TESOL Teachers

Workshop Plan for Communicative Task Design Input Session

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 04:56:55 +0000

This is a looped input in that is uses task design models in order to discuss classroom practice. However, the main aim of the session is for teachers to be able to create effective fluency tasks which get students communicating/speaking. Handouts and participant tasks included.

A useful background pre-reading is the trainer notes

Time: Minimum 1 hour, ideally 1.5 hours

Aim	Procedure
To set up the boundaries of the input and intended outcome	Explain why workshop is being given – it is to help with the problems of getting students to speak in a fluency task. The process of the workshop is to ask participants to take part in 3 different types of task and then to assess them for effectivenessExplain that there might not be time to complete each task fully but that the aim is to have an understanding of the tasks which will be easier at the evaluation stage. If time is limited participants can get frustrated as the tasks themselves can be very interesting to a group of teachers J
To demonstrate a poor task type for later discussion	Task 1Tell your partner 3 things that annoy you about students or 3 peeves you have about your studentsDon’t do feedback at the end of the task but explain that the feedback will be covered later in the session. Don’t spend more than 6 or 7 minutes on this stageChange partners (Peeves usually include, students use of electronic dictionaries, not doing homework, telephones in class, lateness, talking when teacher is talking, refusing to speak etc) I haven’t met a group of teachers yet who don’t have lots of peeves!
To demonstrate a different task type (slightly better!)	Task 2Talk with your partner and find 3 peeves about your students that you have in common.Again don’t do feedback. Change partners again
To demonstrate aneffective task type	Task 3Talk with your partner and agree on a top peeve about your students and decide on some possible solutions. Prepare to present your top peeve and solutions to the group who will see if they agree or can add to the solutions.Take this task to its conclusion- get participant’s presentation about peeves and solutions. Don’t allow for any repetition if some of them have the same peeves.You don’t need to provide any ‘answers’ to the peeves. To do so can also distract from the main aim of the workshop.
To bring tasks around to main aim of designing effective tasks	Elicit which task was most effective/enjoyable and authentic. Point out that you are going to come back to the tasks in a minute but for now you want to go off on a tangent!
To establish one of the keys aims of a speaking task	First, elicit why we give students speaking practice.Possible Answers To test what we have taught or what we need to teach, to identify gaps in knowledge To give them oral, freer practice with language To support language acquisition The aim of the question is to point out that we want to give speaking practice with a clear linguistic purpose rather than just a ‘warm up. Make the point that the best speaking tasks will be those that are as authentic or as real to the student’s world as possible. If they can relate to the context and situation of the task they are more likely to want to use the language. Don’t get sidetracked onto a discussion about the purposes of fluency tasks at this point!
To establish the components of an act of communication between two people	When we communicate with each other there is always a reason/purpose or intention which can also be defined as an outcome. For example if we walk into a cafe and ask for a coffee the coffee could be described as the outcome of the communication. If we tell another teacher about our peeves we are probably looking for some solutions, maybe sympathy, or maybe just some recognition that teaching is hard. This is where it can get complicated! It’s true that the reasons for communication and the desired outcomes from the communication can be almost unreadable at times, or non verbal etc. However, for the purposes of this workshop we want to look at specific communicative outcomes from a spoken task.So, keeping it simple, what can a teacher include in the task design which will make it as communicative as possible?Put these answers on the right side of the board, leaving enough space for to include the three task boxes (as per board plan).
To distinguish differences between the 3 tasks	Participants complete the Task 1, 2 and 3 table that have been developed on the right of the board.Comment. Some participants will argue that in Task 1 the listener does listen. This may well be the case because they are polite etc. But it is not build into the actual task design itself and often the other person doesn’t listen to the speaker! Task two has a task outcome but not a communicative outcome. So participants will achieve the end of the task but it’s not authentic. However, this doesn’t mean that it doesn’t give the student good practice. If there is no role for the listener there is no communication gap. One person must listen to the other in order to give what is needed. Tasks 2 and 3 allow the teacher to design really focused tasks which increase the possibilities of using the target language Task two’s are really useful but they are seldom what we do in the real world. It is unlikely in the real world that we will talk with another teacher just to find 3 peeves we have in common or that we will start a discussion with that goal in mind /7. Let’s hope so!
To test the task through counting the amount of information generatedTask 1	A good test of a task can be to calculate how many pieces of information are generated. The numbers are based on the assumption that there are 10 students in the class.Task 1If 10 students tell their partner their 3 top peeves then we have 30 pieces of information in the room. The teacher has to manage this information. There seems to be two main ways to do this. Ignore what the students have produced and move onto the next task! Unbelievably this happens frequently! The teacher usually says something like ‘well done, now let’s do exercise 3’. Students hate this kind of task. Students want to know if they have done it right or at least why there were doing the task. If teachers do this kind of task a couple of times you can almost guarantee that they are ones in the staffroom moaning about students who won’t talk. Students have an unerring ability to work out if a task has a clear outcome or aim or not. If it doesn’t they know that they can ‘escape’. Ask each student in turn what was said. If we have 10 students by the time the teacher has asked number two, number one is texting, sleeping, making eyes across the room or generally causing a disturbance. They as sure as eggs not listening to their peers as some teachers demand. The other problem with this type of task closure is that the aim of the speaking was to practice or test a specific piece of language but the feedback will probably take longer than the actual task!
Testing task 2	Task 2We now have 15 pieces of information that need to be processed. Still less than a task 1 but the management options tend to be as above
Testing task 3	Task 3For a group of 10 we will have about 3 pieces of information and less if two groups agree. It is much easier to process the information and can usually be done quickly. If all the students were involved in the task they are often interested in each others solutions or findings.
Information on task closure	It’s interesting to make the point that on a speaking task an effective staging to closing the lesson stages is: Close the actual task Give linguistic feedback – cold error correction for example Possibly recap the main points of the lesson or language input If the task closure is too long there is often not enough time for the linguistic feedback
To pull together the message	So, get agreement that task 1’s are not good and serve no purpose except to demotivate students.Task 2 types are good and often lead onto Task 3’sTask 3 are the easiest to manage and create the most authentic scenarios for languageInterestingly another ‘test’ of a good task can be seen when it comes to writing the aim of a freer practice lesson. If the task is being used to practice/test a specific piece of language it can be stated as:Target Language + Task OutcomeTo practice ‘used to’ in order to discuss and find out who was the most horrible child in class when they were younger! Give out summary handout – Communicative Task Design
To give participants practice	Give teachers the practice handout and in pairs they decide what type of task it is and how it can be converted into a 3Generally task 3 types include the words: decide, agree on, find etc in the instruction language.
Extension task	Look at some course book and create better production tasks

