UNIT 18: ASSESSMENT TYPES AND TASKS

From this unit I learned that assessment is an important part in teaching language.  Teachers utilize different methods to assess learners.  Assessment tasks are the tasks educators use for assessing learners. Informal assessment involves observing the learners on something that they are doing and giving them comments on their performance. Formal assessment uses tests or exams to assess learners and give their work a mark. Diagnostic test is taken at the beginning of a course to find out what students know and do not know. Placement test, the information obtained in this test will be used to place students in the correct level. Progress test is taken when has finished the first part of a course and it measures what learners have learned. There are also other ways to assess learners like portfolios, students collect their works done during the course and then is presented to the teacher. I also learned that assessment tasks are often named as objective, there is only one answer, and subjective, the marker has to decide if an answer is right or how right it is. I would apply the knowledge acquired in this unit by taking students a diagnostic test which is necessary to know learners’ weaknesses and strengths before starting a course.

1. Griffith University (2012), Assessment matters, retrieved from: http://app.griffith.edu.au/assessment-matters/docs/assessment-methods/tasks

2. Colorincolorado webcast (2014), Assessment of English Language Learners, retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysDDfG-enCc

UNIT 17: PRACTICE ACTIVITIES AND TASKS FOR LANGUAGE AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

In this unit I learned that are tasks created to give students possibilities to practice and extend their use of language, such as new lexis, functional exponents or grammatical structures, or of the subskills of reading, listening, speaking or writing. Moreover, I learned that there are controlled activities that help students practice in accuracy and the form of language; hence, they will avoid making few mistakes. There are also free activities; these allow learners to utilize whatever language they want to complete a task. However, controlled activities give students plenty of guidance and support in using language accurately. In order to develop reading and listening skills, which are receptive skills.  Now, knowing about the content of the unit, I would apply activities that help students to enhance their English skills. For example, an activity for reading for details is to make students order pictures from a story that have been jumbled.

1. British Council (2014), controlled practice, retrieved from: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/search/site/controlled%20practice

2. Fig Essa (2011), Effective Listening skills, retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8zNx_IarUw

UNIT 16: PRESENTATION TECHINIQUES AND INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITIES

In order to instruct students, teachers need to know about presentation techniques that are used by teachers to focus learners’ attention on the meaning, use and form of new language. About this unit I learned that there are introductory activities utilized by teachers to present a lesson or teaching topic. Moreover, I realized that all the presentation techniques contextualize target language. For example, these techniques put the language in a context so that students can understand its meanings. Depending on the situation teachers can use a listening or reading text, realia, mime, visuals, and so on. Regarding introductory activities they are the activities an educator uses to present a lesson. The most well-known introductory activities are lead-ins, whose aim is to teach a topic. Warmers, whose aim is to raise students’ energy or to make them feel comfortable before the lesson starts, and ice –breakers, whose aim is for students to get to know each other when the course has recently started.

To apply introductory activities in the classroom it is essential to have a wide variety of activities since students can easily get bored with the same activities. Besides, the instructions have to be clear so that students can understand what the activity is about. 

1. Lifehack (2014), 4 effective presentation techniques, retrieved from: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/4-effective-presentation-techniques.html

2. Busy Teacher (2014), Fabulous Ideas for the First Day of Class, retrieved from: http://busyteacher.org/3046-fabulous-ideas-for-the-first-day-of-class.html

UNIT 15: APPROACHES TO LANGUAGE TEACHING

Approaches in English language teaching have been developed with a view to instructing people in a second language like the communicative approach, which is based on speaking; hence, communicative activities that focus on fluency. In this unit I learned on other methods to teach English. Structural approach, this is based on structures utilized to communicate meaning. Task-based learning (TBL) use functions, vocabulary, structures and discourse to teach a language. Presentation, Practice and production (PPP), it states that grammatical structures and functions are the most important aspect of language. Lexical approach, it establishes that vocabulary, which consists of individual words and different kinds of chunks such as collocations, idioms, and fixed expressions, is the most important aspect of language. There are also other methods such as Functional Approach, Grammar-Translation, Total Physical Response (TPR), Guided discovery, Content-based learning and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) that have contributed in the English language teaching. To apply the knowledge on this unit in the classroom, it is necessary to know the steps that involve each of them in order to find out what could fit in the class, taking into account that that method maybe could not be applied in other class.

1. ESOL (2009), Teaching approaches and strategies, retrieved from: http://esolonline.tki.org.nz/ESOL-Online/Teacher-needs/Pedagogy/ESOL-teaching-strategies/Oral-language/Teaching-approaches-and-strategies

2. Richards, J (2014), Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching, retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlVZpcan7q0