UNIT 2 LEXIS

LEXIS

This unit is about lexis which has to do with the words and vocabulary we used into a language and that has meaning.

Meaning:  * Denotation—figurative meaning

                     * Connotation—literal meaning

personally I learned that lexis is defined as the compilation of all known words in a language, in this case of English. So, since English language has a huge variety of words, even for native speakers sometimes to understand, we need to take advantage of all tools available. There are many strategies to learn new lexis; one of them might be a dictionary where we will find the definition, the pronunciation and even the phonetic script.

However, a language is also composed by Idioms, chunks and collocations that may be difficult for Students to use correctly since the meaning is not the same as in their mother tongue. As a result it involves also knowing its background related to the language culture. For this we can tell students to highlight the new words, use flashcards, pictures, etc. to get them to know its meaning. What is more, one of the biggest problem is that Students almost always get confuse with, homophones, homonyms and the false cognates, as “embarrassed”, which they might translate into “embarazada”, so we have to clear up that it is translated to “pregnant” and that “embarrassed” is “avergonzado”.

Better still, we cannot continue a class or follow the second Unit, if Students did not understand the vocabulary at all; otherwise there will be always a gap.  

References:

• Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT) Preparation Course Lexis

  YouTube,. (2015). Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT) Preparation Course Lexis. Retrieved 23 April 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0wPfNeBg4E
• Peck, C., Peck, C. and profile, V. mELTing Activities, Lessons and Ideas: Basic Steps of Teaching any lexis Peck, C., Peck, C., & profile, V. (2012). mELTing Activities, Lessons and Ideas: Basic Steps of Teaching any lexis. Eslcarissa.blogspot.com. Retrieved 23 April 2015, from http://eslcarissa.blogspot.com/2012/08/basic-steps-of-teaching-any-lexis.html

UNIT 1 GRAMMAR

GRAMMAR

When learning a language is important the study of GRAMMAR; it refers to how we combine, organize and change parts of speech to make meaning. Into the English Language we have nine parts of speech:

Verbs: eat - love

Adjectives: happy - sad 

Adverbs: always - never

Determiners: the - both

Prepositions: in - at

Pronouns: I - mine

Conjunctions: and - but

Exclamations: er – ow

In this unit I have learned that  Grammar is one of the most important aspects mainly if we are learning a foreign language since it will guide us to speak and use it correctly to be understood and understand others. However, we have to be aware that we all learn differently, and some methods will work well for some and not so well for others. As a result, focusing just on grammar in an English class won’t work simply because it tends to be boring and it finally frustrates Students.

As a result, we as future teachers need to apply different techniques and methods when teaching a certain grammar point. Even for little children, for example if we are learning the Simple past, we may apply a small reading in past tense with pictures and ask them questions about it or make them take out all the verbs in past and put them in present or for further exercises to ask them to write sentences with those verbs. To the same token, they will not feel tired or frustrated since they will not be focusing directly in Grammar. Furthermore, we cannot forget that Grammar makes sense only if we are exposing to the language for a reasonable length of time, so we could also adapt role-plays or drama presentations of a reading.

References:

• Grace Stovall Burkart, ed.; Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics, 1998
• Teaching tips - Tips for teaching grammar Witslanguageschool.com,. (2015). Teaching tips - Tips for teaching grammar . Retrieved 23 April 2015, from http://www.witslanguageschool.com/NewsRoom/ArticleView/tabid/180/ArticleId/170/Teaching-tips-Tips-for-teaching-grammar.aspx
• EFL / ESL Teaching Tip: Teaching Grammar YouTube,. (2015). EFL / ESL Teaching Tip: Teaching Grammar. Retrieved 23 April 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KXzQ1S3wqM

UNIT 18                ASSESSMENT TYPES AND TAKS

Assessment tasks take many forms including written, oral, demonstrations or performances. They may be short tasks; or long assignments that students are given weeks to finalize. They may be delivered face-to-face or online and require hard copy or online submission. They may require individual or group assessment and be assessed by academic staff or via peer and self-assessment.

Foremost in your thinking when choosing an assessment task is its appropriateness in assessing what it is that students need to learn (learning objectives).

There are many types of assessment tasks to choose from. Assessment Matters! Provides a short list only of the more typical assessment tasks used.

Testing, especially any sort of standardized testing tends to get a bad rap. Teachers complain that they spend too much time teaching to a test. But assessments do have value, and an important place in our learning structure. By measuring what students are learning, we as teachers can look at how we are approaching different subjects, materials, and even different students.

