My swanky padlet by Mevlüt Öztürk

mozturk421907_ — 2023-11-18 13:36:53 UTC

Helen with all due respect!
i was feeling lil bit hesitated and nervous this mornin' cuz its a human nature you know.
But now i can add that i am quite happy to be a partner of this great organization.. i mean courses. Appreciate it ma'am. Happy being with you.

Day 2

mozturk421907_ — 2023-11-19 21:23:43 UTC

Question1;
I will precisely use the authentic listening materials/realias/tasks in my lessons. Because when my students listen a text from one source I think it won't be enough. They need to hear it out from the other sources. it'll give them a chance to hear different accents also in this way, they will be exposured to actual English and it will boost/enhance their listening skills.
Question 2;
• In today’s sessions, I’ve noticed that combination of authentic, customised and other resources would be great opportunity as this way will provide me much better flexibility to create and produce activities
• Among the ideas about developing listening skills, I’ve found out ICQ, Differentiation and 3C would be fruitful and utilitarian. ICQ might the most significant thing -mirror- to show and determine if I am doing my activity right or wrong. Differentiation could be another productive way as it is time saving, keeping enthusiasm alive and I will not have to change the text just need to change the task. The last but not least is 3C which I believe that it will foster my both students and trainees’ confidence. That’s all for today. 😊🤙

Day 3 Speaking

mozturk421907_ — 2023-11-21 05:21:34 UTC

First of all the level and the attitude of the students restrict the usage of English by the teachers. As the students don't understand the instructions in English, teachers experience difficulties in maintaining silence and learning in the classroom so they prefer using Turkish in the class from time to time or translating the instructions in Turkish. For students, they just think of English as a "lesson" instead of a language which is a lingua franca and they are just interested in the exam part of it rather than learning English and speaking.

•As the levels of students are different we can use different drills during our classes. When the students are working in groups they have more opportunities to learn from each other so paper slides would be a nice activity and motivate them to speak according to their levels. It would also be a nice speaking activity in our PDC classes. And if the level of the students are lower we can start with the substitution & chain drills. after this teachers can create and model short dialogues with their students. but I think the topics should be more motivating so letting them record themselves on flip as an assignment motivates them to use English and if the teachers choose an interesting or uptodate topic, the activity will be more motivating. This activity would be differentiated and it can also be changed as a group work activity in the PDC claasses.

Day 4 Reading

mozturk421907_ — 2023-11-22 21:01:49 UTC

- There is a grammar activity at the book and I skip it

- There is a true/ false activity as a while reading act (detailed task)

Differentiated tasks

I added picture matching activity. with the events and paragraphs for while reading (gist task)
Showing the mile stones of his life on a poster of the events as post reading activity for lower level students
discussion about the common characteristics of successful people as a post reading for higher level ones

Question 2

Specific reading skills like predicting, skimming, Extensive & intensive reading reading for the author's purposes are quite interesting and useful for my colleagues. But I think Jigsaw reading is the most useaful one as it's suitable for crowded classrooms as students work in groups at first deal with different questions and later individually. It can be adapted according to the needs and levels of the students. It also combines different skills like reading, speaking and writing and also peer-learning.

Day 5 Vocab/Grammar

mozturk421907_ — 2023-11-23 19:49:26 UTC

Question 1: What do you think the most effective vocabulary teaching suggestion in today's session for language classromms in your area? Why?

I feel like that in language classroms incorporating diverse and contextually relevant vocabulary through interactive activities, games, and real life scenarios can enhance retention and application. Connecting new words to familiar concepts helps students grasp meanings more effectively.
if it needs be more specific, i mean that CCQs are crucial in teaching new vocabulary as they help ensure that students grasp the meaning and usage of words. These questions prompt students to think about the meaning of new words, encouraging active engagement and understanding. CCQs also allow teachers to assess comprehension, indentify misunderstandings and provide cclarification, fostering effective vocabulary acquisition.
To sum up: I am quite into using this CCQs in my classroms and PDCs when i return to my school. ;)

Question 2: What ideas from the grammar session do you think would be the most useful and appropriate in language classroms in your area? Why?

First is first. Inductive teaching of grammar has its merits. I mean it encourages active learner participation, promotes critical thinking, and allows students to discover language patterns on their own. This approach often fosters a deeper undertansding of grammar rules compared to traditional method which is deductive way of teaching grammar.
The other idea i would like to use in my classroms is 'controlled-guided-freer activities'. In order from left to right; controlled activities reinforce grammar rules, and enhance accuracy in language use. The benefits of using guided activities are to foster communication skills, encorage collaboration, and bridge the gap between controlled practice and real-life communication. The final one is the using freer activities which has its own benefits like enhancing fluency, promoting critical thinking, and simulating real-world language use, preparing learners for authentic communication. That's all for today thanks in advance :)

Day 6 Assessment

mozturk421907_ — 2023-11-24 21:45:24 UTC

Question 1

One common challange in language teaching assessment is achieving a balance between assessing diverse language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) effectively.
Striking the right balance can be challenging to ensure a comprehensive evaluation of a learner's proficiency
Additionaly, balancing formative and summative assessments to provide meaningful feedback while measuring overall language competence is a common concern.

Teachers may ignore the assessment part in language teaching for various reasons, such as time constraints, lack of training in assessment methods, emphasis on other instructional priorities, or a belief that assessment may hinder a student's creativity and expression. Additionally, some educators may feel overwhelmed by the administrative aspects of assessments and focus more on delivering content and fostering a positive learning environment.

Question 2

The greatest benefit of being in a professional development community for English teachers is the opportunity for collaborative learning and sharing of innovative teaching methods, resources, and experiences, ultimately enhancing the overall quality of education.
it fosters continuous learning, collaboration, and a supportive network for educators also ultimately enhancing teaching effectiveness and student outcomes. Thats all for today thanks in advance :)