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Having it all
Stephen Mitchell promotes independent learning through student choice.
Stephen Independent learning, student I led a starter revising the terms and then some students
Mitchell is a choice, assessment for learning, chose to work through the computer programs, a few chose
full-time teacher measurable progress and cover- to just use the notes they had in their books and the Internet
of English and age of the department objectives: before parsing a paragraph, and one needed to work with
Drama at St
you can’t have them all, can you? me on an individual basis because she was completely
Luke’s Science
and Sports I think you can. bewildered. The same end was achieved but they made the
College in We want students to be choice about how to achieve it.
Exeter. He is an independent learners. We want Often students are not used to making choices about
active member them to take some responsibility their learning and so when I first use this approach with a
of NATE (National Association for
the Teaching of English) and has a for their own learning. We want class I limit the number of tasks to choose from and make
particular interest in how technology them to work at their own pace the choices very similar to make it easier for the students to
can be used to enhance students’ with the most able shooting for choose wisely. For example, year 7 students have been given
learning. the stars and the least able mak- the following choice:
ing serious progress instead of opting out. But we have 1 Write a clear set of instructions for how you get to school
learning objectives the students need to cover. But we have each day. You should include a map as well as written
targets they need to reach. But ... instructions.
Put simply, it’s about choice: choice of text, choice of OR
tasks and choice of support. Have them choose a text, give 2 Write a clear set of instructions for how you get into
them a printed list of tasks and then expect them to get on town from where you live. You should include a map as
with it. In the modern world people are overwhelmed by well as written instructions.
choice: which of many television channels to watch; what
to eat; which clothes to wear; etc. However, we rarely give Because they are not used to assessing themselves, some
them much choice about how they learn in school. The rest students will pick a task that is too difficult for them to
of this article describes a way forward I have tried. It is an tackle independently. This is a common enough error out-
approach I have used with newspapers, non-fiction writing side school (just watch ‘The X Factor’). Normally the mistake
and various topics, but here I’ll focus on novels. is discovered within a few minutes when the student asks
for help. The teacher can just direct the individual to another
Tasks task or give enough support to enable success.
Making the first task relatively short so they can succeed
Give each student a printed list of activities to choose
quickly helps all the students. Sometimes I have had them
from. Divide the tasks into sections according to learning
do a task that just takes five minutes of effort. The resulting
objectives or subject matter and ask the students to choose
house point or sticker is a visible sign that they are taking
one task from each section. For example, recently I wanted
responsibility and can succeed.
students to write about the setting of the novel they were
reading. They had a choice of three tasks.
The texts
1 What words, phrases, technology or values tell us where
Choose three different novels. One should be challenging,
and when the story is set? Try to list ten things.
one should be quite easy. For example, this year I matched
2 Write a list of ways your novel would be different if it was
Girls Under Pressure by Jacqueline Wilson, with Millions by
set in South Africa five years ago.
Frank Cotterell-Boyce and Bad Alice by Jean Ure. Several of
3 Describe the setting of your novel in detail. Which other
the boys read the ‘girly’ book because it was the easiest and
novel you have read has a similar setting?
had pictures. The most able students were encouraged to
With the work we had done earlier in the year and some use the books they were already reading at home. The best
effort, every student was able to complete one of the tasks. student decided to read Jacqueline Wilson anyway and then
Recently, I wanted Year 9 students to revise parts of speech. felt dissatisfied so read something more challenging.
They were given the choice of completing two computer It is best not to pick anything too long because they
programs which taught and tested them on: won’t get through it. If possible, choose one text you have
Using the Internet if necessary, make sure you know the audio book for. An MP3 player costs twenty pounds and
what the following words mean: noun, verb, article, I have watched lesson-destroyers happily following in the
adjective, adverb, conjunction, and preposition. Take book while listening silently using headphones.
a paragraph from something you have read and parse Alternatively, have them choose their own book, one
it, that is, copy each word and then underneath write suitable for their reading ability. Stipulate it can’t be one
what type of word it is. they have read before and that there can’t be a film of
Explicit content
Chris Walklett exploits songs and lyrics in the classroom.
Chris Tim Murphey (1990) posited that songs • Choose the task carefully: spend time thinking about
Walklett can stimulate, what Stephen Krashen which task type, or what sort of skills activity, the song
has taught called, the ‘din in the head’, and that best lends itself to.
English in
this ‘involuntary mental rehearsal’ is Set the task up well: use pictures, photos or realia, and
one form
or another an ideal way of turning linguistic input ask initial questions such as: ‘what’s the mood of the song?’
for nigh on into language output. and ’how does it make you feel?’
