ENG515 Final Term Notes

Lecture: 23 · Assessing Reading · 1- Reading Aloud

Reading aloud can be used to check the learner’s skill at word recognition Reading aloud should begin with a very easy short text Ensure if the learner’s eyesight is good

2Vocabulary Tests - Learners may have difficulty reading because they do not know enough vocabulary. Tests are:

The Bilingual Levels Tests The True/False Vocabulary Test - Children go to school at night

3- Grammatical knowledge tests

If the teacher speaks the first language of the learners, sentence translation from reading text could be used If the teacher does not speak the learners’ first language, sentence completion tests could be used

Four ways of scoring the cloze test

1. Exact replacement
2. Acceptable alternative
3. Clozentropy
4. Multiple-choice

Issues in Making and Using Reading Comprehension Tests

Should learners be allowed to use dictionaries?

Should the test consist of one text or several shorter texts?

Should the time allowed to sit a reading comprehension test be limited?

Should learners be allowed to look back at the text when they answer the questions?

Should the questions be in the first language and should the learners be allowed to answer in the first language?

Lecture: 24 · Principles for Teaching Writing · Meaning-focused Input

Learners should be prepared before what they are going to write Learners should bring experience and knowledge to their writing

Meaning-focused Output

Learners should write with a message-focused purpose Learners should use writing to increase their language knowledge Writing instruction should be based on a careful needs analysis

Language-focused Learning

Learners should know about the parts of the writing process Learners should know about the strategies for dealing with parts of the writing process Learners should be aware of the ethical issues involved in writing

Fluency Development

Learners should increase their writing speed so that they can write very simple material at a reasonable speed

Designing Tasks

Four kinds of tasks

1. Experience tasks try to narrow the gap as much as possible by using or developing learners’ previous experience
2. Shared tasks try to get learners to help each other cross the gap
3. Guided tasks try to bridge the gap by providing the support of exercises
4. Independent tasks leave learners to rely on their own resources

Ways of making sure learners have the experience needed to do a particular task

1- Control through selection

Using simplified material Using graded material Using learner’s L1 material Using learner’s produced material

2- Recalling prior experience

Discussions

3- Pre-teaching or experiencing

Visits and field trips Direct teaching of content

Experience tasks for writing

Draw and write - the learners draw a picture about something that happened to them or something imagined, and then they write about it. Linked skills - the writing task is set as the final activity in a series that involves speaking about, then listening to and then reading about the topic and then writing. Ten perfect sentences - the teacher showing the learners a picture and the learners must write ten separate sentences about that. Partial writing - working together the learners list useful words that they will need in the following writing task Setting your own questions - Each student produces the question they want to write about. After translating in Standard English, it is taken as an examination question which the students answer under examination conditions.

Lecture: 25

Shared tasks have the advantages of:

Requiring little preparation by the teacher Reducing the teacher’s supervision Encouraging the learners to see each other as a learning resource

Reproduction exercise / dicto-comp

It is half-way between dictation and composition. Here, the learners read or listen to a story and then they retell it without looking at the original.

The exercise can be made more difficult to suit the abilities of the learners. Here are three different ways of doing this, the second way is more difficult than the first, and the third is more difficult than the second.

1. The teacher reads a short passage several times.
2. The teacher reads a long passage once or twice. The learners can take notes while the passage is being read.
3. The learners listen to the passage once. When they write they must try to copy the style of the original

Guided tasks provide a lot of support for the learners while they do the task.

Effect of the support given during Guided tasks

1. The task is narrowed. That is, the learners only do a part of the work that would normally be required in such an activity.
2. It allows grading and sequencing of tasks.
3. The high degree of success expected. If learners make errors in guided tasks this is often seen as a result of a poorly made task.

Identification techniques

In identification techniques the learners are guided by being presented with an item which they must repeat or translate. It includes:

Dictation Copying Writing from information transfer diagrams Translation from the first language

Independent tasks - require the learners to work alone without any planned help. Learners can work successfully on independent tasks when they have developed some proficiency in the language. A good independent task has the following features:

1. It provides a reasonable challenge
2. It is a task that learners are likely to face outside the classroom

The strategies to do independent tasks can develop from these approaches:

1. Experience approach - The learners could write several drafts. During each rewriting, the learners have the experience gained from the previous writings and preparation.
2. Shared approach - The learners could ask the teacher or classmates for help when they need it.
3. Guided approach - The learners could guide their writing by asking questions, by using an information transfer diagram

Lecture: 26

Reinforcement Writing

Reinforcement writing has always been used as a means of reinforcing language that has, been taught. In its simplest form, teachers often ask students to write sentences using recently learnt grammar.

Preparation Writing

Writing is frequently useful as preparation for some other activity. This gives students time to think up ideas rather than having to come up with instant fluent opinions.

Activity Writing

Writing can also be used as an integral part of a larger activity where the focus is on something else such as language practice, acting out, or speaking. Teachers often ask students to write short dialogues which they will then act out.

Lecture: 27

The choice of writing tasks will depend, therefore, on why students are studying English.