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There are many reasons why this platform has been chosen. First of all, it happens to be a dynamic platform, since it interacts with the user: Padlet asks questions, suggests options, plays with original and amusing expressions: this makes it more entertaining to work with.

Moreover, it is easy to sign in. The user can enter the platform via facebook, a well known social media that we both make use of in our everyday lives. Thus, there is no need to create a new account and password.

The user can choose to have a free account or join the premium platform. We decided to go for the free option because, although it has fewer features, it still allows us to work collaboratively and to upload the different supportive materials we will use in the future. In this sense, we do not spend money in a membership and still can create a well-designed portfolio.

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A Framework for the Selection of Coursebooks (Rudby, 2014)

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A Framework for the Selection of Coursebooks (Rudby, 2014)

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Here's the link to our video based on John Gray and David Block's research: "All Middle Class Now? Evolving Representations on the Working Class in the Neoliberal Era: The Case of ELT Textbooks"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnOOo6kL-3U

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Valentina Alarcon, 21

Lilian Neumann, 22

Future teachers of English (EFL)

e-portfolio for academic purposes

PUCV, Chile

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What have you learnt from your classmates´portfolios?

What are some things your classmates have done that  help you learn?

To what extent has the portfolio showcase  helped you reflect on your own learning about ELT materials development?

Lilian
First of all, I would like to point out how much effort our classmates have put on the creation of their portfolios. I noticed that many of them put a lot of dedication on creating visually clear, engaging and motivating portfolios for us to understand and comment on them. I am also able to see the different "personalities" of each portfolio, with its particular characteristics and structure. Some things that were useful for me to learn about my classmates, is that they made their entries as approachable as possible, in order for us to comment on them and be able to  interact and cooperate with each other. It is very pleasing to know that if any doubt or question arouses regarding the content, it will only take us a comment, to communicate and understand our ideas in a clearer way. The porfolio showcase has helped me in the way that there is not only one view or perspective on how we can understand material development. By reading all the different ideas on each entry, I can amplify my knowledge and thus, understand different ideas on how I can get familiarized with the world of material development. It would not be interesting at all, if we all thought the same way about the proper creation of material, wouldn't it? So the material showcase is in the end, a way of diversifying knowledge, which will make us more upright and knowledge-nurtured teachers in the long term.

Valentina
When it comes to the superficial aspect of our portfolios, it's very interesting how different they are. The diversity is impressive and, personally, it has helped me a lot to get to know a little bit more of my classmates' personal preferences and thus their personalities. Likewise, I've discovered new tools to use in Padlet thanks to my classmates that work with this platform too.
Regarding the content of the activities, and how our classmates have responded to the different challenges we've had, Ive learnt that there's no wrong answer but several points of views with respect to ELT materials.
All in all, the first portfolio showcase has been very beneficial to my learning process in this course, for I've had the opportunity to consider other perspectives and other ways to express oneself, even when we're all using the same platform or similar ones. Moreover, the fact that we can share our ideas and learning about ELT materials in one platform, helps us to have an organized source which we can access at any moment to refresh our knowledge and complement it with new information that enriches our proficiency in this subject matter.

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ORIGINAL TASK

Textbook 8th grade "E-teens", page 16.
Unit 1 "Travel"

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1. Look at the photos and complete the sentences making use of present simple (Now), present continuous (Every summer) and past simple (Last summer).

Now
a. He is ______________ to the south now.
b. Peter and John __________________ their vacation with their friends.

Every summer
c. My brother always ____________ the car when my mom is too tired.
d. I usually ___________ on vacation with my family in summer.

Last Summer
e. When we went to the beach, we __________ many things like sunbathing and building sand castles.
f. My sister __________ many tourists from Europe at the hills of Valparaíso.

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2. Reflect on the adaptation process. Which strategies have you used to adapt your exercise? Which strategies from today's class do you think would be most useful when adapting materials in the future?

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2. Reflect on the adaptation process. Which strategies have you used to adapt your exercise? Which strategies from today's class do you think would be most useful when adapting materials in the future?

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Lilian

The main strategy that I used to adapt the content of this page was basically contextualizing it. This means that I thought of the actual scenario in which this textbook would be used, that is, chilean teenagers of 13 and 14 years.  I thought of the general social reality of most chileans. That is why the main changes that we made were related to feasible and realistic examples that tries to include all students, and not only those who could afford less common and more expensive vacation activities.

