Ongoing Observation
1. Strategies for checking comprehension
Some obvious strategies for checking students comprehension of the tasks or texts provided are as follows:
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Fill in the gaps
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Mark the odd one
Both strategies are commonly used in texts book’s activities and sometimes they can be useful depending on the context we are into and the setted aim. In this strategies the teacher can adapt their challenge and difficulty to the different age groups and levels of development or skills. For example, having a whole group, sometimes we have one specific student who has more difficulties but by using this strategy we can also see their understanding on the concepts or the activity. Working on a fill in the gaps activity, we can provide the student with a box full of the words he/she is going to need in order to fill in the corresponding gaps. This way, everybody can participate in the activity and the teacher can have information about everybody’s comprehension. If we do this activity in order to asses the oral skills and oral communication we could have a text and then give it to the students with some gaps and then they would have to complete it from the oral text the teacher would read. However, it is important to keep in mind that we should attend the diversity and for this reason, a good idea would be as follows: reading the text in different speeds, repetition of some specific parts and sentences or even certain vocabulary, providing some key words, giving some images to complement the text, and so on.
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Another activity usually used in textbooks that could be used could be the Pair or link the sentence. In this one, we could give students one sentence splitted up in two halfs and arranged in two separate columns, so they would have to match each opener with the corresponding end of the sentence. That is a simple activity, but needs to consider the “cheating” students which would look from their peers or those other students which would just do it as try-and-error. However, this could be used as to combine different activities and vary a little bit some classroom dynamics.
In my Practicum school, I’ve seen some activities which could also serve as a “checkers” for comprehension. The teacher uses some grids in which he/she messes up three different sentences and students need to figure out the sentences. In this activity, we could consider it as a checker for comprehension, however, it could also be useful to focus on grammar and word order.
The following image is an example of one activity from my Teaching Unit:
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Another good strategy I’ve seen applied in a real classroom and seems to work well is the simultaneously translation. This works when reading a text, after having the first general overview and ideas.
Volunteers offer to read each sentence, or in higher levels a whole paragraph, and after reading it first in English, they can provide the translation in Catalan.
This strategy helps the teacher to see, not only their comprehension, but also assess the participation. Besides, this translation also helps to ensure that all the students can comprehend the text. This strategy goes alongside with the underlining of the unknown words at the beginning and meanwhile the translation in being carried out, students can take notes of this new words.
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Regarding the oral inputs, it is important to check for students comprehension, not only when explaining a task and giving some instructions but for instance, when telling a story. During my co-teaching experience, I was able to try a strategy in which we complimented the story with some visual inputs. We were telling the story orally as we had a presentation on the blackboard and we combined this with some pictures in paper we were raising and moving around. We also tried to include some performance to its development. However, the really checking comprehension was when, in the middle of the story we were asking brief questions:
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Is that the dwarf that is always lazy? (pointing to the pictures)
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Do you see this red face like a tomato? So it is the shy dwarf, isn’t it?
We asked simple questions in which, some of them we were already providing the answer. That were simple questions is which we were checking their comprehension but at the same time, we were making sure everybody understood the message.
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We also can see how the TPR (Total Physical Response) is a really good method for checking for student’s comprehension. In this method, the teacher gives specific instructions and the student has to respond to them immediately. For instance, let’s say we are in the morning and the blinders are down. So, the teacher can ask a specific student : “Would you be so nice to open the blinders?” according to the student following action, we’ll see if they’ve understood the instruction or not. Besides, the teacher can give the instructions along with some body gestures to contribute and ensure the understanding.
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During my stay in the school I’ve been able to see how a very good strategy in which students don’t really see they’re being “evaluated” or at least that the teacher is seeing for their understanding in the foreign language, consist basically in having a spontaneous dialogue or conversation. This strategy could be applied in the upper levels like 5th and 6th grade in which they have a better domain and command of the language. Having worked a specific language àrea and structures, the teacher can start a spontaneous conversation with a student. For example, we could ask what’s your favourite food? Do you like…? Do you hate…? And theoretically students would be prepared to answer it without problems, if that’s what has been worked previously. If we see that the student is answering nonsense sentences, that way we obviously see their comprehension in low.
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Besides all this activities and strategies, I would like to suggest a simple one that I’ve been able to use and it really does work for me. The “You’re the teacher!” strategy which could be a simple and quick task or can be done more intensely. For instance, when having explained some topics or given some instructions, the teacher can ask a specific student to explain their classmates what they have to do. With this “change of the roles”, the teacher sets aside and can see their real comprehension of the instructions and activities. Sometimes, we would like to take a specific student which we know that sometimes has troubles in understanding the instructions, as a teacher and explain it to their peers. Whereas, other times, we would use another volunteer that we know for sure that we know they’ve completely understood the message. If we take as a teacher somebody wich we know for sure that they have understood the task, sometimes it has it’s advantages like for instance, that he/she will explain it to their peers in another words in which maybe it will help others to understand it better. We can do this activity in front of everybody but sometimes that works better if we are organized in pairs and after having given instructions, one of the pair has to explain the other and then switch roles. This pair work easies the comprehension because they are more focused on their peer and aren’t shy to talk in front of everybody.
