EVALUATING AND SUPPLEMENTING MATERIALS
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Ivón Lobo Fontalvo M et hod ology Assignment 3
EVALUATING AND SUPPLEMENTING MATERIALS
1. Introdu Introductio ction n
This paper aims, first, to analyze the unit 1 of the textbook “Teenagers 8”. Then, I will describe how and why I supplemented the lesson 1 of this unit. I will end on the evaluati evaluation on of the materia material’s l’s effectiv effectivenes eness s since since the supplem supplemente ented d materia materiall was already used to teach a lesson.
2. Coursebook Coursebook evaluation evaluation
The basic principle underlying learner – centered systems of language learning is that teaching programs should respond to learner’s needs (Johnson, 1989, p.63). Therefore, the teaching materials used in our English language courses should help the teacher to achieve his/her students’ needs. Cunningsworth (1984), points out that “the teacher should formulate objectives with the needs of the learners in mind and then seek out published materials which will achieve those objectives” (p.2).
When selecting an EFL coursebook it is advisable to submit it to an objective and systematic analysis process. This, in words of Hutchinson and Waters (1987), is “basically a matching process: matching needs to available solution” (p.87).
For this paper, I decided to analyze the fist unit in the textbook “Teenagers 8” which is intended for secondary school learners (See appendix appendix A). I based this analysis on
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Ivón Lobo Fontalvo M et hod ology Assignment 3
the following criteria suggested by Wallace: rationale, context, relevance to needs, interest and motivation and range of tasks / activities. (2000, pp. 185, 189).
The following ideas summarize the results of the material’s analysis:
1. Although the book book claims to have a communicative communicative approach, approach, it does not provide provide activiti activities es with an integrat integrated ed use of language language skills. skills. Most Most of its activities activities are designed designed for individual work (Lesson 1: activities 2 – 5, Lesson 2: activities 3 – 4, Lesson 3: activities 1 – 4, Lesson 5: activities 1 – 5). There are only three activities that facilitates students’ interactive learning ( Lesson 1: activity 1 and Lesson 4: activities 1 – 2).
2. The book aims aims to promote promote a natural natural use of English English,, but it does not contain contain any authentic material which can challenge the students’ learning process and raise their motivation.
3. The material material shows structural structural oriented drills with a overt explanations explanations of the rules which which do not give give the learne learners rs the oppor opportun tunity ity to explo explore re the the langu languag age e by themselves (Lesson 1: activities 4 – 5, Lesson 2: activities 3 – 4, Lesson 3: activities 3 – 4). Thus, the language is not seen as a tool of communication in most of the activities, but as a devise to focus on grammatical features of the language ( Loschky. and Bley-Vroman, 1993, p.124).
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In general, the first unit of the textbook Teenagers 8 lacks: a) real communicative tasks in which the learners could use their language skills conjointly. b) authentic texts that can challenge the students’ language skills and can increase their interest as well. c) creative activities that allow the students to create meaning and language by themselves.
3. The supplementary materials
Bearing in mind the previous ideas, I decided to supplement the first lesson of this material, so it could fit my students’ needs and my own pedagogical purposes (Nunan, 1991, p. 219 – 223). I added short authentic texts about varied holidays and I created materials with information gaps to foster the learners’ collaborative work in order to complete the task successfully. I graded the task according to my students abilities.
Harwood, in reference to materials’ modification, (2005), states that “many teachers adapt commercial materials, using them as “bridges” to stimulate their thinking and as the basis for providing the most appropriate classes in their context ( p.152). On the other hand, Harmer (2001) affirms that textbooks can become “spurs to creativity” (p.8)
The following are the “bridges” I created for lesson N° 1: 1. A handout with a mind map to activate the students’ schemata, articulate the students’ cultural background with the topic about celebrations and to
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promote meaningful interaction among them. This worksheet was designed to collect information and use it again during the class. A model conversation was also provided in the handout. (Appendix B)
2. Five multimedia slides with a collage of images that the students downloaded from Google and Yahoo in a previous class. A table to list the celebrations illustrated in the multimedia presentation. This material includes a guided conversation to help the learners compare information. (Appendix C)
3. Authentic texts about Holly week, Christmas, Thanksgiving day and Halloween to develop a jigsaw reading activity. (I also included the texts from the book about Rio de Janeiro’s carnival, The day of dead, Saint Valentine and April Fool’s day period). (Appendixes D1 – D2 – D3)
4. A table to gather information during a survey to three different partners in addition to a model conversation to conduct the interviews. This type of materials give the learners the “opportunity to use English to a purposeful end and even at a stage when their range of structures and vocabulary is severely limited” (Cunningswoth,1984. p. 10). (Appendix E)
5. A worksheet with questions to write a comparative text about the form they and people from other countries celebrate holidays.
