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Personal experience

In this introduction to TESOL, the learning outcomes were identified as being able to discuss
various behaviors, choreographies, and principles, how to develop warmers to start the lesson
and develop teaching materials effectively appropriate to the age and knowledge level of the
students. In addition, the learner should be able to prove their understanding of the value of
appropriate language in class, demonstrate that they are able to apply chants, songs, and theatre
techniques to support student centered learning, as well as discuss the appropriate ways to
correct student errors. Finally they will show mastery in being able to contextualize learning
materials, teaching content and show that they can plan appropriately for lessons.

Introduction to the course

From this section, I learned that commitment is the state or quality of being committed to a
cause, and that a teachers can be regarded as sympathetic collaborators, which translates as being
aware that they fully understand their role as mentor and do not consider themselves as the
primary source of learning, many teachers need to put their ego to one side and realize that
education is a collaboration with many actors involved in the process, and that teaching alone
does not ensure learning. Perseverance is also a vital component in teaching as, from experience
students learn at different speeds and in different ways, so one single approach may not be
appropriate for a whole class, and the teacher may need to feel their way around to find the best
style and method of delivery for the majority of their students. In many ways teaching mainly
involves processing people skills in addition to accredited techniques, so a mix and match
approach using a number of different styles and delivery methods is usually a prerequisite to
teaching a class of students effectively.

Behaviors, choreographies, and principles

The key learning experience I will take away the second section. is that comprehensible input is
important because input learning achieves output learning. In layman’s terms this can be likened
to “crap in, crap out” a phrase often stressed during introductory courses in computer utilization
as a reminder that, regardless of the correctness of the logic built into the program, no answer
can be valid if the input is erroneous. In order to reduce the amount of erroneous input, teachers
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should consider that language acquisition is likely to occur when presented in a real-life context,
and that language learning focuses on process not on product. Another key point to note is that
language learning is an innate process based upon internal processing of comprehensible input.
As an additional learning point, the implementation of gestures should be gestures should be
used with care, on the merit side, hand gestures can be an effective nonverbal way of
communication and can be helpful in teaching to second language learners, but can be culturally
offensive, if taken in the wrong manner, even if the outcome learned is meaningful. The overall
consensus is that the model language is best structured by giving full instructions and meaning to
the students to ensure maximum learning outcomes.

Language learning and Acquisitions

In the third section of this course the focus in on how language is learned and acquired. The key
learning points in this module are that teachers need to be aware that learning any language, but
in particularly learning a second language is a conscious process. A second language usually
needs to be taught, and not just something that students will pick up in the course of a few face-
to-face or contact meetings with students. This is an error that many teachers make by believing
that sufficient exposure to the target language is enough, repeated need to must be explained and
very often a technical explanation offered to enhance understanding. While developing a first
language is a process that requires much guidance and correction, repetitive exercises and
drilling home the main points are much more relevant to learning a second language, and the
different styles would not always overlap if displayed in tandem on a Venn diagram. So the
simple conclusion is that language acquisition is different to language learning.

The Basic Paradigm

The fourth section focuses on the basic paradigm and how it relates to teaching. As an
introduction to the term paradigms for teaching? The educational paradigm is understood as
the framework of key provisions and the ideas which are acknowledged by the pedagogical
public during the concrete time period and are the cornerstone of scientific research. Another
way of explaining this is to consider the disposition towards variance, which can be further
translated as a natural tendency towards variation in expression. From this module we can see
that natural speech in a paradigm is another way of point out an increased need for modelling
and that it is not a reference to speech that comes naturally, or speech given at birth. An example
was given of a teacher trying different ways to create context, although she tried drilling
vocabulary and writing the lesson on the board the most effective method chosen was using a
video to create realia, which is real things or actual facts, especially as distinct from theories
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about or reactions to them. We are also made aware that what makes up the basic paradigm are
listening, reading, grammar, as well as comprehension, and the reason why the teacher doesn’t
remain still for a long period of time is because the teacher needs to keep everyone in the
classroom as engaged as much as possible. Not because the students are misbehaving, or she is a
bad or overactive teacher.

Warmers

In this fifth section, I learned about the importance of warmers, despite the title it has nothing to
do with cold weather, foreplay, or a glass of something Scottish on a night out! A warmer can be
defined as an activity at the start of the class to warm up the learners. They tend to be short,
dynamic activities. Warmers can be compared to coolers, which are short activities to finish the
class. As an example, the learners are going to read a text about computers in the lesson. The
teacher asks them to change their seating and sit down in an order based on how much they use a
computer. This requires them to move around and talk to each other. In the classroom, warmers
and coolers are not isolated activities but can serve to introduce a topic or to recycle some
previously learnt language in an enjoyable way. What happens if no warmer is used? Contrary to
belief, there will be no discernable change, Students will not go crazy, or leave the class or refuse
to pay attention, but what warmers can help to achieve is student engagement which means
students being very involved in the activity or lesson and this engagement is deeper and more
significant than students simply listening while the teacher talks, taking part in games or copying
answers from the board. These warmers are also an effective way of relaxing students which
means lowering students’ inhibitions and making them feel at ease. This term is sometimes used
to suggest helping the students to relax through meditation or letting them have an unscheduled
nap during class time! The module also touches upon lesson planning and makes the point that if
a lesson is unplanned the students might become bored or resort to using more of their native
language.