Board Plan

Number of pieces of Information for feedback with 10 students Task 1 30Task 2 15Task 3 3 (most)	Task 1Tell your partner 3 things that annoy you about students or 3 peeves you have about your studentsTask 2 Talk with your partner and find 3 peeves about your students that you have in common. Task 3 Talk with your partner and agree on a top peeve about your students and decide on some solutions. Prepare to present your top peeve and solutions to the group who will see if they agree or can add to the solution.	Components of an act of communication	Task 1	Task 2	Task 3
		There is a reason for both a speaker and a listener.	No	Yes	Yes
		2. There is an authentic communicative outcome.	No	No	Yes
		3. There is a communication /information gap	No	Yes	Yes
		The task practices the target language.	May	Yes	Yes
		5. The task is as authentic/realistic as possible.	No	No	Yes
		6. The task is personalized to the students	Yes	Yes	Yes
		The task is on the same topic as the input lesson.	Yes	Yes	Yes

©Jeanette Barsdell

Time: Minimum 1 hour, ideally 1.5

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admin — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 01:24:08 +0000

Communicative Task Design – Handout

admin — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 10:00:37 +0000

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Communicative Task Design

Why is it important?

In the world, we very seldom speak without purpose. In fact, speaking without purpose is sometimes seen as a symptom of insanity!! As adults our verbal communications are in a context and are seldom random. If we don’t have an audience/listener, regardless of how uninterested they may be, we are seen as slightly weird because we are perceived as talking to ourselves.

Communicating is about getting and giving things that we want or desire, fulfilling a need. Each time we open our mouths we are using words for gain! For example:

To buy a bus ticket
To set up a task for a student
To praise someone
To evaluate a students progress
To discipline a student

In the classroom what is a ‘task’?

A ‘task’ in the classroom is the opportunity for students to use the language in their own way, in a personalized and authentic context. The task is designed in such a way that either the previously taught language is naturally used or the students’ ability is tested before language in taught.

