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CLC metalinguistic correcting code and feedback process

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CLC metalinguistic correcting code and feedback process

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Attached is the correcting code we now have in place at my academy (CLC) that is discussed in the post on the left.

I would anticipate this would need to be revised to be used in an EAP context, perhaps with some additional items, though admittedly with my lack of EAP experience I wouldn't be too sure what would need to be included/excluded, maybe something (else) on clausal errors, and coordinating conjunctions, and also some items beyond the metalinguistic features, for example something which flags up when and where deeper critical thinking needs to be demonstrated. Whether or not metalinguistic coding is effective in EAP is, of course, another conversation!

The basic two columned table which features at the end of this document is how we give more general feedback, and not to demoralise the student would always strive to include plenty in the 'positive' box, but stress the importance of the student taking note of what they need to improve.

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The topic on written corrective feedback (WCF) in the final unit was interesting. In doing my own research on the area I found the work of Dr Rod Ellis really useful here, and have attached a very informative presentation he gave in Korea. In the talk he discusses direct and indirect corrective feedback, metalinguistic coding and explanation, focused V unfocused and reformulation WCF.

I was particularly interested in metalinguistic error coding, as this is an area I have contributed to within my school. Previously, our school has largely left corrective feedback to the discretion of the teacher, which predominantly led to direct WCF. As Ellis explains, however, this requires minimal processing on the part of the learner and may not contribute to long-term learning. Thus, at the start of last year (and before I had even heard of Ellis or "metalinguistic coding"!) a colleague and devised a revised version of a correcting code that I had previously used in Exeter (see right). This metalinguistic WCF, now in use across the school for exam classes, provides guidance to learners about the type of error they have made, and for me a key benefit is it gives students autonomy and engages them more in their writing as they seek to understand and revise the error.

I had a chuckle at Ellis's suggestion that students like this form of correction, but teachers don't ("maybe something to do with hard work"). Generally we have had a positive response from teachers and students alike, but Ellis's review of the research, and the rather damning conclusion that such codes don't help students achieve greater accuracy over time and that they are no more effective than other types of CF in assisting self-editing means maybe we will revisit this!

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We've talked about formative assessment when it comes to writing, but what about more summative assessment? We explored summative speaking assessment in unit 3 and had the opportunity to handle ELTU standardisation with some pre-sessional speakers.

I am a Cambridge speaking examiner and found it interesting that the ELTU assessment scales weren't too dissimilar to what we use. Attached is the PET (B1) assessment scale, which rewards Grammar & Vocabulary, Discourse Management, Pronunciation, and Interactive Communication.

The item I think which could be of most use to bring into an EAP context is Discourse Management; this rewards extensive, relevant, coherent and cohesive utterances. Structured and well-organised discourse is important at university level, and working on this with students I think could help them, whether it be delivering a presentation or contributing to a seminar group discussion.

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<<<'Why the internet will never replace universities'

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<<<'Why the internet will never replace universities'

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As Education Secretary David Willetts has recognised, it also has a vital role to play in growing UK higher education's share of the global student market. In a speech earlier this year, he urged UK universities to take advantage of an "historic opportunity" to meet soaring international demand.

Online learning also offers a more affordable option for those for whom a full-price bricks and mortar university degree is simply unattainable.

But again, this not about replacing one model with the other. There will always be those who will want, and benefit from, the physical experience of attending a university. Moving forward, what's important is to provide the right, quality provision in the right way for individuals.

In an academic career stretching some 50 years, I have worked across almost every variant of higher education that you can imagine - from traditional and new universities to distance learning and, now, a non-executive role with an online learning provider.

My experience has shown me that, whatever the delivery model, success relies on the same fundamental principles of quality teaching, content and experience - and this is where I believe the debate about MOOCs often misses the point.

Quality is the cornerstone for any successful higher education provider, and the seismic impact of the tuition fee changes has brought this absolutely to the fore. Students are more mindful of what they are getting for their money. Without a high quality product, with proven results and benefits for the student, institutions will not survive.

While MOOCs may give millions the opportunity to hear lectures from some of the world's leading academics, what is missing is the high quality, sustained student support that transforms this into a rounded educational experience.

