Planning lessons

Thrown if you give some thought to some of the things that can go wrong. It is a good idea to make a note on your plan of any anticipated problems - in terms of language or classroom management - that could occur during any of the activities and any strategies you have considered for dealing with these problems. It is particularly useful to include this on the plan you give to your supervisor. In this way you will be given credit for anticipating difficulties, whereas if you mention such problems after the lesson it sounds as if you are making excuses!

You can anticipate what students will find difficult in a particular language item by thoroughly researching the language you are planning to teach. (See Researching the language on pi 82.) Investigate, if possible, the ways in which their language is different from English. For example, will your students have difficulty with the sound /э/ because it doesn't exist in their language? This is obviously easier to do with a monolingual group. You can also anticipate difficulties by finding out as much as you can about what the students have done in previous classes - their individual strengths and weaknesses in skills work, for example.

There are a number of ways in which the timing and organization of your lesson can be affected. For example, it is a good idea to think about what you would do if:

• the students take a longer or shorter time to do the activities than you had planned;

• they find an activity easier or more difficult than you thought they would;

• some students finish before the others;

• there are some students who need extra support;

• there are uneven numbers for a pairwork activity;

• some or all of the students have already met the material you have based your lesson round: for example, they have already seen the video you were going to show.

21. Speak on the technological aspects of FLTL: say what equipment can be applied to the teaching and learning process and how to use it effectively. Twenty-first century classrooms around the world have a wide range of equipment and technology available to them. Picture 1 shows an arrangement which is still the norm in many countries and which has not (with the exception of the tape recorder and the OHP) changed much for the last 200 years or so.

In this classroom there is a board which the teacher and the students can write on using chalk, and the students have books to work with. The teacher has a tape recorder to play conversations and songs. There is also an overhead projector (OHP) which the teacher can use to project images and text.

Picture 2, on the other hand, shows a classroom equipped with modern technology. Here, the board is an interactive whiteboard (IWB) (a) which has a number of special features. In the first place, anything the teacher or the students write can be saved or printed because the board acts as a large computer monitor. Because the board is hooked up to a computer (b) (and there is a fixed data projector (c) which shines on to it), teachers and students can not only show computer-generated images (and use presentation programs such as PowerPoint and Flash player), but they can also access the Internet and project web pages for the class as a whole. In addition, they can show film from DVDs or computer movie files. The students have individual IWBs (d) at their desks as well as wireless keyboards (e) so that they too can project their work onto the main IWB at the front of the class. Audio files are stored on the computer and can be played either through the speaker system (f) or via individual headphones the different desks.

We will now look at various items of classroom equipment and technology, which can be used in a number of different situations.

The board. Whether chalk-based or for use with marker pens, the board is one of the most important pieces of classroom technology.

· Boards (especially whiteboards) can be used for anything: writing, drawing, sticking things on, projecting overhead transparencies, etc.

· The two things to remember about boards are (a) that your writing needs to be visible and legible to all the students in the class, and (b) that organised boards are better than chaotic ones! Some teachers divide their boards so that a column is kept for new words, etc. Many teachers use different coloured pens or chalk to highlight grammar or pronunciation. Some teachers have different areas of the board for different subjects - e.g. pronunciation, homework, etc.

Picture and word cards. Even in an increasingly technological age, there is still good value to be had from pictures of all shapes and sizes. Cards (often called flashcards) can be used with either pictures or words for cue­response work or as aids in pairwork and groupwork.

· Pictures can come from a variety of sources: drawings, magazines, professionally published material, postcards, photographs, etc.

· Teachers can use pictures as prompts for controlled language work - as an alternative to bringing in objects that would be difficult to have in a classroom - as aids for speaking activities or writing tasks, or as a focus for description and discussion (teasing meaning out of a painting, for example).

· Cards with pictures and/or words can be used in a variety of activities. For example, we can write words on cards which the students then have to put into the correct sequence. Cards can have a picture on one side and the word for that thing on the other side - for use in team-based word games.

Cards should be durable - tough and properly covered with some kind of laminate (where this is possible) so that they can be reused. They should look good - there's nothing worse than a tatty torn picture from an old magazine.