Based on this adaptation and on what we have discussed in class,  I strongly believe that the classroom context and the students have to be taken into account at the moment of adapting materials. What I mean by context is mainly refered to their social/economic/demographic situation.  Textbooks that do not consider those three aspects, or only one of them, are not realistic enough to be used as an effective teaching tool; hence, students won't strenghten their learning process. When it comes to the students, I do believe that their proficiency level and interests have to be part of the adaption. It would make no sense to give students tasks that will be way too challenging for them, since we do not intent to demotivate them. Their interests can be included in the extent that the teacher tries to discover with the students their every day interests and likings. In this way, the teacher can include them at the moment of doing activities and tasks, and consequently, learners interest in the L2 acquisition will be prompt.

Valentina

We adapted cultural and social components to meet the Ss' context and, hopefully, their interests. We knew that this activity was meant for 13 to 14-year-old Chilean students, and indeed, it included very amusing activities in the task; however, we have to consider all social classes when designing material. This is why we chose to replace some sports and places that seemed to fit only upper-middle classes for more affordable alternatives. Likewise, we replaced locations to fit our Ss' context: people from Valparaíso.
By applying these strategies, we make sure that no student feels neglected or inferior. If my students feel identified with the task, their motivation will increase, the learning is more meaningful, and the experience is much more enriching.

In my opinion, the most useful strategies have to do with personalizing and contextualizing the material so that it fits students' reality, needs and preferences. This is related not only to their social context but also to their academic context (i.e. levels, intelligences, special needs, etc.). That's why incorporating differentiation strategies into our teaching has a huge impact in our students' learning; the environment is more inclusive and thus they feel more motivated to work, study and learn.

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CHALLENGE 7: Adapt an exercise using UDL principles

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CHALLENGE 7: Adapt an exercise using UDL principles

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ORIGINAL TEXT: "The Field Museum" (E-Teens 8, 2017: 124-125)

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Post-Reading

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Principle 1: Multiple means of representation

The information is presented through both the original text and a video from youtube (audiovisual input)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YVIio9zNE0

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Principle 2: Multiple means of action and expression

Strategy: "offer flexible opportunities for for expressing skill: provide options for expression and communication"
-Students can answer through the speaking or writing skill

Principle 3: Multiple means of engagement

Strategy: "offer choices of content and tools: optimize individual choice and autonomy"

-Students have the choice to do this individually or collectively. They can also choice to talk about museums in Chile or only focus on the Field Museum.

6. Choose 2 questions and answer them. Questions a, b and c can be answered either individually in a written manner or orally in a group discussion. Have fun!
a. Why do you think museums are important? In your opinion, what are the most famous museums in Chile?
b. Have you ever visited a museum? If so, what is/are your favorite museum/s? Why?
c. Put the exhibits in The Field Museum in order from most interesting to least interesting
d. In groups, come to a consensus about the most interesting exhibit. Share your ideas with the class. Give reasons for your answer.

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REFLECTION: Which principles did you use? why?

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REFLECTION: Which principles did you use? why?

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For this adaptation, we used the 3 principles of the UDL. First, the principle of multiple means of representation was taken into account, since we thought of giving the Ss the opportunity to read about the topic of the Field museum, as well as listening about it, through the video. Thus, both comprehensive skills are strenghtened in those who have troubles listening or reading in English, respectively. Then, we focused on including the principle of multiple means of representation and action, to consider Ss who would prefer writing their answers down and those who would like to talk about them with a partner/group. This, in order to respect the personalities of some students, as for example, the ones that are more introverted and the ones who enjoy communicating it to others through oral speech. In the end, we also thought of the multiple means of engagement, giving Ss the option to choose the questions they may feel more comfortable with and also the form in which they would like to answer (orally or written).

We do believe that adapting materials or specific exercises in textbook is fundamental, since it allows a more inclusive way of instruction, as we have been discussing in class. It is crucial to provide Ss with both types of comprehensive skills (listening or reading) and the same with productive skills (speaking or writing), in order for them to be able to choose the option that they feel more comfortable with. This will enable learners, as mentioned before, to potentiate the "stronger English skill" of each student, as well as to consider Ss comfort in developing a task. We had in fact, one experience during our practicum related to adapting material in a more inclusive way. One time, one of us had to give instructions about a written activity Ss had to carry out in pairs. However, there was one student who asked the future teacher if it was possible for him to work by himself withouth a partner. He explained in an insistent way that he usually feels more comfortable working by his own. After having listened to him, we agreed on letting him work alone. Later, we found out through our mentor teacher that this student had specific troubles in socializing and working with his classmates. Thus, the way in which he achieved best results in developing tasks, was actually working by his own.