How do we identify a ‘production task’?

The students’ use of the language is not controlled by the teacher during the activity.
The teacher’s role is one of facilitator or listener.
There is a clear outcome.

Why do we give tasks?

In order to:

test students’ ability to use previously taught language.
test students’ ability to perform an act of communication in order to diagnose their linguistic ability and need.
give students practice using language in order to perform a specific act of communication.

What are the ingredients of a good production task?

There is a reason for both a speaker and a listener.
There is a communication gap.
There is an outcome.
The task is on the same topic as the lesson.
The task actually practices the target language.
The task is personalized to the students.
The task is as authentic/realistic as possible.

Communicative Task Design – Practice Task

admin — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 09:57:35 +0000

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Decide if the tasks below are task 1, 2 or 3. Then convert each task 1 and 2 into a task 3

Recommend an Auckland restaurant to friend who is visiting for one day.

Task _____?

Describe your ideal husband/wife to your partner. Task _____?

Pretend that you are an alien from Mars and want to buy a bread-making machine, ask the shop assistant questions about the machine. Task _____?

Put the pictures in order and tell your partner the story. Task _____?

Put your 7 pictures in order, your partner can’t see the pictures, and then describe the pictures so that your partner can put their own in the same order. Task _____?

Tell your partner about your worst day in NZ and decide who has had the worst day. Task _____?

Compare your accommodation with your partner. Task _____?

Tell your partner about your family. Task _____?

Tell your partners how you feel about this input session and find the person with the most similar feelings. Task _____?

Tell your partners how you feel about this course/input and find the person with the most similar feelings – if you feel negatively decide what action you can take to feel better. If you feel positively prepare a compliment for the organiser. Task _____?

Talk to your partner about the picture. Task _____?

Task sheet answers and commentary

	Task Type	Suggestions for creating a Task 3
	Task 1	Work in groups of 3, find 3 restaurants of types of restaurant you have all been to (task 2) and then decide which one would be best to recommend to a friend (task 3)
	Task 1	Discuss the qualities you both like in a partner (task 2) and decide on the top 3 qualities that you would look for on an internet dating site, and if you would accept any less!
	Task 2/3	It lacks authenticity. However if you were working with younger learners or wanted to do something a bit different it might work. There is also no clear outcome. To make it a clear task 3 it would involve finding the best shop keeper, who you would prefer to buy from
	Task 1	It’s difficult to turn this into a task 3 because of the inauthentic nature of the materials. You could make it a task 2 by getting each student to create a story based on the picture and then tell each other the stories to find the best.
	Task 2	Difficult to turn into a 3! For same reasons as above
	Task 3
	Task 1	Describe your accommodation to a partner in order to find out who has the most similar/different/ preferred/ expensive etc
	Task 1	For a task 2, compare your family structure with your partner and find 3 similarities/differences.
	Task 3
	Task 3
	Task 1	Just don’t do this one!

Communicative Task Design – trainer notes

admin — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 09:48:59 +0000

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What type of task does the input/workshop refer to?

Communicative task design refers principally to spoken production tasks, although there is a lot of application to writing lessons. The tasks referred to in this session are usually given when the teacher wants to practice new language that has been input/taught or to test what language students may need in a reasonably authentic, personalized way. These tasks are also sometimes referred to as freer practice.

Why is this type of workshop useful for teachers?

This input initially grew out of curiosity! I noticed that in the staffroom some teachers would complain that their students never spoke and they couldn’t ‘get them going’. At the same time another teacher with the same group would be having a great time with lots of discussion going on!

After lots of lesson observation I came to the conclusion that one of the key factors in getting students to speak was task design. If task design was poor students could ‘escape’ the task and usually just wouldn’t or couldn’t do what was asked. For sure everyone can have a bad day, chatty student groups can have their off days, everyone can be tired, hungry or whatever and yes, it will be hard to get them going sometimes but you have much more chance of success if your fluency task is well designed.

Why don’t teachers have this knowledge already?

