jueves, 26 de agosto de 2010

Here I am again. I have chosen to work with an authentic text for the project on chapter 4 of Hedge's Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom. I have used this activity and it worked very well. However, I would really appreciate any criticism from all of you, especially on the weak points you can spot. I hope there aren't too many, anyway.
http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/aSGuest62983-487271-hedge-chapter-4/

5 comentarios:

  1. What an interesting to way to work through a reading text, Norma! I wonder why you are asking for "criticism,... especially on the weak points"... Don't you believe we can do better and better just by "sticking to our successes" rather than spotting our weaknesses?

    I do... so I'd rather focus on what I did learn from you in this case... I thought making students aware of the authenticity of this article for them was bound to be highly motivating, and therefore encourage them to learn the words... The length of the article made me wonder whether such a text would work well with "intermediate" students, but since this term is differently defined in different teaching contexts that's hard to tell..

    One question: if you chose to tell students first about the text they'll be reading, and then teach them the words, how do you think that might affect them in carrying out the matching exercise?

    Keep it up!
    Gladys

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  2. Thanks for your comments, Gladys. You see, I think it's good to enjoy your successes for a while, but I am not sure whether it is good to stick to them. You see, I do believe that it is a good thing to spot the weaknesses because that's what makes you grow: the possibility of transforming them into (at least, potential) successes. It's not looking back and keeping there. It's looking back to change what's wrong and make you better. That's why I do appreciate it when you point out my weaknesses: it gives me the chance to improve. Mind you, I DO LOOOOVE it when you point out my successes as well.
    As for the length of the article, do you mean that intermediate students would expect a much longer paragraph? I was thinking of a 40' class when I prepared it, and that's more or less what it took them to do it; mainly because the after reading activity and the follow up (especially the latter) proved to be really engaging; the text was about a recent event, and they all had their say about it. As you have seen, the text and the vocabulary chosen is business-oriented. The problem with longer texts is that this kind of student doesn't usually like reading long texts- they have to do that every day at work. When they are in their English class, it is not such a heavy burden to work with a longer text if the aim can be equally achieved. I can still work on vocabulary, do some reading and also practise some speaking.
    Finally, I might have told them what the article was about before carrying out the matching activity, it's true. They would have done it much faster. I doubt whether they would have been more accurate because being businesspeople, they have a sharp mind and they can sort things out pretty well. Their power of deduction is at their peak. But if I had done so, I would have given away the title of the article, and that was something I wanted them to infer; that's why I chose to do it that way.
    It's always a pleasure to read your comments. And yes, the presentation goes by a bit fast, doesn't it? It didn't come out as originally planned, but...well. It resembles its target learners. Businesspeople are always rushing off their feet!
    Norma

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  3. HI,LU
    YES, THERE WAS A MISTAKE IN THE LINK, BUT I HAVE ALREADY FIXED IT. YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO SEE IT ALL RIGHT BY NOW.
    LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR COMMENTS,
    NORMA

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  4. Just wanted to make this point clearer: I was thinking of a shorter text, not a longer one, for what I usually refer to as "intermediate-level" readers! I'd say this look around B1+ level (pre-FCE) to me... Perhaps these business people are advanced readers (not necessarily able to produce L at the same level, I know)... Just a thought!
    Love,
    Gladys

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