English Together November 23' by Reyhan YILMAZ

Reflective Thinking& PDCs

reyhanakkoyunlu — 2023-11-18 18:58:12 UTC

Today was my first day in the English Together project, and we began with an engaging icebreaker called the Cloud. This activity set a positive mood for our learning space and was a great start. I think I can implement this activity at the beginning of the school year especially for my 5th-grade students.

The 'action bound activity' was fun and competitive, perfect for students who enjoy moving and friendly competition. But in a crowded classroom, it might be a bit challenging due to its high energy demand.

Additionally, the guessing game was beneficial, especially in speaking classes. It encouraged us to be creative by guessing from pictures. Doing this activity together made sure everyone participated, which is helpful in crowded classrooms. Adding more pictures might make it better for quieter students. I plan to try this out with my 7th and 8th graders.

The name game was simple but effective as an icebreaker. Calling yhe participants by their names made them more excited to learn and made them feel special. I'm excited to use this in my classes regularly.

On the other hand, the other name activity, with movements in a circle, seemed interesting but might confuse students and need more physical space. It might work better if done outside.

In the afternoon, the Professional Development Courses (PDCs) were really helpful. They helped me understand the difference between a facilitator and a trainer. Although I was nervous at first, I'm feeling more comfortable now and expect to improve with each session as the days pass.

LISTENING

reyhanakkoyunlu — 2023-11-19 19:09:30 UTC

Today, we initiated the day with a PARASITES warm-up activity, which I hadn't previously incorporated into my classroom routines. It proved to be an engaging and beneficial introduction for our listening-focused day. I anticipate that my fifth and sixth graders will find it enjoyable.

Identifying issues within listening activities hampers task efficiency. We categorized these issues into three parts: the nature of the text, planning decisions, and classroom teacher management. In my view, issues stemming from the nature of the text hold the least significance because most listening problems tend to relate to the teacher's decisions. Implementing listening activities demands meticulous preparation and attention to detail. Therefore, teachers should exercise greater caution and support when delivering these tasks.

The discussion on active learning was a key aspect today. The memory listening activity particularly resonated with me and is something I aim to incorporate into my future classes. Students gravitate towards personal questions, and this activity facilitates increased student engagement during listening exercises.

The concept of differentiation played a pivotal role today, a term I hadn't encountered since my university days. Classrooms typically encompass students of varying proficiency levels. However, tasks must cater to all these levels. Differentiation proves highly beneficial in this regard, enabling the creation of diverse activities on the same topic. For instance, while more advanced students tackle comprehension questions, those at lower proficiency levels can engage with true/false or yes/no questions.

We also delved into the stages of listening tasks: pre-listening, while-listening, and post-listening. For each stage, we strived to devise distinct activities. During the pre-listening stage, students should familiarize themselves with the topic using flashcards, videos, or authentic materials. Clear instructions are vital at this stage, necessitating teachers to articulate comprehensible guidelines and procedures. In the while-listening phase, increased student engagement is crucial. Task differentiation based on proficiency levels ensures that higher-ability students remain challenged while lower-ability ones are more engaged. The post-listening phase involves tasks that consolidate learning, such as creating a card or poster encompassing all the acquired knowledge.

Ultimately, the process of formulating a listening task activity proved immensely beneficial for me in terms of consolidating and organizing my thoughts.

SPEAKING

reyhanakkoyunlu — 2023-11-21 05:13:54 UTC

"It was the third day. Generally speaking, the course program is harder than I thought. I feel like I've forgotten how to be a student. But I can feel that I am growing as a teacher. Also, Fiona is one of the best trainers I have ever seen. She is experienced, yet I can still see the enthusiasm in her eyes. I hope I will be like her in the future. Besides, Burcu helps us whenever we need her. She is a qualified trainer.

I was a little late due to weather problems, so I missed the warm-up activity 'Onion ring,' but I learned it from my friends. It is a good warmer for students to encourage them to speak. Speaking is the least developed skill for students in Turkey. They always feel uncomfortable because of the affective filter. Our duty is to encourage them with different ways to speak as teachers. 'Gallery walk' is a good example. They walk around in groups and offer possible solutions to problems. It triggers students to speak, and they feel more relaxed working in small groups. I can use this technique for my seventh or eighth graders because it requires better speaking levels.

When we use our coursebooks to plan a speaking activity, I realize that there are many things to make speaking easier and comprehensible. Sometimes sticking to the book seems easier, but honestly, it makes everything harder for both students and teachers. So, I can see how 'differentiation' plays a crucial role in better catering to students' needs. It also provides an opportunity for me to challenge myself as a teacher. Feeling uncomfortable about speaking is a major problem among students. They are afraid of making mistakes and appearing ridiculous. Therefore, not teaching but monitoring students will be more helpful in encouraging them. Providing timely and appropriate feedback is important. We should let them make mistakes; it's the only way to develop.

In the next session, there was an activity based on an app called 'Flip.' It is a good way for introverted students who are afraid of speaking in front of people. In this way, they can express themselves in the best way they like because it gives them the chance to practice as many times as they need. In my school, I can use this activity as homework because students are not allowed to bring their phones into class.

