DEVELOPINGTEACHERS.COM - WEEKLY TEACHING TIP - 5th May 2008

BOOKS RECOMMENDATIONS

Elementary Communication Games - J.Hadfield (Nelson)
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0175556954/developingt
Amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0175556954/developingt
Amazon.ca:
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0175556954/developteac

Teach Business English - S.Donna (CUP)
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521585570/developingt
Amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521585570/developingt
Amazon.ca:
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521585570/developteac

Teaching Children English: An Activity Based Training Course -
D.Vale & A.Feunteun (CUP)
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521422353/developingt
Amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521422353/developingt
Amazon.ca:
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521422353/developteac

BUYING BOOKS (OR ANYTHING ELSE!) THROUGH AMAZON? - if you're
going to Amazon .com, Amazon .co.uk or Amazon.ca please go
through the Books page on the site - you pay the same, we get a
small percentage to help keep the newsletters free. Support the
site - thanks.
http://www.developingteachers.com/books/reading.htm
Click on one of the books to get to the .com or .co.uk site or
use the search box at the bottom of the page.
To see the recommended book index:
http://developingteachers.com/books/review_index.htm

***********************

iMINDMAP
Excellent software from Tony Buzan, the inventor of the mind map.
To download the trial version of the excellent mind mapping
software & to find out more:
http://www.imindmap.com/developingteachers/

***********************

DEVELOPINGTHEWEB.COM
DEVELOPINGCOURSES.COM
DEVELOPINGT2T.COM

ONLINE DEVELOPMENT COURSES @ DEVELOPINGCOURSES.COM
http://www.developingcourses.com
A choice of online development courses to enhance your teaching.

MOODLE HOSTING @ DEVELOPINGTHEWEB.COM
http://www.developingtheweb.com
A range of web hosting options for teachers.

NETWORKING FOR TEACHERS @ DEVELOPINGT2T.COM
http://www.developingt2t.com
Blog, share, communicate & collaborate with other teachers.

***********

TEACHING TIP
-----------

Lower levels

---------------

I've received a few emails recently looking for materials for
lower levels, & in particular beginners. It's true there is
little for these levels & we shall endeavor to put up some low
level plans. We've had a few past Tips dealing with beginners:

Writing for beginners
http://www.developingteachers.com/tips/pasttips35.htm
The honeymoon is over!
http://www.developingteachers.com/tips/pasttips36.htm
Unlocking beginners
http://www.developingteachers.com/tips/pasttips42.htm

When watching low level lessons I often find myself wondering
what it is that makes an effective lesson at this level. Here are
a few thoughts:

1. Relevance - choose the language & topics carefully & help them
to make progress quickly. This means looking very critically at
the coursebook & dumping stuff they're not going to need - all
that bedroom vocab for adults! And choose relevant grammar - get
onto the past simple fairly soon as with this they can talk about
themselves, rather than simply describing their daily routines
with the present simple or describing situations with the present
continuous. Some coursebooks come round to introducing can/can't
after several months! Take control the coursebook rather than the
other way round.

2. Pitch - this means anticipating accurately the difficulties
the students are going to have with the language & skills work
you look at. Put yourself in their shoes. 

3. Number of activities - don't overdo it so that you're cramming
in activities at the expense of completing them properly. And on
the other hand don't spend too long so that you end up doing only
one or two activities in the lesson.

4. Variety of activity - variety is the spice of life so get
creative & get out of the ruts, the similar procedures you
follow.

5. Signposting & continuity - the lessons shouldn't be one-offs,
students should be able to see the links - your timetable fit.
During the lessons be clear about starting & finishing stages so
all can see what's happening.

6. Classroom management - this has got to be as clear as
possible. All you ask the students to do hinges around this.
Clear instructions are vital. If you have a complicated task to
set up, write the instructions out. If your classroom management
is confused the students will be dissatisfied.

7. Authenticity & teacher talk - just because the students are
low level doesn't mean they need to be talked to as if they are
children. Certainly grade your language but try to speak as
naturally as possible.

8. Use visual aids to convey meaning. Don't rely on using the
students' mother tongue, try to use English as much as possible.

9. Organise their learning - within the lesson be consistent with
their study skills. Make sure they go away with a comprehensive
record of the new language. Get them to copy down the vocab in
their notebooks, together with the part of speech & the word
stress - go round & check. 

You could say the same for all levels but for me these are
particularly important for low levels. This is just looking at a
lesson but don't forget the slightly longer term motivational
problems. See the Tip 'The honeymoon is over!':
http://www.developingteachers.com/tips/pasttips36.htm
And, as usual, talk to them about what you do in the lessons -
why you do what you do.

