Large Multi Level Class The Teacher example essay topic

REVIEW OF LITERATURE on the subject TEACHING LARGE ESL CLASSESbyNeal D. Williams A CUR 524 assignment submitted to the faculty of theFischler Center for the Advancement of Education of Nova Southeastern University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of science January 6, 1999 INTRODUCTION The purpose of this review of literature is to search the scholarly literature for information on the subject of teaching ESL [English for speakers of other languages] in large classes, especially in a foreign context. This subject is of immense practical value for the present writer because it is his intention to begin teaching at a Korean university in September 1999. It is a fact that many university classes in Korea have thirty students or more, and, indeed, one of the first questions that interviewers usually ask prospective teachers is how they would teach such a large class. In addition to the difficulty of teaching the large class, there is also the problem of the varying levels of English proficiency that are present in many classes. It is well known that there are four basic skills that must be taught in language learning: speaking, listening, writing, and reading. Of these skills, one stands out as particularly troublesome for the teacher of large classes.

Of course that is the skill of speaking the target language. "Speaking" includes both pronunciation and conversational ability. Competent teaching of these skills by one English-speaking teacher in a large class with varying levels of proficiency requires a great deal of creativity and resourcefulness. The goal of this review is to find articles and research reports-both primary and secondary-which will offer practical guidelines in helping the teacher who is faced with this problem. Makarova, Veronika. (1996).

Teaching English pronunciation to large groups of students: some suggestions. Research report. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 416678). Of all the titles that appear in a search in the ERIC database on the subject "Teaching English to large groups", Makarova's work seems to be the closest to hit the mark. Makarova taught English at Mei kai University in Japan, and her suggestions are based on her own experience there.

The first suggestions that she makes concern how to get non-verbal feedback from the students in the course of listening exercises. One idea is the use of "phoneme cards" that have a phonetic symbol on one side, e. g., /Q/, and a short list of words on the other side that contain that sound, e. g., "bag, cat, ran". The students use these cards to signal to the teacher the sounds that they hear during a listening exercise. Another suggestion for listener response in large groups is the use of clapping by students to signal the presence of stress.

For example, students would clap on the capitalized words in the following sentence: "I'm GOING to the STORE and I'm COMING back at THREE". This method is a good way of learning the rhythmic nature of English. Other signaling systems can be developed in a given classroom. For example, Makarova instructed students to use the "OK" sign in a "radio tuning" game. As she turned a radio dial across various stations with many different languages, students had to give the "OK" sign in just a few seconds, if they thought the language they were hearing was English.

Other techniques for teaching pronunciation in large classes include games, such as the following: crosswords, mazes, "hangman", and bingo. A simple bingo game can be used to match pronunciation and phonetic transcription. The teacher can also use a phonetic word game as follows: The teacher writes a long word on the board in phonetic transcription. The students must find other words that exhibit those same sounds and write down those words in correct transcription. In all of these games, the teacher can have students work alone or in small groups. After games, such as those suggested above, the teacher should switch to an "activation" phase.

This stage is designed to have the students utilize in conversation the words that were used in the game. The activation stage can become the second part of the game competition. Correction of students' mistakes in pronunciation can also be difficult in a large class. Makarova suggests responding to an incorrect pronunciation with a question, e. g., Did you say "eel" or "ill"?

Students can also practice troublesome pairs of words in small groups. For example, in practicing the / l/ and / r/ distinction, students try to guess whether a fellow student in the group is saying "lamb" or "ram". It is also important to motivate students so that they are encouraged and motivated to improve their pronunciation. Some suggestions for this task include: pronunciation games, "fun" textbooks, video clips of favorite films, stories, dialogues, poems, tongue-twisters, limericks, and reports on the history of English pronunciation. Finally, the teacher can give guidelines to individual students who may be interested in improving their pronunciation. Such items would include the use of cassette tapes for listening and practicing, as well as for recording the student's own voice.

