Language for Teachers Task 4: Focus on the Teacher’s Language
ICELT
2012-2013
The Anglo Antonio Caso
Language for Teachers Task 4:
Focus on the teacher’s language
Name: Eduardo García Acevedo
Candidate number: 004
Centre Number: MX005
Date of submission: August, 30th 2013
In this paper, I analyze my language in the classroom in terms of its accuracy and appropriacy for teaching. I quote six utterances from an Elementary level (A1) with twelve adult students who work at an investigation institute. This lesson starts with a conversation about a woman’s vacation to Aspen in order to introduce the Idiomatic Future.
1. When checking a dialog from students’ book assignments, I asked a comprehension question to the whole class.
Accurate and appropriate: “What is the reason to buy two machines that do the same thing?” This sample focuses the learners’ attention to the question being answered at that moment. It also provides modified input to enhance students’ understanding because this could have easily been worded like: “Why buying two machines to do the same job?” Thus, by paraphrasing why and replacing job for thing, I make sure I use semantic elements that students can easily identify in spoken language uttered by a known speaker, the teacher.
2. When checking homework, I was nominating students to listen to their answers from the book.
Accurate but inappropriate: “Repeat! Maybe if someone didn’t do the homework, this person can write the answer.”
This message clearly referred to a specific student who was distracted when the rest were checking and correcting homework. Its function was to involve as many students as possible in this whole-class activity. However, it was not my intention to make them self-conscious about not having completed their assignments. In an effort to lower these students’ affective filters, I could have said, “Listen to your classmate’s answer again so you can write any corrections or comparisons.” This alternative could sound artificial and a little complicated
2012-2013
The Anglo Antonio Caso
Language for Teachers Task 4:
Focus on the teacher’s language
Name: Eduardo García Acevedo
Candidate number: 004
Centre Number: MX005
Date of submission: August, 30th 2013
In this paper, I analyze my language in the classroom in terms of its accuracy and appropriacy for teaching. I quote six utterances from an Elementary level (A1) with twelve adult students who work at an investigation institute. This lesson starts with a conversation about a woman’s vacation to Aspen in order to introduce the Idiomatic Future.
1. When checking a dialog from students’ book assignments, I asked a comprehension question to the whole class.
Accurate and appropriate: “What is the reason to buy two machines that do the same thing?” This sample focuses the learners’ attention to the question being answered at that moment. It also provides modified input to enhance students’ understanding because this could have easily been worded like: “Why buying two machines to do the same job?” Thus, by paraphrasing why and replacing job for thing, I make sure I use semantic elements that students can easily identify in spoken language uttered by a known speaker, the teacher.
2. When checking homework, I was nominating students to listen to their answers from the book.
Accurate but inappropriate: “Repeat! Maybe if someone didn’t do the homework, this person can write the answer.”
This message clearly referred to a specific student who was distracted when the rest were checking and correcting homework. Its function was to involve as many students as possible in this whole-class activity. However, it was not my intention to make them self-conscious about not having completed their assignments. In an effort to lower these students’ affective filters, I could have said, “Listen to your classmate’s answer again so you can write any corrections or comparisons.” This alternative could sound artificial and a little complicated
References: Lightbown, P. Spada, N. (2006). How languages are learned New York: Oxford University Press ICELT In-Service Certificate in English Language Teaching Declaration I, Eduardo García Acevedo, declare that the following Language for Teachers Task 4: Focus on the teacher’s language is entirely my own work and that it is written in my own words and not those copied directly from any other source, except for those properly acknowledged. Signature: Date: August, 30th 2013