Flip charts. A flip chart is a pad of outsize paper on a frame like an artist's easel. The paper can be written or drawn on, of course, but crucially

the individual sheets can be torn off for people to keep and work with and/or look at later. As a result, flip charts are good for brainstorming ideas. Some teachers are lucky enough to have more than one flip chart in a classroom so that different groups can write their different thoughts up in different areas of the room. Sheets

of paper can be torn off the easel and kept by the teacher - or by a representative of a group, for example. Individual students can take the sheets of paper away in turn to work with them/copy them down.

Cuisenaire rods. Cuisenaire rods are small blocks of wood of different lengths and colours. They are useful for a wide range of activities: we can say a particular rod is a vocabulary item (say a dog, or a key, or even the pronoun 'he' or 'she'). By arranging the rods in various sequences, we can use them to tel: a story. Or they can be put in sequences to demonstrate grammatical sentences. We can use the rods' varying sizes to show where main stress occurs in a word or a sentence, or - by putting the rods in various positions - what prepositions mean.

The overhead projector. Overhead projectors (OHPs) allow us to project transparencies (OHTs) which can be either prepared in advance, written on in class, or a combination of the two - as in the following example, where the teacher has typed up some student writing and the students have then tried to correct it with marker pens (as part of their writing-correction training).

When using OHPs, we need to be sure that (a) the writing/designs on the OHTs are big enough and clear enough for everyone to see and (b) there should be some surface to project on (a screen, the wall, a board) which is not bleached out by direct sunlight, etc.

One of the main advantages of OHTs is that we can mask them with pieces of paper or card - and we can then reveal things gradually.

Computer-based technologies and programs. The big revolution in classroom technology has been in the development of computers and associated hardware and software. We will look at three areas in which computers are most commonly used: presentation, information getting and composing.

Using computer-based technology for presentation

• When hooked up to data projectors, computers can show a variety of presentation media including pictures, both still and animated. By using programs such as PowerPoint™, they can offer animated and highly attractive presentations using a combination of text, pictures and slide animation.

• When computers are hooked up to interactive whiteboards, not only can we project anything we want (e.g. word-processed text, PowerPoint presentations, film footage) from the computer's hard disk, but we can also save onto that hard disk anything that has been written or drawn on the board.

• Where students have wireless keyboards, for example, they can put their own work on the IWB, and also access the Internet, etc from where they sit - and it will appear on the main board.

• As with other visual technology, clarity and size are vital. And as data projectors use a light beam, teachers have to be careful not to have the beam shining in their eyes every time they turn to face the class.

Using computer-based technology for information-getting

Computer-based technology has allowed users to access an extraordinary wealth of information in ways that were impossible before.

• Whether we use the Internet or specially designed CD-ROMs or DVDs, computers are fantastic reference tools. We can use search engines such as Google to find information, and many dictionaries and encyclopedias are now available - either online (e.g. Internet-based), or on CD-ROMs. Good MLDs (monolingual learners' dictionaries) are an invaluable tool for students, and when offered electronically have impressive features including visuals, audio, etc and sophisticated referencing.

• The Internet is an endless source of activity and information. Whether students are researching a project on their own or following a web quest we have designed (see page 105), the information they can find on the web is extremely rich and varied, and dissolves the walls of the classroom. The possibilities are limitless.

Using computer-based technology for composing

• Word processing is still one of the most important uses for computers in the classroom. Pairs and groups of students can work at the same screen, constructing a piece of writing together. And their writing can be corrected using editing software (such as Track Changes in Microsoft Word, for example).

• Teachers and students also use the Internet and emailing for chatting (holding text-based conversations with other users, whether in the same school, or in different cities or countries). Teachers can encourage students to become keypals or mousepals (i.e. using the computer as a more efficient way of having pen pals.) Here, we need to be sure that students are familiar with chatting etiquette - and the difference between computer chat and other written and spoken forms - and that initial keypal enthusiasm is not dissipated through lack of teacher support.

When we encourage the students to use computers, we need to make sure that they do not waste their time in fruitless and undirected searching, for example, or use its great potential for other non-related activities.