I'm not saying that excellent student support is the preserve of bricks and mortar universities. This is by no means the case - it can also be delivered through a structured virtual learning environment including, for example, regular live video tutorials and direct email access to tutors. The online academics I know tell me that students are often more willing to engage with them virtually, especially when they are experiencing problems.

And that brings me back to earlier point. It's all about what suits the individual and ensuring that different options - of proven quality - exist to cater for them.

Looking ahead, I don't believe we are on the cusp of an online revolution in higher education but rather in a process of continuing evolution. We are living in an era of greater choice than ever before and there must be room for online learning and traditional bricks and mortar universities to be happy bedfellows.

Professor Kel Fidler is a non-executive director at online learning provider Resource Development International.

* University Course Finder: search and compare UK universities

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Why the internet will never replace universities

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As Education Secretary David Willetts has recognised , it also has a vital role to play in growing UK higher education's share of the global student market. In a speech earlier this year, he urged UK universities to take advantage of an "historic opportunity" to meet soaring international demand.

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This is the first time I have participated in a distance learning online course, and I've been hugely impressed with the potential and versatility of virtual learning environments such as BlackBoard. I liked the activities discussed in the Hockly blog which we read in unit one (and feel there is potential to use some of these in a non-online learning environment), and as I looked into the area more I came across this book which I would recommend to anyone working or leading VLEs.

I was discussing online learning recently with a colleague and we touched upon how there is the inevitable concern that the progress being made with VLEs and the increase in 'Massive Open Online Courses' means there might be a question mark over the future of long-term university education. I don't, however, feel such progress presents a threat to physical higher education, but rather represents the continuing evolution of education and gives learners more choice and caters for individuals' needs. The article to the right (Fidler, 2013), by the director of an online learning provider, offers a good take on the debate.

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CLIL was another method we explored in unit 1 and I discussed the potential use in EAP in my blog entry. Spain, where I am currently teaching, has become one of the European leaders in CLIL practice and research (Lasagabaster and de Zarobe, 2010, Harmer, 2011) and this year I have been involved in CLIL teaching for the first time in Colegio Virgen del Carmen state school (link attached).

My work was mostly integrated with geography and sociology, and I can certainly relate to one of the widely acknowledged benefits of CLIL that it helps internalization and retention, and that CLIL "enables you to take advantage of the connections between language and specific subject-related content to improve the efficiency of pedagogy" (OUP, 2010). In many ways, university students receive CLIL teaching in their core subject study, but  I wonder if CLIL could be brought into HE learning more explicitly and perhaps also into pre-sessional courses.

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Colegio Virgen del Carmen C/ Alonso El Sabio, 14 14001 Córdoba T. 957 48 21 25 F. 957 47 44 10

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In Unit 1 we explored communicative teaching techniques and methods and we were introduced to some practical ways of innovating classroom practice. I shall reflect on my own experiences of these here.

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A book that had a huge influence on me and contributed to my decision to pursue English teaching as a career was Teaching Unplugged: Dogme in ELT (Meddings and Thornbury).

I first used this text several years ago whilst working for a wonderful family-run school in Exeter. I found the idea of materials-light, conversation-driven and responding to learner needs (rather than being dictated to by a coursebook) hugely appealing. The philosophical background to Dogme which opens the book is convincing and I still remember the buzz I felt at how in a sense the equal and democratic opportunities Dogme teaching and learning could bring. Many of the principles and practicalities I later applied when teaching in Cuba (where I was particularly limited with regards to resources).

Several years later, and (ironically?!) as the specialist in online tools and interactive whiteboards within our school, do I think Dogme has a place in EAP? As the method moves away from prepared materials, it seems unrealistic that on a practical basis such a method can appropriately prepare students for academic study. However, as a philosophical approach to teaching and learning I think it certainly has relevance in EAP. Prioritising the involvement and engagement of students, removing irrelevant material, giving ownership to students and placing the teacher at the same level as the students (Meddings and Thornbury, 2009) are all principles which would enhance the learning process in an EAP context.