20 years. As Despite all their apparent benefits Clearly, songs and song lyrics offer a wealth of classroom
a lover of though, tutors can encounter both
songs and song lyrics, it became possibilities beyond that of the (massively overused) gap fill.
internal and external hurdles to using Using songs for simple punctuation or dictation exercises
a natural extension to use them
as much as possible as part of them. The external factors include for example can be rewarding. In addition, it is widely felt
classroom activities. fears about how songs in class would among theorists that song is a particularly good medium for
be perceived by the syllabus and/or acquiring common-use language due to its high tolerance
exam driven institution. Many teachers also believe that of error. Activities on connected speech can work well too;
there needs to be a pedagogic purpose to each and every this area is problematic for, as Gimson observed: ‘word
lesson. boundaries are often muddled due to phenomenon such
Several internal issues also present themselves. Firstly as assimilation, elision, liaison and juncture’ (Gabrielatos
there is the scarcity of suitable materials, leading to the need 1994:1). Connected speech issues have also led to the
to produce one’s own. This is time-consuming and some- amusing (and potentially linguistically fruitful) phenomenon
what problematic as there is very little out there in the way of mondegreens.
of applicable theory to act as guidance. Another barrier may An area that interests me personally is using song themes
be a lack of confidence about using this resource, perhaps in the classroom. One of my favourite themes is providing
due to a lack of cultural knowledge of students’ interests a critique of the UK; giving a different view from that
with regard to modern songs. expressed in most course books. The The’s Heartland (1986)
If all has gone smoothly thus far, the potential exploiter with its ‘this is the 51st state of the USA’ refrain and The
of songs/song lyrics has a few more Sex Pistols’ God Save the Queen (1977), are two examples
things to consider; namely, how that I have used for this purpose. The latter was productive, I
Songs/song lyrics exactly to employ this resource. Is one found, to present an alternate view to the Queen’s Diamond
interested, for example, in exploiting
though are worth Jubilee.
the sound element only i.e. as a kind Without careful thought, potential exploiters of songs/
persevering of mood setter? Or is the interest in the song lyrics can easily get it wrong, by, for example, picking
with as they are impact that the lyrics and music have a song that offends or annoys their class, or, worse still,
an authentic, together? Or, is the focus on using bores them. There is also the potentially thorny issue of
motivating, the lyrics in isolation? This last option copyright to bear in mind. Songs/song lyrics though are
is a bit of game changer as it brings
multi-sensory in (seemingly underused) genres that
worth persevering with as they are an authentic, motivating,
multi-sensory stimulus, which deserves re-evaluation given
stimulus, have a lot to say lyrically – such as rap the wealth of possibilities now afforded by the internet.
which deserves and hip hop. walklettchris@hotmail.com
re-evaluation Without doubt the tutor needs to
use common sense when selecting References
given the wealth
suitable songs. As well as level, such Gabrielatos, C. 1994. ‘Materials evaluation and adaptation:
of possibilities a choice may come down to factors A case study of pronunciation teaching. The treatment of
now afforded by such as culture, some religions, for pronunciation in The New Cambridge English Course, vol.
1’. Unpublished essay, Research Centre for English and
the internet example, have issues with music, and
Applied Linguistics, University of Cambridge.
age. It is probably best to avoid the use
(Retrieved from www.gabrielatos.com/Pronunciation.pdf)
of modern songs with a more mature Gakonga, J. 2013. ‘Using songs for language learning’.
class, for instance, whilst older ‘hippy’ classics are perhaps (Retrieved from www.slideshare.net/JGakonga/using-songs-
not best suited to a younger audience. for-language-learning)
Further, Jo Gakonga (2013) suggests that one should: Murphey, T. 1990 ‘The song stuck in my head phenomenon:
• Choose the song carefully: avoid choosing a song that A melodic din in the LAD’ System. Vol 18. PP. 53-64.
means a lot to you personally, for if the students dislike it, (Retrieved from www.academia.edu/1902744/The_song_
you might feel that they have by implication rejected you. stuck_in_my_head_phenomenon_1_melodic_din_in_the_
LAD)
Liberating IELTS
Alison Featherstone looks back on Liverpool 2013.
Join
Membership of this international organisation of English Language Teachers offers you
• contact with colleagues and affiliated associations worldwide
22 ways to differentiate
Victoria Elliott shares some quick-fire ideas.
Victoria Elliott Here are 22 quick-fire ideas to add 4 Pairwork: for paired groupings to work through an
is a Lecturer an element of differentiation into explanation task, for example, pair students with some-
in English in your lesson. They are grouped under one of a different attainment. Teaching someone else is
Education at
different headings but most could be the best way of learning something yourself because you
the University
of York. She adapted to apply to a different activ- have to explain it, and LAPs gain from the one to one,
has previ- ity or class style. as well as having different ideas to contribute to the
ously trained Two abbreviations have been discussion. Students of the same level will often come up
English and used—LAPs for ‘lower attaining with the same questions or thoughts on a topic, whereas
Drama teachers at the University
pupils’ and HAPs for ‘higher attaining a different eye can bring a fresh perspective.
of Warwick and taught English in
secondary schools. pupils’.