Content and Contextualization

The sixth section of this course is based, as the heading suggests on content and
contextualization. Content in teaching is defined as teaching context as the social environment
portrayed in the science classroom due to learners' socio-cultural practices, experiences and
beliefs that develop as a result of learners belonging to specific. cultural groups and living within
specific environmental and social settings. This is different from what most people understand
and is not necessarily concerned with grammar, text, vocabulary, or interaction.
Contextualization, on the other hand, can be defined as analyzing a word or event in terms of
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the words or concepts surrounding it and not simply just layering words, structuring a sentence,
or relating a word or sentence to a particular author. Within this module I learned that the best
way to model a situation is with pictures, actions, and samples of text, as opposed to constructing
examples, illustrations, drilling the words and or text, and trying to simply explain the situation
in detail. Localization learning, I learned is related to the prior knowledge of a subject and
irrelevant to learning in a local town or at home. Further edification came from the explanation
of the term conscience as it relates to teaching, when used in this context it is referred to as
internal speech, and very little to do with ethics and morals, behavior and actions or learning
right from wrong as we may have come to believe.

Core Materials

In section number seven, we delve into the world of core materials and learn what the term,
controlled practice modeling means. The term relates to the practice of the teacher going first,
and then the student initiates to model and practice. It is not always related to teaching in a
controlled environment, or having total control of your classroom and lessons, or perhaps worse,
having no control at all in your lessons or students! During the modelling stage, what is not
expected from the students at the modeling stage is for them to produce the language perfectly,
or for students to write or read the language perfectly. Core dialogue uses multiple styles of a
dialogue to make things more fun not just simply use only realia and games to teach or use only
certain vocabulary for a new lesson Core dialogues are most effective when used by role-
playing games which get the learners involved, as opposed to using methods which teach only
the core structure of a lesson and avoiding methods using dialogue that is easy to say or activities
involving dialogue on a specific topic, this is a common error amongst new teachers and one
which modelling core dialogues can help to avoid.

Controlled Practice

Section number eight focuses on some aspects of controlled practice, and what it means.
Controlled practice is a stage in a lesson where learners practice new language in a limited form.
It can be compared to free practice, which involves learners producing language using the target
content freely. The most important aspects of controlled practice are that students have a chance
to say and listen to the same thing with few vocabulary variables, and to speak to different
people. This may often require the use of non-sequiturs which refer to a situation where
something is said that does not follow what has previously been said or is unpredicted, Some
examples of controlled practice are student to student speaking while using useful resources and
the steps for a focused listening process are first use a picture preview, before trying to explain
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the listening procedure, then play the audio tape 3 to 5 times, pointing at pictures to emphasize
the key points pictures, finally use further listening as a post- listening task. When conducting
controlled practice, recommended materials to be used include a blackboard, pictures, and
charades and it is important to focus on the listening and not presuppose the lesson. When
running a listening activity teachers should make the listening as predictable as possible before
playing the listening tape and if students are unable to speak at a certain time it means that there
has been insufficient modelling of the core language. When conducting controlled practice
sessions, teachers should consider pair work or teamwork because, students with poor English
skills can practice with other students who have advanced English skills. As a final tip on
listening processes, before playing a listening tape, teachers should tell students what they are
going to hear, before they hear it, and show them pictures in addition to trying to elicit
information from students, teachers should also provide input and provide examples based on the
audio presented.

Reading

In section nine, I learned, or was made to appreciate the value of extensive reading and the
effect it can have on the improvement of reading, listening, speaking, and writing skills. I also
learned to appreciate the best reading materials that students should be provided with for a
successful reading activity are anything that catches their interest and can be finished in one or
two lessons. The module also discussed Barrett’s Taxonomy, which is a taxonomy made by
Thomas C. Barrett in 1968 special for reading. It categorizes reading comprehension questions
into five levels and from highest to lowest the correct order is appreciation, evaluation, inference,
reorganization, and literal comprehension. Barrett Taxonomy is the guide that helps the teachers
in teaching comprehension to students. As we all knew that for students reading comprehension
is not an easy task, particularly for junior school students. Improvement in reading all depends
upon the teacher's technique and how the teacher guides the students to do it. They must be able
to interpret the meaning of the words, expressions, and sentences. However, with effective use of
Barret's taxonomy will improve students’ reading comprehension. Interpreting the text without
understanding the purpose of the text, the students cannot get the purpose of the text. There is a
need that students will be able to comprehend the test correctly from what they have read.
However, the students are still confused and difficult to comprehend the text because of many
factors that affect students’ reading comprehension such as low vocabulary, word meaning and
an inability to read the text. These variables make them difficult to comprehend the text. They
need proper guidance and concentration to understand the real meaning of comprehension
properly. The Barret Taxonomy manuals focus is on guiding students’ understanding of
comprehension questions in the reading part. understanding of comprehension questions in the
reading part. Other suggestions are that reading should be given to match student to student
reviews and assignments, and that reading is considered to be a controlled practice activity. To
explain why dictionaries aren’t used in extensive reading, the narrative suggests that students
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need to learn to use context clues to learn new words. The term focused approach to reading is
explained by its emphasis on pre-reading activities, task based reading and post-reading projects.
Whereas task-based reading is a task in which the teacher sets the task first before exposing the
learners to the core input. Finally the section advises that the groups of students who will benefit
most from following listening and speaking activities are very old learners, middle aged learners,
and adults. The module also advises that when students read from the Web, they should complete
a source report that includes their name and opinion of the site to offset any potential accusations
of plagiarism.