When designing the above supplementary material, I took into account the following principles for interaction in order to help my students’ language development: a)
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Information transfer, b) Information gap, c) Jigsaw, d) Task dependency, and e) correction for context. ( Nunan, 1989, p.119 – 125 ).
4. Lesson plan
Having considered the textbook’s drawbacks in its first unit, my students needs and my pedagogical objectives, I planned to teach the first lesson of this unit for 8°A learners to implement the material I supplemented.
8°A is a group of 40 elementary students, aged 13 – 14. They do not have confidence to interact with other students using the target language and do not like being engaged in writing tasks. On the contrary, they are interested in computers, imagery, learning vocabulary and working in groups.
For those reasons, I decided to frame the materials I supplemented (overviews, multimedia visuals, guided dialogues, a survey and a model composition) into activities that give the learners a reason to interact and encourage mutual language discovery (Doff, 1986. p.210).
5. Evaluation of the material’s effectiveness
The best way of knowing if a material’s adaptation woks well is by trying out such material (Wallace, 2000, p. 190) . 8°A students used the following materials for the first lesson ( see appendixes):
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The most successful aspect when trying out the adapted materials was that most of the students accomplished the final objective of writing a comparative text about a holiday celebration because they could obtain the appropriate information during the all the lesson stages. Additionally, the quality of students interaction increased in the classroom because of the confidence that the learners received by using controlled conversation or writing examples.
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References
1. Johnson, R. (1989). The Second Language Curriculum . New York: Cambridge University Press.
2. Cunningswoth, A (1984). Evaluating and Selecting Teaching Materials. London: Heinneman.
3. Harmer, J. (2001). Coursebooks: A human cultural and linguistic disaster? . Modern English Teacher , 3(3), 5 - 10
4. Harwood, N. ( 2005). What do we want EAP teaching materials for?. Journal of English for Academic Purposes . Retrieved from www.elsevier.com/locate/jeap
5. Hutchinson, T. (1987). English for Specific Purposes: A learning Cantered Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Grammar and Task Based 6. Loschky, L. and Bley-Vroman, R. (1993). Methodology . In Crookes, G & Grass, S. (eds)Tasks and Language Learning: IntegratingTheory and Practice. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
7. Wallace, M. (2000).Action Research for Language Teachers. New York: Cambridge University Press.
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ICELT LESSON PLAN FORM Name of teacher:
Ivón Ester Lobo Fontalvo
Candidate Number:
Institution: Colegio Jorge N. Abello Date of Observation: DAY MONTH Time of observation Length of YEAR class 22 02 50 2006 minutes Class/grade: 8°A
Room: New Technologies Room
Number of students: 40
Average age of Students: 13 - 14
Number of years of English study (students): 3 years
Level of students
(please circle)
Elementary Intermediate Advanced
Lesson Number
(please circle)
Observer: 1 2 3 4 Aims:
By the end of the lesson students will be able to: 1. Associate vocabulary related to celebrations. 2. Look for specific information in a short text. 3. Ask information about holidays using wh questions ( what – when where ) 4. Give information about holidays and festivals. 5. Write a comparative text about a holiday’s celebration in Colombia and another country. 6. Design a holidays’ calendar Personal aims:
1. Encourage students’ interaction 2. Foster the learners’ use of English in class.
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Ivón Lobo Fontalvo Methodology Assignment 3 Assumed knowledge:
8°A students are able to: a. Identify Wh and yes / no questions. b. Identify expressions associated with dates such as : in April, on October 31. c. Identify expressions associated with places such as : in Colombia, at home. d. Identify verbs used to express activities in present tense.
