ict ideas that ‘minimax’. simple ideas for lessons that minimise teacher input and maximise...
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ICT ideas that ‘minimax’
ICT ideas that ‘minimax’
Simple ideas for lessons that minimise teacher input and maximise student output, while seamlessly integrating Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
QuestionsEver spent hours preparing materials or activities which only last a few minutes in class?
Ever felt you are doing all the work while the learners are unchallenged and uninvolved?
ProblemEFL teachers often overload themselves and underload their learners
SolutionBecome a ‘minimax’ teacher
Minimise preparation time and energy spent in the classroom and maximise learner output
A tennis coach takes two steps to send learners running all over the court
Learners wouldn’t learn by just watching, so they do most of the work, pay for the lesson and thank the coach
A true ‘minimax’ artist
ICT ideas that ‘minimax’
ICT ideas that ‘minimax’involve minimum preparation
are learner-centered
result in effective, fun, communicative lessons, and
integrate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to help learner motivation
Warning!Always put pedagogy before technology
Ask yourself “How is ICT adding value to the lesson?”
IT equipment can fail. Have a backup plan
ICT ideas that ‘minimax’
ICT ideas that ‘minimax’1. Developing listening skills
2. Exploiting the Internet
3. Task-based web quests
4. Using the web as a corpus
Listening
QuestionHow do you ‘teach’ listening?
What are the stages of a typical listening lesson?
Typical listening lesson1. Establish the context, pre-teach vocabulary
2. Get learners to predict
3. Play the cassette
4. Give learners comprehension questions
5. Play the cassette again
6. Check answers
QuestionsAre you teaching listening or just testing it?
Do you focus on the product of listening (right answers) rather than the process (what’s going on while listening)?
ProblemsNot much time spent listening
No analysis of what went wrong
Learners denied freedom to develop strategies for listening
Learners as passive overhearers
No link between listening and speaking
Teacher expects 100% comprehension
‘Minimax’ listeningGive learners control over the cassette player
Let them listen in small groups as many times as they need
Let them discuss listening strategies
Use a tape script for micro listening activities to raise consciousness
Exploiting the Internet
www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/index.shtml
www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/index.shtml
Native speakers often listen at 25% of their potential and ignore, forget, distort or misunderstand 75%
Concentration rises above 25% if they are interested, but never reaches 100%
Bone (1988)
www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/index.shtml
Do we expect too much of language learners?
No guarantee learners are interested or motivated, since they play no part in deciding what to listen to
Let upper-intermediate learners choose authentic listening material
www.youtube.com
www.youtube.com
Short, interesting video clips that are free
Learners control video player
Half class watch one clip, half class watch other. Learners write questions and quiz other team exploiting natural information gap
www.youtube.com
Why do learners like this?
• break from the course book
• authentic
• hands on
• communicative
http://news.bbc.co.uk
QuestionHow would you exploit this web site in an intermediate level reading skills lesson?
Think about lesson stages and learner interaction.
‘Minimax’ news sitesLearners work in pairs, scan headlines, choose article
Learners predict vocabulary in the article from the headline
Before reading, learners write questions they want answered
Learners read for gist, then discuss their questions
‘Minimax’ news sitesLearners read text again, record 5-10 new words/phrases, guessing meaning from context
Learners check predictions in dictionary
Learners write summary of article
Learners explain article to peers and teach them the new words/phrases
Task-based web quests
Task-based web questsLearners work in small groups
Teacher sets learners a task to complete by searching web content
Learners compare findings and decide on the best option
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en
Task: refurnish your living room
Maximum budget £1000
Learners search, compare findings, and decide on best combination of furniture
http://uk.cars.yahoo.com
http://uk.cars.yahoo.com
Task: buy a used car
Maximum budget £10 000
Learners search, compare findings, and decide who found the best car
The web as a corpus
What’s a corpus?A large and searchable collection of samples of written and spoken English
What’s it used for?Corpus shows how language is really used
Dictionaries tell us what a word ought to mean
Corpus tell us what a word is used to mean
i.e. real-world examples of how a word/phrase is used
www.natcorp.ox.ac.uk/index.xml
QuestionHow can we use a web-based corpus for teaching?
Think about lesson stages and learner interaction.
‘Minimax’ corpus
Teacher gives learners a word
In pairs, learners think of as many phrases as they can using the word
Learners search the corpus for more examples of use
Learners present and practice these to peers
ICT ideas that ‘minimax’
ICT ideas that ‘minimax’Conclusions:
Minimise teacher input and maximise learner output
Make learners produce more by engaging them in task-based communicative activities exploiting ICT
Teachers should set up activities and monitor language is being used correctly
AcknowledgementsExploiting youtube.com (Greg Gobel)
Exploiting news web sites (Anthony Griffiths)
Task-based web quests (Alex Davis)
Using the web as a corpus (Mel Hutton)
Greg GobelSenior Teacher Professional Development
British Council [email protected]
Colin HoyRegional ICT CoordinatorMiddle East & North Africa
British Council [email protected]
Web sites www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/index.shtml
www.youtube.com
http://news.bbc.co.uk
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en
http://uk.cars.yahoo.com
www.natcorp.ox.ac.uk/index.xml