Post 10: THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER (Part 2)

THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER: what needs to be maintained?

There some qualities that a teacher has, for example: a teacher must be willing to change. If half the class does not understand a particular concept, then you cannot move on and must quickly come up with a better way to teach that concept. Many teachers today, however, are encouraged to adapt and adopt new practices that acknowledge both the art and science of learning. They understand that the essence of education is a close relationship between a knowledgeable, caring adult and a secure, motivated students. 

They grasp that their most important role is to get to know each student as an individual in order to comprehend his or her unique needs, learning style, social and cultural background, interests, and abilities. Teachers often arrive early and stay late. They work parts of weekends and summer to ensure that they are prepared.

The teacher's role:

The most respected teachers have discovered how to make students passionate participants in the instructional process by providing project-based, participatory, educational adventures. They know that in order to get students to truly take responsibility for their own education, the curriculum must relate to their lives, learning activities must engage their natural curiosity, and assessments must measure real accomplishments and be an integral part of learning.

Students work harder when teachers give them a role in determining the form and content of their schooling; it helping them create their own learning plans and deciding the ways in which they will demonstrate that they have, in fact, learned what they agreed to learn. If we focus on the teaching process, we still realize that there are a great number of changes in this field as well, and all of them have an influence on the role of teachers.

Nonetheless, teachers in modern classrooms are no longer lecturers, they are facilitators, their main task is to set goals and organize the learning process accordingly. Then, in the past, teachers used to follow a syllabus which was compulsory for them. Nowadays, teachers have a National Curriculum; so, teachers have to make up a syllabus of their own and teach their pupils so that they can perform well.

REFERENCES FOR ADITTIONAL INFORMATION:

• Youtube,. (2015) Teachig in the 21 st Century. Retrieved 29 April 2015  from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=075aWDdZUlM
• Judith Taack Lanier,. (1997) Redefining the Role of the Teacher: It's a Multifaceted Profession. Retrieved 29 April 2015  from: http://www.edutopia.org/redefining-role-teacher
• Zeiger Stacy ,. (2012) What Is the Role of Teachers in Education?

Post 9: THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER (Part 1)

THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER: what needs to change?

Today, the seeds of such a dramatic transformation in education are being planted. Prompted by massive revolutions in knowledge, information technology, and public demand for better learning, schools nationwide are slowly but surely restructuring themselves. There are good teachers who love their professions and work very hard. They are so passionate because they give the best knowledge that they have.

However, there are some teachers who just work for living. There are bad teachers that honestly believe they are “good teachers”. These teachers either lack a significant skill to become effective or simply do not have a grasp on what being an effective teacher requires. There are other bad teachers that know exactly what they are and what they are doing. These teachers can typically be grouped into two categories. They are the veteran teachers that are burned out or the newbie that realized they did not want to be a teacher until it was too late. In any case, these teachers are not doing themselves,  their students, or the profession any favors by hanging on just to draw a pay check.

Most goverment institution require teachers to pass a comprehensive series of assessments to obtain certification within a specific subject area. With this requirement, you would think that all teachers would be proficient enough to teach the subject area(s) they were hired to teach. Unfortunately there are some teachers that do not know the content knowledge well enough to teach it. 

Teachers who use inappropriate language in their classroom on a regular basis undermine the moral responsibility they have as an authority figure. Each of these situations involves a serious lack of professionalism which will undermine a teacher’s overall effectiveness. Attitude is everything. You set the tone in your classroom. You can inspire and motivate or devalue, depress, and cause students to believe that their best efforts are futile at best.

REFERENCES FOR ADITTIONAL INFORMATION:

• Youtube,. (2015) What Makes a Good Teacher?. Retrieved 30 April 2015 from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI5EM8WBSSQ

• Meador Derrick,. (2014) Qualities of Bad Teachers. Retrieved 30 April 2015 from: http://teaching.about.com/od/Information-For-Teachers/a/Bad-Teachers.htm

Unit 8 SPEAKING

SPEAKING

Speaking is a productive skill which involves using speech to communicate. When we speak, we transfers information it could be through pronounce words, answering questions, use intonation, ask for a clarification or an explanation.  Of course, is very important to use a level of formality and use an appropriate register. 

English is the dominant language and it has become almost a necessity for people to speak English if they are to enter a global workforce, research from all over the world shows that cross-border communication is most often conducted in English. When we learn English we can notice that making use of grammar, vocabulary and functions are a little complex. Also, making use of connects speech and body language can help us to develop our language in a better way. For example, oral fluency covers different factors such as: normal speed, with little hesitation, repletion or self-correction; the idea is to communicate clear ideas.