Good question. Part of the problem is EFL/ESL course books. The focus of course books is input (reading and listening) and language awareness with lots of controlled practice. Look at any double page spread in a course book and you will see that the production task, if it exists is two or three lines, usually at the bottom of the right hand page. Production tasks by their very nature don’t need more text or controlled practice so they are difficult to display in a course book. From the balance of activities in course books teachers can pick up the message that production tasks are not important or don’t need much time spent on them. It’s interesting to give groups of teachers a unit from a typical course book and ask them to decide how much time should be spend doing the tasks on the page and how much on using the language in a freer task – the answers will vary. Some teachers will give no freer practice. The reason often given is that there ‘is not enough time’. Some will give 10 minutes at the most but will happily spend hours on inputting the language, analyzing it and giving controlled practice. The number of teachers who will give extended freer practice tend to be small a minority unless they have had fabulous training!

Anticipated input problems for the TESOL trainers

1. Differences between communicative tasks and controlled practice

Check that your teachers know the difference between controlled practice and freer practice. The definitions I use are:

Controlled practice. Where the language used is controlled in some way by the task. For example: replace the word, transformation activities, gap fills, reading aloud, pronunciation tasks etc

Freer Practice. Students have the opportunity to use language freely, personalizing the language, having the chance to test their own hypothesis in reasonably authentic situations. The task provides a context and desired outcome but does not control how they use the language.

Freer practice is a waste of teaching time

This comes up surprisingly often! Some teachers feel that if they are not actively inputting or talking about language they are not really teaching or giving the students full value. The teacher sometimes feels that freer practice can be done outside of the classroom or is a waste of time because the students are unlikely to have an opportunity to use English in the real world and just need to pass a school exam.

For teachers in monolingual settings and/or state schools there is an issue of noise disturbing other nearby classes. There is also the problem of correction, many teachers are not confident of their own ability to communicate accurately so lack confidence in correcting their students outside the parameters of an easily controlled practice with the answers in the teachers book!

I am just warming up the students /activating schemata/scaffolding the task

This comes up with mini fluency activities at the start of a lesson. Teachers don’t feel the need for good task design because of the reasons above. The counter argument is that well designed tasks are always better than poor ones!

So what is effective task design?

Task Type 1

It might be easier to start with what is poor task design. In the workshop I refer to this as a Task type 1. The classic task type would be ‘talk about this picture with your partner’. This is problematic because:

There are no clear task boundaries – the language used could be anything. Students could use description language, could predict what will happen or what has happened or give opinions on the picture.

It’s impossible to achieve a specific target, to ‘complete’ the task because there is no clear outcome.

There is no specific role for the listener so the other person gets bored and will only listen out of politeness if at all

There is a lack of linguistic and task focus which students realize and usually resist, they know that the teacher is not going to use their output in any way and that what they produce is likely to be ignored by the teacher. This is when they become quiet and difficult to ‘get going’.

The teacher has logistic problems. If there are 10 students in the class then at least 10 pieces of different information will be generated. How will the teacher manage the feedback of all this diverse information? Usually one of two things happens.

Firstly the teacher tells them that the time is up and they move onto the next task so no recognition of the students work is given. Students get very demotivated by this type of task and are frustrated if they don’t know if they have done it ‘right’ or not.

The teacher goes round each individual in the group and says something like ‘what did you say?’ So the student regurgitates a mini version of what was said. The teacher then either impatiently waits for the student to finish and move onto the next student or starts correcting on the feedback. After the first couple of students everyone is very bored. The students who have given their feedback are starting to fidget, text and gossip. The ones well ahead are snoozing etc.

Note. If you observe a lesson with this happening it can be useful to ask the teacher what the original task aim was. Calculate which took longer, the speaking task or the feedback? Usually it is the feedback! This question usually highlights the ineffectiveness of the task design.

At the end of a speaking task the ideal is to close down the task in two ways. Firstly close the actual task down quite quickly. For example, who has the best weekend or who was the best negotiator? The aim of the task was to give speaking practice so the information generated by the task is not usually necessary.

Secondly and more importantly is the linguistic feedback. What did students do well with the language? What errors can be corrected post task? Are there any questions about the use of language?

Typical Task 1 Types

Talk about the picture with your partner
Tell your partner about your weekend
Describe your family to your partner
Recommend a restaurant to your partner
Tell your partner what kind of partner you want/have

Notice that the first word of the instruction sets up a monologue.

