Методичні рекомендації " Групова робота на уроках англійської мови

The Benefits of Using

New Technologies

Підготувала: вчитель англійської мови

                    Шуба Віта Валеріївна             

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Slide 2.

Modern teaching requires the use of new technologies and group work is one of them.

Group work is a form of cooperative learning which aims to develop student’s knowledge, generic skills, (e.g. communication skills, collaborative skills, critical thinking skills) and attitudes. The ability to participate effectively in group work or team work is seen as a desirable employability skill and should be considered to be part of every learner’s educational experience.

Group work teaches children the skills of civilized communication, leadership and teamwork. Pupils learn to contribute appropriately as group members, to make connections with others and to create opportunities for others in the group. Students who participate and contribute in groups have a sense of belonging and the confidence to participate within new context.

        Slide 3.

 Skills required for group work.

• Teamwork
• Communication
• Problem solving
• Time management
• Negotiation
• Co-operation
• Delegation
• Leadership

Slide 4.

Group work experience.

 The experience of using this method proves that the following positive changes can be observed in pupils:

•                 increased motivation;

•                 pupils learn to make joint decisions as a group;

•                 pupils learn how to communicate and resolve conflicts more effectively;

•                 pupils see a personal meaning in their studies;

pupils learn to take responsibility for their actions and decisions.

Slide 5.

Pupils will gain competence in a wide range of skills.

    Working in groups, pupils improve their skills in speaking, reading and writing. They also improve their thinking operations: analysis, synthesis, generalization, prediction, abstract and critical thinking.

    Group work made it possible to the teacher to devote more time to the students’ oral production. Thanks to group work, less confident students get the chance to put their knowledge of the new language into practice in a non-threatening environment, away from the critical eye and ear of the teacher. Instead of being dependent on the teacher, students get used to helping and learning from each other. Meanwhile, the teacher is left free to discreetly monitor progress and give help, advice and encouragement where and when it is needed.

Slide 6.

Possible problems.

Undoubtedly, interactive teaching may be faced with some difficulties.

• Takes too much time.
• Less content coverage.
• Less learning.
• Difficult to assess learning.
• Student resistance.
• Learning is a solitary practice.
• Students must be taught certain amount of information before they can work in groups.        

1.               Pupils do not have the tools necessary to state and prove their point of view (most pupils state their problem is vocabulary, not grammar).
2.               Often pupils do not have their own opinion on the subject, or are afraid of discussing it in front of everyone. They are afraid of being mocked either by the teacher or by their peers. This is where the need for class rules become evident.
3.               Sometimes pupils do not want to listen to others. They are not ready to alter their position or to compromise. This is where the team-building activities should be used.
4.               Sometimes good pupils are afraid of loosing their leading roles and doing something different; they are also afraid to trust those who are weaker.
5.               In small groups, the leaders would usually try to “pull” the group forward, while weaker pupils tend to become passive. The solution to this problem is to distribute roles so that there is no loafing and each pupil has to act.
6.               Often pupils act in a clearly negativistic way in order to be different, to attract attention. In this case, we again need to form the culture of speech.

Despite all the possible problems, interactive methods still seem to be the best, as they allow to engage all pupils in work, dramatically increase speaking time (especially in large classes), teach pupils the key competences of using the tools, interacting in groups and acting autonomously.

Slide 7.

Group rules.

• We share ideas.
• We take turns to speak.
• We try to agree.
• We respect other people’s ideas.
• We listen to each other.
• We involve everybody.
• We don’t shout or get angry.
• We talk one at a time.

  These rules are very important to overcome the difficulties which the pupils can face working in groups. The sooner such rules are set and followed – the better interactions.

Slide 8.

Effective speaking.

Good speaking behavior in groups is very important. Each group member:

• Stops every so often to check if audience is following (for example “Is that OK?”
• Gives reasons or explanations for instructions/ideas (for example, “I decided to stop writing because...”.
• Considers views the others in the group (for example, “Thank you for that. Let’s add that to the list of things to do”).
• Offers examples to make a point clear.
• Makes certain that everyone has a chance to put their point of view (for example, “Who else wants to say something”).

