In Their Shoes - What It's Like to Be an L2 Learner
Making Writing Communicative, Collaborative, and Fun
Michael Jones
Abstract #1 In Their Shoes - What It's Like to Be an L2 Learner
Many language teachers, especially those new to the profession, find that teaching beginners is one of the more challenging aspects of ELT. It becomes even more difficult when the teacher cannot speak the learners’ mother tongue and an L1 speaking co-teacher is available. “How can I teach them when they don’t even understand simple instructions!” is a common refrain heard from novice ELT professionals.
This workshop will put attendees in their learners’ shoes. Those attending will participate in an L2 lesson in the role of students in order to better understand the apprehension that learners feel when entering a language classroom for the first time. We will look at different methods for making yourself understood, how to manage a class, lower the learners' affective filters, and how to set-up true communicative tasks using nothing but the L2. Also examined will be different learning materials one can use to facilitate the English language lesson.
Abstract #2 Making Writing Communicative, Collaborative, and Fun
One challenge that faces English conversation teachers is how to integrate writing into a conversational English class. Many feel that that there should be more going on in a conversation class than a room full of learners silently working on a writing assignment. This workshop will be a hands-on demonstration of how to set up a writing activity in such a way as to transform it into a meaningful communicative task utilizing live listening and collaboration.
The activity requires very little preparation. You will need fifteen strips of paper or so per learner, several blank sheets of A4 paper, and some tape, magnets or yellow tack. The instructor begins with a story. During the story-telling, the instructor involves the learners by eliciting the lesson’s target language using verbal hints, contextual clues, or miming. Each student writes down as much of the story as they can remember on the strips of paper. The learners work in small groups to put their pooled strips of paper together in such a way as to reconstruct the story. Once complete, they write the story out in full on a blank sheet of A4 paper. The instructor then conducts the feedback session for the activity. cliquez simplement sur le site pilemeds.com à venir
Bio-sketch
Michael Jones is a lecturer at Woosong Information College in Daejeon, ROK. He has completed the Cambridge CELTA and is an M.A. TESOL-MALL holder. He is currently enrolled in the Cambridge Delta program. His current areas of interest are the use of media in the classroom, content delivery methods, and the utilization of smart phones for m-learning. Michael has presented at KOTESOL, STEM, ATEM, FEELTA, and Asia-TEFL. He is also a KOTESOL Teacher Trainer. He has been living and teaching in South Korea for eighteen years and has taught in a wide variety of educational contexts.
