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Take sometime to introduce yourself below. Here are a few questions we'd love you to answer:
1. Where are you from?
2. How long have you been teaching English?
3. Why teaching? Why not becoming a baker, an architect or an astronaut?
4. What is your favorite children literature book?
5. What was the last children literature book you worked with?

Remember to read your colleagues' answers and leave comments for at least two of them. <3

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We would love to be able to use what we learn and discuss here to write research papers in the future.

Check back in the following weeks to contribute with further information about yourself and your teaching context so we can better understand our teacher population!

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Scroll down to find the links to files such as our reading schedule, papers, articles, videos, and more!

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Have you read or watched something interesting that you think other people in the group might enjoy? Have you found or created materials you'd like to share?

Add the files/links below so we know where to find them!

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We are reading from the Tell it Again Handbook this week.

Task:

Read pages 5-11 and share the following below:

3 things you found interesting
2 things you found surprising
1 question you have

Remember to read your colleagues' answers and leave comments for at least two of them. <3

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Do you own story books you'd be willing to lend/share materials about? List them below so we know who to ask!

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Good evening! I am Heidi from the UK, currently living in Florianópolis with my husband and my 6 year old daughter. When we arrived here 5 years ago I struggled with the lack of a library nearby...and also the lack of creative play ideas for children, so after taking some time to adjust to the new culture and language, I found myself starting and running a small playgroup called "playdohpuddles" from my home, mostly for friends of my daughter at first! I started to record ideas from my classes in instagram and this quickly opened up connections to the wider English teaching community here in Brazil. Thanks to my online contact with Claire, I met Lucy from "The Secret Garden English School" and now I work with Lucy, teaching English to students aged 6 and upwards. I incorporate stories into my classes with the students and this is where the magic starts! My favourite book is always the one I am currently reading with my daughter...So I guess the favourite can change 6 times a day. In class I read a different story each week with the younger students. The last book I worked with with the older students was "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!"

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Teaching is my calling in life, but I'm also a chemical engineer and a project manager

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Teaching is my calling in life, but I'm also a chemical engineer and a project manager

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Good evening! I began teaching English when I was 16, right after I got my Michigan proficiency certificate. Then, I became an engineer, and quit teaching after working at an English institute for eight years. As an engineer, I was a teacher, and I trained so many professionals throughout my carrier...when I decided I was done with my life in the industry, getting back to teaching was my chance to resume my dream carrier, the one that was meant to be. That was 2018. In 2019 I took a course with Claire, during the CNA Education Congress in São Paulo. Then, I began reading and taking courses on how to teach pre-primary young learners,  and here I am, as I should've been from the beginning, a young learner teacher. In fact, when I was 11 I wanted to be a teacher for children with special needs, that is what I do best now, teach children on the spectrum.
The book that I remember from my childhood isn't in English: O Gênio do Crime, I still have it. My parents didn't use to read to me. The first time I put my hands on an English storybook was in 2019, after one of the courses I took with Claire. I'm working with Brown Bear at a private regular school in Bahia, I have students that are from 3 to 8 years old. I'm also planning another unit, a series of lessons based on Pete The Cat I Love My White Shoes.

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My 3 interesting things:
1) The Kangaroo from woolla-my-who-what-where? I have NEVER heard of this book and shall have to investigate right away.
2) "Stories as a means of developing autonomous learners" That's lovely!
3) My favourite idea in these pages was top of page 7 - speaking of storytelling as a "shared social experience". Sharing emotions together as a group is indeed majestically powerful!
My 2 surprising things:
1)There are "six million teachers involved in primary English language teaching" ... wowsers! That's a whole big bunch of us!
2) They list 16 reasons for using stories! Whooopeeee! Reading all those reasons really helps me and makes it feel suddenly much easier already. Sometimes I feel like I need to justify (to myself) why I love to use stories/storybooks more than I love the blessed coursebook. I haven't read the theory on this until now! Thank you for the chance!
My question:
Why did my daughter's school put an event right at the time that we have our next meeting scheduled? :-( Please fill me in afterwards! Lots of love 🤬

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I did say in our meeting that I own and would be able to share my English picture books. The reality is that it won't be possible for me to send any by post, even with a lot of effort! I don't drive and I don't have a car and the next post office is also a 20 minute journey from here! :-( It would just be too difficult.