Writing

In section ten, I learned that in writing the best way to establish context is by helping students to
form opinions and that best way to encourage students writing skills is to encourage students to
read their work aloud and to rely on auto correction. This is in contrast to some of the widely
held beliefs that the best way of establishing context is by drilling and introducing new
vocabulary, letting the students choose their own topics to write about and delegating the
students’ writing subjects. There are also some thoughts that writing skills can be encouraged by
giving writing homework assignments, assigning group writing projects only and choosing easy
sentences for the students to read and copy. The narrative also suggest that teachers can engage
the students personally by using the student's likes and dislikes to form opinions. It also suggests
that the necessary timeframe to establish context is one to two lessons and in order to create
ideas and vocabulary the teacher should keep track of student generated thoughts to make it
easier for groups to remember.

Vocabulary Expansion

Module eleven deals with the topic of vocabulary expansion which is an integral part of
mastering a language. The more words you learn, the better you are at understanding and
explaining complex concepts. It is also linked to sounding fluent in a language. The main
teaching point and the most enlightening learning point was the correct use of vocabulary
expansion flashcards. The point was made that these flashcards can be made in any sizes by the
teacher or student and may also be in different colors to illustrate different points or topics. A lot
of emphasis was placed on the correct order in which to use these flashcards with the help of
some abbreviations, for example S means student, T is for teacher Q represents question, HO is
hand over and gt is group task. The correct order of usage is S>T, T>S, HO, S>S
which means that the students work in a group and have worked checked by the teacher, the
teacher then asks questions of the group and/or individual students, then the cards ae handed over
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to the students and they ask questions between the group and themselves. Flashcards are not
normally considered an effective way of teaching grammar points and these vocabulary
expansion cards are most effectively used in a lesson to practice vocabulary that they have
already learned. The module also contains some housekeeping rules and points out that once the
first student in the vocabulary expansion exercise had handed off the card their next step is to sit
and watch patiently until someone with a card comes to practice with them.

Communicative Activities

Section twelve is a relatively short section and looks at different communicative activities.
Communicative activities include any activities that encourage and require a learner to speak
with and listen to other learners, as well as with people in the program and community.
Communicative activities have real purposes: to find information, break down barriers, talk
about self, and learn about the culture. The main purpose of communicative practice in a lesson
is to help the students learn the given vocabulary. Controlled practice differs from
communicative activities as controlled practice has more benefits than communicative practice,
as in general, the goal of guided practice activities is to improve accuracy, whereas the goal of
communicative activities is to improve fluency. For example, Controlled practice is used to
describe exercises that are designed to re-enforce a specific language point and require a
particular answer such as crossword puzzles, word searches and gap-fill worksheets.

Lesson Frameworks

In this section, thirteen, lesson frameworks are often described as either a syllabus, or a course
outline, whereas the most accurate way to describe them would be as simply a possible way of
teaching. A lesson framework is basically a set pattern of stages for you to follow in your lesson.
Different types of lessons have different frameworks. Each framework is essentially an outline; it
informs what kind of activity to start with, then what kind of activity to do next, and then how to
progress from there- all depending on the type of lesson you want to teach. The reason why we
have many different lesson frameworks is not because it benefits the students more to have a
variety of frameworks, neither is it because it benefits the teacher more to have two frameworks,
the simple reason is that they benefit many different learners needs, therefore by adjusting each
lesson to meet the needs of the individual, every student in the classroom will be more engaged
and it becomes a more effective learning environment for everyone. In essence, by catering to
multiple learning styles, we appeal to all types of learners. We use lesson frameworks because
they are easier for the students to comprehend a lesson, they are easier for teachers to execute a
lesson and they keep the students focused. As a footnote, a majority of course book authors agree
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that textbooks are a suggestion, inviting modification and adaptation. Lesson frameworks are
lesson sequences that can be built on and modified for different classes.

Appropriate Language

Section fourteen deals with the topic of appropriate language, which can be defined as ensuring
that a speaker's language is suitable or fitting for themselves, as the speaker; our audience; the
speaking context; and the speech itself. What I have learned from this particular section is that it
is important to use appropriate language as it promotes the development of children's social and
emotional competencies, social awareness, self-regulation, relationship skills, self-management,
and self-awareness. Teaching your child about appropriate speech and language for different
environments, individuals, and situations. In addition, instructions needs to be challenging, but
not boring, not necessarily to make it fun for the student, or because t is one of the school rules,
or because there is a fear that the parents may complain is inappropriate language is mirrored in
the students home environment. Within the narrative there is also some advice about making
easy conversation, which is defined as an informal interchange of thoughts, information by
spoken words, or oral communication between persons, it is often referred to as a skill that can
be mastered, as in the art of conversation. The advice on what makes an easy conversation is to
use repetitive words and structures, avoiding long sentences with difficult words, as well as
grammar structure and the proper placement of verbs. Therefore appropriate language is easy
enough for the student to gain meaning from and learn from. In contrast, the advice on how to
make a conversation difficult is to use are longer sentences and more words than are required.
This advice may surprise many teachers as they would suggest that complex grammar and verb
placement would contribute to difficulty as well as using both high and low frequency words and
phrases, and slang terms or jargon inappropriately or in the wrong circumstances.

