METHODS OF TEACHING

English

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January 2013

English

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January 2013

METHODS OF TEACHING

as much information as possible about the history of rock. For example, I have learned that rock was born in the 50s and very soon became the most popular music among young people. In the 60s four young men from Liverpool made a revolution in rock and in music in general. Soon they became the most popular group in the world. The name of this group was The Beatles.

Учитель всегда принимает участие в беседе, старается показать, как можно раскрыть каждую тему. Например, я и мои студенты-практиканты часто дают к заданию

“Speak about the author whose books you find interesting” следующий образец высказывания:

I like to read books by modern writers because these are books about things which happen in real life. I read such books both for pleasure and for knowledge. My favourite modern author is Valentin Rasputin. I can learn a lot by reading his books. They teach me and other people to understand Russian nature of the vast Siberian areas. Books of this kind make interesting reading. The author knows and understands the sufferings of the ordinary people, their great love for nature and for the place they live in.

В 9-м классе учащиеся более углубленно знакомятся с одной из стран, язык которой они изучают, – Великобританией. В учебнике имеется много страноведческих текстов, но учитель старается ещё больше расширить знания ребят о стране изучаемого языка. Для этого используется видеоподдержка, кинофрагменты и другие дополнительные источники информации, в подборе которых могут принимать участие и учащиеся.

Когда школьники уже владеют в достаточной степени необходимым страноведческим материалом, учитель составляет план ролевой игры на тему “Путешествие”. Перед учащимися ставится задача мобилизовать имеющийся у них запас знаний и умений для участия в групповом общении. Они должны уметь вступить в беседу, поддержать какие-то мысли, детализировать их, высказать своё мнение, поинтересоваться мнением других.

Приведём образцы высказываний учащихся, принимавших участие в этой ролевой игре.

Guide: Good afternoon, dear friends. Welcome to London. I am happy to meet Russian school children in our capital. My name is Kate White. I am your guide. During your stay in London you are going to have a lot of excursions around the city. But now, as you have already been told, we are going to

the college where you will have lunch and a short rest. After that you will meet with British students. They are waiting for you. Are you ready?

P1: Our idea of London is that it is a city where the sky is always grey, the streets are wet, and it rains almost all the year round. But the weather is so bright today.

Guide: The weather is very changeable. Let’s hope that it’ll be fine during your stay.

P2: We want to know as much about London as possible. We want to see everything and to go everywhere. Will you tell us anything about the city on the way to the college?

Guide: Of course, I will. Now we are coming out onto Parliament Square. On the other side of it you see a very long building – British Parliament. The building of the Houses of Parliament was built in the middle of the last century in place of the one destroyed by the Great Fire. Do you know anything about the greatest London Fire?

P3: Certainly, we do. It was in 1666. Thousands of buildings were burned.

Guide: Right you are; I think it will be interesting for you to know how it all happened. History tells us that 3000 houses and about 100 churches were destroyed due to a small bundle of wood. A young careless baker left a bundle of wood near a very hot oven. In a few hours big flames were seen in the narrow street where the bakery was. All the houses made of wood soon were burning like paper. People ran to the Thames trying to save their lives. There were a lot of pigeons in London in those days. They didn’t want to leave the burning houses and flew and flew around till they fell down dead. And now we are quite near the Houses of Parliament. The House of Commons was bombed terribly in the World War II. It was rebuilt in 1950. But there is Westminster Hall which was neither touched by fire nor by bombs. And it stands for many centuries. This Hall dates back to 1097.

If these ancient stones could speak they would tell us about Oliver Cromwell who had been installed in Westminster Hall as a Lord Protector.

The thrones for the King and the queen are in the House of Lords. The Speaker sits on a beautiful chair, a gift from Australia and Canada to the Mother Country. Soon we’ll pass the Tower. And now you can have a look at it.

P4: Is the Tower of London the most famous historical building in London?

Guide: I would say it’s one of the most famous historical places.

P5: We know that first it was a fortress, then it served as a Royal palace, and later as a state prison. Now it is a museum.

Guide: That’s right. But during its long period of existence there was a time when the Tower was even a Zoo. It was a Royal Zoo. Some leopards and lions were kept there.

You can see state pensioners here; they are ravens. There are only six of them nowadays, but there were a lot in old times. There is a legend that as long as there are ravens at the Tower, Britain will continue to exist.