Task Type 2

The second group of tasks I refer to as Task Type 2. These are very common in published material and are very useful practice tools. Typical task two types are:

Decide with your partner what you would take to a desert Island, party, housewarming etc
Look at the picture and decide which person is the most interesting and why
Compare your weekend with your partner and find 3 things you did the same
Compare your families and find which is the biggest
With your partner choose one from three different restaurants
Decide the best qualities in a husband/wife

These tasks work much better in the classroom and are more likely to get students talking. Note that the first word of each instruction sets up the requirement for two people (compare, decide etc). The task type 2 has:

Clear task boundaries – students know what they have to achieve and will know when they have finished the task

The students will probably use similar language to achieve the task making it easier for the teacher to assess ability/knowledge

Both students have a clear role and something to do which is motivating and can be fun.

The task comes nearer producing authentic language and is closer to what happens in real life communications.

With 10 students reaching some kind of agreement there is less material generated for the teacher to process at the end of the task so the task feedback will be more efficient leaving more time for linguistic feedback

Task Type 3

Task type 3 is similar to task type 2 and often is an extension of a task 2. However, the key difference lies in a definition of ‘communication’. When we communicate in our own language or outside the classroom we have a purpose or reason for opening our mouths. The purpose or desire might be very clear like ‘can I have a trim latte please?’ In this situation it’s clear we want a coffee. However, when we walk into the office and call out ‘morning everyone’ the desired outcome is a little less clear as we are fulfilling out social needs. So we communicate for many reasons, to get concrete returns, to fulfill social obligations, to get praise or to establish ourselves in a group, etc. What is common though is that there is always a desired outcome or aim to why we are communicating.

Translating this back into task design, the difference between task 2 and 3 is:

Authenticity. The communication act is something the student is likely to do in the real world?

The task has a communicative outcome as opposed to a just a task outcome.

On feedback the teacher doesn’t have to deal with much information, rather just collates the consensus from the groups

What is the relationship between task type 2 and 3?

A task 2 type can often be done as a scaffolding task before a task 3
A task 3 type is not better than a task 2 but it does usually lead to more authentic contexts for the use of the target language.

Jeanette Barsdell 2010

Thinking About School Culture Questionnaire

admin — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:21:33 +0000

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Questionnaire

Think about your school and answer the questions below:

Visual Stuff

Does the school have a uniform? Why? Do males and females wear the same uniform?

How is the school decorated?

Is student work displayed in the school? Yes/no? How? Whose?

Decision making processes

Is there a student council?

Can students influence decisions in the school?

How often do parents visit the school?

How do parents and the school communicate?

Describe the relationship between parents and the school or teacher?

Is there a process for a student to complain about a teacher?

Is it easy to change school if you are not happy?

Who decides which study options a student will take?

In the classroom

Who talks most in the class? Teacher or students? Why?

How do you feel asking questions in open class?

Describe the smartest student in the class?

How much homework is set?

Who chooses where students sit?

Is it necessary to be quiet when the teacher talks?

Managing Behaviour

What’s the rule on mobile phones?

If a student is bad whose fault is it?

Who punishes ‘bad’ students?

How are they punished?

How does the teacher deal with weak and strong students in the same class?

Add some questions of your own

Checklist for an Impressive Lesson

admin — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 07:58:02 +0000

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Points to consider:

Task Design

Is the task communicative?
Are both a speaker and a listener required?
Is there a clear outcome?
Is the task on the same topic as the lesson?
Does the task practice the target language?
Is the task personalised?
Is the task realistic / authentic?

Error Correction

Does the student notice the error and correct the error?
Is the correction elicited in an appropriate manner?
Is the error indicated in a variety of ways?

Voice

Is it the right audibility?
Is the speed appropriate to the task?
Is there sufficient wait time?
Is there excessive or confusing teacher talk?
Is the voice used as a tool?

Conveying and Checking Meaning / Eliciting

Is the language elicited from context?
Is the teacher modifying responses based on what they elicit?
Does the teacher use ‘guided’ elicitation?
Are a variety of meaning-conveyance methods used to elicit?
Is the conveyance method the same vehicle as the concept checking questions?

Manner

Does the teacher actively listen and respond to the students?
Is the teacher’s manner appropriate for the aim of the lesson?

Giving Instructions

Does the teacher demonstrate and check?
Are the instructions logically staged?
Is the amount of language used economical?
Are the task boundaries completely clear?

Monitoring

Is the teacher monitoring to assess task completion or difficulty?
Is the teacher using the monitoring to adjust the pace and direction of the lesson?
Is the teacher correcting, shaping and/or supporting the students?