Chants and Songs

Section fifteen looks at the topic of the relevance of chants and songs withing the teaching
process. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes to highly
complex musical structures, often including a great deal of repetition of musical subphrases,
such as Great Responsories and Offertories of Gregorian chant. Chant may be considered speech,
music, or a heightened or stylized form of speech. Chants have been analyzed to be energy-based
sounds and voicing a word or a sound produces a physical vibration. Chants thus create thought-
energy waves, and the organism vibrates in tune with the energy and spiritual appeal of a chant.
So we can learn from this that songs and singing can also be considered within this definition a
as a form of chanting or singing. In relation to the specific environment where it may be used, A
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classroom chant is defined as rhythmic expression of target language in a meaningful context,

and not simply, repetition of text and phrases, nor is it just students singing with rhythm in class
or students speaking loudly and clearly. There is some debate about how often or many times
should a classroom chant be used in a lesson. Some believe that once in a lesson is enough, while
others may stretch it to two times, however, one of the learning points of this section is that using
a classroom chant more than once is acceptable, and may depend on the teaching objective being
taught, as well as the mood and engagement potential of the students. Classroom chants and be
an effective way to support the lesson as they focus on natural stress and intonation, and not
because they help students to speak better with their peers or because they are fun and effective,
although these may be useful auxiliary factors. In tandem with the previous observation, It is
important to add actions to chants in the classroom as its more fun and it helps lower student
inhibitions, as previously pointed out anything with an element of fun will increase student
engagement and make the lesson more enjoyable. This is some uncertainty about the best way to
incorporate classroom chanting into a lesson, some people think that is should be done in a
boring monotonous way, others favor a loud and aggressive way, but the learning point is that is
should be used in a variety of different ways, and this includes no variation on the theme.

Theatre Techniques

Section sixteen takes an in-depth analysis of theatre techniques and how they can be used to
assist the new or inexperienced teacher. The term theatre techniques is also used under the term
drama strategies – also known as drama techniques or drama conventions, and they are the
everyday tools of the experienced teacher. They help to develop enquiry skills, to encourage
negotiation, understanding and creativity. They can also enhance performance skills such as
character development and storytelling and be used across the curriculum to actively involve
students in their own learning. This section seeks to show how we can use these techniques in the
classroom to promote understanding of the lesson and help to ensure desired learning outcomes.
We can learn from this section that the structure which best helps to illustrate ideas, vocabulary
or telling a story is drawing pictures, as opposed to focusing on grammar, sentence structures or
using flashcards. In addition, we can see that the most effective way of using the same script
with many students without it becoming boring, is to get different groups of students to act out
the same script in different ways and styles, as opposed to doing a different activity instead or
having only one select group perform the skit. The point to note here is that not all students learn
best with repetition. Initially, some students may show some reluctance to engage in this type of
activity, so how should the teacher get students who are not interested to take part in a theater
technique lesson? The answer to by showing them how fun this style of learning can be, and to
avoid just letting the student be and not trying to force the lesson on them. Of course using this
technique or style does take some preparation and organization, and the advice given in the
section is that the best time to do any organization on your blackboard is before the lesson starts,
as opposed to during or indeed after the lesson. A good motivator for students to use plays in the
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classroom is that it enables them to preview the target language to be used in a writing exercise,
although other benefits may include the opportunity to implement more grammar, to focus on the
acting abilities of the students, or to help them learn about other cultures. Within the confines of
an ESL lesson using theater techniques can be used as a warmer to help the students feel more
comfortable using the language, as opposed to being used as a grammar lesson, a reading and
comprehension lesson, or as an extra program activity only, not to be used in the classroom.
Section sixteen also dwells on blackboard techniques and offers some learning points.
Sometimes referred to as a blackboard method, this is defined as, an artificial intelligence
approach based on the blackboard architectural model, where a common knowledge base, the
"blackboard", is iteratively updated by a diverse group of specialist knowledge sources, starting
with a problem specification, and ending with a solution. It is considered as effective as an old
method of teaching aid, as the blackboard has the advantages of being inexpensive reusable, it
allows students to keep pace with the teacher and not dependent on electricity. The chalk used
for writing requires no special care, is cheaper, without any smell, and has a good impact on
presenting written and visual ideas. The blackboard technique allows eliciting to the board
involving students, and not necessarily presenting all the grammar rules and sentence structure
on the board, displaying the answers so the students can copy, nor is it a reference to the action
of writing with chalk on a board. In conclusion, theatre techniques in the classroom are an
effective way for students to internalize the English language without any smell and has a good
impact on presenting written and visual ideas. The blackboard technique allows eliciting to the
board involving students, and not necessarily presenting all the grammar rules and sentence
structure on the board displaying the answers so the students can copy, nor is it a reference to the
action of writing with chalk on a board. In conclusion, theatre techniques in the classroom are an
effective way for students to internalize the English language. The section ends with a practical
teaching point which is that the proper way to display the lesson on a blackboard is facing
sideways or slightly facing the class, and not having your back to the class or students, nor
having the students do all of the required writing.

