Can you say banana?

How about practicing some plural forms. Be welcome to download and learn.
Plural of nouns

After years I thought it would be a good idea to star sharing some good things around. Welcome everybody!

Why I hate dictionaries in class

I am the only teacher I know who hates the use of dictionaries during class and I’m not talking about bilingual ones. I hate the use of any kind of dictionaries in class.

I understand that by using a dictionary students get more independent learners. They also get to deal with a variety of other words and thus increase their vocabulary. I just don’t like it when students do that in class.

I’ll let you know my reasons based on MY EXPERIENCE:

-          Students get to dependent on them ;

-          Students tend not to interpret a text they’re required to;

-          Students waste precious minutes;

-          Students lose their focus;

-          Students don’t do the required activity;

-          Students think the teacher doesn’t provide enough time for them to answer the exercise;

-          Students don’t learn what they really should;

-          Students look up words but don’t really get to learn their meaning.

I may have other reasons that just don’t come up right now.

Again explaining about MY EXPERIENCE, I jumped into the conclusions above several years ago when I realized at first that students weren’t able to answer simple grammar exercises just because they didn’t know the meaning of  some words. Besides the amount of time spent, they couldn’t understand that what they really were supposed to focus their attention on were the grammar rules not the vocabulary.

At first I decided to assign exercises which contained only previously learned  words. That would mean a large number of words (as I’ve been teaching Intermediate or Pre-Intermediate levels for around 5 years). Nevertheless I noticed that some students still had a dependency on dictionaries! Even worse: they would look up the same words on a regular basis.

When it came to text interpretation this situation would be worse. I generally assigned a text which students needed to scan, skim, analyze and do all sorts of activities to guide them through understanding the context but I always seemed to face the same nightmare: they wouldn’t  understand unless they translated or looked up the meaning on a monolingual dictionary.

They can’t resist that temptation even on vocabulary exercises! Last week I assigned an exercise in which groups of 4 students were supposed to talk about the possible meanings of some adjectives for some minutes and only after that they would try to match them to the definitions printed on slips of paper. Some students wondered why they couldn’t look up the meanings! Well if they looked them up there wouldn’t be a vocabulary exercise!

As  we’re still in the beginning of the semester, my “new” students still didn’t get “my style” even though I have already talked to them about the necessity of being more independent, so what’s “my style” like?

-          I tell students to avoid using a bilingual dictionary for translating words from L2 to L1. They’re allowed to use a Portuguese to English dictionary (sometimes) but they should also look up the meaning of the entry they found in a monolingual dictionary;

-          The activity above would take too long so students are guided to realize that trying to force their memories into remembering previously learned words is way better, or they could do that at home;

-          What if students really don’t know a word? They’re allowed to ask me. They know “I’m not a dictionary”, but in the middle of a class discussion it’s weird to stop a conversation to check a dictionary. If they simply ask me this doesn’t take much time and they may go on discussing;

-          I write down on the right side of the board that word and it’s meaning or synonym or even draw something.

-          At some point in class I ask students to write down that word;

-          During following classes  I come up with short, simple and yet effective exercises to check students comprehension on those words;

-          For reading comprehension exercises  I have some “methods” to make them learn new words from writing a glossary on the board (not much attention given to words – we don’t “waste” time) to doing pre-reading exercises in which students are totally free to use their dictionaries;

-          The previous “technique” tends to disappear during the semester as I encourage them little by little to focus more on interpretation rather than learning new words;

We follow a textbook course, so we get to have vocabulary exercises in the 16 units we study. Students are to understand at some point that assimilating through context is the key to do intensive reading and also the key to make me a happier teacher.

In fact I’m not the only teacher who doesn’t see the urgent need to use dictionaries. Here are some interesting websites that agree with me.

http://www.onestopenglish.com/support/methodology/grammar-vocabulary-and-skills/grammar-and-vocabulary-using-dictionaries-in-the-efl/esl-classroom/146458.article

http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/rfl/PastIssues/rfl22bensoussan.pdf

http://www.tht-japan.org/proceedings/2006/martine21-26.pdf

http://www.eslminiconf.net/winter0607/pdfs/dictionaries.pdf

song activity - paradise

Still thinking about ideas for the first day of class, I came up with this simple and yet pretty effective activity in which students are able to practice listening and speaking skills.