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I'm from Belo Horizonte, MG. I've been an English teacher for circa 22 years, I have also taught PWC (Philosophy with Children), and I'm currently a Fine Arts teacher in a international High School program. I have always loved learning and was certain that becoming a teacher would grant me the chance to be always learning something new. I'm the happiest when I'm planning and delivering my lessons.
My favorite children book is Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are.
The last children book I worked with was Kobi Yamada's What Do You Do With A Problem and I used it with High School students. :)

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Three things I found interesting
1. That the authors present a variety of reasons for the stories in the language classroom, because many teachers do not feel secure about having to explain the practice to parents especially.
2. That the authors present interesting ways to make cross-curricular connections right at the beginning, so teacher understand early in the reading that there's more to storytelling than getting practice with vocabulary and chunks of language.
3. I love it that, even though briefly, the authors point to the development of learner autonomy through reading. I find it that this is an aspect to be further discussed and explored.
Two things I found surprising
1. I love it that we have had so many story suggestions in the very first few pages of this booklet.
2. I found it surprising that the authors have introduced a basic syllabus framework for teachers to start thinking story-based syllabuses from the very beginning. I find it important for readers to be critical of the suggestion though, and consider the fact that this booklet was published 8 years ago and a lot has happened in the field of education in the past few years especially concerning students' role in their own learning process.
Question: I wonder if we'd benefit from trying to put a project together as we read, adding new information week after week as we understand how to better it, or we should wait until the end of the reading.

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On page 6 of our reading this week, I came across the term "acquisition-based methodology" for the first in my life...I found this article about it, I hope it can help you too, the concept is now clear for me.

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On page 6 of our reading this week, I came across the term "acquisition-based methodology" for the first in my life...I found this article about it, I hope it can help you too, the concept is now clear for me.

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Página inicial Portuguese version

Language acquisition does not require extensive use of conscious grammatical rules, and does not require tedious drill.

Acquisition requires meaningful interaction in the target language - natural communication - in which speakers are concerned not with the form of their utterances but with the messages they are conveying and understanding.

... 'comprehensible input' is the crucial and necessary ingredient for the acquisition of language.

The best methods are therefore those that supply 'comprehensible input' in low anxiety situations, containing messages that students really want to hear. These methods do not force early production in the second language, but allow students to produce when they are 'ready', recognizing that improvement comes from supplying communicative and comprehensible input, and not from forcing and correcting production.

In the real world, conversations with sympathetic native speakers who are willing to help the acquirer understand are very helpful.

Stephen Krashen

Introduction

Stephen Krashen (University of Southern California) is an expert in the field of linguistics, specializing in theories of language acquisition and development. Much of his recent research has involved the study of non-English and bilingual language acquisition. Since 1980, he has published well over 100 books and articles and has been invited to deliver over 300 lectures at universities throughout the United States and Canada.

This is a brief description of Krashen's widely known and well-accepted theory of second language acquisition, which has had a large impact in all areas of second language research and teaching.

The 5 hypotheses of Krashen's Theory of Second Language Acquisition

Krashen's theory of second language acquisition consists of five main hypotheses:

the Acquisition-Learning hypothesis;

the Monitor hypothesis;

the Input hypothesis;

and the Affective Filter hypothesis;

the Natural Order hypothesis.

The Acquisition-Learning distinction is the most fundamental of the five hypotheses in Krashen's theory and the most widely known among linguists and language teachers. According to Krashen there are two independent systems of foreign language performance: 'the acquired system' and 'the learned system'. The 'acquired system' or ' acquisition' is the product of a subconscious process very similar to the process children undergo when they acquire their first language. It requires meaningful interaction in the target language - natural communication - in which speakers are concentrated not in the form of their utterances, but in the communicative act.

The "learned system" or " learning" is the product of formal instruction and it comprises a conscious process which results in conscious knowledge 'about' the language, for example knowledge of grammar rules. A deductive approach in a teacher-centered setting produces " learning", while an inductive approach in a student-centered setting leads to " acquisition".

According to Krashen 'learning' is less important than 'acquisition'. (See here our in-depth analysis of the Acquisition/Learning hypothesis and its implications).

The Monitor hypothesis explains the relationship between acquisition and learning and defines the influence of the latter on the former. The monitoring function is the practical result of the learned grammar. According to Krashen, the acquisition system is the utterance initiator, while the learning system performs the role of the 'monitor' or the 'editor'. The 'monitor' acts in a planning, editing and correcting function when three specific conditions are met:

The second language learner has sufficient time at their disposal.

They focus on form or think about correctness.

They know the rule.

It appears that the role of conscious learning is somewhat limited in second language performance. According to Krashen, the role of the monitor is minor, being used only to correct deviations from "normal" speech and to give speech a more 'polished' appearance.

Krashen also suggests that there is individual variation among language learners with regard to 'monitor' use. He distinguishes those learners that use the 'monitor' all the time (over-users); those learners who have not learned or who prefer not to use their conscious knowledge (under-users); and those learners that use the 'monitor' appropriately (optimal users). An evaluation of the person's psychological profile can help to determine to what group they belong. Usually extroverts are under-users, while introverts and perfectionists are over-users. Lack of self-confidence is frequently related to the over-use of the "monitor".