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Key features
Teaching Online was shortlisted for the 2010 Ben Warren IH Trust Prize and nominated for the 2011 ELTons UK Award for Innovation.
Teaching Online is available as both paperback and e-book. The e-book is available in the Kindle store where you can download the free Kindle reading app for every major smartphone, tablet, and computer.

Teaching Online is essential reading for any teacher interested in online teaching and course delivery. It deals comprehensively with both the tools and the techniques necessary for online language instruction. It is a clear, accessible and reassuringly practical book in which the authors share their wealth of experience in teaching both fully online and blended courses.

Teaching Online contains three distinctive parts A, B and C which focus in turn on theory, practice and development:
A:

Getting started and building your own online course

The essentials of successful teaching, from course sites to course behaviour

A comprehensive list of tools to teach online, from blogs to word clouds

B:

A bank of practical activities that cover the four skills, language work and evaluation

Special sections for activities to begin and finish an online course

Comments on how to make your online teaching more effective

C:

Avenues and references for online teacher development

Web 2.0 tools that connect with a worldwide community of teachers

The concept of the PLN (personal learning network) for teachers

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Delta Teacher Development Series - Teaching Online | Delta Publishing - English Language Teaching

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Teaching Online was shortlisted for the 2010 Ben Warren IH Trust Prize and nominated for the 2011 ELTons UK Award for Innovation. Teaching Online is available as both paperback and e-book. The e-book is available in the Kindle store where you can download the free Kindle reading app for every major smartphone, tablet, and computer.

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As discussed in previous posts on this Padlet, a lot of my current work revolves around Cambridge exam preparation. Attached here are the slides which I made to help prepare my students for the Use of English word formation exercise (part 3). This met students needs in that a) I was aware it was an area my students struggled with, b) forming words and identifying different word classes from various roots also helped feed into other areas of their language learning, and c) as this was a 'tecnicas' class nearing the end of term, I felt something a little more engaging was needed beyond pure exam practice, I knew from previous classes that art was important to a number of the class members, meeting learner needs that we explored earlier in the course.

An in-depth description and explanation of all stages of the lesson is not included here, and although this lesson's main objective is to give students practice of changing the formation of words using different suffixes and prefixes, there could be some potential of using something along these lines in an EAP class. Changing word forms, particularly nominalisation, is a key feature of academic writing (uefap.com 2012). This reassured me that some of my materials I have built up in GE might well have use in the EAP world, with appropriate amending and supplementing, of course. Using this plan for example, I would perhaps focus a little more on nominalisation (using the noun form of verbs) and supplement with some exercises where students produce writing demonstrating appropriate noun use. Depending on the cohort, I would also perhaps think about using a topic more specific to my group's discipline, thus adhering to BALEAP (2011) and recognising needs within the class in response to academic goals.

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In the 'Adapting Cambridge Resources for EAP' post (far bottom left), I discussed the benefits for students being aware of examiner's mark schemes and having an understanding of what markers want from a piece of writing. The attached is a short presentation I made for students working towards Cambridge exams, which provides a 'writing checklist', examiner comments, and an assessment 'list order acronym' mnemonic to help students remember what they will be assessed on.

This particular mnemonic uses CARROT to remind learners to think about Content > Accuracy > Range > Register & format > Organisation and cohesion > Target reader. Although this mnemonic (and indeed the other slides) was designed with General English writing in mind, I think this could still be useful for EAP students, and though the level of importance placed on each area might differ from GE, such checklists reminders can be a handy part of the international student's toolkit.

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A lot of my current teaching is exam preparation for Cambridge exams, especially First Certificate. I often refer to the Cambridge Teacher support site which provides comprehensive and relevant 'plans' which I can adapt for my groups.

I think the Cambridge plans are good starting points as they have clear aims, they give me room to think about, anticipate and prepare for potential problems (and devise solutions), and for FCE classes I am confident they will be appropriately pitched, all of which is important to lesson planning (Robertson, 2002) and aspects we touched upon in unit 2 of this module.