 According to speaking I consider myself that someone has a lot of vocabulary can be managing the code easier. An important step is verbs because with t we can communicate the state, action or what is happen in a sentence.  Nevertheless, teachers don’t forget that listening and integrated skills lessons give students opportunity to practice.  Everything part of the speech has a role in the sentence, as teachers is useful and practical to manage them in a correct way.

As teacher; if we realize the high importance of speaking skill has inside of a classroom, we try to find and use the best instructional methods, materials, activities, media, and other requirements that will help the learners master speaking skill. Even though in our classes is presented controlled practice activities, activities with drills or just telling thing learnt by heart which means by memorizing. Teachers are responsible to encourage student to they can be confident and motivated to develop language in an oral way.

REFERENCES FOR ADITTIONAL INFORMATION:

• YouTube,. (2015). The Importance of learning speak English .  Retrieved 29 April 2015 from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eLc8mDwvMo
• Nazara Situjuh,. (2011). Student's perception on EFL Speaking Skill. Retrieved 29 April 2015, from: http://www.academia.edu/776982/Students_Perception_on_EFL_Speaking_Skill_Development 

Unit 7 LISTENING

LISTENING

Listening is very important even though it is a receptive skill which means that it helps to acquire knowledge. When we are learning a second language we have to take into account the pronunciation of words and use the correct stress and intonation. When student are listening a piece of information they can get complex grammar. But, it is very useful because they emphasized the real language. In the listening process students have to follow some activities that are useful for listening comprehension. Listening comprehension refers to the understanding of the implications and explicit meanings of words and sentences of spoken language.

In addition, there are several key components to listening comprehension and oral expression as they are highly related. Characteristics of a disability in listening comprehension could include a lack of proficiency in one or more of these areas. If a student lacks the understanding of these essential concepts of language then their comprehension will fall short as well. For example, a conversation has incomplete statements, utterances, hesitations, simple grammar and general vocabulary. Learners have to pay attention to all this aspect in other to catch the correct information.

Furthermore, I consider that good listeners tap into their prior knowledge when hearing new information, they can more readily integrate new ideas. Students who use active listening: through coursebooks or authentic materials, students have better concentration and memory. Active listeners filter information, connect to what is relevant, use it and store it in a meaningful way. Here, we can say that there are a lot listening subskills such as: listening for gist, listening for specific information, infer attitude. 

Other ways of listening are: intensive and extensive listening. Intensive listening refers means that learners have to read different texts just to examine the contents that it has; especially in language classrooms. Extensive listening is when learners hear for pleasure or enjoyment, for example: music, stories, movies or TV shows. I consider that it can be very useful in order to acquire the correct pronunciation of different phonemes.

REFERENCES FOR ADITTIONAL INFORMATION:

• YouTube,. (2015). Benefits of Listening Skills.  Retrieved 29 April 2015, from :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijDwlstFe3E
• Feiten Carine,. (2011). The Power of Listening Ability: An Overlooked Dimension in Language Acquisition. Retrieved 29 April 2015, from:  http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1991.tb05348.x/abstract
• Wilt Mirian,. (2014). A Study of Teacher Awareness of Listening as a Factor in Elementary Education. Retrieved 29 April 2015, from: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00220671.1950.10881817?journalCode=vjer20

Unit 6 WRITING

WRITING

One of the productive skills is writing. It is the biggest way how a learner can show her or his knowledge. There are different kinds of text that require a certain level of formality. When people start to write a text, they have to be very careful in grammar. Even though we know writing skills such as: narrating andsummarizingWe connect our ideas in a logical form and create a text with an introduction, body and conclusion trough paragraphs. To write the whole text need coherence and accuracy to be understandable for readers.

In addition, as teachers we need to take into account a process when we write or how we are going to teach learners to write. Well, teachers need to present topics that can get student’s attention and where students can brainstorm to get ideas. Writing has many important issues such as: correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, orthography and the format.

On the other hand, the process approach which procedure is very meaningfulness to learners because they can make personal connection to the topic. Here, learners follow a process: 1) pre-writing, students brainstorms and selects the main ideas to write a text. 2) Composing or drafting, students write for the first time. 3) Revising, in this step students have the opportunity to check spelling, grammar or accuracy. 4) Editing, it is the final step before follow up. Writing has to be complete and students make the final revision and editing.

But, also there is process genre model which consist in something very similar; it has six steps: a) preparation, where is defined what kind of topic. 2) modeling and reinforce, teacher provides a model. 3) planning, students brainstorm. 4) Joint constructing, students work with the teacher. 5) independent construction, students work alone. 6) revising, student make the final revision  and evaluate their work. It is very important to emphasize that teachers are involve in the process, not only at the end.

