Baby Steps

It was review week this week, with next week being the written exam (during the first half of class), and the following week being the oral exam.  Since the written exam is next week, writing played a huge part in my classes.  At the start of class, I gave the class 5 minutes to review their notes with their classmates to make sure that everything is up to date.  I then showed a series of example exam questions to the class via the classroom projector.  Students were told to write the example questions in their notebooks and when finished I had the students work in groups in order to answer the questions.  I gave the class  25 minutes to complete the task. As they did the GW, I reviewed what the students were writing and wrote some of the mistakes on the WB.   I did however alter the mistakes so that no student felt singled out.  Once the 25 minutes was up, I had the students look at the WB mistakes and  called on volunteers to see if they could spot the mistake and to correct it.    Once corrections were made, I assigned  each individual group member a set of questions to work on and allowed them 5 minutes to complete the task. Once the 5 minutes were up, each member would show their group their answers.  Any mistakes that were made were corrected within the group setting, and not by me.  I gave the class an additional 10 minutes to write a "master copy" of each question.  This led into the 5 minute break time.  During the beak I reviewed the "master copy" from each group with the group leader and I corrected  any mistakes that were made.  When the class returned form their break, I sent the leaders back to their groups and had them explain any mistakes which were made on the "master copy" to their peers.  I then assigned HW in which the students had to rewrite the example test (both the questions and answers) 3 times, using the "master copy" as a guide.  I informed the class that they needed finish the HW by next week in order to take the test.  No HW= No Test.    I will probably have to make exceptions to the "No HW=No Test" rule, so if need be, I will give them an extra week to do the HW.  However, students must have the HW completed before they can take the oral exam the following week.  In doing this, I can ensure that even the less motivated students will do at least SOME studying.

Baby Steps

With the remaining time I informed the students about the affective filter and how  stress plays a role in their learning.  I drew a picture of the brain and elicited answers as to what the picture was.  I explained how amygdala effects their stress levels and how being relaxed will help them with their exams.  I then told the class that they need to be  more concerned about comprehension of questions during the exams as opposed to the grammar, and to be sure to give more than one word answers when taking the exams.  I know that I was a "grammar Nazi" during the semester, however I am trying to change my style and although I believe grammar  is still important, I am also aware that students may be too worried about grammar and as a result, it may hinder their comprehension.  Many of my students are still in the Novice Skill set and as mentioned last week, one must walk before they can run.  Thus I informed my students that comprehension is the first goal, grammar will follow.

Baby Steps.

P.S.  Baby Steps are not acceptable for my teaching skills since that this is wat I am being paid to do, but I also have to realize that teaching IS a skill, and "perfection" takes both time and practice.  It's still a long road ahead, but at least I now have direction.

Numbered heads

This week I started to prepare the students for their oral exams by using a make shift version of the "Number Heads" activity from  MacPherson (which is found in sugarsync).   This was my first attempt at using the activity, and although I thought the exercise went well, there are still some bugs that need to be worked out.  As per MacPherson, I set the class up into groups of 4-5 and had the students practice the conversation topics which we have covered during the semester in their group.  While in GW, the students were allowed to use their notes  to ask and answer questions (for 15 minutes) as to practice their speaking and listening.  After the practice time was over, I had the groups randomly pick another team from a "hat" in which they had to ask a question to.  Each team member wrote their name on a sheet of paper and I secretly assigned each team member a number (or letter).   So for example, if "Team A" picked "Team B" from the hat, a student from Team "A" had to call out a number.  The student from "Team B" whom was assigned that number  was then asked a question by the student  from "Team A" that chose him/her.  If the  "Team B" student answered the question correctly, their team would get a point.  The team with the most points at the end of the game received extra HW credit.  If a student missed a question, I allowed another team to answer the question so that they could receive a game point.  In order for students to practice their listening skills,  questions were only allowed to be asked once (unless the question was not  clear when originally asked).  Only the group that was asking the questions were allowed to use their notes, every other team had to have their books and notebooks closed during the question answer phase.

I felt that the game went fairly well. The students were motivated to learn since they wanted the extra credit, and many of the higher skilled students helped their less skilled team members during the practice stage.  The game was low stress, and the students asked some unique question during the production stage (although there were times when a student was a bit TOO creative with their question, which made some of the question unclear).  Furthermore, the students affective filter seemed to be lowered during the game, and the class didn't have to worry about the "expert" language teacher hovering over them and correcting their grammar during the practice stage.