In the end, this real-life experience demonstrates how important it is to listen to Ss and give them options on achieving a task. Learners will not only have a sense of autonomoy but also a feeling of comfort when they know they can actually choose what to do. Therefore, it can be said that the UDL principles have become a great contribution to EFL classrooms, potentially making students academic choices less rigid and more enjoyable.

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Learning outcomes

General objective: Ss will be able to demonstrate understanding of Ferrari's biography by working first with the genre itself and then with the content of the text.

Specific objectives:

1. Ss will be able to make predictions about the topic of the text before reading it.

2. Ss will be able to recognize and discuss the typical information that a biography contains.

3. Ss will be able to identify the lexicogrammatical features that are characteristic  of a biography.

4. Ss will be able to match written information with pictures that illustrate the meaning of specific statements.

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Post-reading activity

1. ENZO FERRARI SURVEY

Write five questions about Enzo Ferrari in the table. Do this in pairs/groups. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.

Without your partner, interview other students. Write down their answers.

Return to your original partner(s) and share and talk about what you found out.  Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

This follow up activity is in our opinion very thought provoking, since it aims at developing many skills of the Ss. First, they will have to make use of their writing skill (write down questions about Enzo Ferrari), to then interact, thus, use their speaking skill by interviewing their classmates. The interactive part of this activity is extended, since at the end the student will have to tell his/her partner about his/her findings, to then report on what they have found. In this type of activity, both production skills will be strenghtened, while Ss kinesthetic "needs" will be tackled; Ss will have the opportunity to move in order to interact and find answers. We believe that this is suitable for a secondary level class.

2. WRITING

Write about Enzo Ferrari for 10 minutes. Show your partner your paper. Correct each other’s work.

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This follow up activity is focused on prompting the student's writing skill. It is interesting that this activity is focused on what and how much the student will be able to compose within a range of 10 minutes. Thus, we could say that it focuses on an expressive view on the student's writing. After having finished his/her composition, the learner will be able to find out what his/her writing looks like within 10 minutes; this means, how s/he structures his/her writing, how long the extension is and what type of ideas s/he considered relevant writing about. Another positive thing about this activity, is that the learner will receive feedback from his/her partner. This may lower anxiety levels and enable students to work cooperatively.

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CHALLENGE 10: 45-min lesson (reading, 8th grade)

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CHALLENGE 10: 45-min lesson (reading, 8th grade)

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What did you learn undertaking this challenge? Which principles of ELT material development were more difficult to implement?

We found out, during and after the creation of this lesson, how challenging it is to select appropriate material for the student's level. The texts of this lesson were somehow adapted: text 1 was translated from spanish to english, and it was changed in terms of grammatical complexity. Since text 2 and 3 were pieces of news published in the U.K., we shortened them so the length was similar to text 1. All this was done in order to make it fit for 30-40 eight graders in the chilean classroom.

We discovered that finding suitable topics for their age, gender, and interests was not easy at all. Since we didn't know the target Ss, we had to do some research, asking people who had experience working with 8th graders and 8th graders themselves what teenagers' interests are at the age of 13 and 14. We also thought of including topics that were interesting for both boys and girls, so that the groups were composed by members of both sexes.

Being inclusive is very challenging and requires us teachers to be careful and very thorough when it comes to material adaptation. For example, we incorporated in our lesson principles 2 and 3 from UDL. Principle 2: Multiple means of action and expression  is somehow present because students have the possibility of demonstrating their understanding through oral and written communication. Likewise, principle 3: Multiple means of engagement is present in the options we offer to students in terms of choosing the text which they're going to work with, the groups, and whether they want to work cooperative or collaboratively within such groups. This way, we optimize individual choice and autonomy.

Nevertheless, we could not implement principle 1: Multiple means of engagement, for we only presented the information through a written, printed text. We could've included short videos for each topic, but this was a 45-min lesson; maybe in a longer lesson this could've worked. This activity helped us realize that including all principles of ELT material development, and more specifically UDL, in every lesson is almost impossible, and that it requires a lot more work to do (e.g. text choices means creating more questions); however, we think that including a few, or maybe just one in our lessons, will make a huge difference in our Ss' willingness to learn and work.

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What did you learn doing this task?
One of the things we learnt is that it is definitely a good idea to have specific criteria in which you can base the task on, if you want to make it easy to follow. It will avoid confusion and narrow down possibilities.
We also learnt how to incorporate UDL principles in our planning of activities and assessments; this however has been a rather long process. At firts it was very challenging to find ways to make our lessons more inclusive, but we had the chance to practice throughout the semestre, and we finally integrated this content and learnt some tips on how to implement UDL principles in our classroom.