Noticing Errors

Section seventeen deals with the thorny subject of noticing errors, as the renowned
educationalist, Alison Pearce Stevens, pointed out in her excellent article, “Noticing mistakes
boosts learning” Mistakes get a bad rap. People often brush them aside by saying, “I’ll do better
next time.” But students who pay close attention to their mistakes actually do learn a task faster
than kids who ignore them. Focusing on what went wrong helps us learn, a new study shows.
Hans Schroder is a psychologist at Michigan State University in East Lansing. He and his team
wanted to know how people’s brains respond to mistakes. People can ignore a mistake by simply
pretending it never happened. Or they can mull it over. They can try to figure out what went
wrong and where. Schroder suspected that which response people chose might strongly affect
how well they learned. To find out, the team recruited 123 children, all six to eight years old.
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This is an important time in a child’s life. It is when most kids are beginning school. How well
they do in school can be related to their mindset about learning and intelligence. A mindset is a
particular attitude about a situation. Students who have a “fixed” mindset tend to believe that
they are born with a certain level of intelligence. They don’t believe it can ever change. Students
with a “growth” mindset, however, think they can get smarter through hard work. Scientists have
shown that this mindset can affect how well students learn. To figure out whether each child had
a fixed or a growth mindset, Schroder asked the recruits a series of questions. He then put a
special cap on each child’s head. That cap held 64 small sensors called electrodes. The cap held
these against the child’s scalp and recorded electrical signals as they sparked between the child’s
brain cells. This let Schroder spy on patterns of activity inside each child’s brain. While wearing
the cap, children played a computer game. In it, they rounded up animals that had escaped from a
zoo. Players had to press the space bar when they saw one of the escaped critters. But the game
came with a twist. Three orangutans were also helping round up the animals. When players saw
the orangutans, they were not supposed to press the space bar. The children could make two
kinds of mistakes — either responding when they shouldn’t or not responding when they should.
As they played, the electrodes recorded their brain’s activity When Schroder examined the data,
he found a clear pattern. Small regions of the brain responded in the children who had a fixed
mindset. Each response lasted just 150 milliseconds. The brains of children with a growth
mindset showed much more activity. What’s more, a larger network of areas responded. And
those areas did so for longer periods — up to 500 milliseconds. This shows that these brains
were paying attention to mistakes, Schroder says. Children with growth mindsets were also
better at bouncing back after their mistakes. “They were more likely to get the next trial right,”
Schroder says. “It was almost as if the children with growth mindsets were willing to engage
with their mistakes in order to correct them.” In contrast, “those with fixed mindsets wanted to
ignore their mistakes,” he says. “This research demonstrates one way that a growth mindset helps
you learn more,” says Allison Master. She is a psychologist at the University of Washington in
Seattle. She was not involved with the study. “When you face your mistakes and are ready to
learn from them,” she says. “Then you can get better over time, but if you run away from your
mistakes and try to ignore them, you’ll never improve.” This article can be encapsulated
succinctly into the last sentence if you run away from your mistakes and try to ignore them,
you’ll never improve. This section seeks to deals with some advice on the best way of point out
errors and offers some valuable teaching points. First of all, the best method to use when
correcting a student is to allow teacher to correct the error, as opposed to having their friends
correct the error, or writing the errors on the board. In addition, the section advises that errors
should be corrected, only when the correction is non-threatening, and not necessarily as soon as
the error is made and finally, an error is defined as an indication that learning is taking place, and
not that the student is wrong and not smart, or that the student is not learning. The text also
reminds us that errors do not point out that the teacher is wrong and has no knowledge of his or
her field and are dubious performance indicators.

Highlighting Grammar
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In section eighteen, the course deals with the topic of highlighting grammar. When we highlight
something, we do it to emphasize something, especially so that people give it more attention.
Grammar can be additionally defined as the study or use of the rules about how
words change their form and combine with other words to express meaning, Therefore the
purpose of highlighting grammar is to draw attention to important information in a text which
relate to the use of the rules about how words change their form and combine with other words
to express meaning, Effective highlighting is effective because it first asks the reader to pick out
the important parts, and then gives an effective way to review that information later. Within this
section we can learn that grammar consciousness is Making students aware of grammar, form
and usage; without making threatening corrections, giving misleading rules or taking the
language out of context, this is in contrast to some widely held beliefs that it is about setting
grammar rules and having the students memorize them, or correcting the students on each
grammar error. Then text offers the learning points that teachers should keep in mind when
teaching grammar, which are that it starts from an appropriate context for the student\s level and
interest., and to avoid assertions that the teacher is always right, or that the students will always
make mistakes and their peers should be the ones to correct the mistakes, not that grammar rules
need not necessarily always have to be presented on the board. We are advised that another term
for grammar consciousness in language learning is, processing language output, and not teacher-
based teaching, not vocabulary memorizing, or memorizing the rules. Further edification can be
found that singing can be helpful in a grammar lesson, as it can engage multiple intelligences, as
well as enabling the kids are to having fun and can fill up extra time in class. This is in direct
contrast to some traditional views that Students learn grammar only by a set of rules, and that
there is no room for fun in the classroom! The section also discusses which activities are not
grammar consciousness activities and concludes that slapping the flashcard would fall into that
category whilst other activities like songs and chants in the classroom, scrambled sentences, or
sentence activities like filling in the blanks would not.