Reading
Group work 5 Differentiated tasks: when reading a class text together,
1 Same ability groups: select groups by ability, and give Special Educational Needs (SEN) or very low attaining
different groups different sheets to work from. There pupils who can’t read could be offered photocopies of
are two ways of differentiating the questions—either the book to highlight words they can recognise while
give completely different (and differentiated) questions, the class is reading along. Or provide sheets of high
or give the same questions with scaffolding provided for frequency words to tick off when they’ve heard them.
lower attaining groups, and suggestions for extended 6 Reading in class: allot parts or sentences according to
thinking to the HAPs. The answers are presented back to ability to read—fluent readers read most, but everyone
the class so everyone gets some face time and everyone gets a reward for reading, so if a student who struggles
gets the benefit of all questions and ideas. manages a good sentence, it’s an achievement. There is
2 Mixed ability groups: create mixed ability groups, in also the direct speech approach—give fluent readers the
small groups of three or four. (Large mixed ability groups narrative role, while less good readers get specific char-
can result in someone getting left out.) Every group acters whose speeches they have to read. Alternatively
gets the same level of question to discuss. You pick the ‘you can read aloud as much as you want’ so even shy
group spokesperson to feedback to the class—you might kids will have a go. Differentiating on the level of the
choose to pick a HAP to stretch individual approaches personalised learning.
them, or a LAP to get their contri- 7 Questions: print support for questions (‘hints’ or ‘top
bution. Alternatively, perhaps you tips’ or ‘words to use’) on the bottom third of the page,
might choose the middle pupil Some of them are folded under. Students can unfold it, if they want/need
in the group if they don’t often things you will be the help, have it to peek at if they can’t get one ques-
contribute to class. doing already— tion, or keep it folded up the whole time; they assess
3 Role assignment: create a mixed
they’re here to their own needs.
ability group where each person is 8 Assessment: graduate reading assessment sheets where
assigned a different role, accord-
point out that just the questions start easier and get harder—each target
ing to their potential. The roles because they’re level has a different question they’re aiming to reach
depend on the activity, but they easy, it doesn’t (monitored by students themselves).
might include the director, the mean they’re not
person in charge of writing and Writing
differentiation
the communicator. In Speaking 9 Personalised learning target: students (or you) copy the
and Listening tasks it can be pro- target you gave them from the previous task at the top
ductive to make the HAPs the of the new piece of work. It might be ‘read through
assessors, with the task of observing what is happening, every sentence and put in a comma where you need to
and evaluating it and their colleagues according to the pause’. It might be ‘use a mix of complex and simple
criteria you’ve agreed (also nicely ticking peer assess- sentences. At the end explain your use of two different
ment). Alternatively this role might go to the student sentences to make the piece appropriate for the audi-
who is always talking or dominating the class; the asses- ence and purpose’.
sor is a silent role, which stresses ‘listening’ skills. The use 10 Pair work peer assessment: pair students with someone
of criteria stretches the assessor’s understanding of the of a similar ability to read and comment on each other’s
skill, and their constant monitoring presence improves work, with suggestions for improvement.
the other students’ focus on the task.
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Tran Le Nghi In my country, language classes from the next word in order not to get a penalty. This way,
Tran, MA, of 25–30 learners are an expecta- the whole class must pay close attention to what is happen-
has six years tion rather than a reality; I usually ing. Sometimes, to increase competition, the class is divided
experience into two groups and one must appoint the other group’s
have 60–90 students in each class.
teaching
With such sizes, most of the games members to go on. The group with more members seated
English at
Banking and activities I had learned seemed at the end of the activity win and can set the punishment
Academy, useless. Furthermore, most of my for the losers.
Phu Yen Branch, Vietnam. She is learners are from a very poor back-
the Cambridge ESOL Best Practice
ground so often the most they can Group work
in Teacher Training Scholarship
Winner 2013. do is to stay awake. However, adver- If each group contained four to five members, there would
sity is the mother of invention, and be far too many groups to control. I usually divide the class
below are some of my ‘inventions’ to deal with the situation. into two to four groups, each with 15–30 members, and let
them compete against each other in completing the tasks
Checking individual learning the most quickly and accurately.
These activities are used for checking comprehension or learn- This is extremely useful in doing controlled writing
ing of every student in the class, regardless of size or level. exercises such as sentence completing, building or rewriting.
Give them an exercise with many sentences, and let them
Binary task questions volunteer to appoint their rival group members to write their
For instance, with binary task questions, I ask the learners to answers on the board. Remind them to appoint weaker
raise their left or right hand to show ‘true/ right’ or ‘false/ peers so that their chances of winning are higher and the
wrong’ respectively. Those who raise the wrong hand or quicker they finish the task, the more bonus marks they
are too slow have to stand up and will get. To get the rest involved, they are allowed to shout
can only sit down after giving a right suggestions or corrections to help their group’s members
It is obvious that answer. Learners still standing at the or distract their opponents. The answers are marked, and
the weaker, or less end of the activity are given a penalty. the group with more marks wins. This game often leads to
focused, students The punishment is usually to do funny crowds at the board, a traffic jam in the aisles and much
are the ones most miming. laughter and cheering.
