Educational links for primary school children
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Monday, November 29, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Eleven Principles of coping in Large Multilevel Classes
Principle three: pace
Correct pacing means that we should handle each activity and phase of activity at the tempo and momentum suitable to it. Without correct pacing, we can lose control and make our students either bored or frustrated, and in a large mulitilevel class such students become troublemakers. We have to make provisions for students who finish early and create the kinds of activities that allow the slower student extra time.
Each class has different demands for pacing, and only careful observation can teach us just what kind of pace to set for our students.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Authentic Materials and Cultural Content in EFL Classroom
Advantages of Using Authentic Materials
ü They have a positive effect on learner motivation.
ü They provide authentic cultural information.
ü They provide exposure to real language.
ü They relate more closely to learners ‘needs
ü They support a more creative approach to teaching.
Changes in linguistic and learning theory suggest that culture can be used as an important element in language classroom, but many students say that they do not want to learn about the language culture of the target language. This might be because of the fear of assimilation into what they perceive as something strange to them. I believe that cultural content is a key to effective teaching and learning a language provided that problems arising from introducing culture in EFL classroom are dealt with effectively and teaching strategies and learning materials are chosen appropriately.
As all we know, knowing a language goes beyond the knowledge of grammatical rules, vocabulary items and pronunciation of these items. Successful language learning requires users to know that culture underlying language in order to get the meaning across.
Choosing a textbook
Choosing a textbook is one of the most important tasks for the foreign language teaching at any level.
Criteria for Evaluating Textbooks and other Printed Materials
As elementary and middle school foreign language teachers evaluate text series or curriculum materials developed in other districts, the following questions are recommended for the screening process:
1. Goals
2. Communication
3. Culture
4. Subject Content and thinking Skills
5. Bias
6. Physical Characteristics
7. Support Materials
8. Budget.
There fore it is important to take into account the personality and likes of your students, as the teacher you know them and you must choose a tool useful for you and for the learners.
Evolution of instructional materials design
I think that the evolution of Instructional Materials Design tries to maximize the effectiveness, efficiency and demand of other learning experiences. This is a hard work that consists of determining the current state and needs of the learner, defining the end goal of instruction, and creating some intervention to assist in the transition.
Effective materials include certain components: Teacher´s manual, test items or resources, a study guide and activity guide.
Effective materials usually include the following features:
1. Instructional goals with adaptability to course requirements.
2. Accurate, relevant and relatively up to date information.
3. Well organize, coherent, and unified flow of information.
4. Appropriate reading level and vocabulary.
5. Effective layout, visual presentation, and physical features.
6. Absence of stereotypes and biases.
7. Multidisciplinary content with multiple rather than single perspectives.
8. Small concepts taught as variations on larger themes.
9. Development of insight and thinking skills rather than just memorization of insolated or unrelated facts.
10. Real world applications of information skills.
11. Inclusion of supplemental and references for teaching.
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