem a nice activity to do in class, this one in particular did not meet the goal of fostering learning among the group. Although they were divided in team, students worked individually and as one student got on the spot the other just drifted way not really paying attention to what was going on. This activity, in my humble opinion, was not very effective if the objective was to promote learning of a certain language point. However, it could be a nice way to review something that was thoroughly worked out before.

http://cybersem.com/category/education/

The meteor activity

As for the second class, it certainly involves whole-brain learning as students are guided by the teacher to go through their learning cycle. The teacher sets the scene by showing them a disaster film about a meteor that was going to crash on Earth. This is probably something the students had watched before which is great because it puts students in the mood and it activates their back cortex. By giving the students slips of paper with action verbs which is something they students already knew, the teacher is using existing neuronal networks -that is – using their prior knowledge in order to reach the teacher’s aim which is a new verb tense. Upon returning to the classroom, the teacher once again starts “from where the students are” by using language that they already knew to get to the new content of the lesson and with some guidance she kind of forces them to test their hypotheses (front cortex) and finally they were able to create the language the teacher expected them to perform.(motor cortex)
This activity reflects the learning cycle. All parts of the brain are used (the occipital, temporal, frontal and parietal lobe) in this activity. The concrete experience is really important as well and using their previous knowledge to build new language was a great example of it since what the students already know is concrete to them.

Pronunciation practice websites

There are many well designed web sites for practicing pronunciation with charts, games, and animation. However, two of them stood out among the others for me. The first is the one from Iowa University(http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/english/frameset.html) which offers great visual aids. The students will be able to see a two-dimensional diagram of the inside of the mouth, so students can visualize the place and manner of articulation, in addition, there is also a presentantion of a video recording and it is possible to hear the sounds. The second one comes from BBC pronunciation tips(http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/). It gives a lot of information about phonetics with charts, symbols and it provides many videos and exercises which I think students will benefit a lot from. Moreover, there are several quizes that students can take and evaluate themselves and monitor their progress.
There are several things that needs to be taken into account when studying Phonetics and Phonology. One of them is articulation. It important to know where the sounds come from, the tongue position and how the air comes through and the Iowa website is perfect in doing that. There a lot of new things students get exposed to when studying Phonetics and Phonology for the first time, place of articulation, manner of articulation, voiced and voiceless sounds. All these can get the students overwhelm by the amount of new information. Therefore, I believe that practice and visualization of such things will enable students to internalize this new content.

TDC 2 Writing

 

TDC2 WRITING

 

 

The TDC has always been my dream course. Due to financial matters, I was never able to take it.However, the opportunity has come and I can finally enjoy the benefits of this wonderful course. The TDC writing course has been since the beginning very challenging for I believe I have never taken a writing course before. In addition, I haven’t had the time I wish I could have to dedicate to the course. My newborn, my new job, and my college have interfered with my TDC studies. Although there were many obstacles along the way, I tried my best to make the most of it. One of the greatest thing about the writing course was the feedback I received from my peers and my instructor. They were incredibly valuable for my development throghout the course. I was able to learn and identify different types of writing and how they should be written. The portfolio is a great way of measuring one’s progress. I could definitely see how I have improved. I just have to say that I am grateful for having this opportunity and I plan to apply all the knowledge I have acquired in the TDC writing course both in my professional and academic life and continue to develop it further.

What are the advantages of being bilingual in today’s society?

What are the advantages of being bilingual in today’s society?

 

We live in a very big planet with several continents. However, globalization and technology have shrunk our world, bringing us closer together than we have ever been before. Due to these changes, we may have daily encounters with people from different countries, and different languages. By being bilingual, it will be easier for us to communicate and move up the career ladder.

Humans need each other, but how can we help one another when there is no communication? We can’t. Imagine you are traveling in a foreign country. You will need to ask for directions, but if you don’t speak a second language, you will get lost. You might come across various tourist attractions, but you probably won’t enjoy them very much because you will not know what is being said, what it is about.

Technology has provided us with the ability of being all around, sometimes without even having to leave our room. For instance, we don’t need to get into the car and drive to the nearest mall to go shopping. We can do that online. It goes even beyond. We can do that online in a different country. Shopping online in different countries has become very commom nowadays, and problems might come along too, and there will be times when you need to contact the retailer. Communication will break down if we are not bilingual.

Career opportunities may get out of your hands if you don’t speak a second language. Being bilingual nowadays is not a plus but mandatory, otherwise you can easily lose the position to the next candidate. More and more, companies are looking for people who speak a second, or even a third language, and this is for all areas of work.

As you can see, being able to speak a second language enables you to interact better with others. It may also help you get a raise or a great job opportunity. We are closer together. We live in a globalized world, but we are different and we speak different languages, so by learning a second language we can communicate better.

Teaching English to different age levels.

Teaching English to different age levels.

 

I used to think that adult groups were much easier to teach compared to teen groups. Over the last couple of years, I have taught mostly adults at intermediate to advanced levels in very small groups. However, I have recently been teaching adults and teens at beginners’ level. I have come to the conclusion that both groups’ profile are difficult. They are just different.

Teenagers are at a time in their lives in which their bodies are changing and their personalities are taking shape, so you might come across regular moments of misbehaviour. Classroom management skills are of great importance when dealing with these groups. On the other hand, regarding EFL ( English as a Foreign Language) settings, teenagers have much more dense exposure to the English language than their parents probably did due to the technology advancement and the country’s economical growth. Therefore, it makes the teachers’ lives easier when teaching very low level groups.

Adult groups differ from teen groups in that adults have a longer attention span, so it is easier for teacher to keep them focused on whatever is being taught. Adults, being more mature and actually being in class for their own will and not because someone wants them to be in an English class makes a huge difference. They have a little more of self-motivation and they are there because they want to, so they usually behave accordingly. To their disadvantage, most of them are true beginners, meaning that there is a great chance that they have never been exposed to the English language, thus making it really challenging for the EFL teachers. Similarly, adults and teens have the need to use L1 in class. They both have this urge to speak Portuguese that is difficult to control.

Teacher may have their preferences when it comes to teaching different age groups. One might feel more comfortable dealing with mature students while others might like the challenge of motivating and winning over their wild teen group. Regardeless of what group you are teaching, you will face difficulties. You just have to find the best way to cope with them as they come along.