Sometimes, to avoid the noise and the crowds, I put
often appointed Multiple choice the groups into a relay race when there must be only one
to do things Similarly, multiple choice questions member per group writing on the board at one time. This
and, amazingly can be done by asking students to variation is good for question answering, paragraph writ-
enough, the ones raise one, two, three or four fingers ing or story reporting practice in which group members
corresponding to the answers A, B, C co-operate with one another to win. Occasionally, I create
who improve the a game with several rounds, each with a different exercise,
or D. In cases of questions with two
most right answers, students raise both and the final result is totalled from all the rounds.
hands indicating their choices. To When the weaker students are appointed to go up too
raise the difficulty level, I may call for answers to the ques- often, the better ones can get bored, so I reserve the more
tions in random order, requiring more concentration. difficult or creative tasks for them to do. For example, each
group may send to the board as many people as they like,
Cloze voluntarily, to write as many new words on the same topic,
Another game called ‘chain reaction’ can be used for gap translate a sentence into as many different versions, or say as
filling exercises. One student volunteers or is appointed to many sentences as they can with only a given word or phrase.
give the first answer and picks the next student to answer. The stress is on the limited time allotted, and since the better
If the answer is incorrect, the speaker stands up. This game, performers will win the game they have to send their best
too, can be played in any order of questions, and whoever representatives and collaborate well within the group. Also,
repeats one already done also stands. I instruct students to to enhance student engagement, they are allowed to point
appoint those who appear not to have done their home- out their opponent’s mistakes to earn more marks.
work or are chatting or sleeping.
A variation of this game is when the cloze exercise is a Conclusion
longer text with paragraphs. Here, a student starts to read With extra-large class sizes, it is difficult to give every student
the text aloud and stops anywhere they like after filling in proper attention and feedback. However, the above activi-
one blank space. The next student has to continue exactly ties have helped me enormously in finding out how much
Creative writing
Catherine Cheetham uses pictures to tell stories.
Catherine Introduction students form groups of three or four. Give each group a
Cheetham picture. For each adjective on the board, ask students to
is from
Student writing tends to centre on
write a noun from the picture. Since the object is to write
Vancouver, personal narratives that become
as many original noun and adjective pairs, students should
Canada. somewhat repetitive. This is not to say
She has a
not share their words with their group members. Encourage
that personal narratives are irrelevant.
Master’s in students to think of different words that can be used to
On the contrary, they play a central
TESL/TEFL describe one object. After two minutes, students should
role in developing writing fluency.
from the stop writing and compare their answers with their group
University of Birmingham, UK and Because of their repetitive nature and
members. Points are awarded for each original noun and
over 17 years experience in ESL. learner accessibility, they are an ideal
She is currently teaching at Tokai adjective pairing; therefore, if students within the group
staple of the learning process. That
University, Japan. Her main inter- said, learners also need to partake in brainstorm identical adjective/noun pairings, that pair of
ests are student motivation and
a variety of creative writing challenges words is disqualified. To give students more exposure, select
materials development. another picture and repeat the process.
that move beyond standard routines.
Creative writing requires learners to manipulate the lan- Example of student noun/adjective pairs
guage in interesting and diverse ways. The problem is that
Student 1 Student 2 Student 3
many students find creative writing challenging because
they don’t know where to begin. To achieve creativity and Beautiful Beautiful
✗ ✓
girl Beautiful woman ✓
build learner confidence, the subject matter needs to be
✗
Comfortable chair Comfortable ✗
chair Comfortable sofa ✓
realistic and non-intimidating. By using pictures to structure
ideas, students have a stronger base from which to create ✓
Dark hallway Dark ✓
corridor Dark passage ✓
an original story. Furthermore, creative writing needs a
✓
Expensive watch Expensive ✗
jewelry Expensive jewelry ✗
purpose. I have found the following lesson plan to be an
excellent way for students to embark on a variety of topics ✓
Large clock Large ✗
Large watch ✓
and themes to express creativity, while playfully sharing and Tiny baby ✓
✗
Tiny Tiny shoes ✓
communicating authentic meaning with their classmates.
Materials Writing
Select a topic and prepare several topic-based pictures for Depending on the level of the students, the composition
each pair or member of the class. The following are recom- may be done individually or in pairs, as basic level students
mended topics: housing, fashion, holidays, and everyday may benefit from pair work. Give each student or pair a
life scenes as depicted in genre art, such as that of Norman picture and instruct them to write about the picture based
Rockwell. Pictures may be obtained from websites or appli- on the chosen theme. Ideally, a sample text and/or a writ-
cations such as Microsoft Word. Try to select pictures with ing outline based on the theme should also be distributed
a lot of background detail and imagery to facilitate student to assist students in the writing process. To build learner
description. Note that no picture should be the same, but confidence, the exercises should focus on content, with
ideally they should have some similarities. the teacher responding to the ideas that are well expressed
rather than explicit corrections. The idea is for students to
Suggested writing topics and themes: express themselves and feel uninhibited.
