Jamal Ali
English Coordinator
English magazine
1- Moving Towards
Communication
What is Communication ?
a) A system of sending and receiving messages. a two way traffic which requires at least two to take place.
b) Range and requirement of communication:-
1- An inevitable part of human life. We send spoken or written messages every time in every walk life.
2- Advances in the field of science and technology require to hold a good command of receiving and sending messages i.e. communication
3- An integral part of linguistic competence.
Teaching & Communication
1- A good teacher is always a good communicator.
2- The only source of intellectual and personal exposure in the classroom.
3- It covers the teacher’s whole activities in the class while teaching to his pupils.
4- A-V Aids, such as posters and pictures are a best part of communion
5- Computer-aided teaching is a best source of communication.
6- Communication never means speaking on the part of teacher only. It implies pupils’ asking questions and answering question i.e. the complete understanding of the message sent by the teacher.
7- In this communication teacher is supposed to devise such activities which require maximum response on the part of the pupils. Meaning to say the pupils should be given the maximum chance of speaking through several activities devised and designed by the teacher. The teacher should act as facilitator in this regard. Questions on the part of teacher and answers on the part of pupils or the part of pupils in a group work or peer-work activities are best tools of communication to be applied in the class.
By: Maged Al-Mohamad
Characteristics of a Good Test
A good test should possess the following:-
(Validity)
A valid test measures what it ought to be tested.
(Reliability)
A test should provide consistency in measuring the items be evaluated.
(Practice)
A practical test is easy to administer and to score without wasting too much time effort.
(Comprehension)
A good test should be comprehensive covering all items witch have been studied.
(Reliance)
Test should measure reasonably well the desired objectives and achievement.
(Clarity)
It is essential that all questions and instructions should be clear.
(Objectivity)
The questions and answers should be clear and definite.
(Time)
A good test is the one that appropriate in length for allotted time.
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Classroom Management and Discipline
All teachers, especially those are inexperienced, have problems with discipline at some point. This paper contains a series of guidelines to help teachers prevent these problems from arising and some advice what to do if there is a problem.
1- Planning the lesson carefully will enable you to know exactly what you must do next and will prevent loud silence between the different stages of the lesson.
2- Always plan the timing of each stage of the lesson carefully so that you do not finish too early or fail to finish what you set out accomplish.
3- Always have an extra activity (a game or previous exercise) to use of the lesson does finish early.
4- Good teaching will keep the pupils active and interested. Students usually only misbehave when they are bored or do not understand. So use teaching methods which will involve the whole class and make them active.
Organizing the Lesson
1- Always be on time and do not accept lateness from the pupils.
2- Make sure the pupils have all the equipment necessary for that lesson ready at the start of the lesson. (Pen, pencil, student's book, notebook).
3- Get the pupils to be quiet at the start of the lesson. Make sure they are all listening.
Teaching Style
1- Don't be too friendly with the pupils, especially at first.
2- Try to look and sound confident. If you are nervous the pupils will sense this may make some of them to misbehave.
3- Be sure that pupils will always "try out ' a new teacher to see how much he will tolerate. So be particularly firm during the first few lessons with a new class.
4- Make good use of your voice. Don't shout or speak too quickly. Speak calmly and vary the speed, volume and tone of your voice as you teach.
5- Keep eye contact with the pupils. Try to look at as many different pupils as possible while you are teaching; look them squarely and confidently in the eye. This makes them feel involved and enables you to spot any misbehavior immediately.
6- Movement; stand up straight and look confident and relaxed. Don't move about too much but don't stand in the same place all through the lesson.
7- Keep pupils involved by asking questions to all pupils in the class, not just the good ones at the front.
What to do if a problem arise
1- Correct bad behavior immediately, don't let it get worse.
2- Don't panic or lose your temper, although you can pretend to get angry. Keep calm and keep control of yourself.
3- If there is talking never raise your voice or continue talking. Instead, make the pupils be quiet. Never tolerate misbehavior.
4- Don't reward bad behavior; for example, some pupils, stand and shout. "Teacher, teacher!" when they want to answer a question. Never respond to those pupils. If you do, then you are encouraging bad behavior.
5- If you see a pupil not paying attention involve him in the lesson, perhaps by asking him a question.
6- If the bad behavior is not serious (such as talking quietly or not paying attention involves him in the lesson, perhaps by asking him a question.
7- If the bad behavior is serious don't be afraid to stop the lesson. Correct the pupils) involved, and if necessary punish him.
8- Punishment can take many forms. You can raise your voice, or change the tone of it; you can give extra work; you can make the trouble-maker sit alone near you, (but not facing the other pupils); you can make him stand alone at the back of the class; if there are two problem-pupils sitting together you can move them so that they sit separately. Always try to sort out your problems yourself but as last resort you can send trouble makers to a senior teacher to be punished.