The Input hypothesis is Krashen's attempt to explain how the learner acquires a second language - how second language acquisition takes place. The Input hypothesis is only concerned with 'acquisition', not 'learning'. According to this hypothesis, the learner improves and progresses along the 'natural order' when he/she receives second language 'input' that is one step beyond his/her current stage of linguistic competence. For example, if a learner is at a stage 'i', then acquisition takes place when he/she is exposed to 'Comprehensible Input' that belongs to level 'i + 1'. Since not all of the learners can be at the same level of linguistic competence at the same time, Krashen suggests that natural communicative input is the key to designing a syllabus, ensuring in this way that each learner will receive some 'i + 1' input that is appropriate for his/her current stage of linguistic competence.

See here an enlightening video by Krashen about comprehensible input.
Your browser does not support the video tag.

The Affective Filter hypothesis embodies Krashen's view that a number of 'affective variables' play a facilitative, but non-causal, role in second language acquisition. These variables include: motivation, self-confidence, anxiety and personality traits. Krashen claims that learners with high motivation, self-confidence, a good self-image, a low level of anxiety and extroversion are better equipped for success in second language acquisition. Low motivation, low self-esteem, anxiety, introversion and inhibition can raise the affective filter and form a 'mental block' that prevents comprehensible input from being used for acquisition. In other words, when the filter is 'up' it impedes language acquisition. On the other hand, positive affect is necessary, but not sufficient on its own, for acquisition to take place.

Finally, the less important Natural Order hypothesis is based on research findings (Dulay & Burt, 1974; Fathman, 1975; Makino, 1980 cited in Krashen, 1987) which suggested that the acquisition of grammatical structures follows a 'natural order' which is predictable. For a given language, some grammatical structures tend to be acquired early while others late. This order seemed to be independent of the learners' age, L1 background, conditions of exposure, and although the agreement between individual acquirers was not always 100% in the studies, there were statistically significant similarities that reinforced the existence of a Natural Order of language acquisition. Krashen however points out that the implication of the natural order hypothesis is not that a language program syllabus should be based on the order found in the studies. In fact, he rejects grammatical sequencing when the goal is language acquisition.

The Role of Grammar in Krashen's View

According to Krashen, the study of the structure of the language can have general educational advantages and values that high schools and colleges may want to include in their language programs. Any benefit, however, will greatly depend on the learner being already familiar with the language. It should also be clear that analizing the language, formulating rules, setting irregularities apart, and teaching complex facts about the target language is not language teaching, but rather is "language appreciation" or linguistics, which does not lead to communicative proficiency.

The only instance in which the teaching of grammar can result in language acquisition (and proficiency) is when the students are interested in the subject and the target language is used as a medium of instruction. Very often, when this occurs, both teachers and students are convinced that the study of formal grammar is essential for second language acquisition, and the teacher is skillful enough to present explanations in the target language so that the students understand. In other words, the teacher talk meets the requirements for comprehensible input and perhaps, with the students' participation, the classroom becomes an environment suitable for acquisition. Also, the filter is low in regard to the language of explanation, as the students' conscious efforts are usually on the subject matter, on what is being talked about, and not the medium.

This is a subtle point. In effect, both teachers and students are deceiving themselves. They believe that it is the subject matter itself, the study of grammar, that is responsible for the students progress, but in reality their progress is coming from the medium and not the message. Any subject matter that held their interest would do just as well.

References

Crystal, David The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge University Press, 1997.

Krashen, Stephen D. Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. Prentice-Hall International, 1987.

Krashen, Stephen D. Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning. Prentice-Hall International, 1988.

Veja também
COMO FAZER UMA CITAÇÃO DESTA PÁGINA:
Schütz, Ricardo E. "Stephen Krashen's Theory of Second Language Acquisition"English Made in Brazil <https://www.sk.com.br/sk-krash-english.html>. Online.(data do acesso).

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Stephen Krashen's Theory of Second Language Acquisition

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Página inicial Portuguese version Language acquisition does not require extensive use of conscious grammatical rules, and does not require tedious drill. Acquisition requires meaningful interaction in the target language - natural communication - in which speakers are concerned not with the form of their utterances but with the messages they are conveying and understanding.

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Project Based Learning x Project Oriented Learning

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Project Based Learning x Project Oriented Learning

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Hi everyone, this is a quite enlightening video on what PBL is not.

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David Vale - Teaching Children English, pp 28-29

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David Vale - Teaching Children English, pp 28-29

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Another relevant file for the upcoming discussions.

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David Vale - Teaching Children English pp. 28-29

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Jayne Moon - Children Learning English, Chapter 9

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Jayne Moon - Children Learning English, Chapter 9

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I love this book and decided to photocopy this chapter to share here because I think it covers a very important aspect of the work with story books.

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We are reading from the Tell it Again Handbook this week.

Task:

Read pages 12-20 and share the following below:

2 things you agree with
1 thing you disagree with
1 question you have

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these simple resources are beloved by the children

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Brown Bear, Brown Bear (text to music with book art)