Hayes, David. (1997, April). Helping teachers to cope with large classes. ELT journal 51 (2), 106-16. The second most helpful work in this literature survey appears to be that of Hayes. As Hayes aptly points out, most ESL teachers have had little or no training in teaching large classes and are thus are ill-prepared to cope with them.

The article is based on Hayes' work as an English teacher in northeast Thailand as well as his study of the current literature. At the outset Hayes summarizes the results of a survey of teachers in northeast Thailand on the subject of teaching large classes. The problems these teachers cite are centered in five areas: (1) Discomfort (Large numbers in confined classrooms make students uncomfortable. ); (2) Control (Teachers may lose control of large classes. ); (3) Individual attention (Teachers believe they are neglecting the individual needs of students); (4) Evaluation (Teachers worry that they cannot properly evaluate the students' work); and (5) Learning effectiveness (Teachers are concerned about their overall effectiveness). In response to the survey of problems, Hayes, and others, developed an in-service course that is designed to help teachers in Thai secondary schools cope with classes of about fifty students.

The purpose of the course is to address the five specific areas that were cited in the surveys as problematic. The key suggestions for each area are as follows: (1) Discomfort. The teacher should arrange the furniture of the classroom for optimum student-centered language learning, and, in this regard, small group arrangements seem most helpful. (2) Control. Teachers should not avoid pair work among students because the teachers think it will be too noisy. Instead, they must learn how to keep the noise level to a minimum by using clear attention-getting signals, never shouting, addressing individuals by name, and selecting group leaders.

(3) Individual attention. Teachers should make every attempt to learn the students' names, even if that means using a seating arrangement or name tags. As small groups practice, the teacher should move around the room, confirming that the groups are on track and giving attention where needed the most. (4) Evaluation. Teachers are naturally suspicious of students working together in groups, for fear they will cheat. Teachers should try to develop a sense of responsibility among the students.

The gigantic task of grading many writing assignments for large classes can be cut down by having students exchange workbooks, correcting their own work, writing answers on the board and being corrected by other students, and by working in pairs. (5) Learning effectiveness. Teachers should realize that effective learning can take place in large classes. They should modify their own behavior and lead their students to do the same. If they can accomplish this feat, the teachers may be helped, psychologically, to feel less overwhelmed.

Senior, Rosemary. (1997, January). Transforming language classes into bonded groups. ELT journal 51 (1), 3-11. This article is based on the findings of a survey that asked twenty-eight accomplished English teachers to comment on the nature of "good" ESL classes. Senior notes that the most recurring idea was not what one might expect.

The teachers did not speak of well-behaved, hard-working, compliant classes. Rather, in Senior's words, "They clearly perceived that any class with a positive whole-group atmosphere was 'good,' whereas any class which lacked a spirit of group cohesion was unsatisfactory, even if it was composed of high achieving students". A number of expressions kept reappearing in the teachers' descriptions of successful classes, such as the following: "a feeling of warmth,"mutual support,"group solidarity,"a sense of camaraderie,"unity within the class,"the class gelled,"the class came together,"the class bonded", etc. In response to these descriptions, Senior selected the expression "bonded class" to describe any class which a teacher would describe as functioning cohesively. After looking at the psychological aspects of group bonding, Senior then identifies eight key facets of the bonding process in language classes. These are worth repeating: (1) Breaking down the barriers.

Teachers should devise some sort of "ice-breaker", which may be as simple as each student sharing a piece of personal information. (2) Creating the climate. The teachers were able to create bonded classes took pains to avoid appearing as godlike dispensers of knowledge. Rather, they made mistakes, laughed at themselves, and encouraged the students to do the same. (3) Convincing the customers. In all cultures, students (and their parents!) expect to get their money's worth.

They want to have the confidence that their teacher is competent. The teacher should speak openly of her qualifications, knowledge of other languages, travels, and credentials. (4) Defining directions. Despite the presence of students with a wide range of abilities, the teacher must obtain a common goal, a consensus of where the class should be going.

