Then, we went on to deal with some problems associated with the listening lessons. We were given some negative reflections for listening activities which were associated with either the nature of the text, planning decisions or teacher management. During the session, I noticed that the problems we have faced are more or less related to planning decisions since it was we who chose the text for the students. The teachers of Ministry of National Education (MoNE) sometimes do not differentiate the listening texts for their learners. We are eager to give the responsibility for the problems we have encountered during the while-listening activity to MoNE, not ourselves. I find the listening skills to be taught as the first skills regarding the nature of acquisition, which is usually disregarded by the language teachers. We should put the emphesis on listening skills and design the course in accordance with task-based teaching methodology. Each task should be meaningful for the students. 

Later, we learned the stages of listening activities, which constitute pre, on and post listening parts. We learned the importance of each stage and are given so many good examples of pre-listening, while-listening and post-listening activities to cover in our classes. We shared our opinions and discussed the situations. We tried to design a better pre-listening, on-listening and post listening activities in our groups and learned several techniques to be used during these stages.

Next, we talked about active listening. We played a memory game which I found very useful to implement it in my classes. By the way, I learned some other techniques which would fit my own learners during my listening sessions.

After that, we dealt with differentiation. We learned that there would not be a perfect listening activity for all students and each should be differentiated and adapted in accordance with the needs of the students, their interests and their levels of competence. We differentiated/ adapted each stage of listening activities given in the Facilitator Training programme. Each group also differentiated a listening activity taken from the MoNE’s coursebook for 11th graders. We added much more and more fun pre-on and post listening activities to each stage.

Finally, Seda hocam gave us the links of very useful websites which could be used to develop the listening skills of our students. We prepared slide shows to advertise one of the websites. Each group presented their slides on the stage and talked about the positive sides of them. By the way, I learned so many methods and techniques to facilitate learning and develop the listening skills of my students. Today’s session was great. 

Later, we went on to play the Gallery Game. We went towards the pieces of paper which Seda Hocam had already posted on different sides of the walls. She formed three groups each of which took turns to talk about a sentence posted on the wall. Each time, our curiosity aroused. We considered about the rerasons for each of the problems upper-secondary school students generally faced when they were in speaking sessions.

We shared our ideas and tried to find solutions to each of them. Sharing is caring J The activity was meaningful to us. We gave feedbacks to each of us. We sometimes focused on fluency, accuracy or structures. At the end of the activity, we evaluated/ reviewed the process together with our classmates.

Then, we were to re-design one of the speaking tasks on MoNE’s English coursebook for 10th graders. We designed the task with regard to the stages of speaking activity (Pre-on-post).

In the second session, Seda hocam told us that the previous PDC session were very similar to the speaking task, which constitutes from a warmer – review – engage & share – reflect and evaluate and closing remark stages. Sedan and Elçin Hocam told us the above cycle of speaking task.

Next, I learned a magical game which maximizes the speaking activity and at the same time saves time. The flipgrid! We worked in our group and planned our own video. We recorded it out of the class and watched only some of our videos because of the weak internet connection.

After that, we talked about the Role play activity on Facilitator Training Programme, which looked only for high achievable learners. After discussing the roles, we learned that there were some roles not only for high achievers but for low achievers as well.

The next activity was far more enjoyable. I had never prepared paper-slides before that. We prepared a paperslide on April the 23, National Sovereignity and the Children’s day. Each team uploaded their paperslide videos and had fun. Because we already prepared the script, we were sure of not making pronunciation or grammar mistakes. 

John joined us and Sam got into the class to say hello J We watched the British Council’s videos on maximizing speaking activity, building confidence, integrating skills for speaking and giving feedback. I learned a lot.

My students at school generally keep themselves away from the speaking activities and prefer to give the shortest answers. Some are highly shy and feel embarrased when they make mistakes. They don’t feel very confident of themselves. During today’s session, I learned how the extend their level of confidence and make them feel more secure with the help of the strategies and online apps. When the activity is comprehensible and meaningful to the students and appropriate to their communicative competence, or when the activity is designed to provide chances to speak in the target language and to make them feel more comfortable, students will be engaged to participate in the classroom.

(including the reading text and the tasks with your ideas for differentiation).

 

The reading text about which I am going to write today is taken from the MoNE’s coursebook for Social Sciences High School 9th Grade students. 

To create interest, I want students to list the school clubs they know on their notebooks, I want my students generate their ideas (brainstorming). I ask the students to tick the school clubs that they have in our school (Task 1)

We look at the headings and pictures to predict what they will learn about the topic. I want them to skim the text to find where this text is taken from (Task 2). 

I ask them some questions about the benefits of school clubs and get their answers to activate their background knowledge about the topic. I write down some key conceps in terms of the benefits of social clubs to introduce them some new word and structures such as “School clubs help us to...”, or “If you like teamwork, this is the best club for you”. 

This text can be easily divided into two. Therefore, I form two groups and I give one half of the class two social clubs and the other half the rest two (Jigsaw reading). For low achievers, I give them the shorter texts. Then, I have Student As to sit with Student Bs. I want them to discuss their social clubs which they have read about. 

 

I make students scan the texts. I have them find and write the benefits of each school club into the chart.

As for the post-reading activity, I want my students to form groups of five (I arrange the groups) so that they can share their opinions and discuss the school clubs which they are able to attend at school. (for high achievers one of the clubs which isn't advertised on the book) and make pictureslides nearly the end of the English class.

As for the assignment, I let them advertise one of the school clubs and prepare a poster on www.canva.com about it.

 

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?

Collaborative reading help students comprehend the text collaboratively by using skills like predicting the content (using pictures/ titles/ key words), getting the gist, skimming and scanning.

Jigsaw reading is a great way to provide real communication in the class. This texts are short and authentic. 

As its name sugessts, process writing focuses on the process of writing short texts. The students learn to brainstorm meaningful ideas, write drafts and create full texts. The focus is on meaning rather than the structure. The teacher gives students a model. They react to the text and feel motivated to share their ideas. When the task is given to them, the students come up with different ideas (brainstorming) and try to write in accordance with the model the teacher have sent to them. They write their drafts. Each student rates the others’ text because students feel more motivated when there is an audience.     

 

2. What do you think your colleagues would be most interested in exploring a PDC meeting focusing on writing?

The process of writing and digitalization would be more interesting for the colleagues in my area.

Developing the writing skills of the students may be thought to be prioritized after the PDC session when my trainees discover how effective it might be to see/monitor the progress which students have made. Some students may have trouble with their utterances during the classes, however they may be able to express themselves better when they are given writing tasks. To me, writing tasks give students a sense of security when they are done individually, however, my trainees will find how to adopt/ differentiate these tasks during their classes / to differentiate these tasks for weaker students by forming groups and applying collaborative writing tasks which make students have fun and feel more motivated. 

It can be generally said that the grammar teaching is implemented in the language classes traditionally, with form-focused instruction, deductively or explicitly. The school around my neigbourhood are not the exception. The teachers tell or have their students to write down the grammar rules, give some examples and fill in the blanks with proper grammatical structures or they want their students to utter sentences in the classroom activities on which they have studied during the sessions. However, as far as I am concerned, grammar teaching should be implemented with the focus-on-meaning instruction, which prioritizes inductive and implicit methodologies. When learners are given a text, the form might be noticed (noticing-hypothesis) or some guided discovery questions may be asked to them so that meaning can be conveyed. With the help of concept checking questions (CCQs), learners are able to understand the structure for themselves. Learning should be personalized.