Coming to the end of an advanced reading and writing EAP course, it’s good to take stock of useful reading activities to accompany the coursebook. Annotating the text A colleague got me onto this simple and effective activity. Students read and annotate the text with comments, symbols, questions, markings, and highlights. All of this … Continue reading Reading activities for when you are using a coursebook to teach EAP
Scheffler on The Lexical Approach
The lexical approach vs the grammar syllabus. How are we supposed to know where to even begin "teaching lexically"? There are some fundamental questions in the middle of this post relating to the principles (or lack of them) of approaching teaching and learning from a lexis / chunks first perspective. There are no answers at … Continue reading Scheffler on The Lexical Approach
Reading Support Worksheets for EAP
Reading Support Worksheets
Much is said in published literature about the necessity of EAP students reading authentic academic texts, and also about providing scaffolding and support for them to do so. I believe lecturers and academic tutors teaching their subject content in English and/or on a CLIL-based approach will also need to help students digest the readings for their classes.
Still, I often hear complaints from teachers that they set preparatory reading, but then found in the lesson that students were unable to discuss or work with the ideas from the reading, despite their claims that they did actually read the text.
One way I’ve found to help students engage with the texts they are asked to read, then, is what I call ‘Reading Support Worksheets’.
Reading Support Worksheets can help students to focus on the parts of a text or the ideas and concepts mentioned, so that they are better prepared to discuss…
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Making the language syllabus visible when not using a coursebook
A week or so in, managed to wean an adult class off the designated coursebook. I think some of them were being polite when they answered that, but still I think it was fair to pull away from the book. Didn't want to completely cut and run though, so continued creating materials (and gradually … Continue reading Making the language syllabus visible when not using a coursebook
Scholarship Circles
Scholarship Circles: teacher-led PD groups
In this post, I’m going to write about something that I had no knowledge of until I started working at Sheffield University this year: Scholarship Circles (SC). “Er, what is an SC?” I hear you say. (Well, at any rate, that was my first question when met with the term for the first time!) Don’t worry, just read on and all will become clear!
What?
This is a form of teacher development.
Up till now, for me, CPD has mostly meant either something I do myself, in my own time – for example, seeking out opportunities to be published (materials writing, article writing etc), blogging, reading ELT-related literature, using Twitter and so on – or attending (and occasionally delivering) workshops at work. Of course it has also entailed being observed and being given feedback on that. IHPA had a good CPD programme, with regular workshops for teachers and encouragement to do…
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A word expedition
Teaching vocabulary methodology and moving toward vocabulary learning autonomy Source: A word expedition
Noticing the difference: discussion questions
Looking through phone photos has brought up an activity from a while back. I'll post the series of photos, see if it makes sense to look at, and then add some details after: Students wrote discussion Qs for homework. The teacher re-formulates their questions. Students compare their question with the teacher's one. I … Continue reading Noticing the difference: discussion questions
Some attempts at “teaching lexically”
Films for English teachers: Arrival (2016)
Sapir-Whorff meets the big screen. This film is nuts.
Reconstruction for Noticing and (therefore?) Learning
Preamble Group of 11 Vietnamese adults who work at the same university. Previously: we'd looked at telling anecdotes, with a model and analysis of some useful language as well as spoken discourse markers. What I'm aiming for, syllabus-wise Something important to me at the moment with these general English classes is: How to make better … Continue reading Reconstruction for Noticing and (therefore?) Learning
Jamie Clayton's ELT blog 