It is also important for students (and teachers) to know the rules about copyright and understand the pitfalls of plagiarism. Copyright laws prohibit people from reproducing other people's original work; if they do, they are liable to prosecution. Plagiarism is where people use other people's work and pass it off as their own. It is the teacher's job to remind students that both infringing copyright, and plagiarising other people's work are unacceptable in an academic environment.

Audio and video. A lot of classroom technology is designed so that teachers and students can listen to audio and watch film and video.

• Tape recorders - especially the small portable kind - are still the mainstay of many teachers

and students. We can bring cassettes to class with recorded music, coursebook dialogues, pronunciation exercises, broadcast excerpts or homemade texts. Good tape recorders are clearly audible, but not too expensive or unwieldy. They should have efficient tape counters so that we can find our place easily.

CD players have all the advantages of tape recorders and are in some ways easier to use (and CDs are easy to carry around). However, some teachers stick with tape recorders because they prefer tape counters to CD information.

• Video and DVD players allow us to show students film, TV programmes, coursebook excerpts and home-produced efforts. Once again, the quality of the machines and the monitors we use is vitally important. It is important to make sure that students do not watch passively (as they may watch TV and DVDs at home); we need to ensure there is a good reason for watching, and appropriate tasks for them to undertake.

• Nevertheless, modern language labs have come a long way from the drill-only booths that once characterised them.

• Where possible, we should encourage students to download podcasts or record English-learning material onto their MP3 players, or have CDs (or tapes) with material which they can listen to on the way to and from school or work, or whenever they have a moment free. Watching English-language films with subtitles is also a very good way of getting appropriate listening practice.

• It often helps if students record themselves on audio or video. This can add realism to a role-play of a news studio or television discussion programme, for example, and teachers and students can watch videos (or listen to audio tracks) to analyse their language performance and to see how much progress they are making.

Dictionaries. Perhaps the most useful piece of 'equipment' a student can ever own or use is a good dictionary. Modern dictionaries are clearly designed, have a wealth of information, and help students to understand what words mean, how they are used, how common they are, and what phrases they occur m.

Bilingual dictionaries. Most students start, quite rightly, by using a bilingual dictionary, such as the example here from a Polish-English dictionary. It is important that students choose a dictionary that gives good information, including accurate translations, examples and collocational information.

Monolingual learners' dictionaries (MLDs) Good MLDs are now designed better than ever before. The data is clearly presented, with information about frequency (how common a word is in speaking and writing), appropriate definitions, authentic examples, and most importantly, information about how the word operates and what other words it collocates with. The example here shows how, for the second meaning of 'heavy', the phrases the word occurs in are highlighted immediately. This is extremely useful information since it is usually in these phrases that the word - with this particular meaning - is found.

All students and all classrooms should have access to good bilingual dictionaries or MLDs. However, it is frequently the case that students buy dictionaries and then never use them - or use them inappropriately - because they are unfamiliar with the riches contained within them and have never been trained in how and when to use them. It is vitally important, therefore, that teachers not only show students how dictionaries work, but also give guidance in the best ways to access the information in them. We then need to include dictionary use as part of our normal classroom routines.

22. Speak on evaluation and assessment in FLTL: role and place, ways and tools. Assessment and Evaluation. What is Assessment?

To many teachers (and students), “assessment” simply means giving students tests and assigning them grades. This conception of assessment is not only limited, but also limiting (see section below on Assessment versus grading). It fails to take into account both the utility of assessment and its importance in the teaching/learning process.

In the most general sense, assessment is the process of making a judgment or measurement of worth of an entity (e.g., person, process, or program). Educational assessment involves gathering and evaluating data evolving from planned learning activities or programs. This form of assessment is often referred to as evaluation (see section below on Assessment versus Evaluation). Learner assessment represents a particular type of educational assessment normally conducted by teachers and designed to serve several related purpose (Brissenden and Slater, n.d.). These purposed include:

· motivating and directing learning

· providing feedback to student on their performance

· providing feedback on instruction and/or the curriculum

· ensuring standards of progression are met