What do you think? Any more ideas, please post for all in the Forums at:
http://forum.developingteachers.com/index.php?topic=1540.0

---------------

World Red Cross Day is May 8:
http://www.developingteachers.com/tips/pasttips66.htm

DEVELOPINGTEACHERS.COM - WEEKLY TEACHING TIP - 12th May 2008

BOOKS RECOMMENDATIONS - related to the Tip below:

Speaking Clearly - P.Rogerson & J.Gilbert (CUP)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521312876/developingt
Amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521312876/developingt
Amazon.ca:
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521312876/developteac

Sound Foundations - Adrian Underhill (Heinemann)
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0435240919/developingt
Amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0435240919/developingt
Amazon.ca:
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0435240919/developteac

Pronunciation Practice Activities - M. Hewings (CUP)
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/3125340780/developingt
Amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/3125340780/developingt
Amazon.ca:
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/3125340780/developteac

Pronunciation Games - M.Hancock (CUP)
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521467357/developingt
Amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521467357/developingt
Amazon.ca:
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521467357/developteac

BUYING BOOKS (OR ANYTHING ELSE!) THROUGH AMAZON? - if you're
going to Amazon .com, Amazon .co.uk or Amazon.ca please go
through the Books page on the site - you pay the same, we get a
small percentage to help keep the newsletters free. Support the
site - thanks.
http://www.developingteachers.com/books/reading.htm
Click on one of the books to get to the .com or .co.uk site or
use the search box at the bottom of the page.
To see the recommended book index:
http://developingteachers.com/books/review_index.htm

***********************

iMINDMAP
Excellent software from Tony Buzan, the inventor of the mind map.
To download the trial version of the excellent mind mapping
software & to find out more:
http://www.imindmap.com/developingteachers/

***********************

DEVELOPINGTHEWEB.COM
DEVELOPINGCOURSES.COM
DEVELOPINGT2T.COM

ONLINE DEVELOPMENT COURSES @ DEVELOPINGCOURSES.COM
http://www.developingcourses.com
A choice of online development courses to enhance your teaching.

MOODLE HOSTING @ DEVELOPINGTHEWEB.COM
http://www.developingtheweb.com
A range of web hosting options for teachers.

NETWORKING FOR TEACHERS @ DEVELOPINGT2T.COM
http://www.developingt2t.com
Blog, share, communicate & collaborate with other teachers.

***********

TEACHING TIP
-----------

Content listening

-----------------

This week we revisit & expand the area of tone units. Initially
for our students, pronunciation is all about listening &
comprehension. Our students want to understand everything,
thinking that if they miss something they won't understand the
message. As with reading, they don't transfer their mother tongue
skills. To show them that native speakers don't hear everything,
try out the following awareness activities:

Telegrams
This is a fun activity to use as a warmer & also as an
introduction to prominence.

Ask the students to write a three or four word telegram in secret
- elicit an example to give them the idea. When all have one
written, assign roles in pairs of sender & receiver. The receiver
sits in front of the sender with her/his back to the sender who
writes, letter by letter, the telegram on their partner's back
with a pen. Not with the nib - the other end so that the student
'receiving' the message can feel each letter being drawn on
her/his back.
While the message is being conveyed the receiver can write each
letter down. When all of the telegram has been written they check
to see if it has been received correctly. Then the students
change roles.

After this you could then ask the students to write their
telegrams out in full & then you could tell them about prominence
(sentence stress). E.g. we hear the prominent words - the content
words (nouns, verbs..) - not the grammar words (prepositions,
auxiliaries..). The content words carry the important
information. This is the first function of prominence - to convey
important information. The idea of telegrams is the same.
Then you could transfer this all to a listening activity - the
students listen to isolated utterances & have to mark the
stressed words/syllables. They then see if they could get the
message across with just these words - telegram style!

http://www.developingteachers.com/tips/pasttips13.htm

Thought groups
A really useful way to help our students with their listening is
to help them become aware of 'thought groups' - a term from the
excellent phonology book for learners 'Speaking Clearly' -
Rogerson & Gilbert - (CUP). These are sometimes called 'tone
units' or 'sense groups'.

Rogerson & Gilbert define 'thought groups':

'When we speak, we need to divide speech up into small 'chunks'
to help the listener understand messages. These chunks or thought
groups are groups of words which go together to express an idea
or thought. In English, we use pauses & low pitch to mark the end
of thought groups.'

A very nice way to highlight the importance is through an
activity in 'Speaking Clearly' that looks at mathematical
equations. Compare the following:

(A + B) x C = Y (A plus B, multiplied by C, equals Y)

A + (B x C) = D (A, plus B multiplied by C, equals D)

Say these two equations to yourself & note when you have to
pause. Each pause means an end of a thought group & the start of
another. You have the same words, but said in different groups,
you have different results.