(5) Harnessing the headstrong. Rather than ignore or demean difficult students, effective teachers find a role for them in the class as a whole. (6) Establishing expectations. Teachers from Western culture are used to a relaxed classroom, but they must make sure, if teaching in Asia, that this model is not taken to mean that high standards have been abandoned.

Rather, they must explain their expectations from the outset. (7) Recognizing roles. Teachers must avoid being attracted to the extroverted students at the expense of the shy and retiring ones. Rather, they should make an effort to draw all students into the class as a group.

(8) Maintaining momentum. Even bonded classes can become "un bonded". The effective teacher can pull them back by "renegotiating goals, inviting student suggestions for a new language focus, new topics, new themes, or new activities". Flowerdew, Lynne. (1998, October). A cultural perspective on group work.

ELT journal 52 (4), 323-29. Based on the author's work in Hong Kong, this article advocates group work for students who come from a Confucian culture. The author begins with a query: Why does an entire class of Arab students clamor to answer a teacher's question, but among Chinese students, there may be no response at all? The answer is simple: To a large extent, students from cultures that have been traditionally Confucian are bound by that religion's three key values: cooperation, the concept of "face", and self-effacement".

Teachers who work in Asian countries should use a group approach to take advantage of this cultural phenomenon. With the concept of "cooperation", students from a Confucian tradition embrace the idea that they are successful by cooperating with others, by working for the common good of the group, and by not elevating themselves above others. Thus, Asian students work well in groups. Flowerdew cites a study by Wong that reported that student-initiated group work contributed to a deep approach to learning and to the use of "high-level cognitive strategies". Because of the Confucian concept of "face", it is crucial for Asian students not to cause others to lose "face" through public criticism.

This belief lies at the reluctance of students in these cultures to give feedback about other students' work in a large classroom. Flowerdew's own experience has shown her that such students feel far more comfortable in giving such feedback in peer groups composed of three or four students. The Confucian principle of "self-effacement" requires a certain level of humility on the part of the student. Students will thus downplay their performance with such remarks as, "I didn't prepare well", even when it is clear to the teacher that this is not the case. In such cultures a small group approach to language learning seems to offer the best opportunities for students to benefit from each other, especially in the large classroom. Schmelig, Faye Van Arsdall.

1991. Teaching the multilevel class. In Lucy Madsen Guglielmino (Ed). Adult ESL instruction: a source book (pp. 46-53). Glenview, Illinois: Scott, Foresman & Co. "Variety may be the spice of life", but as Schmelig points out, it is also responsible for a great deal of challenge for the ESL teacher of large classes with accompanying multi-levels of ability.

It seems that the larger an ESL class is, the more diversity of abilities the teacher is faced with. To answer this dilemma, Schmelig suggests "individualized instruction", or "individualized learning". This idea does not mean isolating students, but offering "a non-threatening environment, caring guidance, and effective resources". In the large multi-level class the teacher can offer individualized learning by using the following ideas: (1) Use variety in pairing and grouping.

Group students together by similar skill levels, different skill levels, similar interests, and random groupings. (2) Organize resource labs and learning centers with different activities that students can choose from. Student goals should be reflected in such labs, from simple survival skills to types of jobs the students aspire to. CONCLUSION At the outset of this brief paper, the writer expressed his interest in gaining some practical tips on teaching English pronunciation and conversation in large ESL classes in a foreign context. What he expected was to gain a list of activities or methods that could be utilized.

Certainly this brief survey has highlighted some of those approaches, and they will no doubt be put to good use. However, the most compelling article surveyed, in his view, is that of Senior, entitled, "Transforming language classes into bonded groups". This article has caused the writer to reflect on his most successful ESL classes in Korea. They were in fact, as Senior described, classes where "the group gelled", there was "a feeling of comfort", and there was a "sense of unity within the class". The focus of the present writer then has shifted somewhat, from simply thinking about techniques of teaching English conversation in a large class, to consciously creating an atmosphere of group bonding where those techniques will be most effective.

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