REFERENCES FOR ADITTIONAL INFORMATION

• YouTube,. (2015). How to write a good essay.  Retrieved 29 April 2015, from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liyFKUFCQno
• Healy Karen,. (2012)  Writing Skills for Social Workers. Retrieved 29 April 2015, from:  https://books.google.com.ec/books?id=0YsQAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA78&dq=importance+of+writing+skills&hl=es&sa=X&ei=AX5CVaCfBMSdNqzTgYAM&ved=0CBsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=importance%20of%20writing%20skills&f=false 
• Joachim von Melen,. (2004)  Wrtiing English language Test . Retrieved 29 April 2015, from:  https://books.google.com.ec/books?id=JKeZc_NCqTsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=importance+of+writing+skills+in+english&hl=es&sa=X&ei=8X1CVYjBNIWigwTP8YGwCw&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

Unit 5 READING

READING

Reading is very important because it is a receptive skill. It can help to acquire knowledge even though good readers can understand the individual sentences and the organizational structure of a piece of writing. They can comprehend ideas, follow arguments, and detect inferences. 

Reading has importance for teachers because constantly are acquiring knowledge. Sometimes we have to develop reading skills in order to comprehend the whole text. 

Scanning is the same to read for specific information or reading for details; for example: when we need to find a telephone number, we don’t read every single name, just find what we need. Furthermore, skimming helps to obtain the general idea from the passage, it is knowing as global understanding.

Inferring is one of the most difficult reading skills because it demands to think about a word or phrase that is in the text and the reader has to deduce to what it refers or what the author wants to say. Readers use these skills to interpret and understand written words on a page; it helps them to encourage their confidence. Teachers need to read a lot to find out more about the educational world in which they working and use that information to improve their knowledge. Also, teachers need to apply the following process: pre-reading, while reading and post-reading.

In addition, I would like to say that our reading skills can be developed according to intensive and extensive reading. Intensive reading is especially in language classrooms, it means that learners have to read different texts just to examine the contents that it has. On the other side, there is extensive reading, I really prefer it. This is the time when learners read for pleasure or enjoyment. It doesn’t matter if is a page or a long text; learners read it because it gets their attention. A person who can read has the ability to empathize with and connect to the characters in a story. A reader builds background knowledge about many different subjects that he can later use. 

REFERENCES FOR ADITTIONAL INFORMATION

• YouTube,. (2015) The importance of Reading. Retrieved April 29, 2015 from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6p1CBVyWVw

  
  

• YouTube,. (2015)  Learning English- How to improve your Reading Skill. Retrieved April 29, 2015 from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BG-wBBsu5Q
• 
  

  
  

Unit 4 FUNCTIONS

During this unit we talk about functions. It is the way how we communicate our ideas. It could be to be agreeing, inviting, advising, expressing obligation and so on. But, it is not easier because it depends of the levels of formality we have to use and also differentiate if the language used is formal or informal.

 Everything depends of the situation that we have to face but there are some informal situations that can become colloquial, it means that is very casual. In the case of a funeral we have to find the correct words before start to talk, it called register and it can be used in appropriate or inappropriate way. The emphasis that people give to a conversation is related with the structure which has a grammatical pattern. All of this is indispensable when we are going to talk. There are some verbs that are formal; we used it in certain occasions. Also, students have to recognize some phrases that can be more polite than others.

Whether we are apologizing, expressing a wish or asking permission, we use language in order to fulfill that purpose. For example: to creating situations, teachers must also be prepared to explain that there may be a large number of possible ways to fulfill each function of language.

 

Funtional language typically uses fixed expressions for each function–for example "if I were you" or "my suggestion is" in giving advice, and "it was my fault" or "please forgive me" in apologizing. Also, “I’m sorry” represents the function of apologizing and, “Good Morning!” represents the function of greeting.

REFERENCES FOR ADITTIONAL INFORMATION

• YouTube,. (2015) .Teaching Grammar: Understanding Structures and Functions. Retrieved 23 April 2015, from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW7ziNQadvk
• Howard Jackson,. (1945). An introduction to nature and functions of language. Retrieved 23 April 2015, from: https://books.google.com.ec/books?id=vN-4ijhzrLcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=language+functions&hl=es&sa=X&ei=OBo7VZDJJaPksAS0iYHwDg&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=language%20functions&f=false 
• Sidney Segalowitz,. (1983) Language Functions and Brain Organization. Retrieved 23 April 2015, from: https://books.google.com.ec/books?id=RSWLBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA104&dq=language+functions&hl=es&sa=X&ei=OBo7VZDJJaPksAS0iYHwDg&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=language%20functions&f=false
  

Unit 3 PHONOLOGY

As we know phonology is the study of the sounds, but also it takes into account following the organs:

Phoneme that is the smallest unit of sound, word stress which indicates where a syllable has more energy. The alphabet divided into vowels, diphthongs and consonants.  However, it can divide into two when we refer to voiced sounds (with vibration) and unvoiced or voiceless sounds (without vibration). An important sound is schwa/ə/ that has tendency to even disappear. Also, stress is classified into main stress and secondary stress. They show the place of energy. I believe that phonology is very important and necessary when we are acquiring a second language, to pronounce in the correct way can help to achieve easier the language.  In a statement is necessary to maintain intonation and rythm.