Topic Theme
Sharing
Housing Describe your new home
Real estate listing Now collect and post all of the pictures in random order
at the front of the classroom. Collect and redistribute the
Fashion Fashion review
students’ writing to different members in the class. Students
Catalogue description
then read their classmates’ writing. Next, students match
Holiday Travel log the writing with the correct picture posted at the front of
Tourist information/Advertisement
the classroom. To check that they have made the correct
Genre paintings Art eeview match, students should return the writing to the author.
Narrative story
Conclusion
Word builder I have found that my students react well to this method of
On the board write several adjectives such as ‘beauti- creative writing. Just as in personal narrative writing, stu-
ful’, ‘comfortable’, ‘dark’, ‘expensive’, ‘large’, ‘tiny’. Have dents need the opportunity to write creatively using a variety
Materials reviews
Sandee
Thompson is a
teacher trainer/
assessor. She
received her
MA TESL from
Edited by Sandee Thompson Birmingham
University and is
In this issue, Hilary Livingston, trialled some of the material from Garnet’s English for Academic English currently teach-
Studies series and I reviewed their 50 Steps to Improving your Academic Writing. We both agree that Garnet ing EFL at the College of the North
Atlantic, Qatar.
puts out fabulous material for learners and teachers of academic English. On a new topic for this column,
Anja Burkert reviews a book on teaching with comics edited by LASIG committee member, Christian Ludwig. As comics are probably a new and
untried teaching tool for many of us, this review is longer than usual.
English for Academic Study: purpose, reading recall, annotating, comparing two texts, and reading
Reading Course Book with a focus question in mind.
The wide variety of skills and tasks presented requires the students
John Slaght
to read and reread the texts, getting the most out of every page. And,
Garnet Publishing Limited, 2012
if students find they need even more practice, there is a dedicated
111 pages
website for both students and teachers with links to additional web-
ISBN 978 1 90861 437 7
sites for the skills practised.
All in all, this reading course book is ideal for someone who has
English for Academic Study:
a high English level and now wants to learn the skills and strategies
Reading and Writing Source necessary to be an efficient and effective reader at college level.
Book Hilary Livingston
John Slaght and Anne Pallant CELTA, MEd.
Garnet Publishing Limited, 2012 hilarylivingston@hotmail.com
68 pages
ISBN 978 1 90861 436 0 50 Steps to Improving your
Academic Writing (Study Book)
English for Academic Study:
Chris Sowton
Reading Teacher’s Book Garnet Education, 2012
John Slaght 272 pages
Garnet Publishing Limited, 2012 ISBN 978 1 85 964655 7
197 pages
50 Steps to Improving your Academic Writ-
ISBN 978 1 90861 438 4
ing is aimed at upper intermediate EFL
English for Academic Study: Reading Course Book is just one of the students at a 5.0+ IELTS band level. It is organised into ten key areas
English for Academic Studies (EAS) series published by Garnet, which and includes 4 useful appendices. Each of the ten units is broken into
aims to provide students with the skills and strategies needed to be 5 sub steps which are further broken into 6 components: Reflection,
successful in an academic setting. The reading course book provides Contextualization, Analysis, Activation, Personalization and finally,
all the practice tasks that correspond to the texts found in a separate Extension. The book is meant to be used as a self-study tool and each
book entitled English for Academic Study: Reading and Writing chapter should last approximately 60 minutes.
Source Book—see next review. Also, there is an English for Academic Some of the areas covered in the book are: Unit A:: Understanding
Study: Reading Teacher’s Book with practical teaching advice for each Academic Convention, Unit C: Preparing to Write and Unit F: Develop-
exercise in the course book as well as an answer key and additional ing your Writing Style.
photocopiable practice materials. In Unit A, the first chapter helps the student to analyse the dif-
The reading course book and accompanying source book are aimed ferences between spoken and written English. Discussion focuses on
at an upper intermediate student, (5.0–7.5 IELTS band score) who method of delivery, level of formality, how meaning is communicated
wants to be able to read purposefully at university level. The readings and how skills are acquired. It takes the learner step by step through
are authentic and their article-style columns, larger sized font and the magical world of ‘processing’! I love it. For example, it helps learn-
colourful photos, make them reader friendly. The course book is the- ers to understand that in spoken English we raise our voices to make
matic with 8 different units covering such topics as sustainable energy, a point but in written English we need to use punctuation and select
food security and sustainable fashion. There may be up to four texts our words in a different manner. Step 3 in this chapter is on plagiarism
relating to each topic. The texts vary in length, but on average are over and I think it is a grand idea to have it at the beginning of the book.
1000 words each. The tasks cover the usual skills and strategies such First, the students evaluate what is normal practice in their country and
as skimming and scanning, predicting, inferring, and looking for main in the UK. (This could be reworded for the USA, Canada or any other
ideas. However, one of the strengths of these books is that the tasks English speaking country, of course.) It shows students what plagiarism
go beyond the ‘usual’ and really give the student practice at other is and how to identify whether or not they are plagiarising. There
essential university level reading skills, such as analysing the text for are practice tasks to identify plagiarised statements and students are
Muriel Spark. 1961/2000. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Penguin And later as Billy gets enthused by his explanation, Mr Farthing says:
Modern Classics. ‘You’d better come out here and give us a demonstration. We’re
Film: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. 1969. Directed by Ronald not all experts you know.’