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Related to this strategy, we could work in groups. When doing any group work, just by listening to their comments and questions, we can see their comprehension of both the task and the topic in matters.
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Another super interesting activity which really works with the comprehension is the “Jigsaw activity”. In this one, we can organize
the class in different groups and organizations. The aim is to get all the group get to the same objective which is the comprehension
and assimilation of one topic. In order to fulfill the objectives, they have to work cooperatively and work with different other groups
(as experts) and get information from there, share ideas, note new ones, modify and clarify misunderstandings, etc… and all this
works thanks to the comprehension, both oral and written.
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One similar activity to the “You are the teacher!” is “Say it in another words”. This activity also takes one student as the centre of attention. After having explained some content or having given some instructions, the teacher can ask a student to explain it to their classmates in another words. Besides that, we can also use this strategy when a student is trying to communicate. Having been given the case that one student is asking for something or is making himself understood, the teacher can ask him/her to try to say it differently, using another words.
2. Strategies to make very young learners or primary students to speak
Some of the strategies to make very young learners to speak are related with the strategies for checking comprehension, as sometimes, in order to see their comprehension, they need to talk or give us any sort verbal output.
Considering this, we can not avoid the fact that when doing group work and working with nonnative English speakers, they won’t completely be using the target language but as for communicate they will need to. Having said that, teachers need to look for different techniques and strategies to make students speak in English.
For me, it’s very interesting having in mind that one of the reasons why students don’t talk much in English is for shyness and fear of not being accurate or not having enough supports for speaking in English.
For this reason, we could see that some of the most obvious strategies to make students speak in English is without them really realizing it. It doesn’t have to be a really long and precise sentences but in some situations, just by receiving some words, it’s enough.
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According to the expressed below, we can consider that what students really like doing in class is playing different games. If we want students to really learn the English language, they’ll have to use it with a specific purpose, not just repeating by the sake of it. One good strategy is making them use that language in games. A good game in which they don’t realize they’re using the language could be the game. This game can be guided by the teacher, who would say and choose the words. This game has several variations according to the purpose of it. The one that really concern us is the one in which they’ll play in small groups. Lets say, just for example, that they’re in groups of four. The teacher has to have previously introduced a semantic field and provide students with some flashcards or language supports. Once this is done, they can play the game. In this groups, each player has an empty grid and they can fill each cell with the provided words previously worked. One of the members of the group takes the teacher’s role (they’re motivated for this change of roles and being empower); this one is in charge of naming the different words he/she chooses. As he does that, the others will have to tick or cross theirs on their grid if they correspond. The fist who gets the first line, has to say aloud “line” and afterwards, the first who gets all the cells crossed says “Bingo” and wins.
Then they can play several times, rotating roles and changing words chosen. In this game, for sure they’ll need to say the words aloud and in English and at the same time they are reviewing the meaning of them.
Another option is by giving them the already filled cells(with words or pictures); that way, they could just focus on the oral part of the game. It is also to be considered when checking the winner, we can promote students to talk if we ask them to say the words they’ve crossed and at the same time, keep crossing the ones said on the blackboard.
In this game, the teacher can assess their pronunciation, in case that has been worked and give some pronunciation feedback or suggestions to specific students. Also, as they’re in small groups they should be so shy and try to accurately pronounce the words.
The teacher can play this game first with the whole class and being her/him the one that names the words, this way they have a first contact with the orally vocabulary and afterwards, they can play it in groups.
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As it has been said on the comprehension strategy, dialogues and conversations are very useful. This time, we can use dialogues for promoting kids speaking the language. At the same time, we’re increasing the exposure at the target language and they can improve their linguistic skills. When working with dialogues, we can introduce this activity as a role-play. This way, students can feel comfortable with the language used as we’ll put the focus of the activity on the gestures and performance rather than on the language itself. However, they will be still using orally the language. In more advanced levels, the teacher can give some freedom to the students as so to create by themselves the conversation, whereas in lower levels, the teacher can provide some guidelines.
Related to the dialogues, the teacher can take some specific students who normally are more advanced and use them as a example. By, this it mean that once worked a dialogue, the teacher can improvise a spontaneous conversation with one student of the class.
For instance, after having seen a dialogue about favourite food, and having worked structures such as like:
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Do you like..?
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What’s your favourite..?
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I hate/love..
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I hate/love it too!
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Cool!
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See, you soon!
Having been provided some examples, the teacher can start a conversation:
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What’s your favourite food…?
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Oh really! I love it too! And do you like..?
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Yes, I don’t like it either!
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See you soon…!
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See you!
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According to this type of activity in which students maintain a conversation or dialogue, it could also be done in a role-play or performance. Students could prepare their own “dialogue or conversation” or prepare a given one and then rehearse it. The aim could be to perform first in the class with their peers but then they could do it in other classes (choosing which one they prefer, probably their sister, brother, cousin’s classroom) or in a school event or celebration. For instance, a short play could be performed in the school’s Christmas party with the families.