A substantial part of this particular plan (step 1-3) focusses on the format of FCE Writing part 1 and what is expected of candidates, and so in an EAP context I would adapt this to meet university student needs and tailor it my student group's essay requirements. Step 4 in this particular plan covers essay structure, this would have to be heavily adapted to meet university needs, as this is rather too crude and tailored to Cambridge exam students. However, the importance of an essay plan is paramount and the path this plan takes students on in order to think about structure and organisation has potential to be amended and adapted for EAP.

The latter parts of the plan uses student model answers as well as exploring the mark scheme. I think there is great benefit to students having access to fellow students' submissions, critically analysing the content, and exploring why and how they achieved the mark they got. In a General English context I also think it is useful for students to be familiar with the examiner mark scheme and to have an understanding of what the marker is looking for. In EAP I anticipate this is a little less distinct and explicit, nevertheless I think it is still important for students to put themselves in the reader's position and give them a rounded understanding of what the marker is expecting and looking for from their writing.

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Ballard, B. and Clanchy, J. (1984) Study Abroad: A Manual for Students. Kuala Lumpur: Longman 1984.

BALEAP (2011) BALEAP accreditation scheme handbook https://www.baleap.org//media/uploads/pdfs/baleap-accreditation-scheme-handbook.pdf

Fidler, K. (2013) Why the internet will never replace universities. The Telegraph.  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/10059088/Why-the-internet-will-never-replace-universities.html

Hockly, N. and Clandfield, L. (2010) Teaching Online: Tools and techniques, options and opportunities. DELTA Publishing.

Robertson, C. (2002) Teaching English: Planning. http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/planning-1

UEFAP.COM (2012) Features of Academic Writing  www.uefap.com/writing/feature/complex_nom.htm

Lasagabaster, D. and de Zarobe, Y. (2010) CLIL in Spain: Implementation, Results and Teacher Training. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Foreword available at http://laslab.org/upload/clil_in_spain:_implementation,_results_and_teacher_training.pdf

Meddings, L. and Thornbury, S. (2009) Teaching Unplugged: Dogme in English Language Teaching. DELTA Teacher Development Series.

OUP (2010) Teaching CLIL: Classroom Benefits. http://oupeltglobalblog.com/2010/11/29/teaching-clil-classroom-benefits/

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Lesson plan: What's the best mobile contract?

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Lesson plan: What's the best mobile contract?

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The University of Kent has a nice 'EAP Resources Bank', an activity of which (from their 'critical thinking' section) has formed the backbone to this lesson plan. This would probably work as part of a pre-sessional course, especially with business students, and develops students' problem solving skills as well as evaluation and analytical skills. It is also a good activity for developing group-work and seminar interaction.

The evaluation activity from the University of Kent (the original version is displayed right) helps students take a supported stance and explore ideas in original ways, something which might come as a surprise to international students whose educational and cultural norms and individual expectations may differ (Ballard and Clanchy, 1984). We have really seen throughout the course how important such critical thinking is to students, and this activity certainly "create[s] opportunities and stimulus for critical thinking (academic and/or self reflective" (BALEAP, 2011).

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I am currently working in general English, and so although I have a wealth of self-created and adapted materials suitable for a range of levels, these are generally  tailored for students participating in exam preparation or general English classes. I am finding it difficult to anticipate how much I will be able to adapt and use my database of materials when I make the move into EAP.

As I am unable to provide tried and tested EAP lesson plans  and classroom tasks which I have used, the following tasks, activities and lesson plans are some tentative ideas which I have put together which incorporate and integrate both activities and tasks I have found from reliable online sources, as well as some of my own materials. This has helped give me an idea of how to plan and structure an EAP lesson, although without the context of a syllabus or coursebook I admit this was a bit of a challenge. I have also displayed some plans from my General English work, accompanying them I have discussed how I might adapt them for an EAP context.

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We have explored teachers assessing students, but I am a firm believer in the value of formative self-assessment. The attached is something we have used from time to time with certain student groups. And to the right is an example of how this could be adapted for higher education. I think providing students the opportunity to identify good working practices can encourage better independent learning, give students greater responsibility to their studies, and help influence their future studies.

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Speaking_Listening_Critical - Discussing Problems - KDK