In the last session, we discussed different websites and apps for speaking activities. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages, but for me, eslvideo and britishcouncil are better suited to my students. They are free and include activities with levels for different skills. Using Chatterpix will be fun because students don't have to show themselves when speaking. It makes them feel more comfortable."

READING

reyhanakkoyunlu — 2023-11-22 05:02:31 UTC

"Today was the reading day. For me, reading is one of the most difficult skills to implement in the classroom because students can easily get bored. They often prefer visual elements over text, likely due to the excessive exposure to photos and videos in their generation. Therefore, teachers should strive to make reading more appealing by connecting it to students' interests.

We were assigned to the 8th grade and prepared a reading plan based on the coursebook. The topic was Tourism. We located a reading section and adapted it. First, we handed out worksheets to the students. For the pre-reading phase, we asked questions related to the topic, such as "Where have you visited so far? Have you ever been to...?" Additionally, we incorporated a website called Baamboozle to digitize the task, enabling students to have fun while learning and becoming more engaged.

During the reading phase, students were asked to provide a title for the text (skimming) and then read it silently (scanning). We included two tasks, one for less proficient students and another for more proficient ones. Initially, there was only one activity in the original text: while more proficient students read the text and answered comprehension questions, less proficient ones engaged in true/false activities. This approach ensured that all students could participate according to their skill levels.

For the post-reading phase, they were instructed to create a group postcard. Each group selected a city, drafted a postcard, and then compared their ideas, eventually combining them into a single postcard. This activity catered to both less and more proficient students as initially, they worked independently. Specifically, less proficient students drew pictures and wrote brief sentences, while more proficient ones crafted more detailed sentences. This allowed all students to contribute to the task collaboratively.

Finally, the students were tasked with creating a PAPERSLIDE presentation about their favorite tourist attractions. This activity helped solidify their learning.

In conclusion, the plan implemented for 8th-grade students was effective. Differentiation, adaptation, and digitalization significantly enhanced the reading task, making it more enjoyable, accessible, and engaging for the students."

GRAMMAR&VOCABULARY

reyhanakkoyunlu — 2023-11-24 05:26:11 UTC

"The things that I've learned today make me think about our education system. In Turkey, classrooms are too crowded, the curriculum is too strict, intense, and inflexible. The number of English classes per week is limited. Teachers are always in a hurry to catch up with the curriculum, so we don't have spare time for extra activities. In the **explicit model**, there is PPP (presentation, practice, and production). I use this model for most of my lessons. The explicit model is teacher-centered. I am not in favor of this model, but I have 45 students in each of my classes. In 5th and 6th grades, there are only three English classes per week. Therefore, I present the rule first, and then students try to give examples. Besides, I don't allocate too much time for grammar. Generally speaking, grammar takes place at the end of the lessons because, as Fiona said, **grammar needs a context**. If we come to the class and say, "Okay, open your books, we are going to cover Present Simple today," it would be meaningless.

On the other hand, in the **implicit model**, students are generally instructed to engage in an activity and discover the rule or structure on their own. In this way, students are more active. It enables creativity, and they can remember more of what they have learned easily because they are involved in the process itself. This model is more updated, and I am sure it will be more helpful for educational outcomes. However, I need to prefer the explicit model most of the time due to the reasons I have mentioned before.

When it comes to vocabulary teaching, I can understand how elicitation is important because students can learn more easily if they are confronted with visuals. When we elicit, we try to create an information gap for students to find the right word. It triggers them to think and draw upon their previous knowledge. So students can be more active. Therefore, using realia, pictures, flashcards, antonyms, and synonyms will be beneficial for memorizing. Asking questions plays a crucial role in learning because we have to check their learning. After that, drilling will be useful for pronunciation, and finally, making students write the word using different activities can be advantageous for vocabulary learning. I use this technique in my classes."

ASSESMENT

reyhanakkoyunlu — 2023-11-25 05:18:46 UTC

"When discussing assessment today, some things became clearer in my mind. There are two ways to conduct assessment: Summative and Formative assessment. Upon comparing both, I notice that summative assessment is more commonly used, but it is not process-based. It entails providing students with several questions and asking them to solve them. However, this method presents some issues. Firstly, no written exam can comprehensively cover all aspects of the learning process. Secondly, most students do not study daily, resulting in new learning every day. When we fail to assess their progress stage by stage and instead assess the entire process, teachers cannot fully achieve our main assessment goals.

Nevertheless, we cannot exclude summative assessment from the process. However, the primary approach should be to utilize formative assessment and provide feedback to students at every stage. This way, students can have opportunities to enhance their skills and correct themselves, thereby making summative assessment more efficient.

In my local area, students rarely engage in self/peer assessment due to the curriculum's emphasis on summative and teacher assessments. I believe that integrating self/peer assessment into my lessons will increase my students' self-awareness. Consequently, this will encourage them to plan and implement more suitable learning processes for themselves. Ultimately, these experiences will contribute to making them autonomous learners, which is the ultimate goal of education."