Classroom Management

Section nineteen, we look at classroom management, and all that it entails. Classroom
management refers to the wide variety of skills and techniques that teachers use to keep students
organized, orderly, focused, attentive, on task, and academically productive during a class. When
classroom-management strategies are executed effectively, teachers minimize the behaviors that
impede learning for both individual students and groups of students, while maximizing the
behaviors that facilitate or enhance learning. Generally speaking, effective teachers tend to
display strong classroom-management skills, while the hallmark of the inexperienced or less
effective teacher is a disorderly classroom filled with students who are not working or paying
attention. While a limited or more traditional interpretation of effective classroom management
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may focus largely on “compliance”—rules and strategies that teachers may use to make sure
students are sitting in their seats, following directions, listening attentively, etc.—a more
encompassing or updated view of classroom management extends to everything that teachers
may do to facilitate or improve student learning, which would include such factors as behavior (a
positive attitude, happy facial expressions, encouraging statements, the respectful and fair
treatment of students, etc.), environment (for example, a welcoming, well-lit classroom filled
with intellectually stimulating learning materials that’s organized to support specific learning
activities), expectations (the quality of work that teachers expect students to produce, the ways
that teachers expect students to behave toward other students, the agreements that teachers make
with students), materials (the types of texts, equipment, and other learning resources that
teachers use), or activities (the kinds of learning experiences that teachers design
to engage student interests, passions, and intellectual curiosity). Given that poorly designed
lessons, uninteresting learning materials, or unclear expectations, for example, could contribute
to greater student disinterest, increased behavioral problems, or unruly and disorganized classes,
classroom management cannot be easily separated from all the other decisions that teachers
make. In this more encompassing view of classroom management, good teaching and good
classroom management become, to some degree, indistinguishable. In recent years, classroom
management has received an increasing amount of attention from education leaders, reformers,
and researchers, who have begun to investigate, analyze, and document the effective strategies
used by successful teachers. The growing emphasis on classroom management is based on the
general recognition that effective instruction requires effective classroom management, and that
strong management skills are the foundation of strong teaching. In addition, there are now
more professional-development opportunities related to classroom management being offered to
teachers, and there have been discussions about the role of practical teaching techniques in
teacher education and certification programs, and about whether such programs have
overemphasized education theory at the expense of practical, applied skills that teachers will
need in the classroom, such as classroom-management strategies. While there is widespread
agreement in education that effective classroom management is essential to good teaching, there
is often debate about which strategies are most effective, or what is the best way to approach the
management of a classroom or other learning environment. For example, some educators might
argue that effective classroom management begins with student compliance and classroom
orderliness, since learning cannot happen when students are not listening, when they are
disobeying the teacher, or when they are disrupting other students in the class. In this case, the
teacher needs to establish the behavioral and academic expectations for a class and ensure that
students comply with those expectations. Other educators, however, would argue that teachers
should approach classroom management by actively involving students in the process. For
example, some teachers create common classroom expectations and agreements in collaboration
with students. In this case, students play a role in developing the expectations, thereby taking
“ownership” over the process, and the teacher then helps the students live up to those
expectations by reminding them of the previous agreements they made or by asking the class to
reflect on their work and behavior as a group in relation to the agreed-upon expectations—i.e., to
identify the areas in which the class is doing well and the areas in which it can improve. As we
can see effective classroom management is a vital skill for new or inexperienced teachers to
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learn, and in this section I learned the following points, Classroom management is a term that
teachers use to describe the process of ensuring lessons run smoothly despite disruptive behavior
by students, as well as ensuring that all students are well behaved and learning. Further advice is
often on how to deal with problem students, they should be dealt with not with force or strong
discipline, nor with any preconceived judgement, but with an open mind to all the circumstances
in a judgement free manner. Having said that a classroom should be regarded as a dictatorship
with the teacher ultimately in charge, if the students can contribute to the overall effectiveness of
the class then that can be considered as a benign dictatorship, however ultimately the teacher has
the final word on any classroom management decisions. The text reminds us, that non-
participating students are not always a bad thing and again should not be any kind of
performance indicator as to whether the teacher is a bad teacher or not and concludes with a final
housekeeping point that a teacher needs, to be prepared for a lesson, with all relevant lesson
plans, materials, and resources in advance.

Evaluating Texts

Section twenty looks at the best way of evaluating texts, this is important because, evaluating is a
reading strategy that is conducted during and after reading. This involves encouraging the reader
to form opinions, make judgments, and develop ideas from reading. Teachers can create
evaluative questions that will lead the student to generalize about and critically evaluate a text.
Authors have a reason to write, and they choose a particular form of writing to best convey their
ideas to an audience. To analyze and evaluate a text, readers must consider why the author wrote
the text in the first place and why he or she decided, for example, to write a newspaper article
instead of a flyer. The goal of evaluating a text is to form an opinion or judgment about the
content, quality, or validity of the content with the intent of communicating your opinion to
others later. Evaluating a text begins with summarizing the main idea of the text in order to grasp
what it is about. Then, you can begin to analyze various aspects of the text so you can understand
it more fully. Finally, the information you learned through your evaluation can be used to
develop your own thoughts about the text. These thoughts about the text, combined with any
conclusions you have made about the content, will help you communicate your ideas and
opinions. What we have learned from this section is that no one will ever really know a book
until they teach it, or at least attempt to teach it to others. The text teaches us that the first thing
to look at when evaluating a book is the table of contents, as opposed to the title and author of
the book. A relatively unimportant part of evaluating a book is any kind of review by any kind of
"Teacher's Journal”. However things like, the level of grammatical form, the relevance of the
pictures in the book, as well as the balance of speaking, listening, and writing activities, are all
important aspects of an effective evaluation. One of the key reasons why should a teacher
evaluate a student's book is because it helps to determine which books are most relevant to the
teaching context. Finally the course material suggests that what teachers should consider before
deciding on a book is what the student's level, age, and motivations are, as opposed to details
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about whether the book has illustrations or not or, whether the book is easy to read will be
understood by the students.

Adapting Course Books

In section twenty-one of the introduction to TESOL, the focus switches to the adaption of course
books. The ability to adapt materials is important as it allows teachers to use resources properly
and to consider what happens inside and outside the classroom, thus ensuring a better process of
teaching and learning. Adapting materials allows teachers to use very good resources in their
respective contexts, there are a number of considerations involved and teachers must take into
teachers must take into account a number of things, including authenticity, the original source,
the target language skill, and learners' language levels and ages. After choosing materials,
teachers must then decide if the material needs to be further adapted to fit the needs of their
learners. After choosing materials, teachers must then decide if the material needs to be further
adapted to fit the needs of their learners. In other words materials evaluation can be considered a
procedure that involves examining learning materials to establish their value and adaptation is
the altering of materials to improve or make them more suitable for a particular type of learner or
group of learners. The learning points offered in this section, include an acknowledgement that
course book are not always required for an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) or ESL
(English as a Spoken Language) and that a teacher can adapt a text by reordering the text without
modifying the content. Thee is a school of thought that adapting material requires the assignment
of teamwork in the class to help break down the workload sometimes required in material
adaption, but this is not always necessary with judicious use of modification. There is also a
temptation to distort the original text or take the easy route and teach the text exactly as it was
written, but this text advises against both of these implementation of styles. In addition the text
recommends that the teacher can expand the vocabulary by focusing primarily on grammar tasks
and can make the text more relevant by eliminating the things they already know, instead of
having them focus on solitary tasks like reading at home, or by keeping a journal. The final
learning point in this section is the term reformat means changing the activities when referring to
a text as opposed to changing the content, or organizing the text, indeed as some people believe
uploading the text to a website!