I learned an interesting thing about myself after watching this video which I must have ignored in the past.  I often tell my class that speaking and understanding  what is being said is the goal of class. As long as a student  can reply to a question by using sentences (as opposed to one word when replying) then we are in the right direction  After watching the video however, I noticed that not only did I require the students to reply in full sentences, I also corrected their grammar when mistakes were made.

I will try this game again next week, although I  I will tweak the point system a bit so that students will get credit for answering a question. regardless of the grammar mistake. However, I will write any grammar mistakes in my notes and then write a revised version of the question (as to not pinpoint any particular student) on the WB after this portion of the game is over.  I will then ask students if they see anything wrong with the statement on the WB.  When a WB question is corrected by a student, their team will then earn an extra game point.  With the WB revision added to the game, I can both serve the lower skilled students (by not embarrassing them if they made a mistake) as well as serve the higher skilled students, since they will have identify the mistake and will have a chance to to earn a point for their team by correcting the WB sentence.

This week I used  pronunciation exercise found on page 253 in the Harmer book.  The exercise was quite easy to set up and can be used when teaching students how to pronounce different sounds.  The pronunciation exercise is easy for students to follow as well, which is evident in my attached video.  It is also not very time consuming so the exercise  doesn't require much class time which allows the teacher can move on to different lessons,  The  exercise  focused on  the pronunciation differences between  "ch" and "sh"   (Ship vs Chip/ Wash vs Watch) although, in hindsight, I think that focusing pronunciation difference between "L' and "R" would have served my Korean students much better. Since Harmer's the instructions were quite easy to follow, there seemed to be little trouble when executing this exercise.

As for the rest of the class, my goal this week  was  lowering the affective filter of my students while at the same time trying not to appear as an authority figure in the class.  At the start of the  class I  had the students work in groups, then in pairs, as they reviewed the material which we have covered throughout the semester.  My feelings are quit  mixed on taking this approach, although, I must admit that the students  respond to this style very positively.  There was a lot to like in regards to student participation, as students were quite eager to talk to their classmates without feeling the pressure of having to produce perfect output , in front of class, when addressing the teacher.   As a result, I heard many funny comments, and once the ball started rolling, most of the students participated without having to be coaxed by me.  I also heard a few students correct their classmates when errors were made.  There were other times when a particular group asked me for clarification on a particular word or grammar rule as well.  The students also seemed to give honest replies to their classmates as opposed to just worrying about their grammar, as they do when reply to me.  I often heard questions which I never covered in class, which i found even more encouraging, (one boy asked a girl about her first date).   

Now for the bad...  Since this was the first time I allowed the students to "run the start of the class" the procedure did not flow smoothly (at first).  I had to give many instructions since the students seemed to be unfamiliar with a class being conducted in such a way. I, myself, also had trouble with being so hands-off in my class. I did roam from group to group to both monitor and at times, participate in a conversations when I was invited in.  l had to fight the urge to make immediate corrections when I heard mistakes as well. Once the group and pair work was finished,  I wrote some of the mistakes (i heard) on the board, and as a class we analyzed what the errors were and then corrected them.  I made sure not to pinpoint which student made the mistake, nor did I use an exact quote as to ensure that no one could identify whom made the error, not even the "guilty"party.  None the less, this did not seem like a natural way to begin class for me, since I didn't start the class by activating the student's schema.  And this is where my dilemma lies.  How do I lower the students affective filter by minimizing my role as an "authority figure", while at the same time activating the class's schema at the beginning of class?  I must admit that I was  quite pleased with how eagerly the students spoke with their classmates, however, I feel as though the students output could had been  a bit more accurate if I had done something to activate their schema first.

ICC 2nd Video (Back Off, Man!)

During this class, I used the ""Closing the distance" exercise found on pages 178-179 in our ICC textbook, (Crossing Cultures in the Language Classroom).  The idea behind this exercise is to show students how the concept of "personal space"  and "eye contact" differs between cultures.  I tried this exercise with 3 different classes and unfortunately this is the best example I could conjure in regards to the'eye contact' exercise.

