1

Abstract

During this workshop teachers will have the opportunity to discuss and consider the issues

surrounding establishing students’ language levels and teaching towards these.

The workshop will also offer practical examples of using Cambridge ESOL assessment to help

establish students’ language level and to teach towards desired language levels.

Student language levels and teaching practices

29 April 2009Duncan Rayner

3

AimsTo discuss

establishing students’ levels

establishing appropriate goals

teaching practices for classes with students of similar level for classes with students of mixed level

To share

experiences

ideas

best practice

4

ESTABLISHING LEVEL

5

What is the significance of level?

How are students’ language levels linked to the expectations of……..?

schools parents students

6

How do you establish level?

How much importance should you place on these sources of information?

FORMAL• Previous teacher’s

reports• Previous

coursework• Test results

INFORMAL• Chats with

previous teachers• Chats with

students• Observation

OTHER?

7

ESTABLISHING GOALS

8

Setting GoalsAt the end of this course/term/year, what do I

want students to be able to do?

LANGUAGE SKILLS• speaking• listening• reading• writing• grammar• vocabulary

STUDY SKILLS• complete work within a given time period• etc

COGNITIVE SKILLS• deduce• question• etc

9

Support

Where do you get support to help you establish your goals?

National curriculum School syllabus Common European Framework of

Reference for Languages (CEFR) Course books Other?

10

Setting GoalsImagine you are establishing goals for a new

class. What goals would you set?

Activity

The students are approximately the same language level There are _________ student in the class They study English _________ hours per week They are aged _______ to ________.

11

Can read simple texts

Can deal with personal messages and gain some information from in formation texts

Can understand basic facts given in announcements e.g. at railway station

Can convey basic meaning in very familiar or highly predictable situations

Can produce only limited discourse

Sample Goals: A2

12

Sample Goals: B1 Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar

matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure etc.

Can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken.

Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.

13

Achieving Goals

How will you achieve your goals?

What teaching practices work best with your pupils?

Which skills do you focus on and why?

14

Teaching practices

LANGUAGE SKILLS

STUDY

SKILLS

COGNITIVE SKILLS

What do we teach?

Ho

w d

o w

e te

ach

?

15

Teaching practices

SPEAKING LISTENING

READING WRITING

What do we teach?

Ho

w d

o w

e te

ach

?

16

TEACHING PRACTICESfor classes with students of

similar level

17

Interaction patterns

In a typical English lesson what percent of the time…

How we teach

does the teacher talk to the whole class? does the teacher talk to only one child? do children talk/work together in pairs? do children talk/work together in small group? do children talk as a class to the teacher?

18

Speaking activities: interaction

Communication and meaning

Confidence building

Whole class, teams, groups or pairs

What we teach

19

Speaking activities: interaction

Games and quizzes:

e.g. Definitions, Memory games, Hot Seats, Reading races, Noughts and crosses, Word Association

Class surveys / information exchanges

Mind maps and brainstorming

Reading aloud

Storytelling

What we teach

20

Examples…

21

TEACHING PRACTICESfor classes with students of

mixed level

22

Interaction patterns

In a typical English lesson what percent of the time…

How we teach

does the teacher talk to the whole class? does the teacher talk to only one child? do children talk/work together in pairs? do children talk/work together in small group? do children talk as a class to the teacher?

23

Speaking activities: repetition

Sounds and rhythm of English

Confidence building

Whole class, groups or pairs

Whatwe teach

24

Speaking activities: repetition

Chain games

Sequences

Letter chants

Chants and songs

Whatwe teach

25

Speaking activities: support

Whatwe teach

practicing pronunciation of key vocabulary using rhymes

reading out loud

memorising short sentences

26

Speaking activities: challenge

Whatwe teach

Doing mini role-plays

Creating new sentences from a model sentences

Providing model language/answers for the class

27

Speaking activities: extension

Whatwe teach

Interviewing other students Practicing new vocabulary Using a model to answer questions based on

personal experiences or familiar situations

28

Examples

29

Summary

establishing students’ levels

establishing appropriate goals

teaching practices for classes with students of similar level for classes with students of mixed level

30

Cambridge ESOL Support

establishing students’ levelspretesting, testing, sample tests

establishing appropriate goalsALTE, CEFR, Exam Syllabus

teaching practices TKT Teachers resource site

31

University of Cambridge

ESOL Examinations

1 Hills Road, Cambridge, CB1 2EU, UK

Tel: +44 1223 553355

ESOLhelpdesk@ucles.org.uk

school@cambridgeesol.org

Keep up to date with what's new via the Cambridge ESOL website

www.CambridgeESOL.org