Neame. Starring Maggie Smith, Gordon Jackson.
Billy, who is very weak at writing normally, spells all the technical
Barry Hines. 1968/2000. A Kestrel for a Knave. Penguin Modern terms connected to falconry perfectly, and the teacher writes them on
Classics. the board. And when he has finished, Mr Farthing says:
Film: Kes. 1969. Directed by Ken Loach. Starring David Bradley, ‘Right you can sit down now. That was very good, I enjoyed it, and
Colin Welland. I’m sure the class did.’
Each novel deals with pupils in a different kind of school. To Sir, Billy blushed then walked back to his place, looking down at
With Love (TSWL) is set in an East End London school in a working his feet. His return to the ranks was greeted by a splatter of
class area. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (TPOMJB) is set in a posh girl’s applause, which Mr Farthing allowed to run its natural course.
school in Edinburgh. A Kestrel for a Knave (AKFAK) is set in a rough The same scene is beautifully done in Ken Loach’s excellent film,
secondary school in a Yorkshire mining village. Each novel foregrounds and we see exactly how a good teacher can draw out even the most
a different teacher with a different approach to education. In TSWL, reluctant learner by getting them to work on something that they are
the teacher is an immigrant from British Guiana, Ricky Braithwaite, interested in and succeed in. There are various ways of working this
who not only has to face a difficult teaching situation, but also racial with a class, for example:
prejudice. He wins his final-year secondary class over by changing the
• The class discusses ways in which teachers can help shyer learners.
ground-rules of the class to complete respect for everyone, and by
• The class reads the extract described above and discusses how far
treating them as the adults they will soon be out in the real world. In
Mr Farthing did the same suggestions that they came up with, and
TPOMJB the eccentric Jean Brodie selects her ‘special girls’ for treats,
what else he did.
and instils highly personal ideas on what is good and right; she is in
direct conflict with the school’s Headmistress and most of the other They can then watch the film version of the scene and compare
teachers. In AKFAK the main teacher focused on is Mr Farthing, the similarities between what they read and what they see.
English teacher, who is the only one who treats the protagonist, Billy An alternative is to start with activity (a) above, but then
Casper, kindly; he is contrasted starkly with the Headmaster and the get half the class to do (b)—read the written text, and half
bullying P E teacher. So, by choosing the right book for your students, to do (c)—watch the film extract; they then compare what
and the right extracts from the book, and the film version, you can pro- they have read/seen with a partner from the other group.
vide the basis for a wonderful series of interactive, intertextual lessons. This is not only a great activity for intermediate level plus language
My personal favourite is AKFAK, and my favourite scene is the one classes and traditional literature classes, but also for pre-service and
where Billy’s class (4C) is having an English lesson with Mr Farthing. in-service English teachers.
They are talking about the difference between fact and fiction. The And I can assure you that all three novels are well worth reading
teacher elicits a factual story from one of the boys, and then asks Billy, and films well worth seeing for themselves, regardless of what you
who has not been paying attention. Initially he is annoyed when Billy might do in class.
can’t answer and threatens that the class will have to come back at Happy reading!
David A. Hill
four o’clock if he doesn’t tell a story. At this, one of the others shouts futured@hu.inter.net
the effects of the project will reach a broad or online, or a mixture of the two. But the
IATEFL Projects Award community of English language teachers and ‘lasting effect’ may include things such as
give the opportunity for less experienced teach- upgrading teachers’ skills, holding a confer-
This is the inaugural year for this IATEFL ers to take an active role. Also a part of the ence to seek and implement solutions to a
award, and the Board of Trustees thought proposal must show how the outcomes will be specific problem in the country, researching
long and hard about how to maximise the evaluated and disseminated. needs of learners and then writing materials
effect of the award for the greater good So any associate writing a proposal must to address them, or finding ways to introduce
of our profession, and for education in make clear how it will involve both experienced new technology or methodology.
general. and inexperienced teachers as well as describe There may also be opportunities for exper-
It offers associates the opportunity to bid the impact on learning, and exactly how this tise to be shared between different associates
for small grants that will enable them to make will be evaluated. in pursuit of the aims of a project, or for
a difference to language learning in their local The kinds of projects that are anticipated specific SIGs to be involved. We are all linked
context that would not be possible without are ones that have a lasting effect, not just so it makes sense to search for such collabora-
this support. Any proposal has to show that a one-off event. They can be face-to-face, tive opportunities.
