English Together by eda üstündağ

1) In your classroom, would you prefer using listening materials and activities in your course book, authentic listening materials and tasks, the ones from other sources or a combination of the three? Discuss the reasons of your preference?

edaustundg — 2023-11-19 17:59:34 UTC

For listening materials, I consider either the books provided by the Ministry of National Education or real life materials. Or I can mix these two materials. In doing so, I consider the positive and negative aspects of the textbook; the textbook provides me with convenience, it is related to the curriculum, it has a coherent and clear plan. However, sometimes there are points that do not resemble real everyday language. On the other hand, Authentic Listening Materials show how people really talk, they give information about their culture and can be quite interesting. However, this can also be challenging for some students and may not fit into the class plan. In this case, if I mix both materials, I can get better results and it can be interesting and fun. But as a teacher, I would then have to spend a lot of time and energy planning both materials effectively. To make a long story short, I decide this based on the situation of the class.

2) Do you think the ideas about developing more active listening skills in today’s sessions would be appropriate and useful in your classrooms? Why and why not?

edaustundg — 2023-11-19 18:00:18 UTC

For me, it was fascinating to discuss in today's session how developing active listening skills can benefit language learning. We emphasized that it prepares students for real-world communication, improves their overall language and communication skills, promotes cultural understanding and prepares them for more professional interaction. Moreover, we saw once again that it also engages and motivates students in the learning process, so I think these ideas would of course be appropriate and useful to use in my classes.

1) What do you consider the most common problem in your district related to teaching speaking in language classes?

edaustundg — 2023-11-20 16:55:07 UTC

I would say that the most common problem in my region is the limited opportunities for authentic communication. In addition to that, almost most of them have a very negative view of speaking English and they have both limited opportunities and poor facilities. So, I can say that they see speaking English only as a task to be done quickly and casually.

2) Do you think the ideas or suggestions you have taken away from today can help you cope with that particular problem? Why, why not?

edaustundg — 2023-11-20 17:15:03 UTC

Of course I think it will help. I will be more aware and use what I have learnt today in my lessons and trainings. I especially liked the ideas and suggestions presented earlier, such as authentic communication opportunities, task-based activities and technology-assisted learning. By providing more realistic and practical language experiences, I can help them bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and real world communication. In this way, I can further incorporate speaking English into their lives. While doing these activities, I apply the activity and context according to the needs of my students, taking into account the specific situations of each class and students; differentiation and digitalisation activities were very useful topics in this regard. In short, thanks to what I have learnt today, I can identify speaking problems and adjust the stages of my speaking tasks and make my planning in a much more effective and useful way.

1) How would you differentiate a reading task from the grade 9 coursebook for a mixed ability classroom? Please include the reading task and the tasks with your ideas for differentiation?

edaustundg — 2023-11-21 21:12:28 UTC

This is exactly what we did in today's lesson; firstly, as a group we chose a reading passage from the books we read in class. Then we divided what we could do on this reading passage into "improved tasks" and "differentiated improved tasks".

In the pre improved tasks section, we decided that showing pictures to predict the context instead of letting them write the names of the country/nationality. While doing that, also matching pictures to the related paragraphs is the section that we decide as a second step named as " while - improved tasks." For the post improved task section, we thought that creating an ID card for themselves. As for the Differentiated improved task, in the end after reading the text, we make lower level students to role play their own ID cards and for the ones that have higher levels, we give them different ID cards of different people from all over the world. Here is the photo of the activity for your information.

2) Which idea from today’s sessions do you think your colleagues in your context would find the most useful to solve common problems in teaching reading?

edaustundg — 2023-11-21 21:31:32 UTC

In today's session, we specifically addressed and talked about the problems in the reading part of language learning.