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Ivón Lobo Fontalvo Methodology Assignment 3 Description of language item / skill Meaning
Holiday, day set apart for religious observance or for the commemoration of some extraordinary event or distinguished person, or for some other public occasion. Holidays are characterized by a partial or total cessation of work and normal business activities and are generally accompanied by public and private ceremonies, including feasting (or fasting), parades and carnivals, or displays of flags and speechmaking . Form
To ask about holidays’ information: What is the name of the holiday?
To give information about holidays: The name of the holiday/festival is…
When do they celebrate it?
It is celebrate it in…/on …
Where do they celebrate it?
It takes place in …
What do people do to celebrate it?
People dance/ eat/ go to …
Do we celebrate that holiday in
Yes, we do. / No, we don’t
Colombia?
The same day. /We celebrate it in…
When do we celebrate it?
/on…
Pronunciation •
•
•
•
• •
•
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Materials : •
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Reading texts taken from Teenagers 8 . Unit 1 ( Saint Valentine’s day, Barranquilla’s carnival, Rio de Janeiro’s carnival, April fool’s day, The day of the dead) Texts about Holy week, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas taken from www.kencollins.com, www.usinfo.pl/aboutusa/holidays/other.htm, www.wikipedia.com and Encarta encyclopedia 2004.
•
One computer for the teacher, 16 workstations, and a data projector.
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Photos taken from magazines and news papers.
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Pieces of papers, markers, glue..
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Rationale part 1: Profile of the learners 8°A is an EFL group of beginner learners. They are 40 students aged 13 – 14 who have a 50 minute English class per week at the New’s Technologies room. The students are able to identify yes/no questions and wh questions using the present and past tense. They can recognize verbs in present and past in the affirmative and negative forms, but they still find difficult to use those structures in a written or oral way. Therefore, it is necessary for them to get involved in a task where they can use all language abilities to practice those structures in a productive form. They need to be engaged in activities in which they can use their background knowledge about holidays and festivals in Colombia.
Rationale part 2: Anticipated problems Anticipated problems •
•
•
Some students may be afraid of speaking or writing in English.
Planned solutions
I will encourage students’ confidence by fostering cooperative learning and using positive feedback. Some students may not be able I will provide a model to ask for to ask for or give information and give information. because they lack speaking skills. Some students might not be able I will give them a guide to write to write a composition . the composition. Besides, they will use the information gathered during the class. •
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•
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Ivón Lobo Fontalvo Methodology Assignment Three Stage Presentatio n
Practice
Production
Aim
Procedure APPENDIX B Teacher and student activity
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Time interacti on
Tutor’s comme nts
The teacher divides the class in five big groups and asks a student 10 from each group to choose an envelope to brainstorm the vocabulary minutes considering the students context. The envelopes contain a sentence “ T - S Colombian holiday in February”, “Colombian holiday in April”, S-S “Colombian holiday in October”, “Colombian holiday in December”, “Colombian holiday in November”. They discuss what to write to complete a mind map in a piece of paper (appendix C). Students transfer the information to table on the board (appendix D) The teacher elicits the cultural similarities and differences between Colombian and other nations celebrations through questions: Which nations celebrate carnivals, too?, Do they use the same music or dances? Read about Students, in groups of 3, sit in their workstations and watch slides 20 about holidays or festivals in other nations. The teacher asks them to holidays. minutes identify the celebrations and answer if weather we celebrate those T–S Look for specific holidays in Colombia or not (see appendix E). The teacher asks: What S–S information. questions should we use to ask for holidays’ information?: the name, place, date and activities people do. Students write the answers on the Ask for and give board. information The teacher divides the class in 8 groups. Each group reads about a about holidays. different holiday (appendix F). The teacher asks the students to conduct a survey to 3 different students using a model conversation and a table to collect the information (appendix G ).
Activate students’ schemata.