Ingredients of an Effective Vocabulary Lesson – handout

admin — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 06:28:54 +0000

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The aim of good vocabulary work is to present and practise new language in ways that help the learner retain the information in their long term memory, so that in the future it can be easily retrieved and used. The ‘ingredients’ of good vocabulary work include:

Memorable presentations

The language is presented in such a way that learners can pull on the context developed by the teacher to help them remember the work. This can be done through contextualization, pictures, clines, timelines, realia, mime etc.

Engagement

The meaning work is engaging with learners involved in the process of conveyance. The conveyance method includes a range of techniques e.g. mime, pictures, contextual stories.

Diagnosis

During conveyance diagnosis of what learners already know and developing their knowledge from that point is essential rather than assume the learners know nothing of the meaning. The teacher works to elicit from a context what is known by the learners before ‘telling’ the meaning.

Accuracy

The meaning presented is accurate so learners are confident and can use the language. For example, many words have multiple meanings (light, foot, set) but the meaning taught needs to be the one used in the lesson material.

Confirmation of Understanding

Learners have their knowledge checked and confirmed through the use of meaning check questions (MCQ’s), elicited examples and diagnostic tasks.

Practice

The learners have practice and the opportunity to practise the language in meaningful and personalised tasks. In this way they can test their own hypothesis. For example: A great scenario is when learners start asking the teacher “Can I say it this way?”. This shows that they are testing out how to use the language for themselves and it gives the teacher a chance to diagnose their knowledge and provide targeted support.

Full Coverage

In order to use new vocabulary the learners are going to need to know:

Meaning What is the exact meaning of the word as it is presented in the context? What is the appropriacy, connotation, register etc?

Form What is the form (grammar) of the word? Is it a noun, verb etc? Does it have a dependent preposition?

Pronunciation How is the word said?