Certain points will certainly be useful for my students and for my own PDC meetings: predicting, scanning, skimming, gist (main idea), intensive, extensive, guessing the meaning from context and author's purpose (bias). Also, again, monitoring and feedback was very important, especially for the students to feel that the activity was worthwhile. These were among the things I had learnt before when I was studying English linguistics at university and it made me happy to speak here again and to test my knowledge. In particular, I think it would be useful for me and all other facilitators to mention the points that I should pay attention to when giving feedback for me to use in PDC meetings.

1) What do you think the most effective writing or grammar or vocabulary teaching suggestion in today’s session for language classrooms in your area? Why?

edaustundg — 2023-11-23 21:01:54 UTC

In today's session we touched on vocabulary instruction tips, brainstorming, categorisation, mnemonic strategies, drawings on the whiteboard, realia, word associations, actions etc. Among these, I think that mnemonic strategies are especially effective in vocabulary teaching; because I believe that the human brain always learns better through mnemonic and associative points. In this way, I like this strategy in my classes and I would like to state that I will use it frequently.

2) What activity from one of the three would you use with your PDC teachers? Say why and choose a different one from question 1.

edaustundg — 2023-11-23 21:02:35 UTC

For my PDC meetings, for teaching grammar, I would give a series of pictures and ask them to create the ending of a story based on the clues found there.

In this way, I would have a guided activity for teaching writing, because guided activities in structured learning teach grammar rules in a specific structure, which contributes to language development in order to progress step by step. Also, I think that guided activities will help teachers to focus on the target, which will increase the motivation for my PDC meetings.

1) What do you consider the greatest benefit of being in a Professional Development Community for teachers of English in your local context?

edaustundg — 2023-11-24 21:05:46 UTC

Being part of a Professional Development Community for English language teachers in our local context brings enormous benefits. Firstly, it provides a supportive network to share teaching experiences and strategies and keeps us up to date with the latest trends in language teaching. In addition, we can talk about how we can help each other to the best of our abilities and do useful work on common problems that we face and are struggling to solve. Moreover, this community helps us to continually improve our teaching methods by encouraging reflective practice; we know how to make our methods more effective and how to turn them into engaging and memorable practices. Moreover, it enhances our professional identity by fostering a shared commitment to excellence in English language teaching; language, like us, is a living thing, and like any living thing, it changes. It is therefore very important that our personalities as educators are also open to development and change. In essence, the community is a source of ongoing support, learning opportunities and inspiration for educators and ultimately contributes to the overall improvement of English language teaching in our region.

2) How do you expect the PDC sessions in the programme would help you deal with possible problems about planning and conducting PDCs in your teaching context?

edaustundg — 2023-11-24 21:06:16 UTC

I expect that my participation in PDC sessions within the program will provide me with practical knowledge and strategies that will significantly help address potential challenges associated with planning and running Professional Development Communities (PDCs) in my teaching context.

First, it offers guidance on effective planning methodologies for the PDC meetings where I will hold sessions. This includes discussions on structuring agendas, setting clear objectives, and incorporating a variety of activities to engage participants. Learning from experienced facilitators and other educators is invaluable in creating well-organized and purposeful PDC sessions.

Secondly, the program offers insights into addressing common issues that can arise during the conduct of PDCs, which we address as appropriate in our sessions. This includes managing group dynamics, encouraging active participation, and dealing with unexpected challenges. Understanding how to overcome potential obstacles increases the overall effectiveness of PDC sessions, and today, Anıl Hocam said that we should save our questions about this issue for tomorrow and that she would give us detailed information.

Additionally, the program provides resources and examples of successful PDC models that have been implemented in similar teaching contexts. Considering the activities we do in our sessions, I think about how I can adapt these activities myself in my PDC meetings.

Furthermore, the collaborative nature of PDC sessions within the program creates a supportive network of educators facing similar challenges; As teachers, we support each other when talking about a problem or being asked a question.

We create a valuable community of practice by participating in discussions and sharing experiences with peers, enabling the exchange of effective strategies and innovative solutions.

In summary, I believe that participation in PDC sessions has equipped me with the knowledge, skills, and support necessary to overcome the potential challenges associated with planning and executing Professional Development Communities in my teaching context.