This week was the third conversation hour I've facilitated. It's been much better I think! I had trouble getting my students together, to regroup and change to different activities, or different groups for conversation. There is still improvements to be seen, however. I have begun setting minute limits for the conversations they have, which insures that they are prepared to move to different groups. I know my students prefer time to just talk, but I think that they will get more out of more structure though. I have mostly been posing conversation starting questions, and trying to put them in groups with people they don't know, to encourage trying new things. It's been going well, and they do like that, but I want to try putting more structure in. I'm planning on organizing some games for next week, so that there is a slight competitive, but fun, edge to using English. In class we've been looking at task based activities in language learning classes, and I think giving my students a task will help. I don't want them to have no fun though, because I'm not grading them and it's not a very intense course, I think games will fit the task perfectly. I want to try to get them moving around more, and in different groups than they normally gravitate toward. I've also been allowing time at the end of the course for questions, but I am not sure how much they're getting out of it, I think it is helpful to have if they want it. I've also been trying to talk with each person, but it's difficult in a group of 15 give or take (and 1 baby). I try to have more prolonged conversations with each one, so it's not surface level, but that is proving a little difficult. I think putting different sorts of activities in will help, as it will provide a less conversation based structure, but more of a group dynamic. The students will still have the opportunity to use the second language, but it will be less free-form. I don't think it's the best to just set students to go with the instructions "discuss," as it allows for use of the not target language. I've heard my students discussing in Spanish, which I want to get them to leave behind. I understand it's difficult, especially in a course where everyone has a common first language, and few consequences. I try to make them feel like they shouldn't use Spanish at all when we're there though!
Altogether, there have been improvements, but there are still strides to make. I am going to try my best to make the rest of the time successful!
Sounds like things are progressing as the weeks go by. I can only imagine having to manage 15 students ( & a baby) on your own! Though it seems like you're doing a pretty good job! It is definitely hard to get students to stop relying on the fact that they share a common first language, but I think as they become more comfortable with each other and aren't ashamed to make mistakes, they will slowly fall out of the habit. What kind of games did you plan on incorporating into your lesson plan? Seems like your students are pretty advanced in their level of English, so it allows room for something a little more entertaining!
ResponderEliminarHave you considered role playing? Perhaps you could propose a scenario, elicit vocabulary that revolves around it and then have them create a particular dialogue in relation to it. Some students could "perform" it in front of the whole group and this would allow you and their fellow students to provide constructive feedback. Giving feedback to each student can be challenging with a big group and limited time but providing opportunities for metalinguistic feedback at a group level can be just as helpfull. The teaching demonstration we observed yesterday in which the instructor listened to exchanges, jotted down notes and then addressed errors to the whole class exchange seemed like something you could do as well. It sounds like your students are really taking advantage of this opportunity to speak English. I imagine that their high level of motivation would allow you to experiment with different approaches to L2 instruction. It will be interesting to hear about how you develop your remaining workshops.
Eliminar