 Others in the group need to help the speaker present his/her ideas by asking relevant questions. Questions should:

•                    Clarify: “What do you mean?”, “Please, explain.”, “Can you say more about that please?”.
•                    Seek evidence: “How do you/we know that?”
•                    Explore alternatives: “Do we all think the same?”, “Do we all agree? or “What do you think?”

Slide 9.

Becoming an active listener.

 Pupils need to do more than listen passively. They must learn how to encourage others in the group who may be shy, and also how to help others to explain their ideas more fully. This starter exercise seems to work well.

 Ask a pupil to come out and tell you, the teacher, about a recent event (for example, what he or she had for dinner). The teacher sits on the chair and looks away from the speaker, yawns and so on). The teacher then asks class if they thought he/she was a good listener. If not, why not? The exercise is repeated with another pupil but this time the teacher listens carefully (eye contact, nods appreciatively and so on). The class in pairs takes turns to practice being “good” listeners:

• Maintaining eye contact, smiling or shaking the head at the right time;

• Making encouraging comments: “Oh yes!”, “That’s interesting.”, “Do go on.

• Asking for classification: “I’m not sure that I understand. Please tell me more.

• Not rushing to fill sentences.

• Not finishing off speaker’s sentences in anticipation of what he or she is trying to say.

• Not interrupting or over-shouting the speaker.

Slide 10.

How to organize work in group.

• Divide the class into groups.
• Make pupils familiar with their roles.
• Give the concrete tasks and instructions.
• Fix the time.
• Offer to report on the results.
• Evaluate the work.

    Keep in mind the following elements of group work when selecting the appropriate type of group work for your class.

• Size. Two or six people in a group is ideal. The smaller the group, the more likely each student will be to contribute to the discussion. Groups of two or  three students are sufficient for simple tasks where consensus will be reached quickly. Groups of four to six are better for more complex tasks in which the greater number of ideas may improve the final results.

• Selection. You should either assign students randomly to groups (which limits cliques) or select students so that each group has an equal distribution of talents.

• Duration. Use the groups for a brief discussion in class or for all semester. Long-term groups work more substantively and less superficially.

     Give the concrete tasks to each group and instructions how to fulfill them working in groups; pay pupils’ attention to the necessity to keep the group rules.

     Fix the time for doing this work and give necessary help to each group.

    Offer each group to present a report about their work.

          Evaluate the work of the group.

Slide 11.

Roles in groups.

• Facilitator (or the leader).
• Secretary.
• Observer.
• Speaker.

Beginning to work in small groups Make pupils familiar with their roles in the group:

• The facilitator or the leader (He has to read the task of the group; organize the turn of fulfilling the task, propose the members of the team to express their thoughts one by one, encourage them to work, summarize the work of the group, choose the speaker).

• The secretary (He has to write down the answers of his group; do it shortly and legibly; be ready to express his own thoughts during the speaker’s reporting.)

• The observer (He has to make sure tasks get finished, not too much time is wasted and so on).

• The speaker (He has to express clearly the thoughts of the group, to report about the results of the group work).

Slide 12.

Evaluation.

    Besides teacher’s evaluation self-evaluation is very important too. As pupils gain confidence and trust in each other, the evaluation can form part of a group exercise. Pupils fill in the evaluation sheets individually.

Self-evaluation

!. Did I like working in this group?

 Yes.   No.   More or less.

2. Did others listen to me?

Yes.   No.   More or less.

3. Did I listen to others?

Yes.   No.   More or less.

4. Did everyone get a turn at speaking?

Yes.   No.   More or less.

5. How can I be a better group member next time?

    Then they share their judgments with other group members in an effort to arrive at a consensus about their overall performance. It is through these kinds of activity that pupils begin to understand what is required of them when working together in groups.

     Among possible evaluation questions are:

• How well did we work together as a group?
• How good were we at making decisions?
• How well did we organize the different asks?
• How well did we respond to the group leader’s instructions?
• How well did we time-keep?
• How well did we paraphrase and summarize?
•  Who did I help? Why?
• What am I going to do about it next time?