Write about aStudents ,in pairs, write about a holiday that is celebrated in 20 holiday Colombia and other nation, too. They answer the following minutes Compare cultural questions to produce a comparative text: S–S st differences. 1 paragraph: What international holiday are you
going to write about?, When is it celebrate it?, Where?, What activities do people do?.
Assign homework
2nd paragraph: What is the name of the holiday in Colombia?, When is it celebrate it?, Where did you do go last year to celebrate it?, What activities did you or your friends do to celebrate it? The students use the word processor to save the information (appendix H). Design a calendar with the information you wrote. Use Word models for calendars and the image gallery.
PRESENTATION MIND MAP FOR GROUP WORK
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COLOMBIAN HOLIDAY(S) IN ________________
Name:
Days of celebration:
Name:
Place of celebration:
Days of celebration:
Place of celebration:
Activities you did to celebrate it last year:
Activities you did to celebrate it last year:
USEFUL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FOR THE ACTIVITY •
•
•
•
What is the name of the celebration we are going to write about? Let’s write about__________________ When do we celebrate it? In ______________________ Where do we celebrate it? We go to ___________________ Where did you go to celebrate it last year? I ________________
APPENDIX C PRACTICE
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WATCH THE MULTIMEDIA SLIDES. IDENTIFY THE HOLIDAYS AND WRITE A TICK IF WE CELEBRATE THOSE HOLIDAYS IN COLOMBIA OR NOT. Do we c e l e b r a t e it i n C o l o m b i a ?
Holidays in other nations
Yes
No
Colombian name for this holiday
1 2 3 4 5
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Model Dialogue
A. What was the celebration in slide n° 1? B. It was________________________ and What holiday did you see in slide n° 2 A. It was ___________________________ . What about n°3? B. I think it is _____________________. What did you write in n°4? A. __________________________. And what do you have in n° 5? B. ____________________________ Did you write the Colombian names for these holidays? A. Yes, they are _______________./ No, I didn’t. Did you? B. Yes, they are _______________./ No, I didn’t. A. Thank you. B. Any time
APPENDIX E Interview 3 partners. Find out about different holidays and festivals in other nations. Fill in the table with the information. Partner
Name of Holiday
Place
Date
Activities
FOLLOW THE CONVERSATION TO INTERVIEW YOUR PARTNER
A: B: A: B: A:
Hi! Hello! Can you give me some information about a holiday, please? Sure. What holiday did you read about?
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B: A: B: A: B: A: B: A: B:
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I read about _____________________________ Where do they celebrate it? In _______________________ When do they celebrate it? In / on _________________________________ How do people celebrate it? _______________________________________ That’s all. Thanks. Your welcome
APPENDIX F WRITING PAIR WORK ACTIVITY Compare the way people celebrate a holiday in Colombia and in another country. Use the information given in the class. Answer the following questions to produce your text.
1st paragraph: What international holiday are you going to write about?,
When is it celebrate it?, Where?, What activities do people do?. 2nd paragraph: What is the name of the holiday in Colombia?, When is it celebrate it?, Where did you do go last year to celebrate it?, What activities did you or your friends do to celebrate it?
I’m going to write about _________________________________________________ It is celebrated in ______________________________. People from _____________ celebrate it in ________________________________. During this celebration people__________________________________________________________________.
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In my country, Colombia, we call this holiday _____________________________. It is celebrated in _________________________ . Last year, I __________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________
PRESENTATION TABLE TO TRANSFER INFORMATION ON THE BOARD
HOLIDAYS AND FESTIVALS IN COLOMBIA MONTH HOLIDAY(S PLACE(S) DAY(S) ACTIVITIES ) FEBRUARY
APRIL
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
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NAMES: Jorge Gonzalez, Alexander James. Workstation 12.
Halloween is celebrated in October 31st in all the world. In United States the children and the adults dress costumes. Children say: “Trick or teat” to ask candies. Adults celebrate In my country, Colombia, we call this holiday dia de las brujitas or día de los niños. In Barranquilla it is the Day of the Angels. Halloween is celebrated in October 31st in the evening and the Day of the Angels is in November 1st in the morning. Last year I did not use costume. I went to the “ with parties. School dances and neighborhood parties called “block parties” are popular among young and old.
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