So how it is interpreted depends how the utterance is separated
into chunks. The speaker chooses when to pause to make the
message clearer for the listener.

After an activity like this, there are a series of equations read
out which when calculated give an answer. If the thought groups
have been interpreted correctly, then the right answer will be
given.

(2 + 3) x 5 = 25

2 + (3 x 5) = 17

With a listening text, after explaining the concept of thought
groups with examples on the board, get your students to mark the
groups on a short text. Then they can listen to the tape to see
if they were right.

We mark the groups with slash marks at the beginning & the end of
each group. Here is a short text, similar to one in the book,
with the thought groups marked:

a. /Who shall we invite to the party?/

b. /Well, //we could ask Helen./

a. /OK,// but what about Ben?/

b. /OK// we could ask Helen & Ben,// & don't forget Josh./

a. /Yes,// Josh.// What about Sarah & John?/

b. /OK.// So,// that's Helen & Ben,// Josh //& Sarah & John./

a. /Yes./

The division of the thought groups in line 6 tells us that Josh
will be going on his own but Helen will go with Ben & Sarah with
John.

http://www.developingteachers.com/tips/pasttips20.htm

To get hold of 'Speaking Clearly' - P.Rogerson & J.Gilbert (CUP):
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521312876/developingt
Amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521312876/developingt
Amazon.ca:
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521312876/developteac


Listening
A procedure through listening/viewing:
1. Begin with a video with the sound turned off & the students
try to work out what is happening from the situation & the body
language - choose a fairly obvious scene.

2. Make telegram dialogues for the students to listen to. They
will immediately see that not all is necessary to understand the
message. The students then have their own one-word conversations.

3. Play a dialogue above their level & simply ask for the general
idea. In the feedback discuss whether it is necessary to get more
information in some situations. And in which situations is
detailed listening vital.

4. Continue incorporating extensive gist tasks into the listening
skills work you do in class. This will build up confidence & make
listening an enjoyable activity in class.

5. Along the way, introduce  the tone unit idea above - from
'Speaking Clearly' or your own tape. And then introduce the idea
of the tonic syllable - the last major stressed syllable in the
tone unit, where the tone changes - & secondary stresses. These
are the words that are used in the telegram activity. If you look
at the dialogue above you will see the stresses in bold - please
see the Current Tip page for this:
http://www.developingteachers.com/tips/currenttip.htm
More on tonic syllables & secondary stress in a future Tip.

If our students are aware of what is involved in the process of
listening, they'll be much more efficient listeners. And of
course the same goes for all the other skills as well.  

What do you think? Any more ideas, please post for all in the
Forums at:
http://forum.developingteachers.com/index.php?topic=1545.0

---------------

The unofficial Limerick Day, the birthday of Edward Lear, is on
May 12th - check out the past Tip -'There once was an English
teacher':
http://www.developingteachers.com/tips/pasttips51.htm

And on the 18th it's Museum Day - for the past Tip:
http://www.developingteachers.com/tips/pasttips82.htm

And also see Alicia's speaking lesson around the theme at:
http://www.developingteachers.com/plans/alicia/museums.htm

DEVELOPINGTEACHERS.COM - WEEKLY TEACHING TIP - 19th May 2008

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS - related to the Tip below:

English Pronunciation in Use: Elementary - J.Marks (CUP)
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/052167266X/developingt
Amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/052167266X/developingt
Amazon.ca:
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/052167266X/developteac

English Pronunciation in Use. Advanced - M.Hewings (CUP)
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521693764/developingt
Amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521693764/developingt
Amazon.ca:
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521693764/developteac

English Pronunciation In Use: Intermediate - M.Hancock (CUP)
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521006570/developingt
Amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521006570/developingt
Amazon.ca:
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521006570/developteac

Sound Foundations - Adrian Underhill (Heinemann)
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0435240919/developingt
Amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0435240919/developingt
Amazon.ca:
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0435240919/developteac

Pronunciation Practice Activities - M. Hewings (CUP)
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/3125340780/developingt
Amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/3125340780/developingt
Amazon.ca:
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/3125340780/developteac

Pronunciation Games - M.Hancock (CUP)
Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521467357/developingt
Amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521467357/developingt
Amazon.ca:
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521467357/developteac

Speaking Clearly - P.Rogerson & J.Gilbert (CUP)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521312876/developingt
Amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521312876/developingt
Amazon.ca:
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0521312876/developteac

BUYING BOOKS (OR ANYTHING ELSE!) THROUGH AMAZON? - if you're
going to Amazon .com, Amazon .co.uk or Amazon.ca please go
through the Books page on the site - you pay the same, we get a
small percentage to help keep the newsletters free. Support the
site - thanks.
http://www.developingteachers.com/books/reading.htm
Click on one of the books to get to the .com or .co.uk site or
use the search box at the bottom of the page.
To see the recommended book index:
http://developingteachers.com/books/review_index.htm