There are many types of assessments: diagnostic, formative, summative, norm-referenced, criterion-referenced, and interim/benchmarked are the types overviewed here.

There are five main question types: multiple choices, constructed response, extended constructed response, technology enhanced, and performance task.

Three main delivery methods of assessment: paper and pencil, online, or computer adaptive testing (which uses an algorithm to adapt to a user’s responses).

Scoring can be done by hand, by computer, or distributed scoring.

REFERENCES:

http://www.edudemic.com/the-6-types-of-assessments-and-how-theyre-changing/

UNIT 17       PRACTICE ACTIVITIES AND TASKS FOR LANGUAGE AND SKIILS DEVELOPMENT

While studying this course we learned that there are more than one way to teach through different activities and tasks, such as:

-          new vocabulary

-          functional structures

-          grammatical structures

-          subskills

But, in this unit we focused on three different types of activities:

Controlled activities

Free activities

Freer activities

Is there any difference between the two last ones? you will look for the answer in the Hot potatoes‘ exercise.

However, we should know that is not always possible try to categorize each activity into only one among the three ones below.

References:

http://quizlet.com/52452045/tkt-unit-17-practice-activities-and-tasks-for-language-and-skills-development-flash-cards/

Unit 16                  PRESENTATION TECHNIQUES AND INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITIES

Presentation techniques are ways used by the teacher to present (introduce to learners for the first time) new language such as vocabulary, grammatical structures and pronunciation. Introductory activities are those used by teacher to introduce a lesson or teaching topic.

PPP: Presentation, Practice and Production

It is possible to present new language after learners have met it in a reading or listening text which is first used for comprehension.

TBL: Task-based Learning

PPP and TBL are not the only ways of presenting new language:

It is possible to present new language after learners have met it in a reading or listening text which is first used for comprehension.

EXAMPLES:

-          Another possibility is to hold a discussion on a topic and introduce new language in the context of the discussion.

-          Another one is to give learners a task that requires them to use new language, then after the task, present the new language to them and then give them another task to practice the new language (Test-teach-test).

-           

In both PPP and TBL new language items are presented in a meaningful context.

A PPP approach to presenting new language gives students an opportunity to practice language in a safe learning environment where it is difficult to make mistakes. It can therefore be a confidence-building approach for students. Students may be learning items they are not interested in or ready to learn and gives them few opportunities to use the language for communication.

We also have to consider WARM-UP activities and LEAD-IN activities.

Warmers make the students feel comfortable and ready for the lesson.

The TBL approach allows students to find new language when they want to or when they need it and to use language experimentally and creatively for real communication. This approach puts students in a situation which is quite similar to the one in which children learn their first language.

Some may find this approach exciting and challenging, others may seek for more guidance and structure.

Lead-ins introduce the topic of the lesson and main language points needed by the learners to complete the main tasks of the lesson.

REFERENCES:

http://ebooks.cambridge.org/ebook.jsf?bid=CBO9780511667305

UNIT 15                                        APPROACHES TO LANGUAGE TEACHING

The learning-teaching process of the English language is really deep. Students needs to develop fluency and accuracy in the language. An approach is a way of looking at teaching and learning. Underlying any language teaching approach is a theoretical view of what language is, and of how it can be learnt. An approach gives rise to methods, the way of teaching something, which use classroom activities or techniques to help learners learn.

Example

-          The communicative approach is the best-known current approach to language teaching. Task-based teaching is a methodology associated with it. Other approaches include the cognitive-code approach, and the aural-oral approach (audio-lingual method).

-          Learners in the modern language classroom often learn through techniques drawn from a variety of methods/approaches in what has been labeled an ‘eclectic approach'. Teachers select techniques from various approaches according to the different needs of their learners. Most course books mix methods and techniques in this way.

REFERENCES:

http://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/prepare-test/british-council-online-resources

UNIT 14                                             LEARNER NEEDS3

Learning a new language could be really difficult for some people and the teacher has to be aware about their student´s needs. It has to be according to the age and the level of English students has. Teachers can do that by an observation process, questionaries and also talking directly with them. There are also students that have personal needs it means that some of them are lacking of motivation; here the teacher can help them by stating goals nad personal expectations.

Examples:

• -          Personally I would like to do personal interviews with students in order to know what their needs are according the language.
• -          One of the things that students need to develop is autonomy, so I would like to implement in my classes the use of graphic organizer so that they will understand better the language and it could make easier the learning of the langue and they will study by themselves.  

References:

https://www.google.com.ec/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=PRACTICE+ACTIVITIES