Content-Based Instructions

Section twenty-two deals with content-based instructions and their relative learning points.
Although content-based instruction (CBI) has been in academic circles since the mid-1980s, it is
gaining popularity as an effective form of teaching. Content-based instruction is a teaching
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approach where learners study language through meaningful content. It motivates students to
learn because the subject matter is interesting and allows them to apply their learned language
skills in a different context instead of memorizing vocabulary by rote. There are many different
ways that this is implemented in the classroom. In the theme-based model, students learn content
from an overlying theme or set of topics. Teachers create language activities for students based
on the content theme. In the immersion model, students attend school where the language of
instruction is their second language. Using the adjunct model, students enroll into two linked
courses (one content course and one language course). Both courses complement each other with
coordinating assignments. The last-mentioned style is the sheltered model, where students
acquiring a second language attend school taught in the second language along native speaker
classmates. The reason for the importance of content-based instructions is that students coming
from vernacular background face problems when they have to use the target language. Various
activities are thought of related to the subject being taught and students are geared to stimulate to
think and learn through the use of the target language. Content-based instruction (CBI) has led to
the integrated teaching of the four language skills. For example, it employs authentic reading
materials which require students not only to understand information but to interpret and evaluate
it as well. It provides a platform where students can respond orally to reading and lecture
materials. It recognizes that academic writing follows from listening and reading, and thus
requires students to synthesize facts and ideas from multiple sources as preparation for writing.
Thus CBI has helped students to get exposed to study skills and learn a variety of language skills
which prepare them for the range of academic tasks that they will encounter. The learning points
which are emphasized during this particular section are that CBI, is academic subject matter as
opposed to textbook or standardized test curriculums and should not be simply defined as
learning content with enthusiasm. The text suggests that CBI lessons for beginners should be
longer than is the norm and makes the point that it is a learner-centered approach, the target
language becomes a tool for learning new things, and that students make greater connections
with the language and what they already know. The section advises that focusing on grammar
rules and sentence structure should be avoided. The main leaning point is that the main
advantage of content-based learning is that content-based instruction supports contextualized
learning, sentence structure and grammar rules should not be enforced, or that a textbook based
curriculum is best for an ESL student. The text also makes the point that contextualized learning
allows some subjects lend themselves more to content based instructions and gives the example
of chemistry being a more appropriate subject to teach using this method as opposed to history
or social studies.

Cultural Awareness

In section twenty-three, the module deals with the often-thorny subject of cultural awareness.
Cultural awareness means being sensitive to the differences and similarities between two cultures
when communicating or interacting with members of other cultural groups. Cultural sensitivity
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involves inculcating values, attitudes, and knowledge that display openness and respect for
different cultures, religions, languages, manner of dress, and communication styles. Although
language plays a significant role in developing cultural awareness, being fluent in a foreign
language doesn’t mean that you’re culturally aware, as there are nuances and a wide range of
contextual meanings for words that native speakers use, which you can’t learn from books alone.
Culture is a broad term that refers to the social behavior, customs, and beliefs of a particular
group or society, which develop over time. Cultural awareness is often used interchangeably
with other terms, such as ‘cultural safety’ and ‘cultural competence.’ The following definitions
will help you understand the meaning of each term. Practical knowledge of these terms will
facilitate effective, appropriate, and safe communication with people of different cultures. As a
second language teacher, you should give some thought to cultural awareness to ensure that you
are delivering language instruction without bias, discrimination, or prejudice. Being culturally
aware helps you to meet the needs of your students and create an environment where students
feel comfortable and ready to learn. Cultural awareness begins with developing sensitivity and
understanding of your students' beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, and values. Be proactive when it
comes to learning about the different cultural backgrounds of your students. Learn about the
cultural characteristics, history, and customs of your students' native countries. Also, talk to your
colleagues as they may have invaluable information that helps you get a better understanding of
cultural issues that may arise in the classroom. The diverse range of backgrounds and
experiences students bring to the classroom offer many rewards and challenges. In many
countries, students are brought up to be more passive and reserved when interacting with adults.
Students in some cultures may often come across as less driven, less knowledgeable in certain
topics, or less ambitious than the students you are used to. However, this is very rarely the case.
Take the time to get to know your students and their abilities, and do not rely on your own
cultural assumptions. it is important to remember that someone's cultural background often
affects the way they interact in the classroom, and how they learn English. Being sensitive to
cultural ways of learning is a key step towards developing an understanding of your students'
culture. Research online to familiarize yourself with how your students learn in their native
country. Common learning methods that are used in classrooms across many cultures are games,
storytelling, puzzle-solving, repetition, and visuals. When teaching, you need to understand that
students engage more in learning when the language is presented within the students' cultural
frames of reference. If you continually reference a culture or nationality that is different from
your students in your material or teaching, your students may feel that their cultural background
is being sidelined. Consequently, they may feel disengaged from learning. Therefore, it is
important to adapt your teaching resources or techniques to prevent this. When possible, your
lessons should incorporate content that reflects the different cultures of your students to help
them learn more effectively and connect with the teaching content. With multicultural classes,
you can encourage cultural awareness by having the students explore and share one another's
culture. For example, ask students to give presentations on their home countries or include
cultural celebrations, such as Chinese New Year, Songkran, etc. Students can also share their
culture by decorating the classroom with maps, flags, descriptions and pictures of traditional
festivals, food, music, or sports. Group activities, such as discussing current events or comparing
holidays across cultures also help promote cultural awareness. Many teachers often find
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themselves teaching in culturally diverse situations. Many of us assume cultural diversity is

