The TKT course took place in Setif and is over. We set for the TKT test.
Good memories are good memories but…
Have we really profited as teachers of English who were given this opportunity?
Has the course really changed anything in our professional life?
Did it bring anything new in our daily performances?
Do we really need to keep on studying it?
I humbly believe that this course is one of the most efficient ones I attended in my career:
Tizi 1988 under the supervision of Mr. Achour Khelifa.
El Oued 1994.
Batna 1998.
Mosta 1998 under the supervision of Mr. Bereksi.
Biskra 2006.
The course was a success and all the teachers say that it has brought new things to their professional life.
Beside the fact that we met colleagues from different regions and learned about their working conditions, we profited from the supervisors and each other.
What impressed me are the many techniques and ways of teaching that can make our job easier and more enjoyable both in class with the learners or outside while preparing the lessons.
We do recognize that the book TKT Course offered to the teachers by the British Council is a valuable reference that may be used by the teacher to bring a positive change in his professional performance.
The course book contains:
TEACHERS' AND LEARNERS'LANGUAGE IN THE CLASSROOM.
Using the appropriate language for a range of classroom functions.
APPROPRIACY IN USING LANGUAGE IN THE CLASSROOM:
* It is using language in the classroom which best suits the learners and the situations.
CLASSROOM SITUATIONS:
•The purposes for which teachers and learners use language in the classroom.
They include:
- To manage activities and learning.
- To explain learning points.
- To move smoothly from one stage of a lesson to the next.
SOME OF THE CLASSROOM FUNCTIONS OFTEN USED BY THE TEACHER.
- Instructing: the language is often the imperative.
- Explaining: how to do an activity / organize a project.
- Narrating: telling a story / talking about past experiences.
- Eliciting: we get information rather than giving it.
- Prompting Learners: when we say something to help learners think of ideas, or to remember a word.
- Checking learning: we do it all the time during our lessons. We can use concept questions.
- Conveying the meaning of language: realia – mime – concept questions. We may want to: - explain the meaning - demonstrate it - translate it.
KEY CONCEPTS.
* The language we use in the classroom must be appropriate the classroom functions and the age of the learners: we should not use language that is too formal with primary learners or too babyish with older learners.
* The language should be graded to: - suit the language level and age of learners – at or below the language level of the learners
* The language should be sequenced: using the language in a logical order.
* It is important to:
1) Repeat and use the same classroom language for classroom functions at the early stages of learning
( learners can learn it by hearing it again and again).
2) To plan and think about the language we use otherwise we might use the L1 or language which is too complex, which would not be helpful to learning.
Teachers’ and Learners’ Language
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ddkc33jb_109dj9vfg8s
IDENTIFYING THE FUNCTIONS OF THE LEARNERS' LANGUAGE.
The functions of the learners' language:
- the purposes for which learners use language in the classroom.
Taking parts in tasks and activities
Asking questions of the teacher
Interacting with each other
Asking for clarification
Checking information
Greeting
Saying good bye
Asking for repetition
Expressing agreement
Expressing disagreement
Offering opinion
Expressing doubt
Giving advice
Making a suggestion
Making a comparison
Giving an example
Checking meaning
Asking for an instruction
The language the learners need for interacting with each other may sometimes be quite formal, and at other times more relaxed.
The language they need for interacting with the teacher is often neutral or more formal.
They need to know special jargon for certain games and activities: it's my turn, I won, I'm first…
CATEGORIZING LEARNERS' MISTAKES.
Written mistakes can be categorised into slips or errors in:
- Accuracy.
- Appropriacy.
- Communication.
To show different kinds of mistakes, the teacher needs a correction code. This enables the learners to make their own corrections.
It makes learners lose motivation if we correct every mistake they make.
WHY DO LEARNERS MAKE MISTAKES?
- They may not have learnt the word or the structure yet.
- They may be using a word or structure from their first language by mistake.
- They may have been introduced to the language but may still need more time to process it or practise using it.
- They may have great difficulty making certain sounds.
- They may have writing or spelling problems in their first language.
- They may need more time to check and edit their writing.
The reason why a mistake is made influences the way we correct it.
Mistakes can be a very positive aspect of learning. They show us that learning is taking place and that learners are taking risks with the language.
Correction codes
Correction codes are symbols the teacher uses when correcting written work. The code tells the learner what type of error they have made, and learners can then attempt to correct their errors themselves, using the symbols to guide them.
Example
The following is an example of correction using a code:
SP (spelling)
Typical codes include; WO (word order)
WW (wrong word);.
T (tense).
P (punctuation).
Teachers use correction codes to develop the learners' ability to correct and edit their own work, as well as making learning from errors more memorable. However, some learners are either resistant to self-correction or find it difficult.
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT.
The teacher roles:
The teacher needs to manage the activities and the learners in the classrooms in different ways. He/She needs to behave at different stages of the lesson .These different kinds of behaviour are called 'the teacher roles'.
Role The teacher
1. Planner
2. Informer
3. Manager
4.Monitor
5. Involver
6. Parent/Friend
7. Diagnostician
8. Resource
GROUPING LEARNERS.
Type of activity, the students and the aim of the lesson affect strongly the way we choose in grouping our pupils.
When the teacher chooses particular interaction patterns for the learners, he/she opts for open class, group work, individual work or pair work, and the learner teacher or teacher learner.
Other criteria are to be taken into consideration:
1- The teaching aim.
2- The learning styles of the learners.
3- The ability and level of the learners.
4- The personalities of the learners.
5- The class size.
6- The previous experience of the learners.
7- The type of activity chosen.
8- The balance of interaction patterns in a lesson.
9- The group dynamics of the class.
CORRECTING LEARNERS.
We must show learners that something is wrong and that they have made a mistake. We need to show them how to put their mistake right. We can do it in different ways. We use oral correction techniques to correct oral mistakes and written correction techniques to correct written mistakes.
ORAL CORRECTION.
1- Time line
2- Finger correction.
3- Gestures and/or facial expressions.
4- Phonemic symbols.
5- Echo correction.
6- Not correcting at the time when the mistake is made.
7- Peer and self correction.
8- Ignoring mistakes.
WRITTEN CORRECTION.
1- Teacher's correction using the correction code.
2- Peer correction.
3- Self-correction.
4- Ignoring the mistake.
5- In the classroom, we use a mixture of teacher's correction, peer correction and self-correction.
GIVING FEEDBACK.
It is very positive to give information to learners about their learning. This is what we call feedback. Feedback can focus on:
1- learners' language or skills.
2- The ideas in their work.
3- Their behaviour.
4- Their attitude to learning.
5- Their progress.
Feedback can be given to:
1- The whole class.
2- Small groups.
3- Individual learners.
The purposes of feedback are:
1- To motivate learners.
2- To help learners understand what their problems are.
3- How they can improve.
INSPIRED FROM TKT COURSE BOOK.
Some preparations done according to the TKT Course book content:
1- The correction code
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ddkc33jb_110mhsvn7g4
that can be adapted to all the levels according to the progress of lessons and the learners' competencies recently acquired:
MS1.
MS2.
MS3.
MS4.
2- A sample Lesson Plan for MS
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=ddkc33jb_115hksxmzdn
The colleagues who were lucky and attended the TKT course and got the book should transmit the knowledge and encourage the others to read, say study the content of the book. It is very interesting.
Be sure it'll bring something new and positive to your professional life.
Mohamed07.
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