I started by calling on 4 "volunteers" to pair up into 2  teams (an A Team and a  B Team).  One member from  each team had to exit the room with out any instructions, (members A2 and B2)  Once A2 and B2 left,  I informed the  "A1" member that when A2  returned to class, he needed to hold a conversation with him without breaking eye contact.  Although A1 executed the exercise poorly, the results went as predicted in the ICC textbook.  For example, A2 would often look away from A1 by either looking at the class or at the whiteboard.

Team B had a similar exercise, however the focus during this exercise was to focus on personal space.   When B2 returned to class, I had the B1 student invade B2's personal space when he entered the room... The results can be seen in the attached video.

Once the exercise was over I asked both the A2 and B2  students how they felt during the exercise, in which both replied  uncomfortable.  I then asked why they felt uncomfortable, and with the help of the class,  they  informed me about  the rules of personal space and eye contact which are common in Korea.  I then asked  asked A2 and B2 that  if it was a girl (someone of the opposite sex) which invaded their personal space or made such strong eye contact, would they feel different then if it was a boy, to which, of course, they both answered "yes", stating that they would feel "good".  I then informed the class that each country has a different  set of rules regarding eye contact and personal space, and they must be careful not to overreact if they ever find themselves having a conversation with people from different countries.  For example, a woman (from a different country) may not be interested in a man just because she is standing close or has strong eye contact.  If the man interprets the woman's body language incorrectly, many problems may arise.  I also informed the students that eye contact is very important in America, and if eyes contact is avoided, many Americans may think that a person is lying.

Finally I told the class that no one culture is correct in terms of eye contact or personal space, and if they are ever placed in an uncomfortable situation that they should express how they feel, although they need to be tactful when doing so.

Breaking the Law.

As become routine since starting STG, my classes started out with activating  the students' schema, as well as trying to lower their affective filter though casual conversation about topics we have previously covered in class. I am still struggling a bit with corrective feedback when students make grammar mistakes since I realize that there is a risk of raising the effective filter when I correct them.  However I also feel that it is important that students are aware of when they make mistakes,  and this has become a tight rope to walk and I need to further research on the issue.  I spent more time on the isolation stage of my teaching this week  this week, which seemed to help tremendously when student output was required, although there are still plenty of bugs to workout before the process works to my satisfaction.  One of the main problems I am facing is that I am not the same teacher that I was at the beginning of the semester and  many students were allowed not to contribute in class, and often times they lost focus. I have changed my teaching through the use  Exploratory Practice, so most of the students barely have noticed the difference in teaching.  Unfortunately though, there are still problems with students that are still used to coasting through due to my old teaching habits  and these are the students that I am trying to focus on the most via chaining questions.

The unit that was covered this week was "Crime" and I think the students had some fun in the class.  I used the "word circle" exercise in Harmer (pg 235) and wrote the word "crime" on the board.   I then had the students shout out answers to what crimes they may know, such as "fighting",  I then wrote the words 'assault and battery" on the board next to fighting , (there is an actual difference between assault and battery, since battery involves the actual touching, where as assault is just the perceived threat..but the students didn't need to know the difference).  Other crimes were acted out, such as 'drinking and driving' and "bribery".  I then had the students play a game of "have you ever".  I spent more time then usual in the isolation stage during this part of class, and as a result, the student output was much more productive.  After the isolation stage I had the class work in groups, then eventually  came the production phase.  I had to get the ball rolling by listing some of the crimes I may have committed in my youth.   Such as stealing candy when I was 10.  I also mentioned that I 'may have" gotten behind the wheel of a car when I had one to many beers.  Once I confessed my crimes, students were much more open to make confessions of their own.  A couple older ladies admitted to drinking and driving, where as many of the younger students admitted to stealing from their parents when they were younger.  Funny how a "good cop/bad cop" approach can get these criminals to sing. I made it a point not to judge the students, but I found myself laughing a lot when students told me how much they ACTUALLY stole from their parents when they were children.  One of my most innocent looking students confessed to stealing 150,000 won (albeit, not all at once) as well as confessing to fighting (it's always the quiet ones).  The students asked about family assault/battery , and I wrote Domestic Violence on the WB (after the class inquired).  Some students mentioned that they believe that Domestic Violence is  a problem in Korea, however, Drinking and driving, as well as  bribery are the 2 biggest crimes the country faces today, where as Domestic Violence is on the wane. .  