P6: It is a pity we can’t see now the men that guard the Tower. I saw them in the picture. Their clothes are quite fantastic.

Guide: They are Yeomen of the Queen’s Guard. They are called “Beefeaters”. They are dressed in traditional medieval clothes. And it makes the old historic place look still more fantastic and theatrical.

Теперь класс делится на две группы: “английскиестуденты” и“российскиешкольники”. У каждого на груди карточка с именем.

Leader: Good afternoon, dear guests! We are happy to see you at our college and get acquainted with Russian school children. I am sure we have a lot of questions to ask each other and if you don’t mind, I’ll begin. Have you had a good journey? Have you ever been to Great Britain before or is this your first visit?

Ниже приводятся примерные вопросы, которые задавали “российские школьники”:

•What subjects do you study at the college?

•How many lessons do you usually have and how many hours a day do you spend at the college?

•What are the most popular kinds of sports with British students?

•What do you do in your free time besides sport?

•Can all the college leavers find jobs?

•Is higher education free or does it cost much in Great Britain?

•What British writers are mostly read by young

people now?

• What Russian and foreign writers and poets are famous in the country?

• Do your students smoke at the college?

•How do college graduates fight smoking?

•Are the Beatles still popular in Britain? Etc.

Вопросы, которые задавали “английские

студенты”:

•How has school life changed recently?

•Can you choose school subjects, schools and teachers?

•What are the opportunities for the schoolleavers?

•What clubs do you have?

•What professions are the most popular with young people?

•What are the most popular foreign pop groups in Russia? Etc.

METHODS OF TEACHING

Каждая из сторон не просто задавала вопросы или отвечала на них. В ходе встречи участники большей частью ставили какуюнибудь проблему, высказывали свою точку зрения на неё. Среди вопросов со стороны “российских школьников” было много таких, которые побуждали “англичан” рассказывать о своей стране, о достопримечательностях Лондона.

1.

R.P.: (Russian pupil) What do you do in your free time?

B.S.: (British student) Well, we like to listen to music, to see films, to go hiking. I also read much. My favourite author is Agatha Christie. I prefer detective stories to all other books.

2.

B.S.: We know that Russian people read more books than any other people in the world. Has the situation changed with the appearance of the computer and other gadgets?

R.P.: I think now we read even more. Newspapers and magazines are so interesting that we don’t have enough time to read everything we want.

3.

R.P.: I am interested in art and often visit picture galleries. I have been to Saint Petersburg two times and each time I visited the Hermitage. It is one of the most famous and richest picture galleries in our country.

I enjoyed some pictures by Turner, John Constable and Reynolds there, but they were not so numerous. Where will you advise us to go to see paintings by famous British artists?

B.S.: Well, I think you must go to Trafalgar Square in the centre of the West End of London. The National Gallery is on the north side of the square and theNational Portrait Gallery is in the north-east corner.

Игра проводится в доброжелательной, творческой атмосфере. Учитель ИЯ должен создать такую ситуацию, чтобы все ученики почувствовали себя свободными в ролевой игре. Активное участие в ней положительно влияет на формирование познавательных интересов школьников, способствует осознанному изучению иностранного языка. Ролевая игра должна вызывать у учащихся уверенность в своих силах, содействовать развитию таких качеств, как самостоятельность и инициативность.

Людмила Николаевна Щербатых, доцент кафедры иностранных языков специальных дисциплин Елецкого государственного университета им. И.А. Бунина

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V.Опоры в структуре оценочной деятельности учителя

Проблемаоцениваниядостиженийучащихсяпо-прежнему

существует в современной школе, несмотря на многообразие оценочных инструментов, используемых учителем на практике. Стоит признать, что время от времени возникает так называемый конфликт оценивания между учителем и учеником, в основе которого лежит непонимание: что я сделал не так, ведь я так старался…

В учебном пособии Grammar Smile сделана попытка наполнить оценивание содержанием, доступным и понятным учащимся, через вывод грамматических правил с помощью опор.

Алгоритм построения грамматических правил

Составление общих вопросов во времени Present и Past Simple.

1.Найдите в предложении главные члены и подчеркните подлежащее одной чертой, сказуемое – двумя.

2.Найдите или дополнительно введите (в случае отсутствия в предложении) “динамический” элемент, приводящий данную конструкцию в движение, и создайте ему образ.

