Module 3: Creating and exploiting resources

Page 3: Activity A

1. What are the different options for textbook use? (p111).

• If the teacher finds the content of the textbook not appropriate, he/she can choose to use the three strategies suggested by Grant. The first one is to omit the textbook lessons and choose to use something else. The second is to replace the textbook lessons using his/her lessons. The third one is to add to what is in the textbooks. If the lessons are boring or over-controlled making students lose interest, the teacher should add some extra activities to extend the students’ interest.

2. What do adding, adapting and replacing look like? (page 112).

• Adding, adapting and replacing bring out the creativity in the teachers when using textbooks, through his/her creative usage of the textbooks, the teacher is igniting the creativity sense in the students. Through the usage of the textbooks this way (adding, adapting and replacing), the lessons will become more students- centered and the teacher is facilitating it.

Look at the extract from an intermediate textbook on page 168 and do the following tasks.

1. What is the aim/are the aims of the lesson?
   • Read a passage
   • Speak in English with classmates
2. What should/might students be able to do at the end of the lesson that they were not able to do at the beginning?

• -students are expected to read an English passage
• -students are expected to be able to answer given questions from the given passage
• -students are expected to be able to practice speaking skills in English
• -students are expected to be able to verbally interact in English with their peers/classmates

1. If you were going to replace any part of the lesson, which would it be?
   • I will replace the Speaking Task 2. I will get the students to practice the grammar point “I will always take my ____________ because _____________”

Students will first draw these items before completing the grammar point above. Then they will pair up to practice the grammar point. One students ask: “ What will you always take with you in you bag? Then the other students use the grammar point to respond. They can use their drawings too while conversing.

1. What adaptions, if any, would you make to the page?
   • The Speaking Task 1. I will get them to create a real-life scenario, an example will be given, using the vocab listed. Discuss orally with other students. A personal recount on the way to school using the vocab listed from the passage. Can start with a sentence to a series of sentences to a short paragraph- a story.

1. What additions, if any, would you make to the lesson?
   • Reading task 1- I will make sure that there is personal engagement activities, word formation and games to make the teaching and learning about vocabs from the passage more meaningful, fun and engaging.

 Then read this extract (pp. 111-117), and 

 Page 5

1. Take notes of techniques to turn a resource into good teaching material.

-Bringing students’ attention to English- Local areas, for Example- signs in Eng- ask students questions using English used in local signs/billboards etc.

-Using local advertisements as a prompt in the classroom.

-Using English songs played on the radio.

-Connection- inside to outside

-English and technologies.

2. Write down the teaching techniques used to introduce and exploit this new material in the classroom and engage the students in participating in the classroom.

-Bringing students’ attention to English- Local areas, for Example- signs in Eng- ask students questions using English used in local signs/billboards etc.

-Using local advertisements as a prompt in the classroom.

-Using English songs played on the radio.

-Connection- inside to outside

-English and technologies.

3. Think about what the benefits are of using the material described in the classroom.

-I think one of the benefits of using these resources/materials described in the classroom is that they are cheap and accessible. They can be easily accessed and used. Most of them do not need the internet.

-These materials also will trigger both the teacher’s and student’s sense of creativity. The teacher must be creative to make the lessons interesting to sustain the students’ attention throughout.

 Page 6

1. What types of modifications were brought to the science article? And what is the rationale for these modifications?

         - Simplification of jargon, this makes it easier for students to comprehend and allows them to have a better understanding of the content of the passage.

2. How do some of these modifications show an awareness of this additional obstacle, that is learning about science by means of another language than the pupils’ native language?

-These modifications raise the awareness that students are different in English Language learning ability & students have English as their second language.

3. Think about additional activities you could do or use to overcome this obstacle.

-Use Adding- different activities on words/vocab used in the passage- bring them out as target words related to the subject of the passage. Do some fun activities- personal engagement, word formation, and games

4. Think about at least two additional activities you could do to integrate the skills of listening and speaking to this lesson, and thereby exploit more fully this material.

Listening: Record the passage then play on loud audio for students to listen to maybe a part only- not the whole passage. Ask them to write down a sentence or a phrase from the recorded passage.

Speaking: Discuss the meaning of their chosen phrase with another student (pair discussion task). Share with another student. Point of sharing- meaning of the sentence/phrase, related to the topic of the passage. Rewrite the sentence/phrase using their own words. What is a grammar point that can be taken out of the sentence or the phrase? (Focus of the task- Listening to Speaking activities)