In general, learning in groups enables us to bring the teaching down to the personally-oriented level, to address the needs of each pupil and to form the key and the life competences. This learning encourages interest in the foreign language, motivates pupil and arouses emotions and the need for communication.

Slide 13.

Key phases of group work training

There are three phases in group working training and they help in building motivation for learning and creating atmosphere of success.

Slide 14.

Group work activities.

• Brainstorming.
• Role-play.
• Discussion.
• Competitions.
• Games.

Tasks for group work

 Vocabulary can be reinforced by using a variety of game formats. Focus may be placed upon word building, spelling, meaning, sound/symbol correspondences and words inferred from sentence context.

 Teaching Techniques. The full communicative potential of these games can be realized through good spirited team competition. Working in pairs or in small groups, students try to be the first to correctly complete a task.

 These games can be used at the end of the lesson or before introducing new material as a “change of pace” activity. Teachers should allow sufficient time for class discussion after the game has been completed.

Letter  Power

Add a letter

Task I.   From each word below, make two new words by adding a letter  (1)  at the end;   (2) at the beginning.

1. go_    4.  hear_

_go      _hear

2. oil_    5.  hat_

__oil        _hat

3. arm_    6.  not_

_arm       _not

Task II.  Form new words by adding a letter at the beginning and the end of the       word.

1.     ever_    6.  pin_

_ever        _pin

_ever_       _pin_

2.     car_    7.  at_

_car                  _at

 _car_         _at_

                                                    3.  eight_    8.  he_

_eight                     _he

_eight_                      _he_

3.     in_    9.  an_

_in        _an

_in_        _an_

4.     on_            10.  ear_

_on         _ear

_on_        _ear_

Answer Key

 Add a letter

Task І.

( Note: These are only some of the possible answers; some other words could also be correct answers).

1. Got, ago.   2. Oily, boil.  3. Army, farm, harm.  4. Heart, shear.  5. Hate, that, what, chat. 

 6. Note, knot.

Task II.

1. Every, never, sever, lever, severe.  2. Care, cart, card, scar, scare, scarf.   3. Eighty, weight, height, weighty.   4. Ink, tin, pin, pint, tiny, line.   5. One, ton, son, gone, tone.   6. Pint, pine, pink, spin, spine.   7. Ate, hat, cat, rat, mat, sat; late, rate, mate, hate.   8. Her, hen; she, the; then, when.   9. And, any; man, can, pan, tan; cane, bank, want.   10. Earn; hear, tear, wear, year; learn, heart, weary, yearn.

Change the First Letter

Task III. Make one word into another by changing the first letter.

 Example:    Change a possessive pronoun to not sweet.

   Answer: your, sour

1. Change a past time of Be to an adverb of place.

2. Change an adjective meaning not high to an adverb meaning at the present time.

3. Change a period of time to a term of affection.

4. Change was seated to have a meal.

5. Change a part of the head to international strife.

6. Change a respectful title to atmosphere.

7. Change to learn thoroughly to not as slow.

8. Change very warm to a negative adverb.

9. Change a motor vehicle to not near.

10. Change a man’s title to a female relative.

Answer key:

1. Were, here.   2. Low, now.   3. Year, dear.   4. Sat, eat.   5. Ear, war.   6. Sir, air.   7. Master, faster.   8. Hot, not.   9. Car, far.   10. Mister, sister.

                                               Hidden Words

Animals in hiding

Task I. Find the animals hiding in the following sentences.

 Example: Close the door at once! (rat)

1. That will be a real help.

2. She came late every day.

3. He came to America today.

4. Eric owes me ten cents.

5.   We made errors in each one

5. Do good workers succeed?

6. If I shout, he’ll hear me.

7. If Roger comes, we’ll begin.

8. We will go at two o’clock.

10. In April I only came once.

Answer key:

1. Bear.   2. Camel.   3. Cat.   4. Cow.   5. Deer.   6. Dog.   7. Fish.   8. Frog.   9. Goat.   10.   Lion.

                       Simple arithmetic:  ? + 1 = X

Task.Add one or more letters before the word one to get the word defined.