Plan for Staging Vocabulary Workshop Input – Trainer Notes

admin — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 06:11:27 +0000

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	Aim		Procedure	Materials/comment
1	To deal with some of the key issuesTo establish common ground	Workshop Materials – Questionnaire for Teaching Vocabulary Teachers work through the statements in pairs – Do they agree or disagree with the statements and why/why not? Possible conclusions from the discussion are: The best teaching starts with diagnostic work to focus the information on what the learners really need There are many ways to convey meaning Vocabulary needs checking Vocabulary teaching takes planning Learners can give each other explanations		The discussion about the use of translation / dictionaries may be the most contentious. The answer lies in appropriacy and effectiveness.
2	To lead into the subject of different ways to convey meaning	Workshop Materials 2–Conveying and Checking Meaning Set up a competition. Teachers in pairs have 1 minute to create a list of ways to convey meaning. The pair with the most methods is the ‘winner’. Pairs check their answers against the handout. The point of the competition is to have fun and set up a prediction task for the handout.
3	To focus on different ways to convey meaning	In pairs teachers complete matching task. Teachers may have problems with ‘cline’. Demonstrate meaning by putting the following words on the board in random order: freezing, cold, cool, warm, hot and boiling. Ask teachers to put them in the right place on a linefreezing cold cool warm hot boiling The line is the cline. It’s a very good way of conveying/checking meaning for sets of words that relate, often adverbs.Possible conclusions from the task are: In order to appeal to different types of learner, it’s better to use more than one method of conveyance at a time if feasible. Abstract language needs more contextual information. It’s difficult to teach the words if they are not within a context. For example ‘to get over something’ as there are multiple meanings.		You can demonstrate good practice and check teachers know the terminology by conveying some of the meanings in the right hand column and eliciting the correct answers. e.g. black and white, heavy and light are antonyms
4	To focus on appropriate checking	Refer back to the cline – ask does this convey or check meaning? (both) Elicit what means of conveyance don’t need extensive checking (realia, pictures, mime for concrete nouns). For example, if the teacher shows a pencil to demonstrate the word pencil its pretty clear what the meaning is although the meaning of ‘pen’ will probably also need to be checked. However, the learners are familiar with the function of a pencil and don’t need to know its chemical composition to know how to use the word. Most vocabulary does need some checking – at least one question which will confirm the learners understanding. What is the general rule for choosing a means of checking? (The more complex/abstract the language the more checking is required.) Handout – Conveying Meaning		It needs to be made clear that not every word needs extensive checkingThis can be elicited from the group.
5	To model the vocabulary conveying and checking processTo demonstrate an example of a meaning conveyance Give an example of concept checking questions	Explain that you are going to model the conveyance and checking process and then look at the process in more detail.Oral Explanation: “Last year I went to Peru. It took me 3 days to climb up to Machu Pichu, the high altitude was a problem as it was hard to breathe. I was also a heavy smoker so it was difficult but I got to the top” Visual support: Picture of me struggling to climb up the mountain with my back pack. Mime: Struggling to breathe and walking very slowly but celebrating when I got to the top. Elicit the sentence ‘Last year I managed to climb Machu Pichu.’ Is this past, present or future? Past Did I get to the top of Machu Pichu? Yes Was it easy? No
	To look at the process of designing meaning check questions (MCQ’s)	Handout – Tips for making meaning statementsPut ‘I managed to climb MP’ on the board. Ask teachers to decide on the core meaning of ‘managed to’ and create meaning statements. It was past. I reached the top. It was difficult. Make the point that all these meaning statements were contained within the context given. On the board, turn the meaning statements into questions in order to create the MCQ’s. Elicit what they note about the structure of the MCQ’s. Don’t use target language Use simple, graded language They are generally yes/no or closed questions Use the same context as the meaning They are in a logical order with simpler questions coming first Make the point that the next stage would be to look at the form and pronunciation of the language and give some meaningful practice		We are not sure why but the practice of creating meaning statements *before* the questions seems to work better than going straight to the questions
	To give guidance for creating meaning check questions	Point out that it’s a good idea for the teacher, in the planning stage, to compare the target language to an item with a similar meaning. This process allows us to hone the meaning of the target language. For example it is a good idea to contrast ‘managed to climb’ with ‘climbed’. The additional meaning in managed to is that it was difficult.Remind teachers that the meaning statements information should all be contained in the conveyance too. If the story of my Machu Pichu climb didn’t have the elements of difficulty it would be hard to distinguish the meaning from ‘climbed’. Give out the handout for references
	Open class practice for CCQ’s	Refer back to the handout ‘conveying and checking meaning’. The first item is ‘bedroom’ which is a nice simple word to start with J Elicit what means were used to convey the information in the original task visuals Decide on the meaning of ‘bedroom’ Ensure that the meaning is either in the visuals or is conveyed another way Example meaning statements A room in a house or apartment A room for sleeping Not a place for eating or washing Concept check question (based on a conveyance of visuals) How many bedrooms in the picture Is this a bedroom- pointing to the kitchen? Can I cook in the bedroom? What can I do in the bedroom?
	Pair practice creating CCQ’s	Put learners in pairs. Divide the remaining words on the ‘conveying meaning ‘ handout between the pairs making sure they get a complex and a simpler wordGive each pair time to prepare how to convey and check the languageIndividuals then convey, elicit and check the meaning of thewords in larger groupsThe group then gives feedback to the presenter on the clarity and efficiency of the conveyance and checking
	Extension tasks or alternatives	1. Make this more difficult by using a different set of words. Ensure that when you distribute them to each pair they are kept ‘secret’ from the others so that the elicitation will be truer2. Ask teachers to choose vocabulary from the material that they are going to teach in the coming weeks. Again ensure that they kept it ‘secret’ from their colleagues

Ways to Convey Meaning – handout

admin — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 06:07:04 +0000

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There are many methods of conveyance which include:

Meaning conveyance	Comment
Visuals	Pictures, graphs, cartoons, board drawings, clines and timelinesVery good for concrete nouns. Usually need very little checking if the meaning is clear
Mime or gesture	Good for verbs and adverbs. Can be ambiguous depending on the teacher’s acting skills and the amount of context given
Translation/dictionary	Translation can be fast and efficient whilst dictionaries allow learners to check what they need rather than the whole group
Contextualisation	Works well with more abstract language. As this is usually verbal, it needs to be supported with mime, pictures etc, particularly for lower levels. Needs to be checked.
Definition	Needs to clearly match the contextualised target language meaning, not carry additional meanings. Definitions work best if they use the same context as the target language.
Synonyms/antonyms	Uses words that the learners already know which is satisfying.
Examples of type	Uses a list of examples based on a common theme. For example: James Dean, Marilyn Monroe were both *movie stars*.