IH Trust/IATEFL Training trainer training course which can then lead to teachers’ language proficiency, teaching skills
cascade teacher training at local level. and methodology, as well as enhancement
Award
The training must also demonstrate lasting of their ability to develop materials and
In partnership with IATEFL, the International effectiveness (‘sustainable outcomes’ in the assessment, and for all these there needs to
House Trust offered a training award to an current jargon) as well. Here are some exam- be a demonstration of lasting effectiveness
associate of IATEFL in the developing world. ples of the types of possible training projects. (’sustainability’), and a means of evaluating
This is a valuable and distinctive award in that Training to: this.
it includes 20 training days to be delivered • upgrade teachers’ language proficiency and/
or developing language teaching practice Preparing a budget
in their own country or region by IH Trust
teacher trainers. Thus the aim is to support • develop materials in under-resourced local It is significant that preparing budgets, includ-
existing teacher development programmes contexts ing how the TA will find funding from other
within Associates through the provision of • assess learners’ needs/abilities and cur- sources, is a requirement in support of these
relevant training. riculum demands and to develop language applications, so the associate should make
Again, as in the IATEFL Projects Award, it is teaching practices that respond to these sure it develops the skills to produce a clear
expected that the training will have an effect • encourage and develop innovative practices budget plan, and is also able to find other
on a broad community of English language in teaching specific language skills funds. Further training in Budgeting and
teachers in their countries or regions. It can You will see the parallels with the IATEFL Fund-raising are two of the areas of expertise
either be a direct teacher training course, or a Projects Award. There is an emphasis on that associates have often requested, and
Hornby Trust-IATEFL and learning within its area. So there are two Here’s what you have to do
clearly-linked types of objective.
Associates Development So, to sum up, each of these three funding
There is also an emphasis that this should
Projects Fund be part-funding: the TA has to seek support
opportunities is slightly different, but they
share characteristics and requirements that
from other sources, (‘matching funds’) so this
This award has been going for several years every TA should be aware of when consider-
encourages a TA actively to seek local funding.
now, and I have personally been involved with ing an application. Bear in mind the eleven
If a TA has not done this before, the fund-
it each year since 2011 when the winners points above, and all the other points above
raising skills and sources they develop for this
were our associates based in Albania and in this article, and your application will have
project can carried over to other projects in the
Cuba. In the current cycle, 2013–2014, there a strong basis.
future. But as is said in the call for proposals,
were 11 applicants, and the winners are … Remember:
‘…some or even all of these ‘matching funds’
no, I’ll leave that till later.
can be ‘goods in kind’, for example, free venue • What … do you want to do?
The Hornby Trust funds this award, and as
space, donated stationery, use of equipment, • Why … do you want to do it?
it is open only to IATEFL associates, IATEFL is
etc’. These are all facilities that otherwise might • Who … will do it?
also involved, as well as the British Council,
have to be paid for, and thus carry a monetary • How … will you do it and evaluate it?
who are responsible for distributing the fund-
value as well. • When … will you do it?
ing for the winners and supporting them
In applying for this award, what does a TA • Where … will the money come from and
in other ways. So this is another exemplary
need to do? Here are the required actions and be used for?
partnership between major organisations in
details: And finally you need to be able to say:
this field, and four when you include the
winner. • Name a project leader • How … it will strengthen the association
So what are the declared aims of this • Write an informative title • How … it will enhance language teaching
award? The aim is to support ‘teacher and • Describe the type of project and learning
teacher association development in practical, • Give a time scale • How … it will benefit your community.
sustainable and contextually relevant ways’. • State clear specific aims
• Justify its usefulness in satisfying clear stated Good luck with your next application.
Specified examples of possible projects
needs Oh, do you want to know who the Hornby
include:
• Describe exactly what will be done at each Trust-IATEFL Project Fund winners are? Well,
• outreach projects to support a new branch if you came to Associates Day in Harrogate,
stage
and/or increase recruitment of new mem- • Name the team (including non-TA partners) you will already know. And if you didn’t, I’ll
bers; involved, with their job descriptions and be writing about them here in Voices very
• projects to evaluate existing provision and/ responsibilities soon. Have a great summer. J
or develop new services for members; • Draw up a budget with the detailed likely What? Oh, OK, the winners were our
• projects which spread expertise within the costs, how the funds will be used, what associates from Morocco and Omsk, Russia.
particular TA or across IATEFL associates. matching funds will be available, where they Congratulations to both of them, and many
Each year, the judges for this award have will come from, and how they will be used thanks to the other nine associates who
looked closely at how the project will develop • Describe how the project will be evaluated entered the competition.
the TA itself in organisation, administration • Describe how and why it will have a lasting
or scope, as well as enhancing teaching effect.
Have you thought about writing something for Voices? Is there something you feel
Have you thought strongly about? Something you would like to say or share? Everyone who has ever
of writing had an article published in our Newsletter started out by submitting an article for the
first time and Voices is particularly interested in receiving material from people who
for are relatively new to the profession. Perhaps you have an idea but it’s not enough
for an article? Well, brief can be just as good and often better. We are especially
interested in items as short as 400–800 words—quite long enough in many cases to
make a pithy point—and shorter articles will give more people a chance to be heard,
regardless of who, where or how well ‘qualified’ they are.