A good teacher will not only need to have a thorough knowledge of the phonology of their L1 language but also of their students mother tongue. This knowledge is invaluable as it will let you know what kinds of problems your students will have when attempting to produce new language. Predicting these problems before you present new language will influence how you present that language. Furthermore, in an oral presentation teachers can take into account all this features; especially procedure is based on rubrics and student pronounce clearly they will noticed minimal pairs, words that can be distinguished just by one phoneme.

For example: some languages are stress-fixed so the stress falls in the same place on every word. However other languages like English have a set of rules which governs where stress falls.It is useful to look at all languages, including endangered languages, to ascertain the limits of variation permitted.  THis allows us to discover what the phonological systems of human minds can and cannot do.

The English language is not written phonetically and this causes many pronounciation problems for students when they encounter new language even though if it is linking. There are excellent books and a good one will always give the pronounciation of the word in the phonetic script. Teaching the phonetic script to students thus gives them access to the pronounciation of a word without the need to hear a model example from a native speaker and it involves great learning autonomy.

REFERENCES FOR ADITTIONAL INFORMATION

•   YouTube,. (2015) .Intro to Phonology: Phonemes & Allophones. Retrieved 23 April 2015, from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTCx2hCxvHQ
• Lass Roger,. (1998) Phonology. Retrieved 23 April 2015, from:                https://books.google.com.ec/books?id=aTsAt3D6H58C&printsec=frontcover&dq=phonology&hl=es&sa=X&ei=vhI7VeDxLILTggTv9oCQCA&ved=0CCQQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=phonology&f=false
• Nathan Geoffrey,. (2008) Phonology: A Cognitive grammar instruction. Retrieved 23 April 2015, from:                     https://books.google.com.ec/books?id=gTVGb9pv2mAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=phonology&hl=es&sa=X&ei=vhI7VeDxLILTggTv9oCQCA&ved=0CBwQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=phonology&f=false

Unit 2 LEXIS

This unit is about Lexis which refers to words; it could be individual or in group. Key concepts for this unit were prefixes (adding affixes and the beginning of a word) and suffixes (at the end of a word). Also, compound nouns are completely different if I read word by word. Something that I was forgetting was the meaning of chucks, those are a semi fixed units and we used it in one piece for example: Good morning, my name is and I like to. We used chucks but there people that don’t realized.  Another important part is idioms, it could be a set of words that give a special meaning and it cannot have individual meaning. Furthermore, there are synonyms and antonyms or lexical set.  If we apply a class with this information we can develop a huge topic. Student will be able to increase their vocabulary and use it to communicate. And they can recognize false friends which refer to words which can be written in a similar way bur have a different meaning.

Lexis is what we know as vocabulary or the words. The idea is to use a word or a group of words that can transmit or communicate language clearly. Lexis emphasized words can be meaningful; moreover, context demands used it currently.

 In addition, John Wells (1982) defined lexis as a convenient way of identifying vowel categories not by symbols, but by a set of words in which they occur. However, it is difficult to utilise vocabulary in authentic situations since textbooks are unable to offer sufficient information on usage.  The literature reviewed here proposes a new approach to content and methodology, which claims to be crucially relevant to both teachers and textbook writers.  After briefly reviewing some of the reasons for placing emphasis on lexis over grammar, pedagogical implications for L2 vocabulary teaching will be discussed in terms of content and methodologies.

REFERENCES FOR ADITTIONAL INFORMATION

•   YouTube,. (2015) False Friends 80 ejemplos Amigos Falsos Primera parte. Retrieved 23 April 2015, from:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56V4pPi5E8k
• John Wells,.(1982). Lexis or lexical set . Retrieved 23 April 2015, from              http://grammar.about.com/od/il/g/lexicalsetterm.htm.
• Seowon Lee,. (2014) TEACHING LEXIS TO EFL STUDENTS. Retrieved 23 April 2015, from  http://research.ncl.ac.uk/ARECLS/vol1_documents/Seowon/Seowon.htm