9- The teacher should NEVER use physical punishment such as slapping pupils or hitting them with a stick.
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Introduction
One must keep in mind that learning a foreign language may a difficult task for adult. Psychologists have confirmed that praise of good performance stimulates students to do better work than does criticism of punishment for bad performance. The most important thing to remember with regard to errors made by pupils in the classroom is that they are a natural and expected part of the process of learning and acquiring a foreign language. Pupils will make mistakes as they try to express themselves in English. Error may be nothing more than a momentary lap of memory or concentration.
Opreated systems
Modern research and common sense as well, tell us that language learners appear to have two internal systems that operate to produce spoken language. There seems to be a "learned" system of rules which the learner is consciously aware about. In other words, the learner may know very well the "correct" forms of the target language and be able to tell you the "rules."
On the other hand, "acquired system "(this system that native speakers of any language use) that the learners apply unconsciously to form what he saying. Using the "acquired" system the learner will probably make mistakes that he could avoid if he had the time to think about.
Types of Errors
The teacher should decide if the error interferes with understanding what the pupil is trying to say or not. Errors that do not interfere with or prevent understanding are sometimes referred to as "local errors" these include slips of the tongue. Other errors that do render an utterance difficult or impossible to understand are called "global" errors. As a general rule, local errors can be ignored at the time of utterance and perhaps dealt with later. "Global" errors on the other hand, should be attended to immediately. Errors, by definition, are unlikely to occur again, and the net result of correction they would seem to be of minimal cognitive value.
Errors | causes | Strategies |
A student conveys the intended meaning but includes grammatical mistakes. | - The acquired system always controls the learned one. - English has its own system to be acquired. - slip of the tongue - Unable to acquire the grammatical system. - Pupils' behaviour - Arabic language is different from a foreign one. - Unmotivated teacher. - Negative feedback on the part of the teacher. - Pupils' feeling - The English alphabet has its own formation of letters. - English contains sounds and utterances that are not found in Arabic. - English has its own particular Spelling. A word is uttered one way and is written in another. - The teacher doesn't let his students to complete the answer especially at the end of the lesson, instead he completes it. | 1- Indicate to the pupil that an error has been made (just pause and raised eyebrows will be enough to let the pupil think about what he has said and did. 2- Indicate where the error is. 3- Self-correction. Always a pupil should be allowed to correct himself before other attempts. 4- Peer-correction. Another pupil gives the answer the first one repeats. 5- Teacher-correction. This is the last resort. 6- follow-up and checking. Teachers ask his pupils (who have made errors) similar questions to correct themselves. Remember :- 1- The best way to receive respect from others is to show respect for them. 2- Don't expect the students to be perfect. They are learning and so mistakes are inevitable. 3- Keep a flexible attitude about what you are seeing and hearing. 4- A good teacher should be patient and lenient. 5- A good teacher responds encouragingly to right answer. 6- It is advisable for a teacher to repeat a pupil's answer for the other pupils to hear. |
A pupil answers very slowly with a great deal of hesitation or makes mistakes. | ||
Most of the class is hardly participate at all | ||
Whenever you ask a student to repeat an answer or question he can not do it ( or can not repeat correctly ) | ||
Many students have a blank, bored expression on their faces. | ||
Some students produce written work which is indecipherable whether beautiful or ugly. | ||
Most students are unable to read correctly. | ||
Grammatical mistakes are very common. e.g., I go home early yesterday. Why you were late? I am go to bed before . | ||
Through speaking skill, a student makes many errors. | ||
A student is unable to produce a simple sentence. He always begins with a verb. | ||
A student uses more than one subject in a sentence. E.g., Ahmed he plays football. | ||
He always uses improbable object to the verb. E.g. Saud eats water. | ||
In writing a composition, most of the sentences have no verbs. | ||
Most of the verbs for him is ( am – is – are ) So he uses them everywhere e.g. Sami is goes to school. | ||
In the first stage, the English alphabet causes some difficulty to the learner. A learner is confused between some letters P/b c/k c/s |
Investigation for Errors
kind | Native language | Language errors | Another second language |
percentage | 51% | 27% | 3% |
Which errors should be corrected?
The errors that interfere with communication should receive first priority in second-language classes. The next most important are those that irritate native speakers. Other errors can safely be ignored in the elementary stages of language learning and dealt with later.
Who should correct errors?
In the early stage only the teacher has the knowledge to correct student's errors. However, other students can provide the right answer.
When should errors be corrected?
Feedback in any learning situation is necessary but reinforcement does not enjoy the high approval it once did. Often a short pause will provide the learner an opportunity to arrive at the correct form.