Coming events
2014 DON’T FORGET October
23–26 China
April 11–14 April 2015 CELEA 7th International Converence
on ELT in China, Nanjing
30– Brazil
3 May 14th BrazTESOL International 49th Annual ‘Localization and individuation: Reforms and
research in China’s ELT’
Conference, Joao Pessoa
‘Emerging Identities in ELT’
International Event coordinator: China English Language
Education Association
Visit: http://braz-tesol.org.br IATEFL Conference Visit: http://www.celea.org.cn/2014/english/
May and Exhibition November
10 April 2015 14–16 Bonn, Germany
10 Salford, UK IATEFL BESIG Annual Conference
IATEFL LMCS SIG with NATESOL Pre-conference events
event 14–15 Albania
17 France
Manchester UK ELTA Regional Conference, Berat
See www.iatefl.org for more information and “English and Employability”
TESOL France Young Learners and Contact eltaalb@gmail.com or visit
Teens Event. Paris important deadlines
www.eltaal.org
‘Spotlighting, Encouraging, Inspiring English
Learning and Teaching among Young September 21–24 Japan
Learners and Teens’ JALT 2014 40th Annual International
12–14 Poland Conference and Exhibition on
Contact : tesolfrance@gmail.com or visit
23rd International IATEFL Poland Language Teaching and Learning,
www.tesol-france.org
Conference, Lublin Tsukuba
23–25 Cyprus ‘Innovation and technology in foreign ‘Conversations across borders’
IATEFL YLTSIG and CyTEA joint languages teaching: methodology, Visit: http://jalt.org.conference
event, Nicosia psychology, IT’
‘Early Years Conference Language Learning Submission deadline 1 May 2014
2-6 – International Perspectives on Early Years Contact: conference2014@iatefl.org.pl or
Plurilingualism’
Visit www.iatefl.org
visit www.iatefl.org.pl
26–27 Albania
Wish IATEFL would
30–31 Turkey
IATEFL LASIG, Istanbul
ELTA Regional Conference, Lezha host an event in
“Teaching and Learning English for Fun:
‘Learners and Teachers as Companions on
the Road to Autonomy’
Challenges and Solutions” your country?
Contact eltaalb@gmail.com or visit
Visit: www.iatefl.org www.eltaal.org
31 Korea Go to
KOTESOL Conference, Daegu Submissions for the calendar are welcome and should
‘Change in the Classroom: Principled be sent to glenda@iatefl.org and copied to the Editor at http://www.iatefl.org/
Pragmatism’ editor@iatefl.org. It is helpful to follow the format in the special-interest-groups/
calendar above, and also to include submission deadlines
Visit: http//koreatesol.org/
for papers for potential presenters. So that we receive your list-of-sigs
nc2014CallForPresenters
announcements in time, please check Voices (p.1) for the to contact the IATEFL SIGs
June copy deadline and the publication month of each issue.
13–14 Austria
Publications received
IATEFL BESIG Summer Symposium, TDSIG Newsletter, Autumn-Winter 2013-14,
Graz
Issue 69 (ISSN: 1026-4361)
‘Putting the research to work: research,
practical applications and materials in TTEdSIG e-newsletter, November 2013
Business English’ The Editor has received copies of the (ISBN1026:4396)
Booking: 1 March–4 June 2014
following publications: Associates Publications
Visit www.besig.org
27–29 UK ELT Research, RESIG Newsletter, January ETAS Journal, Switzerland, Winter 2013,
NATECLA National Conference 2014, 2014, Issue 29 (ISSN: 2304-2591) Volume 31/1 (ISSN: 1660-6507)
Sheffield ES(O)L SIG Newsletter, January 2014, Issue 1
Visit: http://www.natecla.org.uk/content/568/ TESOL-Spain E-newsletter, January 2014
National-Conference-2014 (ISSN: 1742-4968) (ISSN 2255-0356)
Professional and Academic English ESPSIG TESOL-Spain E-newsletter, Convention Issue,
August Journal Summer-Autumn 2013, Issue 42 February 2014 (ISSN 2255-0356)
21–23 India (ISSN: 1754-6850)
ELTAI 9th International and 49th Publications from Teachers’ Associations
Annual ELTAI conference, Jaipur Independence, LASIG Newsletter, February- or special interest groups received will be
‘English: From classes to masses’ March 2014, Issue 60 (ISSN: 1026-4329) acknowledged in this column and should be
Submission deadline: 31 May 2014 LMCS SIG Newsletter, December 2013, Issue sent to the Editor at PO Box 3182, Pewsey,
Contact shailamhn@yahoo.co.in or visit SN9 5WJ, United Kingdom.
www.eltai.in 44 (ISSN: 1814-6495)
Speak Out! PronSIG Newsletter, February Please send only items published wholly or
2014, Issue 50 (ISSN: 1026-4345) partly in English, which should be received
The most up to date version of the calendar can be by the deadlines detailed on the contents
found on our website, TEASIG e-Newsletter, March 2014, Issue 55 page of this issue. All further enquiries to
http://www.iatefl.org/events/ (ISSN: 1814-697X) editor@iatefl.org.