3.Укажите на характер и направление движения “динамического” элемента в конструкции.

4.Переведите грамматическую конструкцию в новое “состояние”.

5.Рассмотритевозможныевариантыиспользованияграмматической конструкции.

6.Обобщите действия и выведите правило работы с данной

грамматической конструкцией, введя при этом необходимые условные обозначения.

Представим результат обобщения составления общих вопросов во времени Present и Past Simple в виде блок-схемы.

(Подробное построение общих вопросов при помощи опорных схем рассмотрено в № 11/2012, CD.)

Блок-схема. Построение общих вопросов

Образование множественного числа существительных.

1.Раскройте строение языкового объекта в родном языке (состав элементов и связь между ними).

2.При помощи “быстрых” схематичных рисунков сообщите о том, какую информацию в себе несёт каждое слово пары. Выясните, какой элемент языкового объекта несёт информацию. Что это за информация?

Дом – дома; корова – коровы.

3.Раскройте строение языкового объекта в английском языке (состав элементов и связь между ними).

4.Сопоставьте английские слова и их значения в картинках и выясните, какой элемент языкового объекта несёт такую же информацию.

A cat – cats; a box – boxes.

5.Обобщитеполученныесведенияоязыкеисформулируйте грамматическое правило, зафиксировав его на бумаге при помощи графических средств, рис. 1.

Образование притяжательного падежа существительных в единственном числе.

1.При помощи “быстрых” схематичных рисунков сообщите о том, какую информацию в себе несёт пара слов и словосочетание.

Мама, шарф; мамин шарф.

2.Посмотрите на пару слов и словосочетание и определите, какая часть слова содержит информацию о принадлежности. Выделите её зелёным цветом.

Мама, шарф; мамин шарф.

3.Сопоставьте пару слов, словосочетание и их значения в картинках. Выделите зелёным цветом элемент языкового объекта, несущий информацию о принадлежности.

Mother, scarf; mother’s scarf.

5.Сформулируйте графически правило образования притяжательного падежа существительных в единственном числе, где ’s – “магнитное окончание”, при помощи которого главное слово притягивает к себе второстепенное, рис. 2.

Аналогичновыводятсяправилаобразованияпритяжательного падежа существительных во множественном числе, в том числе исключений, рис. 3, рис. 4.

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Задание.

•Посчитайте, на сколько сантиметров выросла Полли?

•Сравнитедрузеймеждусобойиответьте: Who is tall? Who is taller? Who is the tallest? (Известно, что до того как дети съели все конфеты, они были одинакового роста).

Полезный совет.

1.____Имя_______ is tall.

2.____Имя_______ is taller.

3.____Имя_______ is the tallest of all.

Задание для самостоятельной работы. Составьте друг для друга задачки.

“ЧИСЛИТЕЛЬНОЕ” Ягодная теплица.

Учащимся предлагается выполнить работу индивидуально, для чего выдаются листы с заданием и цветные карандаши.

Задание. Найдитепоспевшуюягодуираскрасьтееёкрасным цветом.

Подсказка! Когда ягода поспевает, на горшочке появляется её цифра.

Наталья Шумилова, nshumilova@inbox.ru,

СОШ № 7, г. Краснозаводск, Московская обл.

Полный текст статьи, презентации “Прилагательное”, “Числительное” и комментарии к слайдам см. на CD.

SECTION 1: ORAL SPEECH

Mistakes are an eternal topic, and a never-ending problem in ELT. Why do our students make the same mistakes over and over again? What shall we do when a student who finally achieves fluency in speaking cannot master some sounds or stumbles over a number of grammar forms? How do we help our students overcome their problems in understanding a written text? Where do we find suitable exercises for listening comprehension? When do we suggest that our students write a letter or an essay, and not get moans and groans in return?

Are we, teachers of English, free from mistakes? No. Errare humanum est. Human beings make mistakes, says an ancient Latin proverb. People have learned to differentiate between such things as “slip of the tongue”, “misprint”, “misuse”, “misunderstanding”. William Archibald Spooner, an Oxford don (1844–1930), became so famous for his speech mistakes, that a new word, “spoonerism”, was coined to signify this kind of mispronouncement. If, for example, a weather person says, “Rowdy and clain” instead of “Cloudy and rain”, he commits a “spoonerism”, that is, a transposition of the first letters of words. Naturally the phenomenon itself has existed since times immemorial. Dr. Spooner did it in public speeches and lectures, and it happened often enough to acquire his own name.