Students would have prepared it and worked the language, expressions and vocabulary related, but also could be worked the culture, tradition, clothing, and so on. They will start focusing on the language, constructing the speech, but then moving the focus of attention to the pronunciation, gestualization, clothing… and soon they would forget about the difficulty or barrier that sometimes the language can build.
However, this activities mean a previous work and can be somehow “artificial”. We shouldn’t forget that students may feel insecure to use the language spontaneously and this could be a way of giving them the needed support and security.
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Moreover, we can do other tasks, activities and dynamics in class that can promote the students talk. The first one is as simple as a short question in class. The teacher can ask the students if they like something, so students answer yes or no. However, we can also ask more complex questions but giving students the answer.
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What do you prefer, green or purple shirts?
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What do you like most, apples or bananas?
In this example, the teacher is already providing the student with two options he/she can choose. Moreover, it can be accompanied by realia or some gestures so as to easy the audience comprehension. Other examples of this dynamics, are when the teacher has just introduced a new vocabulary. Let's say for instance, that we’ve worked the farm animals. The teacher can write all the names worked in the blackboard in a list form, and can ask students which is their favourite. Logically students will be required to answer in English. In addition, the teacher can also make a description of one animal and ask students for the one he/she is describing. In this situation, we are promoting students talk, they can discuss in small groups, but at the same time we’re checking for comprehension.
We’ve been talking about specific vocabulary introduced but it could also be used when working new expressions, collocations or grammar structures.
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I like….
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I don’t like…
In this situation, the teacher can ask students to use this structures and make a sentence. Thus, students can choose what do they like or don’t like. Other structures such as: Have/ have not, go/goes, do/does, could be used.
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Another super simple strategy is when introducing new vocabulary, the teacher could write the words on the blackboard. First, being himself the one that reads them aloud, and afterwards, making students repeat each word with him/her. Repetition may seem simple, but it really helps them memorize how to properly pronounce English words. Moreover, they may not feel as embarrassed to talk with all the class, that if they were talking alone. Furthermore, they’ve had to opportunity to hear first how is it pronounced, and for that reason they might feel more confident to talk.
Thinking of other strategies for making students talk, we could think of a class debate or discussion. We could make either two big groups or smaller ones and give each one of them a different role or position/opinion. This could be used in the advanced grades but it’s a great way to engage students to defend themselves and their beliefs. It could be the case that somebody has something to say but don’t know how. To avoid him/her remaining silent, we can give each team a five minutes in group talk to prepare. We could ask them to write some points or ideas as to defend their position, and in this time some vocabulary could be clarified or recalled. Students can help their peers to express themselves. Also we can’t forget about the shy students and that’s why I propose to also do this activity in pairs, where they could choose their pair and feel more comfortable.
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Another engaging and fun game is a description activity. This game has many options:
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In pairs, back towards their peer, one has a picture and has to orally describe it so the other can draw what he’s been told to.
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In mathematics class, they can have a paper full of geometry shapes (triangles- scalene, isosceles, equilateral, obtuse…-, circles, rhomboids- squares, rhomboids, rectangles..- and in this pairs they have to describe each one. Meanwhile, the other peer has to guess which one is been described and draw it.
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In pairs, each one has a picture and they have to find the 6 (can be changed) differences. They need to describe the scene and ask questions in order to get the full picture.
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There are several existing games that help students talk in English. We’ve already seen some of them, however, we can also consider the traditional ones.
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The telephone game or Tiny whispers
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Taboo
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Songs, riddles, teasers and chants, and so on.
Songs, riddles, teasers and chants are a good opportunity to make students talk in English, even if it is a “prepared” speech or discourse. This could be part of some classroom routines. In that case, they could be done as part of formative assessment and students would enjoy these dynamics. The teacher can conscientiously choose some specific chant, riddles or teaser as ice breakers or for recapping. With that activity, students would focus on the content, fun or challenging part instead of the pronunciation. However, the teacher could also focus on the oral part of it.
Lastly, we can consider several technological resources to use when promoting the oral competence.
The first one I really like using it’s Voki. A web page which offers the possibility to create speaking avatars. Students can record themselves and make the character speak. They would enjoy speaking in English and could show their work to their parents and peers. Moreover, they can first listen to an audio, even changing accents, and them having the model, perform it by themselves.
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In addition, we could work with other ideas to make students talk in English. For instance, creating a musical or recording a short film, would engage students with the tasks. It is true that those speaking moments would be prepared but still, they would talk in the target language. We could also include some technological resources which would made the task even more appealing.
Apart from that, there’s the Karaoke option which is less time-consuming and students love. They could choose the song they prefear and they will be dealing to participate. Moreover, a following activity could be done as for developing their oral skills furthermore and integrating different concepts. The teacher could even chose a specific song, to introduce a certain topic and relate it to the classroom development.
Lastly, the “You’re the teacher” strategy can also be considered as to promote speaking among students. They would have to teach their peers and we would set the rule in the upper grades to try using only English.
Having seen different strategies and resources, we could combine them and use each one as best suits each class, group of students, moment and topic and purpose of the activity, as considered by the teacher. They are all engaging and we know that students will enjoy working through different activities and dynamics while learning the English language.
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