My organizational skills still need much work, and as a result, the classes toward the end of the week went much more smoothly then the classes earlier due to the fact that I was able to practice the routine. i feel as though this is quite unfair to the earlier classes and I will work on a way to make things much less lopsided so that all the classes are equally ran.
     

A day at the ball park.

I feel as though the things I have learned in STG are starting to finally come together.  I started every class (this week) by activating the classes' schema and I approached my students in a very conversational way, as opposed to just looking for their correct usage of grammar.  I also chained questions to ensure that every students was listening.  When I chained a question (such as what did Ji Hoon's  do last weekend), and the new  student (Student A) didn't know the answer, I had the "Student-A"  ask Ji Hoon the question "What did you  do last weekend?"  Once Ji Hoon gave his answer, I once again asked 'Student-A" what did  Ji Hoon's last weekend" and I usually received the appropriate answer.  The entire class was involved in the class discussion due to the chaining technique. Once a student gave a reply, I then engaged them with questions such as "was it fun, where did you go, who did you go with, what did you eat" and so forth.

I started off my presentation stage by having the students ask me what I did last weekend,  and I told them that I watched my hometown baseball team lose in the World Series.  I made an effort to not speak more then 2-3 sentences before I asked a question   I then had the students open their books and we started the daily topic, which was "sports".   The grammar rule for the day was "I used to..... but know I do not" .  I engaged the students with the things they "used to do", and I gave the example that I used to date Kim Tae Hee in 2010,, thus, i used to "kiss" Kim Tae Hee, but Now i do not (Using Kim Tae Hee and the verb kiss  seemed to get the student's attention, and I was often called a liar).  Next  I asked the class to  discuss  different things that they "used to do" but now no longer do. I set the students up in pair so that they could practice the daily lesson, and then we discussed the topic as a class, using chaining, choral repetition, the WB and eliciting techniques.

It was a "hit and miss day" because I sometimes used excessive Ttalk in class.  The class I recorded (see below) is a prime example of EVERYTHING that can go wrong. Half the class was missing due to a recording project for their department, and half of the class that WAS present was "hung over" and even  one student was arrested  for fighting while drunk the week before so i had trouble keeping the class on target with the daily topic.  This is the class which has the highest English Skills 9that I teach), but due to the circumstances involved in the day, as well as me not being as prepared as i should had been, led to the perfect storm when it came to the reading exercise.  I practiced the reading exercise with other classes (before this class) so that i could "perfect it' when it came time to do my recording  with my "best class" however results were awful.  

Since i recorded my listening exercise 2 weeks ago, this is a recording of a  "reading exercise... well it is an attempt to get it started... which I did not. Back to the drawing board.

ICC Corrine/card game

The ICC card game took a LOOOOOOOOG time to set up, so I wouldn't recommend this exercise unless the class has fairly high English skills.  Nor would I recommend that the game be played in a class with a large number of students, because they WILL talk when they move to a different table.  I don't want to embarrass the students by pulling them away from a table, so I was CONSTANTLY having to tell them "No Talking". With that all being said, once the students  understood the game, the results went as expected (and hoped for).  When students moved to a new table, they were confused, and a lot of frustration was being exhibited. It  took me 3 different classes to get this result (this is my smallest class), because all of the other classes  often talked, even when I put a student in the "time out chair", students at other tables would still talk.  This was a very frustrating game to set up.

This video was somewhat of a success, and you can even hear me say 'awesome" (how embarrassing) when things FINALLY went as planned.  After the game ended,  I explained that each table was a different country, and that each country has their own set of rules.  And we should not judge others as being 'right, or wrong" on how they do certain things, but we should just judge them as being "different.  You could see the "light bulb" go off as I explained this, and even a few of the older students clapped, as they seemed to learn something  of value.   I further explained that if they travel, they will face similar situations when they visit different countries (thus the importance of English) and why the NO TALKING rule was important for the game.  Then I went on to give my personal experience in Korea, and how I often misjudged Korean culture because I didn't understand it, thus I made wrong assumptions based on my American cultural rules.  Finally I explained to the students that they must be carefully not to make assumptions about other cultures based on Korean culture.  I would had LOVED to gone over certain things that Koreans do that may be misunderstood by non Koreans, as well as ask them what questions about American culture.  But Time is a friend to no man, and I was unable to press on with the culture lesson.