***********************

iMINDMAP
Excellent software from Tony Buzan, the inventor of the mind map.
To download the trial version of the excellent mind mapping
software & to find out more:
http://www.imindmap.com/developingteachers/

***********************

DEVELOPINGTHEWEB.COM
DEVELOPINGCOURSES.COM
DEVELOPINGT2T.COM

ONLINE DEVELOPMENT COURSES @ DEVELOPINGCOURSES.COM
http://www.developingcourses.com
A choice of online development courses to enhance your teaching.

MOODLE HOSTING @ DEVELOPINGTHEWEB.COM
http://www.developingtheweb.com
A range of web hosting options for teachers.

NETWORKING FOR TEACHERS @ DEVELOPINGT2T.COM
http://www.developingt2t.com
Blog, share, communicate & collaborate with other teachers.

***********

TEACHING TIP
---------

Tone it up

------------

Last week we had another look at tone units & mentioned tonic
syllables. Tone units divide speech up to make it all easier for
the listener. We pause at the end of each tone unit. See the Tip
from last week:
http://www.developingteachers.com/tips/pasttips127.htm

Within each tone unit there is a tonic syllable, & this is
important as it is where the tone changes. There are five main
tones in English - rise, fall, rise-fall, fall-rise & level.

It can be difficult to hear the tones & it's not only students
that need ear training but teachers as well. We can hardly
integrate intonation into our teaching if we feel unconfident
about actually identifying the movement in the first place. So
listen out for tonal movement in conversations you have & with
the audio teaching materials you use. The more you do, the easier
it becomes.

There are several functions of intonation, the main ones being
Grammatical, Attitudinal & Discoursal.

The Grammatical function - intonation reinforces grammar.
For example;
- wh-questions: fall
- conditional sentences: rise on the first clause & a fall on the
second
- imperatives: fall
- yes/no questions: rise-fall

The Attitudinal function - intonation carries the emotions of the
speaker.
For example;
- expressing surprise: rise
- sarcasm: rise-fall
- politeness: rise ('the polite rise')
- doubt: fall-rise

The Discoursal function - if we are talking about something we
think the listener already knows about or has experience of then
we rise or fall-rise – known as referring tones. If we think it
is new for the listener we fall – known as the proclaiming tone.
See the following past Tips for more on this function:
Toning It Down
http://www.developingteachers.com/tips/pasttips78.htm
You don't say!
http://www.developingteachers.com/tips/pasttips87.htm

So what do we do with all of this?
We can highlight the different areas for our students, making
them aware that there is a system at work, & we can also
integrate these ideas into our day-to-day teaching.

The first can be done through activities to highlight the
different functions. For example, students could listen to a
series of questions & decide what the movement is on all of the
wh-questions & the movement on the polar questions - a guided
problem solving awareness activity.

Integrating intonation can come at many stages in a lesson. In
the planning we work out the stresses & tonal movement so that in
the presentation stage we can clearly model the new language,
drill it & then offer a comprehensive board stage for the
students to copy down.

It is important to take intonation seriously. Begin with tone
units & the main stresses, the telegram words, & then move onto
introducing different aspects of tonal movement.

Also see the Tip about integrating phonology:
http://www.developingteachers.com/phonology/phontegrated.htm

Comments & ideas , please post for all in the Forums at:
http://forum.developingteachers.com/index.php?topic=1547.0

---------------

Don't forget to check out Developingt2t.com if you haven't
already: http://www.developingt2t.com
Blog, share, communicate & collaborate with other teachers.

Happy teaching!
Alistair

You can see past teaching tips at
http://www.developingteachers.com/tips/pasttips.htm
- bookmark it for future reference.

Please e-mail this tip to a friend - thanks.

***********************

DEVELOPINGTHEWEB.COM - MOODLE HOSTING

You've probably heard lots about Moodle, the framework for
providing online courses. Have you thought about having your own?
At Developing TheWeb.com (a sister site of Developing
Teachers.com) we provide you with your own Moodle for only
$12/month or $60/seven months. Your Moodle installation comes
with 500mb of space & 10gb/month of bandwidth.

We set it all up for you & you provide the courses. You don't
need to provide the actual course, this can simply be an online
presence, a way of keeping in touch with your students, a meeting
place with individuals or whole classes, an extension of your
lessons.

We like it so much that we run our own online development courses
at Developing Courses.com with Moodle.
For more information:
http://www.developingtheweb.com/courses.htm

Reliable, affordable & friendly Web Hosting for the English Language Teaching Community!

***********************