generally limited to ethnicity and religion, but in fact, culture encompasses a broad range of
categories. To promote cultural awareness, teachers need to account for all the different aspects
of culture that can influence a student's perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors. These cultural
categories include race, religious persuasion, ethnic background, sexual orientation and gender
identity as well as socio-economic status. The main point that I learnt from this section is that
cultural awareness begins with developing sensitivity and understanding. In addition it was
emphasized that culture influence languages as it plays a big role in what we can say, to whom
we can say it, and how we should say it, as opposed to being easier to learn a language if you are
familiar with the culture, or language having context which comes from a cultural background.
We are reminded that as an EFL or ESL teacher, it is essential to promote a positive learning
environment, and that Culture can be further described as values, attitudes, beliefs, art, music,
architecture, and literature. In conclusion the section enforces the point that the goal of culture
awareness is to simply act in a culturally sensitive way, and necessarily, to make people aware
that we are not all the same, or to believe in a higher entity, or try and promote world peace at
every given opportunity.

Testing

Section twenty-four the main leaning points ask the question what the purpose of classroom
assessments is, and what is are the most effective ways of using them. We learn that classroom
assessment is a one of the most important tools teachers can use to understand the needs of their
students. We also see that when executed properly and on an ongoing basis, classroom
assessment should shape student learning and give teachers valuable insights. This is because
assessments help teachers identify student strengths as well as areas where students may be
struggling. This is extremely important during the beginning of the year when students are
entering new grades. Classroom assessments, such as diagnostic tests, help teachers gauge the
students' level of mastery of concepts from the prior grade. Throughout the course of a lesson or
unit, teachers use classroom assessment to monitor students' understanding of the concepts being
taught. This informs teachers in their lesson planning, helping them pinpoint areas that need
further review. Assessment can be done in the form of weekly tests, daily homework
assignments and special projects. Before beginning a new unit, assessment can inform teachers
of their students' prior experience and understanding of a particular concept or subject matter.
These types of assessments can be done orally through classroom discussion or through written
assignments such as journals, surveys, or graphic organizers. The section highlights the point that
most important question when choosing a test is, what does the teacher want to know, in contrast
to widely held beliefs that, it is to find out where the student is academically, or if the content is
appropriate, or indeed if the student will learn better from that test or assessment . The text
further advises that it is a good idea before a test that the teacher provides a detailed review and
completes a review worksheet in class, in addition or instead of assigning extra homework, or
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providing a detailed review for study at home or in the classroom. The section further
emphasizes that assessments and tests are often the source of a great deal of stress for the
student and that he main purpose of testing should be to evaluate the student's proficiency and
achievements, not because the parents require or have the desire to subject their children to the
challenges of taking tests for their own evaluation. The section concludes with the learning point
that the most popular test type is not standardized or scholarly aptitude tests, as many believe
but in fact are proficiency type tests which is an exam which tests how proficient or skilled
someone is in a particular activity, field of study, or language.

Lesson Planning

Section twenty-five look at the topic of the formal planning of lessons. Lesson planning is the
activity which the teacher performs before the actual lesson takes place. A lesson plan is a
detailed description of the instructional strategies and learning activities to be performed during
the teaching and learning process. This important preparation involves the following, the
identification of learning as well as teaching objectives, as well as the activities and tasks to be
undertaken by both the learners and the instructor. In addition it should provide details of the
sequencing of these activities and tasks, determining appropriate instruction aids, methods, and
references. It should also outline the proper organization and management of the learning
resources available, in addition to the environment and activities. There should also be a
determining evaluation process that is to say, how the learner shall be deemed to have acquired
the desired chance of behavior or mastery of content and or skills. The importance of a lesson
plan is that it enables the teacher to read ahead in order to enrich the content area and skill to be
taught, to have confidence during the actual teaching and learning process and to logically
present the content standards for effective learning.

The Role of Grammar

Section twenty-six looks at the role of grammar in teaching language, this is important learning
point as grammar improves the development of fluency. When a person has learned grammar, it
will be easier for that person to know how to organize and express the ideas in their mind
without difficulty. As a result, they will be able to speak, read and write the language more
fluently. The section emphasizes the learning points that grammar need not always be taught in
an ESL classroom, and debunks the myth that grammar is easy for ESL students to speak, read,
write, and comprehend in equal measure. In addition, the text explains that the age group aimed
at in an explicit grammar class is educated students, as opposed to, children in the range from
K1 to P6, adults or native speakers. On the subject of children the text reminds us that a child
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learns a language best by exposure, repetition, and context, as opposed to reading, writing, and
comprehension as well as grammar and sentence structure. The final leaning point is that implicit
grammar deals with language in context, and not, vocabulary, grammar rules and sentence
structure or verb tenses.