1. ?  +  1   =   something that holds ice-cream
2. ?  +  1   =   part of a skeleton
3. ?  +  1   =  no longer here
4. ?  +  1   =  accomplished, finished
5. ?  +  1   =  without anyone else present
6. ?  +  1   =  a musical sound
7. ?  +  1   =  a rock
8. ?  +  1   =  a geographical region or area
9. ?  +  1   =  an identical copy
10.  ?  +  1   =  a chair for a king or queen
11. ?  +  1   =  a windstorm; tornado
12. ?  +  1   =  an instrument for talking to someone far away
13. ?  +  1   =   nobody
14. ?  +  1   =  not any

Answer key:

1.Cone.  2. Bone.  3. Gone.  4. Done.  5. Alone.  6. Tone.  7. Stone.  8. Zone.

                         9.Clone.  10. Throne.  11. Cyclone.  12. Telephone.  13. No one. 14. None.

                               Coded Language

A code message

Task  I. Can you ” translate “this letter code message into English words, making a four-line verse?

    YYUR

    YYUB

    ICUR

    YY4ME

Answer key:

  Too wise you are

  Too wise you be.

  I see  you are

  Too wise for me.

The empty cupboard

Task II.  You may know the following nursery rhyme:

    Old Mother Hubbard

    Went to the cupboard

    To get her poor dog a bone.

    When she got there

                 The cupboard was bare

    And so her poor dog had none.

But what you are not told is that when she opened the cupboard door, Mrs. Hubbard exclaimed:

    OICURMT!

Can you tell the meaning of what she said? (Hint: It is six words.)

Answer key: Oh, I see you are empty!

Letter Play

Task II.

1. What two letters express the meaning “not difficult?
2. What two letters mean the opposite of “full”?
3. What two letters spell a number?
4. What two letters spell a word meaning “some”?
5. What two letters mean a kind of short composition?
6. What two letters mean “very cold”?
7. What two letters mean the opposite of “causes” (noun)?
8. What letter and number mean “ahead of” or “in front of”?
9. What number and letter spell a popular outdoor game?
10. What number and letter mean “anticipate”?

Answer key:

1.EZ (easy).  2. MT (empty).  3. AT (eighty).  4. NE (any).  5. SA (essay).  6. IC (icy).  7. FX (effects).  8. B4 (before).  9. 10S (tennis) 10. 4C (foresee).

    All these activities are taken from the book “The Lighter Side of TEFL” by Thomas Kral. This is a Teacher’s Resource Book of Fun Activities for Students of English as a Foreign Language. As the title of the text implies, 

The Lighter Side of TEFL exposes students to humorous aspects of American English to create a cheerful classroom atmosphere and a positive orientation to the language. These activities reinforce vocabulary and give students practice in listening, thinking, speaking and writing, but the underlying goal of all activities is to produce a smile and an awareness that communicating in English has a lighter side and a potential for fun.      

    The activities are short and self-contained, and they may be good for starting off or ending a class hour. Because humor is something to be shared, the activities should be done in pairs or small groups and then discussed with a class as a whole.

    Reference   

1. Методика навчання іноземних мов у середніх навчальних закладах / Ніколаєва С.Ю. та інші. -  К. : Ленвіт, 1999.

2.  Сучасні шкільні технології. Ч. /  Упоряд. І. Рожнятовська, В. Зоц . – К.: Ред. загальнопед. газ., 2005.

3.    Student’s Language Kit / Бірко Л.В., Пахомова Т.Г. – Черкаси, 2005.

4.    Reference Guide for the Teacher of English. – К.: Ред. загальнопед. газ., 2005.

5.  Лучин І. Уроки англійської мови – це уроки життя.// Іноземні мови в навчальних закладах, №4, 2009.

6.    Thomas Kral. The Lighter Side of TEFL. – Washington , D. C., 2005.

7.    http://www.teaching.iub.edu/

8.    http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/

9.    http://wiki.wsu.edu/