In this section, we shall look at mistakes that students make in oral speech, and try to work out some ways and means of helping them to overcome certain problems. Naturally it is impossible to categorize ALL the mistakes that a learner of any foreign language may produce. Let us look at the most widespread ones.

•If a student regularly produces “spoonerisms”, it is useful to find a moment for a private talk in the student’s native language. If the same phenomenon occurs frequently, probably the one thing you can do is inform the student cautiously about this problem, and let it be. We can make a student feel better by citing examples from history, or from a modern event. All of us have heard a TV announcer or sports commentator mix up some words. Once a person is aware of the fact, they may gradually overcome this hurdle – or not. Since this is a well-known occurrence, the one advice people receive is, do not try to rectify the situation at once, because in most cases, it may only get worse!

•Some students are so eager to use the new lexis, or simply to show off their knowledge, that they misuse similar-looking words. People who are not really well-educated often like to use long words, and may produce, like Eliza Dolittle in “my Fair Lady”, absobloominelutely instead of absolutely. The English language has an infinite capacity for leading a learner, and even an experienced teacher, astray. Human and humane may look similar at first glance, though they mean quite different things. The list is endless. If a student is making a report, I would suggest that a teacher unobtrusively jot down some things on a card, rather than interrupt the speaker every minute, and at the end of a lesson give the card to the student. In a regular question and answer session, however, it is better to repeat the correct word at once, loudly and with an extra stress.

Student: Humane beings are… Teacher: HUMAN beings.

•A very effective way of correcting mistakes in oral speech without seeming to do so is by repeating what a student said, introducing the correct form instead of the wrong one. Unfortunately, this is not always possible. Let us look at an example. I have observed a very experienced teacher’s talk with a group of students whose English was quite good. When any of the students made a mistake, the teacher would repeat the phrase in its correct way, and then engage a student in further dialogue, obviously checking if they heard the tactful correction.

Student A: How you feel? Teacher: How DO I feel? Student A: Yes, how do you feel?

This went on quite successfully, until another student asked a question.

Student B: When you was a little boy… Teacher: When I WAS (stumped)…

Later, we came up with a solution: why not return the question to the student at some stage?

When you WERE a little boy, what did you do?

Continuous interruptions serve no useful purpose. If a lively discussion develops among your students, let them talk, and take your notes. If, for example, most of your students forget the third person present tense ending, it shows you that you have to do an exercise or training with them again. If one student continuously drops out the articles, you should devise some exercise for that particular student. Think carefully before you do any corrections, because you may make your students too shy. If they start thinking of mistakes before they actually speak, they may become afraid of speaking in front of you altogether.

• Mispronouncing individual sounds may be sorted out into two major categories.

Category 1 includes all the situations when a sound may prevent understanding, and hinder communication. The classic examples among consonants are I sink instead of I think. For the vowels, ship or sheep are probably the most typical instances. Once I actually heard the following phrase: “I sink good in a sheep”. “Good” in place of “well” does not hinder understanding; “sink” instead of “think”, and “sheep” instead of “ship” do.

Category 2 includes all the situations when a mispronounced sound or a “lost” word do not prevent understanding. A colleague told me, for example, that she had difficulty at first with her Japanese students, who would not use the article at all. Once she realized that there were no articles in Japanese, and that her students were very consistent in this omission, she got used to this peculiarity in oral speech. Rather than explaining the importance of articles in English during her oral practice lessons, she began stressing the fact that students had to use it when taking their written tests and exams, and to devise various extra exercises on the subject. When they achieved good results in their writing, the article gradually found its place in their oral speech. She confessed that dealing with the Russian students, who seemed to produce the articles on a fifty-fifty basis, was much more challenging, since she could not understand the reasons why it happened.

Telling your students about such situations, giving them various real-life illustrations, all help in making them aware of the importance of sounds in the English language.

If all your students have trouble producing the correct pronunciation, it simply means that you should spend more time on phonetics, and on developing their pronunciation skills. Pronunciation warmers, tongue-twisters, songs, video-clips, you may use whatever works at your lessons, and certainly find a few minutes regularly for this type of training.

By Nina M. Koptyug, Ph.D., Novosibirsk

to be continued