I chose this song and video because people like Coldplay a lot, the video is so beautiful, there’s a very interesting storyline and the song itself is very pleasant.

Here’s the plan:

Show the video clip of the song Paradise (available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G4isv_Fylg&ob=av2e  ) with the sound off.

Set some minutes for students to describe the video, give their impressions, and guess what the song is about.

Hand out the lyrics with the activities proposed. Check the answers, sing along, do your thing!

Show the video again with the sound on this time!

Let students talk some more about friendship.

As I use the material Interchange and I’m teaching it’s 3^rd level, I used this activity as a warmer for unit 1, but it can be used to accompany any book. 

 eet

Worksheet available at http://www.4shared.com/office/TGaT1S98/paradise_-_coldplay.html

Checking some new websites

It's amazing how much fun we can have online. As a teacher it's impossible not to make some connection to class, isn't it?
Here's what I've done with some photos
http://animoto.com/play/nJxJlECIQ0sPbrgGDFTaQQ

And here some fun as a movie director:

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/13006014/a-new-semester

Some tips on how to be an organized teacher

As a teacher do you ever have that feeling that you’ll never be able to get your students tests graded? Or do you panic just to consider your coordinator may decide to take a look at your notes? What about when it’s the end of the term and you haven’t even finished the last lesson, let go establishing some time for the final feedback?

Well, then welcome to the jungle!

I have found myself under those terrible nightmares quite often, but fortunately things have gradually become better and better. That doesn’t mean I am the most organized teacher I know, but I’m happy to realize I’m better than many colleagues and I can even be of some help to those desperate beings.

What I’ve being doing is simply sticking into a routine. That may sound quite obvious, but for a disorganized person, thinking on doing things on a regular basis may sound boring, but otherwise it would be extremely hard to take care of things.

To help you out you may consider having a diary or agenda where you write everything down. It’s ok to use your cell phone or computer for that too but make sure you’ll check it out later. I prefer the diary because I can not only write things but allocate important papers, stick something more urgent or even keep some money. Also, I use my diary in class to write down quick notes on a student’s reading efficiency, for example. If some student it o make an oral presentation, where better to schedule it?

Another thing that may help you into being an organized teacher is to never let things pile up. Students have turned in their compositions? So, start grading them as soon as possible. I mean it! This may be when your other class is writing the same texts. Or, while you wait for another class to start. It’s ok if you don’t get to finish all of them, but you have available time to check only one, that’s less one! Good for you! Same for tests or reviews.

Never lack checking the attendance. Don’t trust your memory. If you’ve forgotten to check the attendance how do you know you’ll remember all students who were present at your class on that day? Also, you’ll be pilling up again.

Have your classes planned on specific days like on Saturdays or Mondays or when you think it’s more appropriate. Even if you feel tired I believe it’s better to have everything programmed beforehand. That way you won’t waste time having to find materials on the last minute. Some minutes before your class you may simply take a look on what you have planned previously giving you the chance to even have something changed. Never miss your lunch hour anymore!

Have your lesson plans typed. If you have the same level or book on a following semester it will be way easier to change something rather having to elaborate everything again. We teachers are never satisfied with old things but having things already planned may even fit your need to change in an easier way.

Have separate folders to organize your class materials. Think of them as an investment. Categorize your things into units, grammar points, level, type of activity or whatever works best for you. If you need to follow a course book, I suggest separating into units. If you work with different levels choose a color for each one.

Use every free minute in the institution to help you by finding things you haven’t done yet. It’s always funnier and more relaxing to chat with your peers, but isn’t it better to chat with your family later? Or even your co-workers, this time at a bar, a party?

Truth is teachers are always teachers and even if you are at that party you’ll be thinking about your students, or on how you would use that song you’re listening to as a warm up activity, and you may even run to the computer just to find those lyrics on google, but that’s a decision you’d take, not an obligation because you’re out of time.

The more organized you are the more free time you’ll have. These are the simple things I’ve been doing and which have helped me a lot. What are your tips?

Check list for being an organized teacher:

-          Am I preparing my classes properly?

-          Am I grading my students’ papers as soon as they turn them in?

-          Am I categorizing my class materials?

-          Are my lessons plans typed?

-          Am I checking the attendance on class?

-          Am I writing things down on a diary?

                                                                                                                                    Good luck!